Boxing Day highlights from an exciting day of Premier League action!
As ever, the football highlights below are from the official UK distributor, Sky Sports, posted all in one fast loading page, for football fans.
Fan engagement is important in sport as we move into 2020 – I like to make sure the action is as enjoyable as possible, leveraging modern technology to load fast websites, with ads at a minimum (I don’t put ads in this site) in order to showcase how football highlights can be delivered to fans of the sport. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Leicester City v Liverpool (0-4)
We begin with the last match of Boxing Day, first up, as it was leaders versus second place, as Liverpool travelled to Leicester looking for three more points to add to their recent Club World Cup title.
2016 champs, Leicester wanted to get things back on track after stumbling against City, who were hot on their heels.
Instead of a close clash, we got Liverpool showing their credentials as genuine front-runners here, as probably Schmeichel was the best player for Leicester in the first half, with the hosts lucky to still have a sniff at 1-0 down at the break.
Despite a bit of pressure early in the second half, Liverpool made their dominance tell, with some great work again from Alexander-Arnold on the right, capped with a nice goal.
4-0 was a fair reflection, and as the foot eased off the gas, it could even have been more. They were that good.
That little spell of “not so good” performances Liverpool picked up wins from in November is looking like a key turning point in 2019/20. There’s little sign of amother slip from the Reds at present.
This looked like Champions’ form.
Spurs v Brighton (2-1)
Tottenham had to come from behind again, after letting Brighton get on top of them.
Dele Alli completed the comeback with a decent finish, but Spurs will be worried about their recent string of wobbly performances.
They lack confidence at the back.
Aston Villa v Norwich City (1-0)
Villa needed a win so so badly, and they got one which made a little movement at the foot of the table. Relegation is going to the wire, you feel, this season.
Bournemouth v Arsenal (1-1)
If Arteta did not know why he was hired as the new Arsenal manager mid-way through the season, then he saw all the reasons why, here. The Gunners went a goal behind deservedly, before producing some reasonable football to share the points.
Aubameyang scored yet again. Imagine what dire straits Arsenal would be in without his finishes this term – he has 12 to his name.
Chelsea v Southampton (0-2)
The recovery continues for Saints, who picked up a deserved 2-0 win away at Frank Lampard’s inconsistent Chelsea.
Southampton bagged three points thanks to some ruthless finishing. Chelsea will be disappointed they failed to produce more clear-cut chances from two thirds of possession – 66% of the ball, yet only three shots on target.
Southampton deserved their win.
Crystal Palace v West Ham (2-1)
Watch this match-winner from Jordan Ayew a few times. It’s top drawer.
Crystal Palace came from behind yet again, to finish this match close to the European places, and leave their visitors West Ham rueing their lost lead, which left them perilously close to the bottom three.
Contrasting fortunes in every way, as Roy Hodgson’s men showed great attitude.
Everton v Burnley (1-0)
Everton put on a decent performance for new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, and grabbed three points from a late diving header from Calvert-Lewin with ten minutes remaining.
Sheffield United v Watford (1-1)
Watford have been playing okay without getting anything from matches, of late, but they had their goalkeeper, Ben Watson, to thank for their hard-fought draw away at recently promoted – yet high flying – Sheffield United.
This type of performance should remind everyone why Watford are arguably too good for their current foot-of-the-table position.
Man Utd v Newcastle (4-1)
This was a bit of an odd match, in truth, as Newcastle made Man Utd look nervous for 20 minutes, during which they went 1-0 up and could have (should have) had double that – before basically imploding, and gifting their hosts a hatful of goals.
If Old Trafford looked like business as usual in the second half, it was because the visitign Magpies had allowed a young Mancunian side to get their tails up. Once they got the wind in their sails, the red United looked decent.
They have a couple of good in-form strikers in Rashford and Martial and Greenwood looks good, too. Green shoots at Old Trafford. They have a sniff of a UEFA Champions League place, too, bearing in mind the awful form of those around them.
How the Premier League Table looked on Boxing Day
Below is the table at the conclusion of the last match (Leicester v Liverpool) of Boxing Day 2019:
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 18 | 32 | 52 |
| 2 | Leicester | 19 | 23 | 39 |
| 3 | Man City | 18 | 30 | 38 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 19 | 6 | 32 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 19 | 7 | 29 |
| 6 | Sheff Utd | 19 | 6 | 29 |
| 7 | Man Utd | 19 | 7 | 28 |
| 8 | Wolves | 18 | 4 | 27 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 19 | -4 | 26 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 19 | -9 | 25 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 19 | -3 | 24 |
| 12 | Burnley | 19 | -7 | 24 |
| 13 | Everton | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 14 | Southampton | 19 | -14 | 21 |
| 15 | Brighton | 19 | -6 | 20 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 19 | -6 | 20 |
| 17 | West Ham | 18 | -10 | 19 |
| 18 | Aston Villa | 19 | -8 | 18 |
| 19 | Watford | 19 | -21 | 13 |
| 20 | Norwich | 19 | -19 | 12 |
Liverpool had moved thirteen points clear, with a game in hand, a cue for many to declare them essentially champions.
