Premier League, Week 35: Manchester City win, but lose David Silva

It looked at the time like the game was going to be a wide open and entertaining one, but City turned it into an uneventful, methodical victory. Martin Demichelis scored off a corner in the 36th minute to double his side’s lead, and from there, City were very much in control.

Instead of coming out like a team desperate to steal a result from two goals down to start the second half, West Brom played like one that already had the result they wanted. They sat back and looked to play on the counter, which suited City just fine, and neither team had too many real chances in the second half.

Silva went down awkwardly after a challenge by Morgan Amalfitano. While the West Brom player didn’t make strong contact with Silva, he made the Spanish playmaker go down in an awkward way, and his right ankle appeared to twist badly as he fell to the ground. It’s not clear what he injured or how seriously he’s hurt, but there’s plenty of cause for concern if a stretcher was required.

If Silva just has a very bad sprain, he shouldn’t have any problem returning in time for Spain training ahead of the World Cup. But anything more serious and his trip to Brazil could be in jeopardy. And no matter what, this will almost certainly hurt City’s title challenge considerably.

Unfortunately for City, West Brom are still scrapping for their lives near the bottom of the table. Pepe Mel’s side are just three points above the relegation zone, albeit with a couple of games in hand with three of the four teams below them in the table. However, the Baggies haven’t beaten City since a 2-1 home win back in 2008. That year, they finished bottom of the league.

Manchester City injuries and suspensions

For United and Moyes, the match was a disaster. They never looked like they were in the same class as Moyes’ former team and just about cemented themselves into seventh place, raising even more questions about whether the manager will be back this season.

Everton were happy to concede possession to the Red Devils, easily defending and waiting for United to give them space on the counterattack. When they did, Man United couldn’t handle them, allowing Everton tons of space.

The Gunners were on top in the opening minutes, but struggled from a hilarious incident involving ad boards blowing onto the pitch until their opening goal. The wind made quite a mess in the 7th minute, throwing a particularly lightweight advertising structure all over the place, and Hull were all over Arsenal after the brief stoppage.

Whatever Steve Bruce said to his team at halftime didn’t work, nor did his decision to bring on Matty Fryatt. The Gunners came out confident and dominant early in the second half, scoring their third in the 54th minute. The usual suspects were involved again, with Cazorla cutting back for Ramsey, who had his shot saved by Harper, but Podolski was there to pounce on the rebound and complete a brace.

The winds are often quite high in Hull, but I can genuinely say I’ve never seen advertising boards blow onto the pitch in the middle of a game. Props to George Boyd and Santi Cazorla for assisting with the clean-up.

Maybe look into digital ad boards, Hull? You’re staying up and you’re in the FA Cup final. I think they’re a worthy investment.

Norwich City: Ruddy, Olsson, Turner, Martin, Whittaker, Johnson, Howson, Redmond, Fer (Murphy 78’), Snodgrass, Hooper (van Wolfswinkel 78’)

Goals: Hooper (54’), Snodgrass (77’)

Luis Suarez is the only man in the world able to immediately burst into a sprint after sustaining a serious knee injury. Truly, he is a wonder and I look forward to the day that medical science dissects him to find out how he manages it.

Everton injuries and suspensions

Manchester United injuries and suspensions

Saturday’s matches in the Premier League were brought to you by the word penalty. There were four total across five games, including two in one match. In each case, the penalty was either the match winner or match tying goal. So, if you liked penalty kicks, this was a good day for you.

Full match report

Refereeing is hard when you’re possibly concussed, and definitely dazed. Just ask Chris Foy.

The referee was clocked in the head by a deflected shot on Saturday and had to come out of the match because of it.

Tottenham gained a much-needed win over Fulham at White Hart Lane to gain some ground in the fight for the Europa League places and make the visitors’ task of escaping relegation looking even more difficult.

Fulham got off to a relatively good start in the wake of their recent good form, and Sidwell showed a glimpse of things to come when he had the first chance of the game, just failing to connect with Alexander Kacaniklic’s cross.