Despite his early yellow card, Wayne Rooney was ultimately the driving force for United in Cardiff, creating 8 chances – 3 from open play, 5 from set-pieces.
Peter Whittingham kept Cardiff ticking over, completing 94.5% of his passes in the match and crossing 6 times.
Cardiff’s Kevin Theophile Catherine didn’t have the best of days, conceding 6 fouls
– more than anyone else.
United’s Jonny Evans mopped up a lot of Cardiff’s moves, clearing the ball 15 times. No player managed more this weekend.
Marouane Fellaini and Tom Cleverley failed to control the game or their tackles, fouling 4 times each.
Sam Allardyce’s side managed a solitary shot on target, from Joey O’Brien in injury time.
Surpassing his Premier League goal tally from last season, Oscar had an afternoon to remember. Only Frank Lampard (80) had more touches than him (76) and he made 7 tackles, more than anyone else.
Lampard returned to haunt his former club again. He had 7 shots on the day, 4 on target, scoring 2.
John Obi Mikel had a comfortable afternoon. No player made more passes than him (64), with the Nigerian completing 93.8%.
James Collins offered some form of resistance to Jose Mourinho’s side, making 4 blocks and 11 clearances for the Hammers.
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Although gifted his opener by Saints keeper Artur Boruc, Olivier Giroud had a productive day at the office, scoring with both his shots on target. The Frenchman has scored 7 times from 14 attempts on target this season.
Aaron Ramsey was once again influential for the Gunners, attempting more passes than anyone else on the field (66), completing 87.9% of them.
Southampton’s Victor Wanyama was in combative mood, winning all 9 of the tackles he attempted: no player this weekend made more.
Aside from his howler, Artur Boruc’s distribution was sloppy, failing to find the target with 16 of his long balls.
Known for his passing attributes, Mikel Arteta read the opponents well on Saturday too, making 5 interceptions and 3 tackles – although he did create a Southampton chance with a mistake in his own 'D'.
Angel Rangel was at the heart of the Swans’ action, attempting 103 passes (excluding throw-ins) – the most by any player this weekend.
Fulham’s right-back Elsad Zverotic also attempted to create chances from the wing but to little avail, only finding the target with 3 of his 9 crosses.
By contrast, Jonathan de Guzman was having a greater impact, attempting 14 crosses and completing 91.4% of his passes.
Jose Canas rarely missed a beat either, misplacing just 5 of his 76 passes on the day.
Dimitar Berbatov was involved in 16 aerial duels on the day, winning 62.5% of them.
Fundamental to Crystal Palace’s win at the KC was their defensive display. Damien Delaney and Daniel Gabbidon made 15 and 14 clearances respectively, keeping the Tigers at bay. 20 of the 29 were headed.
Dean Moxey, Daniel Gabbidon and Joel Ward all made 5 interceptions for Palace during the game.
George Boyd and Yannick Sagbo each created 3 chances for Hull.
Even before his red card, Yannick Bolasie was having a frustrating afternoon for the Eagles, having 4 shots without testing Allan McGregor.
Hull’s afternoon was epitomised by Ahmed Elmohamady, as he lost possession 31 times and failed to find a teammate with any of his 10 crosses.
Alan Pardew appears to have told his side to shoot on sight: Newcastle had 21 shots in the game, 11 of which came from outside the box.
Maybe Cheik Tiote shouldn't bother, though – all 4 of his shots were off-target.
On the plus side for the Ivorian, he did have 91 touches, completing 90.4% of his passes.
The Magpies had Mapou Yanga Mbiwa to thank for some quick thinking against the Canaries. He made 6 interceptions, more than anyone else over this weekend.
Chris Hughton’s side intercepted the ball just 4 times, compared to Newcastle’s 19. However, the Canaries did efficiently score with 1 of their 2 shots on target.
All 3 of Liverpool’s goals came from set-pieces. Before the game, Everton were the only Premier League side yet to concede from a set-piece this season (excluding penalties).
Despite letting in 3 goals, Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was very much a hero for the Reds on derby day. The Belgian made 9 stops, saving 75% of the shots he faced.
Liverpool’s Jon Flanagan also impressed, winning 8 of his 9 tackles and completing 26 of his 31 passes (83.9%).
Romelu Lukaku seems to enjoy playing against Liverpool. All 5 of his attempts were on target, including 2 goals.
On the opposing team, Luis Suarez drove Liverpool on, with 3 of his 4 shots on goal finding the target, including a goal from a free-kick.
Gary Parkinson is a freelance writer, editor, trainer, muso, singer, actor and coach. He spent 14 years at FourFourTwo as the Global Digital Editor and continues to regularly contribute to the magazine and website, including major features on Euro 96, Subbuteo, Robert Maxwell and the inside story of Liverpool's 1990 title win. He is also a Bolton Wanderers fan.
