Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace: Olivier Giroud scores stunner in Gunners win

Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace

Olivier Giroud scored a contender for goal of the season as Arsenal started 2017 with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates.

The Frenchman's scorpion-like kick from Alexis Sanchez's cross went in off the underside of the crossbar in the 17th minute to hand the hosts a deserved lead in world-class fashion.

Alex Iwobi doubled the scoreline 11 minutes into the second half, seeing his looping header creep in off Joel Ward.

Giroud celebrates his world class finish

Arsenal are still nine points behind Chelsea in the race for the title, while Sam Allardyce's Palace remain 17th, two points from safety.

Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that beat West Brom on Boxing Day, bringing in Nacho Monreal, Mohamed Elneny and Lucas Perez, with Mesut Ozil unwell.

They should have been ahead early on through Giroud, who missed the ball from point-blank range after Monreal's fine first-time ball across the face of goal.

Sanchez struck just wide from 20 yards and Wayne Hennessey saved well from Iwobi, before Giroud more than made up for his early miss.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan produced a similar goal for Manchester United on Boxing Day

Starting the attack in midfield with a fine flick, Giroud continued his run into the area as Sanchez moved down the left wing.

Sanchez's cross was slightly behind the striker, but Giroud improvised superbly, flicking the ball from behind him with the backheel of his left foot, crashing in off the crossbar past the dive of Hennessey.

It mirrored Henrikh Mkhitaryan's scorpion-like goal for Manchester United against Sunderland on Boxing Day, with Sky Sports' co-commentator Gary Neville stating Giroud's strike was "one of the best goals" he had ever seen.

The tempo slowed after the goal, but Sanchez should have doubled Arsenal's lead on the stroke of half-time, seeing his effort from eight yards saved by the foot of Hennessey after Martin Kelly's woeful clearance.

Gabriel and Christian Benteke battle for the ball

Christian Benteke should have done better with a header after the break from Andros Townsend's cross, while Sanchez saw a close-range effort blocked by Scott Dann.

Arsenal got their second after some woeful Palace defending, with Iwobi seeing his looping header fall softly into the net despite the visitors having both Tomkins and Joel Ward on the line.

Ward, who attempted to clear the ball on the line, miscued his header, seeing it come off the crossbar and into the net.

Palace then woke up; Benteke's header was well saved by Petr Cech, and the goalkeeper was then at his best to tip away Cabaye's volley.

Substitute Aaron Ramsey came close late on, striking just wide from outside the area, before Hennessey saved superbly from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's low effort from 12 yards.

Player ratings

Arsenal: Cech (7), Bellerin (7), Gabriel (7), Koscielny (7), Monreal (7), Elneny (7), Xhaka (6), Iwobi (7), Sanchez (7), Lucas (6), Giroud (8)

Subs: Coquelin (6), Ramsey (6), Oxlade-Chamberlain (6)

Crystal Palace: Hennessey (6); Kelly (4), Dann (5), Tomkins (5), Ward (4); Cabaye (5), Flamini (5), Puncheon (5); Townsend (5), Zaha (5); Benteke (4)

Subs: Mutch (5), Lee (5), Campbell (5)

Man of the match: Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud v Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Which goal was better?

Oliver Giroud or Henrikh Mkhitaryan? You decide

In the last week, the Premier League has witnessed two of the best goals in the competition's history.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's sensational scorpion kick against Sunderland on Boxing Day was followed by a similar effort by Arsenal's Olivier Giroud on New Year's Day, which you can watch on the __football Score Centre app.

But which was better?

See Henrikh Mkhitaryan's contender for goal of the season against Sunderland

Cast your vote here and then see what the Sky Sports experts said on Sunday…

GARY NEVILLE

"I never thought I'd see something like this again. Giroud's is higher and more difficult, probably, than Mkhitaryan's. That one was incredible, but this is frightening.

"It's instinctive and you have to say it's brilliant. He doesn't normally finish them like that and it's absolutely incredible.

"I have to say it's one of the best goals I've ever seen. You see sometimes goal that you've seen before of a certain type, but when you see two like that in the matter of a week or so it's incredible."

JAMIE CARRAGHER

"It's amazing. Watching it, I was in disbelief. Has he really just done that? I am a fan of Giroud, who gets a lot of criticism at times, but I think he's a good striker. Is it one of the best goals Arsenal have scored in the Premier League? I think of Dennis Bergkamp at Newcastle and Bergkamp at Leicester. It's certainly right up there with some of the goals Thierry Henry has scored.

"Before you get to the individuals, I think the Arsenal build-up makes it. Whenever I see a goal go in off the bar it always looks better and I think Giroud's goal is better. Mkhitaryan's was slightly offside, but it counted on the day and you thought when that went in it would be goal of the season. Then a week later Giroud goes and does this..."

GRAEME SOUNESS

"Giroud's is a fantastic goal and a great bit of football. You have to say Alexis Sanchez's cross is not a great cross, it's behind Giroud, but like Mkhitaryan he improvises and it's absolutely spectacular.

"When you get the benefit of the replay there's no-one else up there with him and he's trying to get it goal-bound. He's improvised and he's meant it and it's a spectacular goal."

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Also See:

• Arsenal v Palace as it happened
• Mkhitaryan: My best goal

Chelsea 4-2 Stoke: Blues match Arsenal's Premier League winning run

Chelsea 4-2 Stoke

Chelsea matched Arsenal's record for the most consecutive Premier League wins in a season with a thrilling 4-2 victory against Stoke on New Year's Eve.

The Blues have now won 13 games in a row - the same as the Gunners side from the 2001/02 campaign - and took the lead just after 30 minutes thanks to Gary Cahill's header. 

But Bruno Martins Indi scored the fastest second-half goal of the season just 54 seconds after the restart to get Stoke level, before Willian scored his first of two goals ten minutes later to put the Blues back ahead. 

The Potters continued to test their hosts, though, with Peter Crouch scoring his first Premier League goal since the final day of the 2014/15 season in the 64th minute before Willian netted again a minute later to make it 3-2. 

Willian scored twice during the match at Stamford Bridge

Diego Costa - returning to the side after a suspension on Boxing Day - had the final word with five minutes of normal time to play to round off the victory and send Chelsea nine points clear.

The first-half was a slow burner, with a shot from N'Golo Kante - also back in the side after his one-game ban - in the seventh minute being the pick of the action from the opening exchanges.

Gary Cahill celebrates scoring the opening goal with David Luiz during the Premier League thriller

Lee Grant was then called into action twice in quick succession to deny Chelsea. The first came in the 19th minute as Costa rounded Mame Biram Diouf on the left of the box, but his shot was kept out by the diving chest of the goalkeeper before he collected the rebound after it came off the back of Martins Indi.

He was in action again three minutes later to palm away a Cahill header before Charlie Adam saw his own headed effort skim wide from a Xherdan Shaqiri corner in the best chance of the half for Stoke.

Stoke celebrate their second equaliser thanks to Peter Crouch's tap in

Grant produced another heroic save in the 33rd minute to deny Costa once again. David Luiz played a sublime ball down the field that picked out the striker, who turned Ryan Shawcross before shooting, but the Stoke stopper was off his line to block the effort. He then recovered well to palm away the rebound from Eden Hazard.

But Grant could do nothing about the resulting corner, as Cahill rose above the Stoke defence in the box to power home from a Cesc Fabregas corner to put the hosts in front heading into the break.

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It was a goal-laden second half and Stoke equalised with their first shot on target within a minute of the restart. Adam fired a delightful free kick into the box that found the head of Crouch at the back post, that the striker nodded into the path of Martins Indi who steered the ball home.

Chelsea were in front again ten minutes later, though, in what was a fine team goal. Victor Moses got away from Erik Pieters on the right of the box before his low cross found Hazard in the middle. The Belgian took one touch to put the ball into the path of Willian who curled home a delightful effort through four Stoke players.

Willian controls the ball during the game at Stamford Bridge

With 26 minutes of the game to play, the Potters again got themselves level to give the Premier League leaders another obstacle to overcome. A great long ball from Adam found Crouch at the top of the box, who produced great control to try and find a way into the box with support from Bojan. The latter the picked out Diouf on the right, whose cross was turned home by Crouch after he got ahead of Cesar Azpilicueta. 

Chelsea on brink of record

Chelsea beat Stoke to extend their winning run to 13 games. Can they break the PL record?

But amid the elation, Stoke switched off momentarily and allowed Chelsea to again go ahead a minute later. A loose pass from the visitors set off Fabregas towards the box, who slipped in Willian on the right and he took a few steps before hitting home from a tight angle to beat Grant. 

Diego Costa scored the fourth goal for Chelsea with five minutes of the game to play

Both sides had chances to get the next goal as the game headed towards a thrilling conclusion, with a gut-busting break from Willian, Hazard and Costa seeing the striker power a shot over the bar before a sublime Glen Johnson cross was poked wide by Azpilicueta who was ahead of a waiting Crouch. 

Costa had the final say of the game though, coming with five minutes of normal time to play. A throw-in from Marcos Alonso was headed into the box by Adam, arriving at the feet of the Chelsea striker who beat both Shawcross and Martins Indi before nestling the ball into the back of the net. 

Willian celebrates the first of his two goals with David Luiz

The Blues can now set a new Premier League record for the most consecutive wins in a single season when they face London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday evening, aiming for their 14th victory. 

Player ratings

Chelsea: Courtois (7), Cahill (7), Azpilicueta (7), David Luiz (7), Alonso (7), Fabregas (7), Kante (6), Moses (7), Hazard (7), Costa (8), Willian (8).

Subs used: Matic (6), Ivanovic (4), Chalobah (4).

Stoke: Grant (7), Johnson (6), Shawcross (6), Martins Indi (7), Pieters (7), Allen (6), Adam (7), Diouf (5), Afellay (5), Shaqiri (6), Crouch (6). 

Subs used: Imbula (4), Bojan (5).

Man of the match: Willian

Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City: Georginio Wijnaldum floors City

Liverpool 1-0 Man City

Liverpool capped a progressive 2016 under Jurgen Klopp with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City and reduced the gap to Premier League leaders Chelsea back to six points.

Georginio Wijnaldum's eighth-minute header proved to be the difference as Klopp's men responded to Chelsea's 4-2 win over Stoke on Saturday afternoon.

This was Liverpool's fourth win in a row and means they are now unbeaten in their last 17 Premier League home games (W11 D6).

Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates Liverpool's opener in front of Man City supporters

Meanwhile, the defeat leaves City, who failed to test Simon Mignolet with any meaningful efforts, 10 points behind Chelsea in the title race and just three ahead of rivals Manchester United.

Sergio Aguero was back in the Manchester City team for the first time since picking up a four-game ban against Chelsea, while Klopp decided to give Divock Origi a rest and bring in Emre Can to give Liverpool more steel in midfield.

That tactical switch worked well in the early stages with City being crowded out from finding David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne. Despite dominating the ball, the visitors looked vulnerable to Liverpool's high press and it reaped maximum reward on eight minutes.

Georginio Wijnaldum gives Liverpool the lead

Wijnaldum won the ball deep inside his own half and sparked the hosts into action on the counter. They worked the ball to the left wing where Adam Lallana pinged a cross straight onto the head of Wijnaldum, who powered the ball into the bottom corner.

Liverpool have not lost a Premier League home game when leading at half-time since December 2009, but City gave it a good go of ending that run in the early stages of the half.

Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates his early goal with team-mates

They went 45 minutes without registering a shot on target but Aguero signalled their intention early on with a low drive, forcing Mignolet to divert the ball away on 52 minutes. 

Guardiola's side began to look menacing with Silva at the heart of their attacking play, the Spanish playmaker curling an effort inches wide on 56 minutes.

However, that was as good as it got for City, whose attacking impetus fizzled out as the half wore on.

Liverpool saw the match out comfortably and Klopp celebrated with a roar of appreciation towards the Kop.

Jurgen Klopp celebrates following Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City

Player Ratings

Liverpool: Mignolet (7), Clyne (7), Lovren (7), Klavan (7), Milner (8), Henderson (7), Wijnaldum (8), Can (7), Lallana (7), Mane (7), Firmino (7)

Subs: Lucas (6), Origi (7)

Man City: Bravo (6), Zabaleta (6), Stones (6), Otamendi (6), Kolarov (6), Fernandinho (6), Yaya Toure (5), Sterling (6), Silva (6), De Bruyne (6), Aguero (6)

Subs: Iheanacho (6), Navas (6)

Man of the match: James Milner