With Christmas done with for yet another year, it was the Premier League that took centre stage on Boxing Day with a full list of fixtures, including a massive top-of-the-table clash between Manchester City and Liverpool.
After the full-time whistles were blown for the 12:45 and 15:00pm kick offs, the managers faced the media and here is what they all had to say:
HULL CITY 2-3 MANCHESTER UNITED:
Hull manager Steve Bruce: “Over the years I’ve been close a few times to beating them but never 2-0 up within 15 minutes. The one thing we’ve been able to do since I’ve been here is hold a lead.
“We made too many mistakes at crucial times. We created umpteen opportunities in the second half but made mistakes and you get punished against a team like Manchester United.
“James Chester will get over it because he’s a very good young player.”
Manchester United manager David Moyes: “To be two down and come back to win is a great result. I thought it would be a long road back but these players have done this in the past and we did well to get back in the game.
“For us to get to half-time at 2-2 was great, but when we were 3-2 up, Hull gave us a few scary moments. I’d take that after being 2-0 down after 10 minutes.
“There’s a long way to go in the league and we have to keep picking up points. There’s a lot to do but we’ll keep at it. I believe we can be in the mix and challenge whoever is near the top.”
CHELSEA 1-0 SWANSEA CITY:
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: “With the three points and clean sheet, I am satisfied. The way we controlled a good team for 75-80 minutes was very good too.
“But we had so many chances that you have to score at least once and create a more comfortable situation for yourselves.
“The result should have been 2-0 or 3-0 easily.”
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup: “It is important for me that we stayed in the game against a team like this, believing we could get something.
“We didn’t get anything this time, but we have to take that to the next game.”
Everton 0-1 Sunderland:
Everton manager Roberto Martinez: “It’s the law of the game. It’s a clear opportunity to score and that’s a red card. That’s probably something to debate, if that rule could be changed or not – it’s a double punishment, losing a player and giving away a penalty – but we’ve got no complaints about it. We made a wrong decision, and it cost us.
“But I thought the second-half performance was exactly what we needed. The scoreline doesn’t reflect what happened in the game, but today I’m happier probably than on other days when we won because we learned a lot from our squad and internally, and that’s going to help us for the future.”
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet: “We took advantage and I’m pleased that we were able to hold today because you saw the reaction of the fans. It means so much for them.
“We didn’t win too many this year, so we were trying to finish 2013 – it didn’t look a good year for us – but it looks like we’re going to finish a bit better.”
“We are still down in there, at the bottom, but I’m sure if we can pick up another win between now and the 1st of January, the second part of the season is going to be very good.”
NORWICH 1-2 FULHAM:
Norwich manager Chris Hughton: “We didn’t make the most of our opportunities. I am really disappointed not to come away with a result.
“It is a concern when you do not get the result you feel you deserved.
“Lack of goals for Johan Elmander is a concern as you want to be scoring goals throughout the team but he does give us a work-rate off the front.
“It is hard to play with two strikers up the park these days. Elmander’s role has helped enable Gary Hooper to get the goals he has in recent weeks.”
Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen: “We have worked so hard in all the previous games but this was a game we were looking to get points on the board.
“I cannot fault the players for their resilience and character. We need to start getting clean sheets, which we didn’t get, but I asked for one in the second half.
“People keep reminding us about our position, we don’t want to be there. If we keep these performances going, we will climb up steadily.”
CARDIFF CITY 0-3 SOUTHAMPTON:
Cardiff manager Malky Mackay: “We showed why we are competing in this league with the second-half performance and, on another day, we could have scored a couple of goals.
“I’m not going to use any excuse about off-the-pitch events for our first-half performance. We’re seem to be washing our dirty linen in public.
“It’s something I feel very sorry for our fans. They should be enjoying being in the Premier League, but events off the pitch are putting us on the front pages and that is not good,.
“I do not know when I will be meeting [owner] Vincent Tan, it is not something that has been conveyed to me.”
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino: “The victory today was fully deserved. We were amazing today, we were excellent.
“It was important to regain our confidence and not concede a goal. It had been nine games without a clean sheet so today was important for our confidence.
“We were precise and my players were very brave.
“There are many games coming so it was important for our confidence especially after six games with no win. It was important to get that winning feeling back.”
NEWCASTLE 5-1 STOKE CITY:
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew: “I thought the Stoke players conducted themselves brilliantly in the second half – against our strike force and down to nine men. It was a shame for Stoke because the two sending-offs were a major factor in us winning in the manner we did.
On next opponents Arsenal: “Arsenal are top of the league. That is deserved, they have been the best team in this first half of the season, but we are in great shape, our place will be rocking and rolling and Arsenal know it won’t be easy to turn us over.
On a possible challenge for fourth: “The experts are the ones who know and they keep telling us we are not going to be involved and I think they are probably right.”
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes: “It went wrong when the referee got involved. I thought the initial sending off was very, very harsh. The second you would argue is a correct decision – denying a goal scoring opportunity – we would argue against that.
“There were a lot of decisions that left a lot to be desired to be honest. We totally controlled the game up to the first sending off in my view. Unfortunately referees can make decisions that can change the course of a game.”
TOTTENHAM 1-1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION:
Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood: “I only enjoy it when we win, it was far more enjoyable in my first game against Southampton than it is today.
“We didn’t get the rub of the green in the second half. We had a lot of possession, kept delivering balls into their box but they defended well and we give them credit for that.
“I’m a new voice and we are asking them to play a slightly different manner and hopefully they are going to get better and better at it.”
WEST HAM 1-3 ARSENAL:
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: “We’ve let it slip through our fingers, haven’t we?
“We had three golden chances after we scored – Matt Jarvis in the box, one-on-one, Joey O’Brien’s free header in the six-yard box and Carlton Cole’s side-foot tap.
“We paid the price because what Arsenal do then is take more and more chances when they are losing.
“It was either going to be us getting that second goal and then we would have made sure we tightened it up or they’d score.
“I think the quality they have got, they said, ‘alright lads, you’re going to have to continue to defend without much support from us because we have gone a goal down’.
“We had a great opportunity to win against the top of the league team and unfortunately we didn’t take it because we didn’t get the second. We paid the price today, sadly.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “I am delighted because overall I feel that we controlled the game but I we had a difficult period where the game could have changed. That was in the first 10 minutes of the second half where West Ham scored. They had a header on a cross which could have made it 2-0. That was certainly the turning point of the game but after that we had plenty of chances in the first half, we couldn’t take our chances but after that we responded very well and won the game in a convincing way.”
“The positive is that we created chances, the negative is that we didn’t take them. There is sometimes a guilt flying around the team when you don’t take your chances you think basically we deserved to be punished and we were. For us it was down to not to make a defensive mistake and not to rush our game in the second half but we had our backs to the wall very quickly.”
“When you do not win for four games it’s important to come back for the confidence level of your environment and yourself as well to win.”
