Arsenal’ s march to the Premier League title took a wrong turn on Saturday when the Gunners lost 2-1 to visiting Bournemouth. A nine-point lead entering the weekend is now six points after Manchester City’s 3-0 demolition of Chelsea on Sunday. Arsenal and Manchester City will meet next week at the Etihad in a contest which could determine who raises the Premier League trophy. What seemed for much of the season to be a certain title run after three consecutive second place league finishes is now a major doubt for Arsenal and its handwringing fans.
Should Manchester City defeat the Gunners next Sunday, they will have opportunity to match Arsenal’s point total by winning at Burnley in a previously postponed match just three days later. Incredibly Arsenal may no longer be at the top of the table when the Gunners visit Newcastle in two weeks. Against Bournemouth, the Gunners once again suffered from a lack of creativity in their attack with Mikel Arteta pulling out all the steps with the triple substitution of Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard and teen phenom Max Dowman in the 54th minute to try to spark a winner with the match tied at a goal apiece. Instead, it was Bournemouth’s Alex Scott who found the net in the 74th minute. What. A. Moment. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/9mHFCyxSMb
Manchester City will host the Gunners on a confident high after a three goal second half explosion which broke up a scoreless first half at Stamford Bridge. Rayan Cherki assisted the first two goals by Manchester City as the summer transfer has become a star in this reconstituted Citizen team which could still win a domestic treble this season. Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jermey Doku scored the goals which demonstrated that City’s attack extends beyond Erling Haaland.
Chelsea’s poor second half performance puts the Blues’ Champions League hopes in jeopardy after Liverpool defeated Fulham 2-0 on the weekend and extended its lead over sixth place Chelsea to four points. Chelsea Manager Liam Rosenior is feeling the heat as the club is not only trailing Liverpool for the final Champions League spot but is being hunted down by a gaggle of clubs below them. Five clubs are within three points of Chelsea, threatening to keep the Blues out of Europe altogether next season. Chelsea has failed to score in three consecutive Premier League losses and an embarrassing Champions League exit where the Blues were outscored 8-2 by PSG over two legs also does not help Rosenior’s credibility.
Liverpool has also been disappointing its fans of late, making Saturday’s win in front of home supporters all that more meaningful. The club’s past and future were on display with the two goals being scored by 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha and 33-year-old club legend Mohamed Salah who has already announced that this is his final season in a Liverpool jersey. Decisive Cup losses to Manchester City in the FA Cup and PSG in Champions League have been unfortunately accompanied by announced ticket price increases which were protested at Saturday’s match. With its first win in four league matches, perhaps the Reds can even rise to an improved performance against PSG at Anfield this week in the second leg of their Champions League tie.
Further down the table, the relegation race was turned on its ear with West Ham making a statement with a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton which began the Premier League weekend on Friday. Taty Castellanos and Konstantinos Mavropanos each had a brace and Jarrod Bowen had two assists as the Hammers escaped the relegation zone. Castellanos flashed the form that the Hammers were hoping for when they expensively purchased the Argentine forward in the January window. Club stalwart Bowen, meanwhile, now has nine goal involvements in his last 10 matches.
Replacing West Ham in the relegation zone was Tottenham Hotspur which lost 1-0 at Sunderland to put themselves below the drop line for the first time since 2015. A first ever Premier League relegation would have severe financial consequences for the “top six” club. The club’s recent huge investment in new manager Roberto De Zerbi reflects the sense of panic being felt by club ownership. Whether the gamble pays off hangs in the balance over the next six matches. There was no new manager bounce on Sunday as the club lost for the seventh time in its last eight Premier League matches.
Tottenham Hotspur has not won any of its last 14 Premier League matches and is in search of its first league win of the calendar year. Things deteriorated further on Saturday when Spurs’ captain and arguably best player, Christian Romero collided with his goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. Romero’s knee banged into Kinsky’s head, and the Argentine left in tears with an injured knee ligament which will keep him out for the remainder of the league season. Sunderland’s winner was a bit fluky as well, Nordi Mukiele’s shot deflecting into the net off Spurs defender Mickey van den Ven.
Nottingham Forest claimed a valuable point to move three points north of Spurs when the Tricky Trees drew 1-1 with Aston Villa. Forest is undefeated in its last four Premier League matches, keeping the Trees clear of the drop line. Leeds took an even bigger step to remove itself from relegation jeopardy when the Whites emerged with a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Noah Okafor scored twice in the first half hour of play to give Leeds a two-goal lead.
Manchester United’s comeback hopes were then severely damaged when Lisandro Marinez received a red card for pulling the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 56th minute. Casemiro closed the gap to 2-1 in the 59th minute but Leeds was able to frustrate 10 man United for the balance of the match and hand Manchester United the first home loss of Michael Carrick’s interim reign. The victory was incredibly important for a Leeds side which is now six points clear of Tottenham Hotspur and the drop line. The loss was less impactful for Manchester United, which remains seven points north of Chelsea and the possible forfeiture of a berth in the Champions League for next season.
Crystal Palace is not gunning for a European place in the table, but the Eagles have done far better than feared when the relationship between the club and lame duck Manager Oliver Glasner blew up some weeks ago. Chairman Steve Parish apparently made the right decision to keep Glasner in place till season’s end despite his disparaging remarks about the club. The Eagles are still contending in the Europa Conference League, defeating Fiorentina 3-0 in a quarterfinal match Thursday, and overtook Newcastle in the Premier League table on Sunday with a 2-1 comeback victory over the Magpies at Selhurst Park.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored both goals in the Eagles’ win, including a 94th minute penalty kick after teammate Jefferson Lerma was pulled down in the Newcastle box. Crystal Palace moved past Newcastle into 13th position in the table, not a world beating accomplishment unless contemplating the relegation fears present in south London not very long ago. Other weekend matches saw an unsurprising 2-0 win for Brighton at bumbling Burnley while Everton and Brentford drew at 2-2, dampening the hopes of both clubs to make a push for Liverpool’s current Champions League berth. The Toffees and Bees are five points south of Liverpool in the table, one point behind struggling Chelsea.
