West Ham took another major step toward the second tier by laying an egg at Newcastle in a 3-1 loss. The Hammers were both sloppy and uninspired, looking every bit the sort of team that should not be in the Premier League. With their season on the line, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men conceded the first two goals in a four-minute span of the first half which might well have ended their survival hopes.
Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen gave away the first goal of the match, lazily knocking a ball while trying to play the ball out of the back. Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes seemed to be the only player to pay attention and pounced on the ball. The former Leicester man, starting in place of the out of favor Anthony Gordon, quickly fed the ball to teammate Nick Woltemade who swept it past the flustered Hermansen to give the Magpies an early lead.
After William Osula scored on an impressive individual effort four minutes later, the young Newcastle striker later added his second goal of the match when the Hammers erred yet again, this time losing possession on their own throw in. Woltemade, normally a striker who had not scored since December for the Magpies, played a Number 10 role for Manager Eddie Howe on Sunday and connected well with installed striker Osula, pumping some new life into a Newcastle attack which has been less than prolific this season.
West Ham, meanwhile, will have well earned a demotion after failing to score for a third straight Premier League loss, disgraceful results for a club which should be battling to maintain its Premier League status. The shine has long left Nuno Espirito Santo who had seemed to bring hope after his September appointment. Much must fall on the players, however, if the team goes down. Mistakes at the back have been accompanied by futility up front. Jarrod Bowen, captain and supposed star of the club, has been goalless for West Ham’s last 13 Premier League matches.
Having squandered the opportunity to help save itself at Newcastle, West Ham remains two points south of Tottenham Hotspur in the table. Spurs has two matches to play and an insurmountable goal differential advantage over the Hammers. A point from either of Tottenham Hotspur’s last two matches against Chelsea and Everton, respectively, will doom the Hammers. Given Spurs are a hot mess themselves, there is of course a glimmer of hope should West Ham itself be able to win its last match against an in-form Leeds which is undefeated in eight matches.
Leeds delivered a gut punch to Brighton’s European creds in a 1-0 win over the Seagulls at Elland Road. Dominic Calvert Lewin had the winner in a 1-0 Leeds victory which leaves the Seagulls in seventh position. Brighton’s current placement would be good for a Europa League berth if the season ended with Sunday. There is, however, more to come and the Seagulls are vulnerable.
Eighth place Brentford is just a point behind the Seagulls, but more threatening is the prospect of ninth and tenth place Chelsea and Sunderland respectively, two clubs which could knock Brighton, Brentford, or both out of the European places. A Chelsea win on Tuesday would bring the Blues level on points with Brentford with Chelsea holding a goal differential advantage over the Bees. Brentford struggled against Crystal Palace at GTech Community Stadium on Sunday in a 2-2 draw. Crystal Palace twice took the lead and, while the Bees responded twice to equalize, it was an underwhelming performance considering there was much on the line for the homestanding Bees with little in it for the Eagles.
Sunderland already knows it will be just two points behind the Seagulls, one below the Bees, entering the final weekend after the Black Cats thrashed Everton 3-1 at the Toffees’ Hill Dickinson Stadium. The home defeat essentially ended Everton’s European hopes. Twelfth place Everton needs to climb over four clubs in the unlikeliest of circumstances on the Premier League’s final day. Sunderland, meanwhile, will face Chelsea on the final weekend for what could be European spot should Brighton and Brentford falter.
Champions League qualification could be decided on Tuesday. Aston Villa clinched its place with a 4-2 defeat of Liverpool on Friday. Ollie Watkins had a brace for Villa while center back Virgil van Dijks scored twice in a losing effort for the visitors. Van Dijk’s attacking threat is outpacing his defensive performance at the center of a leaky Liverpool defense which has conceded the most ever goals by the club in a 38 match Premier League season. The defensive area was much overlooked in last summer’s futile transfer endeavors to refresh an attack which has also not delivered this season.
Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool legend leaving after next weekend’s finale, delivered a scathing indictment of Liverpool’s management on social media after the club’s Friday defeat, its 12th of the season. Despite its poor season, Liverpool still holds a four-point advantage over Bournemouth with the Cherries playing their game in hand against Manchester City on Tuesday. Liverpool’s goal differential advantage dictates that the Cherries must win at Manchester City, an unlikely event, to have a chance of overtaking the Reds on the final Sunday.
Manchester United, meanwhile, has already locked down third place in the league and Champions League football for next season. Much of the club’s success, in addition to the guidance of interim Manager Michael Crrick, can be attributed to the record season of midfielder Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese internation tied the Premier League season record of 20 assists in the Red Devils’ 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Casemiro also delivered the best season of his Manchester United career in his final season with the club.
Long time club servant Luke Shaw scored against the Trees Sunday in what was his 37th league appearance this season. The veteran left back, who has battled injuries in the past, is the only player to have been active for all of Manchester United’s Premier League games entering the final weekend. As for Carrick himself, there is no official announcement on his status for next year though reports are running rampant that a deal has been reached between the parties.
Rob Edwards, whose status should be in question to accompany relegated Wolves to the second-tier next season, still seems to have ownership support which will not be hurt by a 1-1 draw with higher up the table Fulham over the weekend. Wolves supporters do not necessarily share ownership’s positive opinion on Edwards, who controversially left Middlesbrough in-season to jump on Wolves’ sinking ship.
Meanwhile, unanimous support should be at least temporarily accorded Xabi Alonso’s appointment as Chelsea manager. The former Liverpool player won the Bundesliga two years ago with Bayer Leverkusen before a troubled stint with Real Madrid whose problems run deeper than a managerial issue. In a nod to the influence Alonso will have within the Chelsea organization, he was named “manager” which is a departure from BlueCo ownership’s previous characterization of the role as “coach.”
