Newcastle sealed the verdict on Bruno Guimares’s 90th minute strike and finished the weekend third in the Premier League table as Manchester City was shockingly held to a goalless draw at Southampton. The Saints parked the bus and Manchester City was unable to unpark it. Southampton did not take a single shot on target, sat back and stymied a lifeless Manchester City attack. The point, the first one Southampton had earned at St. Mary’s Park since November, gives Southampton 12 points on the season, one more than the infamous Derby total of 11 which is the lowest point total in Premier League history. The shared result could have a more pragmatic impact, however, on Manchester City. The Citizens slipped to fourth place after their own dropped points and Newcastle’s win, just two points clear of both Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Six clubs are battling for the four remaining Champions League places, champion Liverpool having already claimed one of the prized appointments. Now bringing up the rear of that parade of clubs contending for Europe’s top competition is Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees inexcusably dropped points in a 2-2 draw with already relegated and usually hopeless Leicester when the Foxes’ Facundo Buonanotte scored an equalizer in the 81st minute to damage Nottingham Forest’s Champions League chances. Forest’s chances to regain the lead were damaged by a case of poor management and/or miscommunication that brought Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, onto the pitch to publicly remonstrate with his manager after the match. Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi injured himself colliding with the post but was left on the pitch, limping and ineffective, while Santo used his last substitution elsewhere. Santo pointed to poor communication from medical staff regarding Awoniyi’s fitness. Awoniyi underwent surgery Tuesday for a serious abdominal injury suffered in the collision. Marinakis was unhappy with everyone, and the strain is beginning to show for everyone involved as the Tricky Trees now have just one win from their last seven matches. Marinakis has been disciplined twice on previous occasions by the Premier League for his post-match tantrums on the pitch or in the tunnel. The emotional ending obscured the fact that Nottingham Forest clinched a spot in Europe, even if it is not the hoped-for Champions League, with Saturday’s point. It will be the first time Nottingham Forest will play in Europe since the 1995/96 season.
Aston Villa were the beneficiaries of the Tricky Trees’ dropped points as the Villans sailed by Nottingham Forest and drew level on points with fifth place Chelsea, the Blues still clinging to a goal differential advantage, after Ollie Watkins delivered a 1-0 win over Bournemouth with his first half stoppage time goal. Watkins has curiously lost his status as a mainstay in Manager Unai Emery’s lineup and had started only four of the last ten games for the club. His winner on Saturday, however, was hugely important for club and player. The three points kept Aston Villa in the Champions League chase with its final two matches scheduled against disinterested Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Watkins, meanwhile, became Aston Villa’s all-time scoring leader with his 75th goal for the team. Bournemouth entered the weekend in possession of eighth place and a presumed Europa Conference League berth but has now fallen to tenth after the Cherries’ loss and victories by Brentford and Brighton.
Brentford’s 1-0 win over Ipswich Town was the club’s fourth consecutive Premier League win and moved the Bees into eighth place, ahead of Brighton on goal differential. The Seagulls kept pace with a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton. Brighton’s Danny Welbeck converted a penalty kick in the Seagulls’ victory for his tenth goal of the season, his first double digit Premier League output since debuting for Manchester United in 2008.
Fulham’s European dreams, meanwhile, continued to fade after the Cottagers suffered a damaging 3-1 home loss to Everton. Fulham, four points behind Brentford, will still have a say in matters, however, as they face the Bees next weekend.
There was also a game on Sunday between the Premier League’s current first and second place teams. Unfortunately, the day began and ended with a 15-point gap separating champion Liverpool and fading challenger Arsenal. The champions sprinted to a two-goal advantage by halftime only to have Arsenal make a game of it in the second half for the 2-2 final. Mikel Merino would score the equalizer in the 70th minute for Arsenal only to be sent off nine minutes later, blunting any continued momentum by the Gunners. Liverpool pressed the action from there, substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot curling wide of the post and a goal by the Reds’ Andy Robertson being ruled out for a foul in the buildup. Alexander-Arnold told supporters this week that he would not be renewing his Liverpool contract with the Liverpool star rumored to be Spain bound to join Real Madrid this summer. The offensive-minded defender was met with a chorus of boos upon his substitution, a sad way to end an illustrious career in red. Arsenal, meanwhile, is still one point away from clinching Champions League football for next season after winning just one of its last six Premier League matches as the Gunners wind down their season in desultory fashion.
Nothing, however, approaches the travesty that Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have made of their Premier League seasons in past weeks. This year’s Europa League finalists are 16th and 17th in the Premier League table, respectively, as they sideline key players in preparation for their European matches. This week’s lucky winners to have these two laggards on their schedule were Crystal Palace and West Ham. Palace defeated Spurs 2-0 to give the Eagles some momentum heading into their FA Cup final next week. West Ham clipped Manchester United by the same 2-0 score, ending an eight-match winless run by the Hammers.
