Liverpool won back-to-back matches for the first time since September as Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak found the net in a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. After a horrible run which saw the team lose nine of 12 and bench and enrage club legend Mohamed Salah, the Reds are now unbeaten in six. In the first match after what might have been Mohamed Salah’s final Liverpool appearance with the Egyptian star now off to the Africa Cup of Nations, the Reds provided a glimpse of how they may have hoped for their attack to look with their two high priced summer signings. Hugo Ekitike scored his ninth league goal of the season. Alexander Isak also scored but his disappointing season took another ill-fated turn when the former Newcastle star broke his leg and will be out for months. Isak’s injury, Salah’s situation and an injury to Cody Gakpo make Ekitike more critical than ever.
Spurs, meanwhile, continued their descent down the table. Manager Thomas Frank’s side are now just four points away from the 17th place position which is where the club finished last season under subsequently sacked predecessor Ange Postecoglou. Frank’s position is looking less secure by the moment with his club having won only once in its last eight league fixtures. The ire of supporters has been further stoked by the club winning only two of its eight home matches with only cellar dwelling Wolverhampton having won fewer matches in front of its own fans. Home supporters at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Frank and his bumblers go down to nine men before Saturday’s match mercifully ended.
Spurs, however, were not the only London club to have a bad day. Things have gone south quite suddenly for Crystal Palace. Just wo weeks ago the Eagles were flying high and enjoying life in the Premier League top four. Saturday, they were trounced 4-1 at Leeds one week after being steamrolled 3-0 by Manchester City. The Manchester City result could understandably be met with a shrug. An uncompetitive loss to newly promoted Leeds, battling to extend its stay in the league, is another matter, as is being on the wrong end of an aggregate 7-1 scoreline over the past two league matches. The Crystal Palace downturn in form could reflect the strain of European competition taking its toll. Saturday’s defeat followed on a midweek Conference League match and was the seventh time the Eagles have failed to win on a weekend following a Conference League contest. Their squad depth will now be further challenged by the congested holiday schedule. While Saturday’s scoreline was shocking, the result was not entirely surprising.
Leeds has been better in recent weeks and is on a four-match unbeaten run. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice against Crystal Palace, increasing his haul to five goals over that unbeaten four-match run for Leeds and increasing his streak of goal scoring appearances to five matches. A change in strategy by Leeds Manager Daniel Farke to go from a possession-based approach to a counterattacking 3-5-2 configuration has helped to unlock Calvert-Lewin’s recent form.
Newly promoted Sunderland also has plans for an extended stay in the Premier League. The Black Cats clawed to a hard-fought draw at Brighton to move up to sixth in the table. Sunderland is now operating without five key players who are participating in the African Cup but still managed to extend Brighton’s winless run to four matches. The top of the table saw little in the way of surprise.
Arsenal struggled but got the needed victory at Everton 1-0 as Viktor Gyokeres converted a first half penalty. Manchester City had an easier time, rolling over West Ham 3-0 at the Etihad. The Citizens have scored 17 goals in their last five Premier League matches. Erling Haaland scored twice in Saturday’s win over the Hammers to move his league leading goal total to 19 tallies after 17 matches. West Ham remains five points from safety.
Aston Villa has made the title race a three-team adventure. Manager Unai Emery’s side is just three points below league leading Arsenal, one point behind Manchester City, after moving seven points clear of fourth place Chelsea with a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday. Morgan Rogers bagged a brace and has six goals in six matches for the streaking Villans. Rogers and his teammates have now won 10 consecutive matches across all competitions. Manchester United not only took its fifth loss of the season but also lost star Bruno Fernandes to a hamstring injury which will complicate matters for Manager Ruben Amorim whose squad depth was already a question mark with two youngsters making their debut for the Red Devils on Sunday.
Chelsea’s Joao Pedro equalized matters in the 66th minute to disappoint Newcastle supporters who had seen striker Nick Woltemade bag a first half brace to give homestanding Newcastle a two-goal cushion at the break. Woltemade, signed as replacement for departed Alexander Isaak, now has seven goals for the Magpies. Newcastle, however, took its foot off the pedal in the second half. Reese James began Chelsea’s comeback with a 49th minute free kick strike. With Pedro’s equalizer for Chelsea, Newcastle have now dropped 13 points from a winning position, the joint worst such mark in the Premier League.
Bournemouth’s surprising spiral continued with a home 1-1 draw with Burnley. Neither one of those sides has won a Premier League match since October with the lack of success by the Cherries and well-regarded Manager Andoni Iraola somewhat mystifying. Newly promoted Burnley ended a seven-match losing run.
A conceded penalty in first half stoppage time sent Nottingham Forest to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham. Raul Jimenez scored the winning kick for the Cottagers who were awarded their first penalty try since January. Brentford’s Keane Lewis-Potter scored twice in the Bees’ 2-1win over Wolverhampton as bedraggled Wolves tied a Premier League record for its now 17-match winless start to its season.
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