Arsenal won its London derby over Chelsea 2-1 with both Gunner goals generated from Arsenal’s patented corner kick mastery. The goals by William Saliba and Justin Timber were the 15th and 16th scores from corner kicks this season, matching a Premier League record. While Arsenal was characteristically deadly from set pieces, Chelsea was its normal undisciplined self. Pedro Neto was dismissed with a red card in the 70th minute, taking the steam out of a Chelsea comeback just four minutes after Timber’s goal staked Arsenal to the lead. It was a league leading and club record seventh red card for Chelsea in league play and increased such the number of such infractions across all competitions to an eyepopping nine red cards. The Blues are now sixth in the table after failing to win any of their last three Premier League matches.
Arsenal maintains a five-point advantage over second place Manchester City which edged Leeds on Saturday 1-0 on a goal by former Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo who now has six goals for the Citizens since joining the club in the January window. His presence was crucial on Saturday when Erling Haaland, who was born in Leeds, was inactive due to an unspecified training injury.
Manchester United moved to third in the Premier League table for the first time since 2023 after the Red Devils triumphed 2-1 over Crystal Palace. Manchester United moved past Aston Villa to now trail only Arsenal and Manchester City as Manager Michael Carrick continued his unbeaten run with a sixth victory in an unbeaten seven match run since his interim appointment. Benjamin Sesko scored the winner with his third goal in as many recent matches as he begins to hint that he may be the impactful Number Nine long sought by the club. Sesko’s 65th minute goal came after Crystal Palace was reduced to 10 men in the 56th minute via a red card assessed against Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
The Red Devils leapfrogged past Aston Villa, which lost 2-0 at Wolverhampton on Friday. Villa falls to fourth in the Premier League table with a downward pointing arrow after winning just two of its last seven league outings. Wolverhampton, last in the Premier League table, was a winner for just the second time this season as the league’s doormat got up off the floor and outplayed an Aston Villa side which was part of the title chase just a few weeks ago. The 2-0 victory for Wolverhampton moved the club to 13 points for the season, ensuring that Wolves will not displace Derby County for the worst Premier League season ever. Goals by Joao Gomes and Rodrigo Gomes came on Wolverhampton’s only two shots on target, the second goal coming in the 98th minute to put an end to any Villa comeback hopes.
Liverpool, meanwhile, moved to within three points of Aston Villa with its 5-2 demolition of West Ham. The goal fest at Anfield saw Hugo Ekitike score his 11th goal of the season for the Reds and defender Virgil van Dijk score for the third time in his last six Premier League appearances. While the hammering was embarrassing, West Ham did not lose any ground in its fight for survival as the seven clubs directly above cellar dwelling Wolverhampton at the bottom of the table all lost this weekend.
Nottingham Forest remained just two points clear of the drop line after a 2-1 loss at Brighton which saw all three goals scored in the first 15 minutes of play. New Nottingham Forest Manager Vitor Pereira has lost both of his two Premier League matches in charge though he was on the touchline for Nottingham Forest’s Europa League win over Fenerbahce on Thursday.
Rumors are already circulating around a possible quick sacking of Tottenham Forest interim Manager Igor Tudor who has also lost his first two league matches in charge. Tottenham Hotspur is the only Premier League still seeking a 2026 win after another poor effort in a 2-1 defeat to Fulham. Tudor exploded after the match, casting blame on referees and “cheating” opponents as the pressure mounts on the manager and his listless charges who had just one shot on target in the match, a goal by Richarlison. Spurs have gone 10 matches without a victory, tying the club record, and have drifted to within four points of the relegation zone.
It increasingly looks like a three-team race between Spurs, Forest and currently relegation bound West Ham for Premier League survival. Fulham hosts another London derby on Wednesday versus West Ham which could well influence that relegation battle. The Cottagers, Bournemouth, Everton and Brentford are in a scrap for a possible Europa Conference League berth with four points separating seventh place Brentford from 10th place Bournemouth.
The Bees were 4-3 winners over Burnley when Mikkel Damsgaard scored his second goal of the match in the 93rd minute to foil a Burnley comeback which had seen the visiting Clarets recover from a three-goal early deficit. Everton’s Thierno Barry scored the winner for the Toffees in the 83rd minute of a 3-2 victory over Newcastle. The homestanding Magpies lost for a fifth time in their last six league matches. Bournemouth dropped points in a 1-1 home draw with Sunderland.
All the Premier League clubs will be back in action for Match Week 29 contests to be played Tuesday through Thursday this week. Chelsea will try to re-energize its Champions League qualification quest when the Blues visit Aston Villa on Wednesday for one of the week’s feature matches.
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