Arsenal is back in control of the Premier League title race after a stunning turn of events following the Gunners defeat at the Etihad in mid-April. Arsenal’s 3-0 thumping of Fulham on Saturday put the Gunners six points ahead in the Premier league race before Manchester City took the pitch on Monday for the first of its two games in hand. Needing to close the gap created by scheduling and two winning performances by Arsenal, Manchester City stumbled.
The Citizens fell behind 3-1 at Everton before recovering to salvage a point. The two dropped points, however, could decide this year’s Premier League championship. Arsenal are five points clear with three matches to play. Manchester City still has a game in hand, but its fate is no longer in its own hands.
Arsenal wasted no time at Fulham, uncharacteristically putting up three goals, two by striker Viktor Gyokeres, in the first half before falling back on its league best defense to secure the Gunners’ 17th clean sheet of the season. The dominant nature of the victory also allowed Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta to rest additional players in advance of the Gunners’ Champions League match with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Manchester City, playing on Monday, wilted under the pressure exerted by Arsenal’s result and a determined Everton side fighting for a place in Europe next season. Things started well enough for the Citizens when Jeremy Doku scored the opening goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the 43rd minute. Manchester City’s title chances, however, diminished with a 13 minute second half stretch where the Toffees scored three times.
The first of two goals by Thierno Barry came off an errant back pass by Manchester City defender Marc Guehi, the second such error in three matches by a Manchester City defender. Jake O’Brien put the Toffees ahead five minutes later and Barry extended the Toffee lead even further with an 81st minute strike. To City’s credit, Erling Haaland and Doku responded with goals to salvage a point in the 3-3 final, but it may well have been a case of too little, too late in this tight Premier League title duel. That South Stand roar as Barry taps in our third. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/lqzQ0eFuOZ
Manchester United is now as close to Manchester City as it is to fourth place Liverpool after the Red Devils extended their lead to six points over the Reds with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford. The victory epitomized the debate over interim Manager Michael’s Carrick’s future with the club. The results continue to outpace expectations as Manchester United has now clinched Champions League play for next season.
The actual performance, however, is somewhat underwhelming, the Red Devils forfeiting a two-goal lead on Sunday before midfielder Kobbie Mainoo rescued the three points with his 77th minute strike. Manchester United errors by second half substitute Amad Diallo and goalkeeper Senne Lammens led to the two Liverpool goals after Manchester United had built a two-goal halftime lead. Mainoo’s goal rescued the day, however, and Manchester United not only clinched a once improbable Champions League berth but also secured the first league double over Liverpool in ten years, the winner coming off the foot of a player who could not find the pitch under Carrick’s predecessor, Ruben Amorim.
Despite its failed effort at Old Trafford, Liverpool remains on track for its own Champions League berth. Level on points with Aston Villa, the Reds are six points clear of sixth place Bournemouth in the battle for the Premier League’s “table determined” five Champions League slots. The Cherries, while still a long shot for Champions League qualification, enhanced their European prospects with a 3-0 whitewashing of Crystal Palace.
Bournemouth played an Eagles team which had little interest in this league matchup. Palace, a seemingly safe seven points above the relegation line, is battling for European silverware this year which would also provide a pathway to a second consecutive European appearance next season. The Eagles won a semifinal contest over Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday in the Europa Conference League, the only competition of importance for the club right now.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, is clawing for every league point as it battles a gaggle of six clubs within five points of the Cherries in the scramble for tickets to next season’s Europe’s second and third tier tournaments. Brentford is just a point behind Bournemouth after the Bees stung West Ham 3-0. The heavy defeat could prove a hammer blow to West Ham’s survival chances as Tottenham Hotspur leapfrogged the Hammers to safety with a second consecutive victory.
Spurs were 2-1 winners over an almost unrecognizable Villa squad, reflecting seven changes to the squad as Manager Unai Emery decided to prioritize the upcoming Europa League semifinal contest this week with Nottingham Forest. Even allowing for the rotation of players, it was a listless performance by the homestanding Villans who were booed by supporters at halftime. Spurs were more than happy to take advantage of Aston Villa’s generosity and showed an energy often lacking in the London club this season.
Safety now seems far more probable on the back of two consecutive wins and West Ham’s defeat in advance of the Hammers’ difficult challenge versus Arsenal this coming weekend. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, will be home to Leeds which pulled itself seven points clear of the drop line with a 3-1 victory over Burnley. The relegation battle is clearly a two-horse race between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur as Nottingham Forest were also victorious in a 3-1 away win at Chelsea which lifted the Trees six points clear of West Ham and the threat of demotion.
Nottingham Forest, like Aston Villa, rotated its lineup in advance of Thursday’s Europa League battle. It mattered little against a Chelsea side which is in disarray and suffered a sixth consecutive Premier League defeat, the longest such run since 1993. Of little solace was Chelsea’s 93rd minute consolation goal, the first time the Blues had scored in 550 Premier League minutes of play.
Newcastle had lost four in a row before a surprising 3-1 win over Brighton on Saturday. The result did little for the Magpies but to temporarily quiet the vocal disapproval of supporters and perhaps extend the stay of Manager Eddie Howe a bit longer. Brighton, meanwhile, is still playing for a European place, the prospects for which took an unexpected hit on this visit to St. James’s Park. Brighton is now eighth with four clubs in hot pursuit within three points of the Seagulls. One of those clubs is Sunderland which failed to advance its cause in a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton where the Black Cats played with 10 men after a 24th minute red card.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment: