Well, what a weekend of Premier League football that was. One particular match will dominate the conversation but there are a lot of talking points to dissect following an action-packed matchday.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Rampant Reds run riot against Red Devils
Manchester United headed to Anfield as one of the most in-form teams in Europe. They had lost just one of their previous 22 matches across all competitions, they had claimed the Carabao Cup last weekend and followed that up with an impressive comeback victory over West Ham in the FA Cup in mid-week.
The visitors had a 10-point lead over their hosts and knew a win would seriously damage Liverpool’s hopes of a top-four finish. However, the Reds ran out 7-0 winners and are now just three points off of fourth with a game in hand.
Mohamed Salah was the pick of the bunch for the home side with a FotMob rating of 9.6. He became the club’s record Premier League goalscorer, surpassing Robbie Fowler with his second goal, while also chipping in with two assists. He had three shots, created three chances and was fouled six times as the away side struggled to contain Liverpool’s No.11.
Another late show for Arsenal
The Gunners are making a bit of a habit out of this, aren’t they? Just weeks after two stoppage-time goals helped Mikel Arteta’s men overcome Aston Villa, Arsenal needed a 97th-minute goal from Reiss Nelson to claim all three points against Bournemouth.
The Premier League leaders had been 2-0 down in the first half but rallied in the second half. Thomas Partey and Ben White scored inside of an eight-minute spell and then it was a barrage from the home side in search of a winner.
Arsenal had 31 shots and had 80% of the ball during the game. They did only carve out two big chances though and created chances with an Expected Goals value of just 2.17, so Bournemouth weren’t exactly clinging on. The hosts just had a number of low-value opportunities.
Arteta will need to address a few things to ensure his team aren’t requiring last-minute winners on a regular basis though. It isn’t a sustainable trait.
Chelsea finally win
Chelsea bought their five-match winless run in the Premier League to an end with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United.
Wesley Fofana was the match-winner as he headed in a Ben Chilwell cross in the second half to score the only goal of the game. The French centre-back had a strange game, winning just two of his six ground duels but then having a 100% success rate in aerial duels.
It wasn’t necessarily pretty but the Blues did enough to pick up all three points in what was a fairly even game.
Graham Potter is probably just relieved to have registered a win, the fact Leeds created chances with an xG of over one won’t be at the forefront of his mind just yet. If they want more wins though, they’re going to have to do better as a team in general – fewer chances for the opposition and more opportunities for them.
Inconsistant Tottenham in a fight for top four
Spurs lost to Wolves courtesy of a late Adama Traoré goal in what was a smash-and-grab result. It rounded off a disappointing week for Tottenham after they lost to Sheffield United in midweek to crash out of the FA Cup.
Antonio Conte’s men may feel a little unlucky to have lost having limited Wolves to chances worth 0.52 Expected Goals while the home side’s goalkeeper, José Sá, was the highest-rated player due to his exploits between the sticks. He claimed a FotMob rating of 8.7 having made six saves to shut out the Champions League-chasing team.
It had looked as though Spurs had shaken off the disappointing losses to Milan and Leicester with wins over West Ham and Chelsea but they now find themselves out of the FA Cup and they will be outside of the top four if teams win their games in hand.
The Foxes slip in to a relegation battle
In early February, Leicester recorded a 4-1 win over Spurs and a 4-2 victory against Aston Villa to climb up the Premier League table. It appeared as though they had escaped a situation that was threatening to turn into a relegation battle.
However, the 1-0 loss to Southampton on Saturday means they are on a three-game losing streak in the league, four if you include the loss to Blackburn in the FA Cup in midweek.
They now find themselves just two points outside of the relegation zone and just three off the bottom. Against the Saints, they created better opportunities and had more of them but the ruthlessness they showed against Villa and Spurs deserted them at St Mary’s.
(Images from IMAGO)
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