It remains a three-way battle for the Premier League title. Leaders Liverpool had a watching brief this weekend due to their Carabao Cup final commitments and they would’ve been hoping to see a Manchester City or an Arsenal slip-up. It wasn’t to be though with both teams picking up all three points. Here’s what went down during Matchday 26.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
A dream start at Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner took charge of his first match for Crystal Palace as his Eagles side played host to Burnley. An early red card for the visitors put pressure on the hosts to make their one-man advantage count.
Some teams would’ve struggled with those expectations. Other teams would’ve pushed for a winner and lost all composure. However, Palace kept theirs and were rewarded with three goals across an 11-minute spell towards the end of the match. Chris Richards was the unlikely scorer of the first goal before Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philippe Mateta added to their tallies for the season.
It was a deserved win for Palace. They racked up an Expected Goals haul of 2.4 from their 15 shots in total while limiting Burnley to just two shots in total throughout the entirety of the match.
Glasner’s men now have an eight-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone. By comparison, Burnley remain join-bottom with Sheffield United on 13 points.
Manchester United’s bubble bursts
The Red Devils had been climbing the table over recent weeks after putting together an impressive run of form. Erik Ten Hag’s side had won four on the spin in the Premier League and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville had tipped them to make a push for the Champions League places.
They welcomed Fulham to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. The Cottagers had won just one of their last eight matches across all competitions and United, no doubt, would’ve fancied their chances of making it five consecutive wins in the English top-flight.
But the hosts were left stunned when Alex Iwobi scored a 97th-minute winner. Manchester United had scored a late equaliser through Harry Maguire to cancel out Calvin Bassey’s opener. It appeared as though the Old Trafford faithful would see yet another late United winner with momentum shifting after the equaliser.
However, a late counter-attack saw Fulham swarm forward and Iwobi calmly converted to burst United’s bubble. The Red Devils remain in sixth, three points behind Spurs, having played a game more.
Aston Villa keep the pressure on
Unai Emery’s men looked unlikely title challengers earlier in the campaign but their form took a bit of a hit and they found themselves in a top-four battle – not the worst position to be in. The Villans are playing their part though. The 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday kept them just six points off of third-placed Arsenal.
It was a hard-fought victory too. Forest created four big chances and finished the game with an Expected Goals total of 2.56. Villa edged the visitors with five big chances and an xG of 3.57. To say it was a match with a lot of opportunities would be a bit of an understatement.
Forest are tantalisingly close to the relegation zone but their fate remains in their hands. As long as they match what Everton and Luton do for the first of the season, they’ll be safe.
The champions do enough
Manchester City weren’t at their best against Bournemouth on Saturday but they did enough to pick up all three points. Phil Foden was the match-winner, scoring in the 24th minute, but the champions weren’t able to use that as a platform to put in a dominant, comprehensive showing.
City really need to increase their goal difference soon with both Liverpool and Arsenal having overtaken them since the turn of the year. An early goal at the Vitality Stadium could’ve been the springboard for them to do just that. In truth, they struggled in the final third. The visitors may have had four big chances but they finished the game with an xG of just 1.64. They weren’t knocking down the Bournemouth door. In fact, the hosts could’ve equalised late on.
This is the first successive Premier League match that City have scored just one goal. Pep Guardiola might be getting a little nervous.
Relentless Arsenal
Arsenal are unplayable at the moment.
The Gunners romped to yet another big win this weekend, this time dismantling Newcastle United 4-1 at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s side have now scored a minimum of three goals in five of their last six Premier League matches.
Once again, Arsenal were able to make it a completely one-sided game. The hosts had more of the ball (55%), more shots (18 to three) and finished with an xG of 2.86, significantly higher than Newcastle’s haul of 0.16.
The title hopefuls have clicked at the perfect time as they continue to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
(Images from IMAGO)
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