Week 27 of the English Premier League sees Man City’s grip on the title increase after title rivals Man Utd lose at Newcastle, Arsenal’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League look slim, and Huddersfield find a much-needed win in their fight to avoid relegation.
Let’s begin with the quest for the title.
It’s over.
Man City tore Leicester City into teeny-tiny pieces and threw them around the Etihad like confetti in a masterful display.
For the umpteenth time this season, the star men were Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero. Match of the Day pundit, Danny Murphy, called De Bruyne the best passer the Premier League has ever seen, after setting up most of the goals, and Aguero helped himself to four for the third time in his City career. Jamie Vardy scored an excellent consolation goal for Leicester, and Kasper Schmeichel had a game to forget between the sticks in a one-sided affair.
The lead at the top is now 16-points after title rivals Man Utd lost at Newcastle. It’s further evidence of the challenge Jose Mourinho faces if he is going to create a team capable of seriously challenging City’s dominance. And the defeat means City could win the title if they beat United at the Etihad on 7 April.
The games only goal came in the 65th minute when Matt Ritchie popped up in the box to dispatch a loose ball for his first Premier League goal since 2016. United pummeled Newcastle late on but couldn’t breach the Newcastle defence, marshalled brilliantly by debutant keeper Martin Dubravka.
It was the first time Newcastle had beaten United in five years. Mourinho has never won at St James Park.
Champions League Race Update
Liverpool closed the gap on United to two points after beating Southampton at St Mary’s. It was a comfortable win for the team from the North West with Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah tying up loose ends in the first half. Salah has now scored 29 goals in 36 games for Liverpool in all competitions.
Liverpool’s victory sees them take the third spot away from Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino’s side held the position for 24-hours after beating Arsenal by a goal to nil at Wembley. The Gunners arrived having won their last nine visits to the majestic stadium, but they never looked like making it ten. Harry Kane continued to live up to his world-class tag with an imperious winner, his seventh in seven games against the side that let him go as an eight-year-old. Arsenal was second best for the entirety of the game, but Alexandre Lacazette spurned a glorious chance to steal a point in injury time. Arsenal is now seven points off a Champions League place. Chelsea plays West Brom tomorrow.
Relegation Battle Update
Southampton’s defeat means they have only won once in their previous 13-matches, and that’s bad enough to slip back into the bottom three. Huddersfield is the team with a foot on their scalp after pulling off one of the shocks of the weekend, a 4-1 win against Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe’s side seems to make a habit of this. They don’t turn up, end up toying with the idea of returning to the minor leagues; they pull their pants up, find the mid-table drift lines and then fall back to sleep.
Bournemouth was on fire. Huddersfield couldn’t score a goal. Where does a 4-1 win come from? Only in the Premier League. David Wagner’s five-game losing streak came to an end courtesy of strikes from Alex Pritchard, Steve Mounie, an own goal from Steve Cook and an injury-time penalty from Rajiv van la Parra. Junior Stanislav scored the Cherries only goal.
Stoke moved within a point of Southampton with a home draw against relegation probables Brighton. José Izquierdo scored his second stunner in succession after one-twoing his way onto the scoresheet in the 32nd minute. Xherdan Shaqiri equalised with a trademark curler from the edge of the box.
Swansea continues to shoot rocket fuel out of their tail feathers with another victory in front of the South Wales faithful. Ki Sung-yueng’s 81st-minute strike means their unbeaten run stretches to nine matches. Indeed, Carlos Carvalhal has only lost one game in the eleven he has managed since replacing Paul Clement.
And there won’t be a bad word written about the man.
In the pre-match press conference, Carvalhal handed out Portugeuse pastries to the press.
Here are the results in full
Results in Full
Spurs 1 v 0 Arsenal
Everton 3 v 1 Crystal Palace
Swansea 1 v 0 Burnley
Stoke 1 v 1 Brighton
West Ham2 v 0 Watford
Man City 5 v 1 Leicester
Huddersfield 4 v 1 Bournemouth
Newcastle 1 v 0 Man Utd
Southampton 0 v 2 Liverpool
To be Played (Monday)
Chelsea v West Brom
Premier League Table
1. Man City – 72
2. Man Utd – 56
3. Liverpool – 54
4. Spurs – 52
5. Chelsea – 50
6. Arsenal – 45
7. Burnley – 36
8. Leicester – 35
9. Everton – 34
10. Bournemouth – 31
11. Watford – 30
12. West Ham – 30
13. Newcastle – 28
14. Brighton – 28
15. Crystal Palace – 27
16. Swansea – 27
17. Huddersfield – 27
18. Southampton – 26
19. Stoke – 25
20. West Brom – 20
Premier League Relegation Odds
West Brom 1/2
Huddersfield Evens
Stoke 6/5
Swansea 5/2
Brighton 3/1
Newcastle 4/1
Southampton 4/1
Crystal Palace 8/1
