There were some big movers in the Premier League during a packed midweek schedule. At the bottom, Bournemouth just failed in their quest to get a point at Manchester City, but while The Cherries were left pitted, others rose to the occasion and got three huge points.
At the top of the table, however, the new champions were to suffer another ignominious defeat, as they slumped to another zero points against Arsenal.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
An entertaining game at The Emirates showed that while Liverpool have been dominant in winning their 2019/20 Premier League title, they are not infallible. Next season may not be quite so easy for the Merseysiders, with defensive frailties coming to the fore in recent weeks. Manchester City knocked four unanswered goals past them, Burnley were unlucky not to leave Anfield with all three points and Arsenal got three points on a night that saw the Anfield side not help themselves.
An early Sadio Mane strike after a defensive lapse in The Gunners backline saw Sadio Mane slot home the opener, but strikes from Alexander Lacazette and Riess Nelson after defensive lapses from Virgil van Djik and Allisson saw the North London reverse their fortnues and despite Liverpool then dominating the ball, they were kept out for a 3rd defeat of the Premier League season. With games against Chelsea and Newcastle to come, preparations for next season’s Premier League might send Liverpool into the transfer market.
Leicester City 2-0 Sheffield United
The Foxes raced out of the blocks on Thursday night, attacking Sheffield United from the kick-off and scored a deserved opener via former Newcastle united forward Ayoze Perez, in the starting line-up in place of Kelechi Iheanacho.
Sheffield United were as lacklustre as they have been in recent weeks and looked a beaten side as they trooped off at half-time, a front pairing of Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick getting no change out of Jonny Evans and returning club captain Wes Morgan, who was starting only his second Premier League game of the season in place of the suspended Caglar Soyuncu.
In the second half, Leicester continued to exert pressure on their visitors and saw the game out in style, Jamie Vardy setting up Demarai Gray for the second goal.
Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
A nerve-shredding encounter at Selhurst Park saw Manchester United live on their nerves for much of the first half. It was so tense that neither side looked entirely comfortable on the pitch. It stayed that way through a debatable Palace penalty claim and chance after chance for the home side until the end of the first half, when a stunning run from Bruno Fernandes freed Marcus Rashford in the box to slot home a cool, calm winner.
In the second half, Anthony Martial scored a second for United as they closed out the win convincingly, with both United and Leicester closing the gap on Chelsea to just a single point.
Gameweek #36 Results:
Chelsea 1-0 Norwich City
Burnley 1-1 Wolves
Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth
Newcastle United 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
Leicester City 2-0 Sheffield United
Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
Southampton 1-1 Brighton
