Week 36 of the English Champions League ends with Manchester City sitting on the top of the league after their 12th consecutive win, and Arsenal and Manchester United lose ground in the Champions League race.
Two more games and fans of Manchester City and Liverpool can remove their oxygen masks because by that time the most glorious of English Premier League seasons would have ended, and if City wins those two games, they will be champions.
It’s never easy to win at Turfmoor – the bus is permanently parked – but when you’ve won your previous 11 EPL games, scoring 26-goals and conceding 3, Burnley seems like a flea bite.
It was a scrappy affair.
The Burnley forward line didn’t register a pulse, creating the classic attackers v defenders training ground dynamic. Sean Dyche’s side only had two shots on goal, and their best chance wasn’t a strike when Chris Wood miscontrolled after Jeff Hendricks had put him through on goal.
City’s best chances came in the second half. Sergio Aguero forced a save from Tom Heaton with the Argentine going for the near post when a shot to the far stick looked wiser. The officials missed a blatant handball by Ashley Barnes to deny City a clear penalty. And Heaton saved brilliantly from Bernardo Silva after a spot of penalty area pinball.
Then on 63-minutes, City received their reward after Agüero found time to shoot in a congested penalty area only for Matthew Lowton to somehow clear from the goal line. The game went on, and then a mere ten seconds or so later the referee pointed to the centre circle – goal-line technology confirmed it had crossed the line.
City should have made it a more comfortable victory after Gabriel Jesus skillfully rounded Heaton only for Ben Mee to save on the line, but Agüero’s 20th goal of the season was enough to lift them back to the top of the table. It’s the fifth consecutive season that Agüero has scored 20+ EPL goals, a feat only matched by Thierry Henry.
City can extend their lead to four points if they beat Leicester on Saturday with Liverpool facing Newcastle on Sunday.
To Win
Man City 1/5
Liverpool 7/2
Man City Remaining Fixtures
Leicester (H) 4 May
Brighton (A) 12 May
Liverpool Remaining Fixtures
Newcastle (A) 5 May
Wolves (H) 12 May
The Race for Champions league Places
Arsenal and Manchester United ripped dumped their medical kits in the trash, picked up a shotgun, and blew their respective Champions League dreams apart this weekend.
It’s a turnaround of affairs you never saw coming.
Unai Emery and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injected their teams with the right blend of inspiration, courage and motivation that saw them both land in the top four after title-winning streaks.
Then this.
Man Utd: P 7 W 2 D 1 L 4
Arsenal : P 7 W 4 L 3
With Spurs losing to West Ham on Saturday, and Chelsea and Man Utd duking it out at Old Trafford, Arsenal knew a victory over Leicester would see them move into the fourth spot.
However, the Gunners went into the tie having lost their previous two against Crystal Palace and Wolves, shipping three goals during each encounter, and the pattern repeated at the King Power.
Arsenal faced an uphill battle after the referee sent Ainsley Maitland-Niles to the changing rooms with an hour still to play after receiving two sharp yellow cards.
Youri Tielemans made the extra man count when he opened the scoring in the 59th-minute, and Jamie Vardy scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season late on as Arsenal pressed for an equaliser.
Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, Man Utd’s Champions League hopes all but died after another howler from David De Gea saw Chelsea leave Old Trafford with a valuable point.
In a game of few chances, United opened the scoring in the 11th-minute with Juan Mata scoring against his old club after some smart build-up play from Romelu Lukaku and Luke Shaw.
Then, two minutes before half time, with United seemingly in control, David de Gea failed to deal with Antonio Rudiger’s long-range effort, and Marcos Alonso reacted quicker than anyone to give Chelsea the draw.
It’s the fourth high profile mistake from the Spaniard in recent games, including howlers against Barcelona, two against Man City and now the one that had led the bookies to offer 10/1 on United making the final four places.
The draw means Spurs are now 1/20 and Chelsea 4/11 to join Liverpool and City in next season’s Champions League. Arsenal has the Europa League to concentrate on. United has nothing.
Top Four Odds
Spurs 1/20
Chelsea 4/11
Arsenal 11/5
Man Utd 10/1
Chelsea Remaining Fixtures
Watford (H) 4 May
Leicester (A) 12 May
Arsenal Remaining Fixtures
Brighton (H) 4 May
Burnley (A) 12 May
Man Utd Remaining Fixtures
Huddersfield (A) 5 May
Cardiff (H) 12 May
Spurs Remaining Fixtures
Bournemouth (A) 6 May
Everton (H) 12 May
Results in Full
Liverpool 5 v 0 Huddersfield
Spurs 0 v 1 West Ham
Southampton 3 v 3 Bournemouth
Fulham 1 v 0 Cardiff
Watford 1 v 2 Wolves
Crystal Palace 0 v 0 Everton
Brighton 1 v 1 Newcastle
Leicester 3 v 0 Arsenal
Burnley 0 v 1 Man City
Man Utd 1 v 1 Chelsea
EPL Standings
1. Man City – 92
2. Liverpool – 91
3. Spurs – 70
4. Chelsea – 68
5. Arsenal – 66
7. Wolves – 54
8. Leicester – 51
9. Everton – 50
10. Watford – 50
11. West Ham – 46
12. Crystal Palace – 43
13. Newcastle – 42
14. Bournemouth – 42
15. Burnley – 40
16. Southampton – 38
17. Brighton – 35
18. Cardiff – 31
19. Fulham – 26 (R)
20. Huddersfield – 14 (R)
Top Goalscorer Odds
Mohamed Salah 6/5
Sergio Aguero 2/1
Sadio Mane 11/4
Current Top Scorers
1. Mohamed Salah – 21
2. Sadio Mané – 20
3. Sergio Aguero – 19
4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 19
5. Jamie Vardy – 18
