REIGNING champions Manchester City cruised past Fulham at Craven Cottage to go top, shifting the onus onto their closest title rival Arsenal. The Gunners face an awkward trip to Old Trafford to face an out-of-form Manchester United and nothing less than a win will do for Mikael Arteta’s men if they are to push the title chase to the wire.
Meanwhile, Spurs condemned Burnley to join Sheffield United in the Championship next season. FocusM takes a look at the talking points from the EPL action thus far.
Fulham 0 v Manchester City 4
This could have been a tricky tie for Manchester City as Fulham had taken four points off Arsenal this season. But unlike the Gunners, Pep Guardiola’s side made the task look simple. It is almost routine, even as City continues to pick apart opponents with ease at the tail end of the season. There is a lot to be said about Guardiola always preparing his teams to peak at this crucial juncture of a campaign.
The proof is in the pudding as City relentlessly marches on. Goals from Phil Fodden and Julian Alvarez from the spot accompanied a brace from Josko Gvardiol making nine goals in City’s last two games.
Newcastle 1 v Brighton & Hove Albion 1
A breathless game of football with both sides going at it full pelt for the full 90 minutes. Newcastle are very much in the hunt for a Europa League spot and cannot afford any more slip-ups, with Manchester United and Chelsea also in the hunt. The home side will see this as a missed opportunity, as they created a series of chances that went begging.
They fell behind to an early goal by Joel Veltman inside 20 minutes but fought hard to go into dressing rooms all square courtesy of a Sean Longstaff equaliser on the stroke of halftime. A draw was probably a fair result for both sides, who gave everything.
Bournemouth 1 v Brentford 2
A game that was seemingly headed for a stalemate erupted into life in the 86th minute when Bryan Mbeumo struck for the visitors. This seemed to awaken the home team from their collective stupor, as many seemed to be sleepwalking through a dead rubber of a match.
Dominic Solanke is making a late claim for a spot in England’s Euro 2024 squad with yet another clinical strike in the 89th minute. The drama was not yet done as Yoane Wissa popped up to seal all three points for Brentford in the 95th minute.
Everton 1 v Sheffield United 0
Everton may be safe this season but their future looks anything but stable. Uncertainty over the proposed takeover by troubled investors has put a damper on Toffee’s latest escape act. On an afternoon of sunshine on Merseyside, the Toffees gave their faithful a rare afternoon of stress-free football. Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the winner, with the home team miles better off than their already relegated opponents.
Supporters though will be wondering how many of their players will be sold to keep their books balanced to avoid another point penalty next season. The drama just never ends at Goodison.
Tottenham Hotspurs 2 v Burnley 1
Spurs finally ended a four-game losing streak by condemning Burnley to the Championship next season. Vincent Kompany’s young team had earned plaudits for sticking to their footballing principles, but too often this season it really has been a case of ‘boys vs men’.
Tactically naive and prone to late collapses, Burnley lacked the street smarts required to survive in the top flight. Burnley took the lead via Jacod Bruun Larsen in the 25th minute but faced a non-stop barrage of Spurs attacks thereafter. Goals from Pedro Porro and Mickey van der Ven secured all three points for the home side, who keep their slim hopes of a top-four finish alive.
West Ham United 3 v Luton Town 1
West Ham gave outgoing manager David Moyes a winning send-off in his last home game in charge of the Hammers. Goals from James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek and George Earthy were enough to take maximum piints despite not being at their best. Luton again put in a solid performance, but their lack of quality as a squad has been telling all season.
The Hatters have only won one of their last 11 league outings and will probably be joining Burnley and Sheffield United in the Championship next season. To stay up, Luton need to win their final game of the season while Forest need to lose theirs by a dozen goals.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Crystal Palace 3
Another fine performance from Crystal Palace underlines why the big clubs are circling over some of their star performers, not least Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze. The attacking duo pulled the strings in this impressive win and will most likely be wearing different colours next season.
Eagles supporters are resigned to losing the pair and will hope their recent fine form will boost their already high transfer values. Both were on the score sheet as well, proving that the team is beginning to grasp coach Oliver Glassner’s methods.
Nottingham Forest 2 v Chelsea 3
Luton losing their earlier game meant that Nottingham Forest were virtually safe. This brought about a carnival atmosphere at City Ground and the party was going to go to script with the home side twice taking a 2-1 lead going into the final 15 minutes of the game. But late goals from Raheem Sterling and Nicholas Jackson gave further impetus to Chelsea’s recent revival.
Mauricio Pochettino had said it was not just the club’s decision regarding his future as Chelsea manager. He, too, will assess the long-term viability of the Stamford Bridge project. This performance will have strengthened his hand given the lack of top-tier coaches on the market. The precious three points also give momentum to their late charge for a European spot.
All photos credited to The Guardian
