In another exciting weekend of football action, the Premier League and League Cup final had us on the edge of our seats. Arsenal and Man City continue to hunt down Liverpool while Aston Villa are quietly creeping back into contention. There was a big first win for new Palace boss, Oliver Glasner, while there was some relief for West Ham boss, David Moyes, after their big win on Monday night. Wolves are in flying form and have gelled well under O’Neil’s guidance but it’s ten Haag’s side who need it more than ever after a disappointing defeat at home to Fulham. Chelsea and Liverpool played out another exhilarating stalemate but it was the Red’s who claimed a tenth League Cup title. Let’s take a closer look at the weekend action.
Results:
Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle
Bournemouth 0-1 Man City
Man United 1-2 Fulham
Crystal Palace 3-0 Burnley
Brighton 1-1 Everton
Aston Villa 4-2 Nottingham Forest
Wolves 1-0 Sheffield United
West Ham 4-2 Brentford
League Cup Final
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (aet)
Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle
It’s another big win for the Gunners as they easily dispatched a poor Newcastle side on Saturday evening. It began with a Sven Botman own goal and just minutes later Kai Havertz boosted the Arsenal lead. The German now really beginning to find his feet with the Gunners after a difficult start. Bukayo Saka scored in the 65th minute to add to his impressive tally this season. Minutes later, similarly to the first half, Jakub Kiwior got in on the act and scored to make it 4-0 to Arsenal. Joe Willock scored a consolation goal against his former side but it was a straight forward win for Arteta’s men and continue their battle at the summit of the league.
Bournemouth 0-1 Man City
Phil Foden was the match winner for City as they saw off a brave effort from Bournemouth. The Englishman has been one of their most important players this season and he was present to finish off an Erling Haaland set up. In a rather tame affair, the Cherries battled hard and had some chances but it was the treble winners who claimed three points and pile the pressure on leaders Liverpool. Bournemouth can be proud of their efforts but they are now without a win in 5 games and a slowly slipping down the table.
Man United 1-2 Fulham
It was a day to forget for United as they were punished for some awful defending in added time to allow Alex Iwobi to brilliantly slot home the winner in the 97th minute. Calvin Bassey gave the Cottagers the lead and it was well deserved. Harry Maguire equalised in the 89th minute and it looked as if United would go on to find a winner. It was the Nigerian however who would find the dinner for the London outfit and give Marco Silva a big win after a disappointing outing against Villa previously. Man United struggled in this game and the good run of form distracted fans from issues that are still present within this squad.
Crystal Palace 3-0 Burnley
Oliver Glasner began his Palace career in perfect fashion. Despite Burnley going down to ten men in the first half, after Josh Brownhill was sent off, Palace looked comfortable throughout the opening period and a goal would eventually arrive in the 68th minute through Chris Richards. Jordan Ayew scored the sides second minutes later. Jean-Philippe Mateta converted from the spot to seal a 3-0 win for the Eagles and give Palace a much needed win, their first in 4 games. Burnley now have a mountain to climb to retain their Premier League status. Joined on 13 points with Sheffield United at the bottom of the league, Vincent Kompany will need some kind of miracle to turn this around for his side. It’s an opposite feeling for Glasner who picks up a convincing win on his managerial debut and has fans on his side immediately.
Brighton 1-1 Everton
With news breaking that Everton have had their ten point deduction reduced to six points, it allows Sean Dyche and his side some breathing room as they now lie in 15th place. It perhaps should have been a win and three points that the Toffees picked up on Saturday as Jarrad Branthwaite gave the away side and well deserved lead. With moments remaining, it looked as if Sean Dyche and his side would be taking the victory back to Merseyside. Lewis Dunk had other ideas as he equalised with a minute remaining, earning Brighton a point and one that they didn’t look like getting after Billy Gilmour’s red card. This point leaves Brighon in 7th place and the fight for European football is heating up.
Aston Villa 4-2 Nottingham Forest
Villa continue to push for a Champions League spot as they impressively beat Forest 4-2 on Saturday. Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz (2), were on target for Villa as they lead 3-0 at half time. Forest battled back in the second half, and were rewarded with goals from Niakhate and Gibbs-White. Leon Bailey responded with Villa’s fourth and final goal as they record their second win on the bounce. It’s another loss for Nottingham Forest however and things go from bad to worse as they now drop to 17th, four points off the drop zone. There are also reports suggesting that they will receive a point deduction and it will see them drop straight into the relegation zone and fighting for survival.
Wolves 1-0 Sheffield United
Sunday’s sole Premier League game saw an impressive Wolves claim another win and their third in five games. Pablo Sarabia’s goal after half an hour was enough to give Wolves a valuable three points and leapfrog Newcastle into 9th place. Fans are now dreaming of Europe and it is not an unrealistic target as they lie only one point off 7th place. It’s more doom and gloom for the Blades as they suffer another loss and will inevitably be facing relegation with this form.
West Ham 4-2 Brentford
Jarrod Bowen’s hattrick helped West Ham get back to winning ways after a poor spell of three losses in a row. This win eased pressure on David Moyes as fans were becoming frustrated with performances recently. Brentford have also been under pressure recently and have only one win and four losses in their previous five games. This is concerning and it may become a scrap for survival in the coming weeks. West Ham now rise to 8th, level on points with 7th place Brighton.
League Cup Final
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (after extra time)
It was another brilliant Carabao Cup final between these sides and it came right down to the wire. It’s very rare that a 0-0 game can be classified as entertaining but this is the second time that Liverpool and Chelsea have played out a 0-0 final and it was full of action. Caoimhin Kelleher pulled off some extraordinary saves, especially the close range point blank save on Cole Palmer to keep it scoreless. Liverpool had the better of the early chances but Chelsea grew slowly into the game. Towards the end of the game you could see Chelsea gain an edge and they could have easily won it in normal time with the amount of chances they had in the final ten minutes. You don’t win finals missing big chances like that.
Once extra time came around it was a different Liverpool side that emerged. Full of energy and hungry to go and win their tenth title. Compared to Chelsea who decided to sit back and aim to see out the extra time in hope for penalties. It made no sense as they had a more experienced side and the better momentum in the final minutes of normal time. You can’t take it from Liverpool. With the amount of injuries and inexperience in their squad, this was an impressive win. It took a Virgil van Dijk header in the 118th minute to win it and a well deserved win it was.
Back Post Player of the Weekend: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
Goal of the Weekend: Emerson (West Ham)
Game of the Weekend: Chelsea v Liverpool
Controversy of the Weekend: Gary Neville’s comment whilst on commentary during the League Cup final. After van Dijk’s late winner, the former Man United captain referred to Chelsea as “blue billion pound bottlejobs”. This wasn’t well received by fans or by pundits across the media.