Liverpool's grip on the top spot weakens as Arsenal and Manchester City secure wins. Tottenham leapfrogs Aston Villa, while Everton and Luton earn valuable victories. The relegation battle intensifies with contrasting results for Luton Town and Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool lose their grip after wins for Arsenal and Man City, Spurs leapfrog Aston Villa , while Everton and Luton earn valuable winsThe point for Jurgen Klopp’s side followed convincing victories for both Arsenal , who are now top on goal difference after this gameweek, and Manchester City .
But there’s an easy retort to that nugget: maybe they just won’t trail. Arsenal are allowing shots on target at a rate of less than 1.5 per match and, again in 2024, are scoring goals at a rate of almost 3.5 per league game. Hot take: you’ll win every game against lesser opponents playing like that and Arsenal only have to face lesser opponents in the Premier League now.
In those draws and defeats, Liverpool have scored seven goals in seven games. They have taken 125 shots in those matches, most of them between their front three. The Premier League average for shots per goal is around one in nine. Against their top-six peers, Liverpool are averaging a goal every 18 shots.
It’s a point we’ve made before in this column, when Van de Ven was out injured. But the transformation in Tottenham’s results with and without him is ludicrous. He’s started 20 league games across his debut season in England . Spurs have won 13 of those and lost only two, one with nine men against Chelsea and the other at home to Wolves. He’s failed to start 11 league games and Spurs have lost five of them.
When Manchester United succeed in games such as this, you are left openly laughing, a “How do they keep getting away with this?” frown-grin. Of course they don’t always – see Chelsea on Thursday night – but this team allows their opponents to take 20 or more shots with such regularity that it is amazing it ever works out well at all. Afternoons like Sunday stick out.
For all that West Ham are guilty of sitting back with a lead, they’re also adept at overcoming them. Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham are the only three clubs to have taken more points when trailing this season. Only the same three clubs plus Arsenal have scored more away goals after half-time too.
Even if Newcastle are to qualify for European competition next year – most likely the Conference League as it stands – summer activity will be restricted by Profit and Sustainability Rules and they will have to operate on a player trading basis rather than spending freely. Some of their absentees, Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman, will not be back for the start of the 2024-25 season.
These two games epitomise Chelsea’s season. Just when you think Mauricio Pochettino is going to face outright mutiny from supporters, they lurch in the right direction. Just when you think something might be building , they trip over themselves and Pochettino seems to have lost all control. This matters because De Zerbi is beginning to make noises about necessary summer conversations about ambition that he requires to be comfortable in his own position . Brighton are reaching another of their many crossroads.First thing to say: I can see why Gary O’Neil was frustrated. His team have drawn one and lost three of their last four games, eliminated from the FA Cup by Coventry City and then to local rivals Aston Villa. He celebrated a last-gasp equaliser and then saw it ruled out.
3) O’Neil says that the referee “does not have an explanation”, one line after admitting that he couldn’t receive one because he wasn’t calm enough when he went to confront the referee. But he needs help. Marco Silva was mighty relieved when Muniz started scoring because every other attacking Fulham player is bad at doing exactly that. Before Saturday, Muniz was the only Fulham forward or midfielder in the XI used against Newcastle who ranks in the top 80 of the Premier League for goals per shot. In 87th is Alex Iwobi – that’s what we’re dealing with here. Tosin Adarabioyo beats them all but Muniz.
But there are also signs recently of Palace tiring badly in games as a result of the extra physical demands that Glasner is making of them. Had he taken over in midseason or from a manager whose football was equally intense, fine. But neither of these things are true and so Glasner is having to make the best of what he has. It makes no sense to compromise on his own style because Palace must get to grips with it at some point.
Saturday changes that. Calvert-Lewin ran after every ball. He completed only four passes in 83 minutes during a match when he was left isolated by the meagre quality of the game in general, yet still managed to create a chance and have three shots on target. But he ran and ran, troubling multiple defenders on his own and forcing the goal that won the game. Good on him.
2) Forest have been pretty good under Nuno at limiting the number of chances their opponents get . But there comes a point where the lapses in concentration and communication are so inevitable that it overshadows the good work. The circumstances of the comeback, against a team who had scored four unanswered goals to overturn a three-goal deficit in the reverse fixture, were astonishing. Every Premier League club has endured an injury crisis of some sort this season, but Luton should be able to cope less easily than anyone else. Yet here they are.
Liverpool Arsenal Manchester City Tottenham Aston Villa Everton Luton Wins Victories Relegation Battle
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