Manchester United showed up and grabbed a point in a 2-2 final at league leading Liverpool on Sunday. Manager Reuben Amorim and Captain Bruno Fernandes, however, joined supporters after the match in wondering why the 13th place Red Devils seldom play in such inspired fashion. Amad Diallo nailed the equalizer in the 80th minute for the Red Devils after Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah had put the home side ahead on a 70th minute penalty kick. For Salah, it was his 18th goal of the season, a haul which tops the league. For Diallo, it was only his third goal of the season but the second game winner against a rival after the 18-year-old bagged the winner in Manchester United’s victory at Manchester City earlier this season. The problem is that Diallo and his teammates usually fail to match these performances against the rest of the league, something that the Red Devils’ manager and captain lamented in postgame comments.
Of the top four clubs, only Nottingham Forest was a winner this week. The Tricky Trees were 3-0 victors at Wolverhampton as Nottingham Forest extended their winning run to six league matches. The 12th of the season for Forest was three more victories than the Tricky Trees accomplished over the entirety of their relegation threatened 2023/24 campaign. The Wolves defeat was the first Premier League loss for new manager Vitor Pereira, managing his third league contest for Wolves. The victory for Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, over the club he once led to Premier League promotion, now has Nottingham Forest level on points with second place Arsenal, six points off the top of the table. 🇧🇷❤️ pic.twitter.com/dswyZkcH1n
Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea made up ground on Liverpool as they shared points with opponents over the weekend. Arsenal’s attack is ravaged by injury and illness. Bukayo /Saka is out long term with a hamstring which required surgery. Illness benched Kai Havertz on Saturday and reduced Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli to substitute roles in a 1-1 draw at Brighton. Seventeen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri scored to give Arsenal an early lead before controversy erupted around Brighton’s equalizer. The Gunners’ lead disappeared when a questionable call was made on a headed clearance by Arsenal’s William Saliba which was deemed to have also clipped the head of a Brighton attacker. Joao Pedro made good on the ensuing penalty try as the clubs shared the points. In yet another stroke of bad fortune for the Gunners, Nwaneri needed to be removed from the match with a muscle injury.
Chelsea, meanwhile, experienced some uncharacteristic frustration at Selhurst Park. The Blues have been virtually invincible at the home of London neighbor Crystal Palace but settled for a 1-1 draw when the Eagles’ JP Mateta equalized in the 82nd minute to the delight of Selhurst supporters. Cole Palmer scored his 13th goal of the season, but it was not enough as Chelsea’s winless run extended to four matches.
Newcastle United is just a point behind fourth place Chelsea after the Magpies recorded their fifth consecutive Premier League victory in a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur. Alexander Isak scored for a seventh consecutive league match to provide the winner for Newcastle over a hapless Tottenham Hotspur side which lost for a fifth time in its last seven league outings.
Manchester City won a second consecutive match for the first time since October with its 4-1 conquest of West Ham. The Hammers committed an own goal in the 19th minute and Manchester City went on to find the net three more times before a meaningless consolation goal from the Hammers. Erling Haaland closed the gap on Mohamed Salah in the scoring race with his 15th and 16th goals of the season. West Ham has been outscored by an aggregate 9-1 margin in two consecutive losses as the pressure mounts on Manager Julen Lopetegui.
Bournemouth stayed on Manchester City’s heels with a 1-0 home win over Everton. The seventh place Cherries got a goal from David Brooks to keep them a point behind Manchester City and only three points removed from a top four berth. Everton, meanwhile, has remarkably scored just a single goal in its last five matches as the Toffees hover dangerously near the drop zone, just a point above currently relegation bound Wolverhampton and Ipswich Town.
The Tractor Boys followed up last Monday’s 2-0 win over Chelsea with another point in a 2-2 draw at Fulham on Sunday. There will be frustration, however, as Ipswich Town twice relinquished the lead and both of Fulham’s goals came by way of Raul Jimenez penalty kicks, including the stoppage time equalizer after the striker was fouled by a tiring Ipswich Town defender.
Leicester City is sinking deeper into the relegation zone after its 2-1 loss at Aston Villa. The Foxes have now lost five consecutive Premier League matches after beginning life under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy with a win and a draw. With a possible off-the-pitch point deduction looming, Leicester could be in trouble. Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey scored his first goal of the season for the winner in a match where the Villans were missing two of their top three goal scorers in suspended attackers Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers.
Southampton’s dreary march to oblivion can’t end soon enough for the Saints as the homestanding club was routed 5-0 by visiting Brentford at St. Mary’s Stadium. A 16th loss of the season leaves the Saints 10 points from safety and eight points below the next nearest club in Leicester. Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo scored a brace in the blitz by the Bees and now has 13 on the season, joint third in the league scoring race with Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak.
