Liverpool survived a late rally by their visitors to defeat Wolves 2-1 at Anfield. A Mohamed Salah penalty kick resulted in his fifth goal in his last four Premier League matches to give the league leaders a 2-0 halftime lead. Things got a bit wonky from there as Wolverhampton’s Matheus Cunha halved the lead at the 57-minute mark and the visitors frantically pressed the action to secure a point. Liverpool would hang on and bank all three points, however, with little concern for style points after being shocked by a late equalizing goal in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park during the week.
Liverpool’s lead remains at seven points over second place Arsenal which defeated Leicester 2-0. Manager Mikel Arteta made creative use of Mikel Merino to solve his injury induced puzzle at striker. The natural midfielder substituted in at striker and scored twice after the 80-minute mark. Merino’s first goal was set up by another unlikely hero in 17 year old Ethan Nwaneri who also had two of his own attempts bang off the woodwork in Arsenal’s second half surge. The gritty victory by the injury ravaged Gunners inflicted a ninth loss in Leicester’s last 10 Premier League matches. Ethan's endless energy ⚡️
POTM performance from Nwaneri 👏 pic.twitter.com/2Wka2J7PzH
The Foxes are one of three teams battling to stay in the league next season and avoid a relegation fate which seems all but assured for Southampton. The Saints have accumulated a measly seven points after 25 matches following Southampton’s 3-1 loss at Bournemouth. Leicester and Ipswich share the relegation zone with the Saints, but both are eight points ahead of the south coast side and only two points behind currently safe Wolverhampton.
Ipswich Town drew level on points with Leicester with the Tractor Boys’ 1-1 draw at Aston Villa. Aston Villa fell to ninth in the Premier League table as its European qualification for next year looks in jeopardy. Unai Emery’s squad hosts Liverpool on Wednesday having won just three of their last 10 Premier League matches.
Fulham moved past Aston Villa in the table with the Cottagers 2-1 win at Craven Cottage over Nottingham Forest. The Cottagers had not won any of their previous five league matches at the Cottage but rose to the occasion on Saturday to defeat Nottingham Forest for the second time this season. Calvin Bassey’s goal from a 67th minute corner kick secured the victory and handed Nottingham Forest a second defeat in the Tricky Trees’ last three Premier League matches.
Manchester City, meanwhile, vaulted over Chelsea into the fourth spot, just three points behind Nottingham Forest with a surprisingly easy 4-0 victory over Newcastle at the Etihad. Omar Manoush was the star man for the Citizens with his first Premier League hat trick, finding the net three times in his fifth match with the club after his January transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt. All three of Marmoush’s goals came in the first half as Newcastle were quickly swept away by the Citizens. Nico Gonzalez, recently acquired by Manchester City from Porto, was also instrumental in the win as the midfielder returned a sense of control to a midfield devasted by the season ending injury to Ballon d’ Or winning midfielder Rodri. Gonzalez, making his first start for Manchester City, repeatedly stopped the Magpies early in their attempted counterattacks and provided a sense of security seldom enjoyed by Manager Pep Guardiola’s side this season. Elation at the dominant performance by Manchester City was tempered, however, when Erling Haaland went down without contact in the 88th minute. Fears of a potential ACL tear have since been put to rest with Haaland fully participating in Tuesday’s practice as the Citizens prepare to play Real Madrid in the second leg of City’s Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Chelsea’s hopes for Champions League play next season were damaged in a 3-0 defeat at American Express Stadium as the Blues lost to Brighton for a second time in less than a week. Yankuba Minteh scored twice for the Seagulls who were little troubled by a Chelsea side which did not register a single shot on target. Chelsea’s attack was actually worse than last Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to these same Seagulls when the Londoners managed one shot on target. Chelsea passed the ball over 700 times and controlled the ball for 70% of Friday’s contest without finding the net. The Blues failed to win for the seventh time in their last nine Premier League matches as the seat is becoming much warmer for Chelsea Manager Enzo Maresca.
While Chelsea declines, Bournemouth continues to ascend. The Cherries moved past Chelsea and are only a point behind Manchester City after a 3-1 stroll past Southampton. Only Liverpool has been able to defeat Bournemouth in the Cherries’ last 13 matches.
A draw versus Liverpool is the only non-winning effort in a five-match unbeaten run by Everton. Newly returned manager David Moyes has worked wonders with a Toffees squad which is now 13 points clear of the drop line after a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. Carlos Alcaraz, acquired on loan from Flamengo in January, scored the winner in his first start for Moyes.
Moyes’ former club West Ham, meanwhile, is still struggling with its second managerial hire since Moyes left the Hammers after last season. Graham Potter has lost three of his five matches, winning just once, in charge at West Ham after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Brentford. The Bees, meanwhile, won a third consecutive Premier League away match for the first time in the club’s history courtesy of a fourth minute goal by Kevin Schade.
Tottenham Hotspur won at home for the first time since early November in a 1-0 defeat of Manchester United as James Maddison had the winner in his return from a four-week injury absence. Manchester United has now lost eight of its last twelve Premier League matches as things have seemed to go from bad to worse under new manager Ruben Amorim.
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