Premier League Results Match Week 28: Nottingham Forest Trumps Manchester City; Arsenal Drops More Points; Liverpool Cruises Past Saints; Chelsea Wins Maresca Bowl, Barely; Seagulls Nip Cottagers

Nottingham Forest proved its mettle once again as the club which barely escaped relegation last season toppled the defending champions 1-0 to remain third in this year’s Premier League table. Callum Hudon-Odoi scored in the 83rd minute of the tense match to take all three points from a Manchester City squad which was held without a goal for the fifth time this season, a low water mark for Manager Pep Guardiola’s time at the club. Hudson-Odoi had been robbed on an acrobatic save by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson earlier in the match, but the City goalkeeper left daylight at the inside post which was breached for the winning goal. Nottingham Forest, as has been its wont this season, conceded most of the possession to its opponent, waiting to capitalize on a moment of magic.

The Tricky Trees are two points ahead of fourth place Chelsea which sailed past Manchester City in the table when Manager Ezo Maresca completed a sweep of the club he managed to the second-tier title last season. Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Leicester did little to assuage the mounting concerns of Chelsea supporters but Marc Cucarella’s second half goal was enough to frustrate the futile Foxes. Chelsea’s slumbering attack has been epitomized by the poor form of Cole Palmer. The young star who took the league by storm last season, and looked to build on that earlier this campaign, has now gone scoreless in his last nine matches and missed his first penalty kick on Sunday after converting on his first twelve Premier League spot awards. A frustrating afternoon which saw Chelsea unable to solve Leicester’s plucky defense was rescued for the home side when Cucarella bounded forward to find space and strike the winner in the 60th minute.

The excitement of this Premier League season is now clearly focused on the tight battle to qualify for Champions League and the lesser European competitions. The title chase is all but done. Liverpool teased Southampton by conceding a goal on an uncharacteristic mix-up between center back Vigil van Dijk and goalkeeper Allison in first half stoppage time. Three second half goals, including two penalties by league leading scorer Mohamed Salah, ended the Saints’ hopes in a 3-1 win by the table leaders. Darwin Nunez brought Liverpool level in the 51st minute and then drew the penalty for the first of Salah’s two conversions from the spot. Salah’s second goal, his 27th of the season, resulted from a Southampton handball in the penalty area.

Liverpool’s lead in the title chase is now 15 points over Arsenal after the Gunners dropped more points in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Following a seven-goal outburst against PSV during the week, Arsenal’s injury ravaged attack was again largely quiet. The Gunners have scored two goals in their last three league matches where they have dropped seven of the nine available points to doom their title chase. With goals at a premium, the Gunners have a small margin for error. An error by referee Anthony Taylor may have helped Manchester United on the match’s opening goal when the official inexplicably set Arsenal’s wall well back from the regulation 10 yards. The extra space made it easier for Bruno Fernandez to find the net and put the Red Devils ahead at halftime. Declan Rice equalized in the second half to salvage a point for Arsenal, but the two points dropped were yet another blow to the Gunners seemingly doomed title chase. For beleaguered Manchester United, now 14th in the Premier League table, there was at least some solace to extending a current Premier League unbeaten run to three matches.

Meanwhile, only five points now separates fourth place Chelsea from ninth place Bournemouth in the chase for European places. The Cherries did not help themselves on Sunday when they squandered a late lead over Tottenham Hotspur when former Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga took the legs out from under Son Heung-min to create a penalty kick opportunity. Son calmly converted from the spot to damage Bournemouth’s dreams of Europe.

Both Brighton and Aston Villa moved past Bournemouth in the table with their victories over the weekend. Brighton’s Joao Pedro captured a dramatic three points for the Seagulls when his 98th minute penalty kick defeated Fulham 2-1. Brighton won a fourth consecutive outing and notched a sixth win in their last eight Premier League matches. The Seagulls are now a point behind Manchester City and Newcastle who are level on points in fifth and sixth position in the table, respectively.

Newcastle bounced back from its loss at Liverpool the week before to triumph 1-0 at West Ham. Bruno Guimares scored the winner to deliver only the second win in the Magpies’ last five Premier League matches. Aston Villa remained a point behind Brighton by winning 1-0 at Brentford, Ollie Watkins scoring the winner with his 13th Premier League goal of the season. Victory was sorely needed for a Villa team which had won only one of its prior six league matches and was coming off a 4-1 spanking by Crystal Palace the week before.

The Eagles continued their winning form with a much narrower 1-0 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday. The Crystal Palace attack clearly missed leading goal scorer JP Mateta who was brutally injured by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the FA Cup. Such was the ferocity of Roberts’ challenge that he was suspended for six matches for his actions. The Eagles still prevailed on Saturday when Ismaila Sarr scored in the 82nd minute and performed Mateta’s patented goal celebration to honor his fallen teammate. Crystal Palace won its third consecutive match amid a run of 11 matches in which the Eagles have won seven times and lost just twice.

Everton is now unbeaten in eight matches after a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton. It was perhaps an even more important point for Wolverhampton, however, as the Black Country side moved six points clear of the drop as it increasingly appears that all three recently promoted sides (Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich Town) will be returning to the Championship division shortly.