Premier League Roundup: Man City Stays Top, Liverpool Gains Ground on United
With less than a month before the end of the season and a champion yet to be named, the intensity has only heightened in the Premier League race to the finish line.
The title chase remains neck and neck, while the pursuit of a top-four berth and a coveted spot in next year’s Champions League is wide open.
Here’s how the weekend results in the Premier League shook up the table, with a look ahead at the remaining weeks of the season:
The title chase
For once, there was no shakeup atop the standings, nor was there any drama or doubt in whether there would be another changing of the guard. In fact, the only shock over the weekend was the fact that the Premier League’s newly crowned goal king in Erling Haaland failed to score a goal. Haaland even gave up a chance at a goal when he ceded penalty-taking responsibilities to İlkay Gündoğan for a shot at a hat trick, which infuriated Pep Guardiola as Gündoğan missed and City led only 2–0. Still, Manchester City went on to seal a 2–1 victory against a fledgling Leeds side to put the pressure on Arsenal to keep the pace.
And on Sunday, that’s exactly what the Gunners did against a sturdy third-place Newcastle side. Club captain Martin Ødegaard continued to lead by example with this fifth league goal in as many games to give Arsenal an early lead and alleviate some of the pressure.
Arsenal then took advantage of a Fabian Schär own goal in the 71st minute to double the lead and seal the 2–0 victory, which maintains Manchester City’s one-point lead. Man City may have a game in hand, but its remaining schedule appears more difficult than the Gunners’ slate with Everton, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford on the cards (Arsenal faces Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves).
The race for Europe
If there was any doubt over Liverpool’s chances of making the top four, there shouldn’t be anymore. What started as embers for Liverpool is now a full on wildfire, and Manchester United has given its bitter rival plenty of oxygen. The Red Devils have earned only four of 12 possible points in their last four league matches, including a dismal 1–0 defeat against West Ham on Sunday with a match-winner that featured a howler from David de Gea.
After a 1–0 win against Fulham this weekend, Liverpool has now won six straight league matches since its 2–2 draw with Arsenal at the beginning of April. Now Liverpool finds itself only one point behind Manchester United, which has a game in hand, with a massive advantage in goal differential.
One month ago, a Champions League berth seemed like a lock for Manchester United; now, it has to try to stay perfect to end the season or risk missing out all together. Maybe the focus drifted to the FA Cup final showdown against Man City at the end of the season, or maybe injuries have taken a toll, but consecutive 1–0 defeats to Brighton and West Ham are concerning.
Speaking of Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi’s plucky side has more than a genuine chance at beating Tottenham to sixth for a spot in either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League. Spurs has won only two of its last eight—a stat bolstered by a 1–0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday—but Brighton has three games in hand and trails Spurs by only two points. Meanwhile, Aston Villa missed a massive opportunity to stay level with Spurs after a 1–0 loss to Wolves.
The relegation scrap
Monday will be a massive day for determining which teams will remain in the Premier League next season and which side will be relegated. Currently, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Southampton sit in the bottom three, but no club has been relegated yet and only six points separate 16th-place Leicester City from last-place Southampton.
Monday’s match between Nottingham Forest and Southampton could be a major decider, where the potential winner of the match will be given a massive momentum boost. Also on Monday, Leicester City will look to put some space between itself and the relegation contenders when it takes on Fulham, while Everton faces Brighton ahead of a brutal schedule to end the season. While the race for top four has all of the attention, the race to avoid relegation will be just as exhilarating.
What to Watch for
After Monday’s fixtures, next weekend returns to a normal slate of fixtures for Matchday 36. In terms of the title race, Arsenal faces a Brighton side that has Europe on its mind while Man City will meet Everton as the Toffees look to avoid relegation. Aston Villa vs. Spurs is another matchup that could have serious European implications, with the two sides battling Brighton for the sixth and final spot in European competition.
