Monday
Chelsea and West Ham picked up vital wins in their quest for a top 4 finish. A Ben Godfrey own goal and a Jorginho penalty gave Chelsea a comfortable 2-0 win over fellow top 4 rivals Everton. Over in East London, first half goals from Jesse Lingard and Craig Dawson earned West Ham another impressive 2-0 win over Leeds United, who have just one win in 5 games. Chelsea are fourth, ahead of the likes of West Ham, Everton and Tottenham, but all of them have a game in hand over the Blues which makes matters more interesting.
Sunday
Manchester United shocked Manchester City with a 2-0 away victory in the weekend’s headline act. City were looking to extend their winning run to 22 games, and go 17 points clear of their local rivals. Instead, it was the Red Devils who closed the gap to 11 points. Goals early in both halves from Bruno Fernandes (a penalty) and Luke Shaw were enough to see off Manchester City, who hadn’t even trailed for a minute in 19 previous PL games. The win does little to dent City’s title charge, but it does cement their position in the top four.
Liverpool’s woes continued as they slumped to a sixth successive home defeat to Fulham. Mario Lemina’s goal late in the first half was enough for Fulham, who are now level on points with Brighton having now kept 5 cleansheets in 7 games. Spurs made it 3 successive wins to close the gap on the top 4, braces from Gareth Bale and Harry Kane ensuring a comfortable 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Saturday
At Turf Moor, Arsenal’s hopes for a European place finish suffered another blow as a blunder from Xhaka gifted Burnley an equalizer. The point steers Sean Dyche’s men further clear from the relegation zone, but leaves the Gunners stranded in mid-table. Southampton picked up a timely win away at beleaguered Sheffield United, ending a run of 9 games without victory. The win puts them 7 points clear of 18th place Fulham with a game in hand.
Leicester City ended their recent slump with a spirited away win at Brighton. Adam Lallana gave the hosts a deserved lead which lasted till a little over the hour mark. But an equalizer from Kelechi Iheanacho and a late goal from Daniel Amartey helped the Foxes cement their top 4 position. For Brighton, it’s three consecutive defeats despite playing the better football in all games. They are level on points with a resurgent Fulham and are right in the thick of a relegation battle now.
Aston Villa faltered in their push for a European spot in a 0-0 draw against rivals Wolves. Villa now have one win in 4 in Grealish’s absence. West Bromwich Albion also perhaps missed an opportunity to close the gap on relegation rivals with a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle United. The gameweek ends tomorrow with a clash between Manchester City and Southampton.