PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKEND ROUNDUP: LIVERPOOL DECIMATE RED DEVILS, ARSENAL LEAVE IT LATE AND POTTER SAVES HIS JOB

What a weekend in the Premier League.

From a seven-goal slaughtering at Anfield by Liverpool to last gasp winners that could be vitally important come May, this weekend the Premier League had it all.

Not only was there action at the top of the table but there were some crunch matches at the bottom. A four goal thriller at The City Ground and a season saving result at The King Power Stadium.

Here is your roundup…

GAME OF THE WEEK

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

This historic derby clash has served up countless Premier League ‘classics’ over the years and this game will certainly go down as one of them.

The previous fixture earlier in the season ended 2-1 with the Manchester side coming out on top at Old Trafford. With United already having got the better of Liverpool once this season and Jurgen Klopp’s side underperforming, sitting seventh coming into this tie many United fans will have been heading to Anfield confident that their side would come out on top. However, there is no doubt then United manager Eric Ten-Hag wouldn’t have underestimated Liverpool particularly when playing at Anfield.

Andy Robertson returned to Liverpool’s starting XI after being handed a rest midweek. Klopp opted for the experience of Jordan Henderson in midfield over the young Stefan Bajcetic and Cody Gakpo returned to the team with Diogo Jota perhaps not deemed fit enough to start two games in four days after recently returning from injury.

Ten-Hag opted not to make any changes to the team that beat Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup a week prior to this game.

Liverpool stated the game on the front foot with the crowd right behind them as you’d expect. For the first 20 minutes United looked as though they were struggling with the pressure that comes with the occasion.

However, as the game went on and United quietened the crowd by slowing the game down, they started to create some dangerous opportunities on the break. Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes both had chances of note that Ten-Hag would’ve wanted them to put away.

After this spell of United pressure Liverpool made them pay for missing their big chances. Robertson took advantage of an out-of-position Diogo Dalot by playing an impressive through ball in-behind the Portuguese full-back. Gakpo picked the ball up inside the box, taking a touch inside of Raphael Varane and curling the ball into the bottom right corner.

This was a massive moment in the game as it felt as though Klopp’s side were just slipping out of the game after their early pressure.

Liverpool went into the interval a goal up, Ten-Hag will have been disappointed to see his side concede so late on in the half.

United again started the half slowly and Liverpool wasted no time in making them pay for it. The move started when Luke Shaw played a sloppy pass that Harvey Elliot intercepted and after some interplay between the Liverpool midfield and attack Elliot found himself with the ball again this time inside the box. The young midfielder picked out Darwin Nunez with a cross with the Uruguayan finding the back of the net with a header from close range. The 23-year-old forward had divided opinion among Liverpool fans in the first half of the season however every Liverpool fan will be behind him after a goal against Manchester United.

Liverpool hit United with a double blow scoring a third just three minutes later in the 50^th minute. Mohammed Salah made a weaving run down the right wing getting the better of Lisandro Martinez. The Egyptian found Gakpo in the box who chipped David De Gea from a tight angle.

Being thee goals down, Eric Ten Hag made changes to try and get his side back into the game however these proved to be unsuccessful.

Liverpool made it four in the 66^th minute. With a bit of luck, the ball reached Salah inside the area who turned quickly and powerfully volleyed the ball in off the crossbar leaving De Gea with no chance.

It was clear at this point that the United players had lost their heads and they were in complete free-fall with Liverpool making the most of this.

Nunez managed to beat Varane in the air when Henderson crossed the ball in making it 5-0.

Shaw’s failed clearance rebounded of Roberto Firmino and into the path of Salah who made no mistake converting from close range making it six.

Salt was rubbed in the wounds when Firmino made it seven. Salah rolled the ball to the Brazilian who nutmegged the keeper from close range.

Luckily for United the referee blew his whistle and ended the game because Liverpool didn’t look like slowing down.

The win lifted Klopp’s side to fifth, three points behind Spurs in fourth with a game in hand, in their charge for Champions League football. United stay third but the gap to Liverpool in fifth narrows to seven points.

This was as encouraging of a performance as you could ever want as a Liverpool fan. Many will be hopeful now that their side will finish the season strongly.

This result was a major red flag for Manchester United. The teams lack of effort and fight was concerning to say the least with this result perhaps a reality check for United and Ten Hag showing perhaps they hadn’t made as much progress as they thought they had.

ELSEWHERE

Arsenal 3-2 AFC Bournemouth

Despite having a run of underwhelming results a few weeks ago, we can now see that Mikel Arteta has got his side back into that habit of winning that was so present for the first half of the season. The gunners had won their last three Premier League matches coming into this game.

The visitors Bournemouth had also had an upturn of form themselves in recent weeks after quite the baron run in the weeks before. The cherries had only lost twice in their last five with the losses coming against Manchester City and high-flying Brighton however with only one win in those games, Gary O’Neil’s side were still desperate for points in their relegation scrap.

Therefore, when Bournemouth took the lead after just nine seconds, marking the second fastest Premier League goal ever scored, O’Neil would’ve been ecstatic. The ball was played wide to Dango Ouattara from kick-off and then crossed low into the box. The cross takes a slight deflection putting the ball directly into the path of Philip Billing who on hand to pass the ball into the goal. A move straight off the training ground that caught Arsenal out giving the Cherries a lead within the first minute.

The score was 0-1 at halftime, mainly due to the heroic goalkeeping from Neto in the Bournemouth goal making an incredible double save just a few minutes after his side took the lead.

However once again it was Bournemouth who started the half well with Marcos Senesi heading in from a corner sending the away-end into raptures. The goal came as a result of really poor marking with Senesi easily evading his man and guiding the ball in unchallenged.

However, perhaps realising what danger they were in of dropping points and giving the advantage to Manchester City in the title fight Arsenal sprang into action.

The gunners got one back through Thomas Partey after Bournemouth failed to clear their lines after a corner with the ball falling to Partey just yards out. This was a scrappy goal, but the gunners will not have cared as it was a goal that got them back into the game.

Just eight minutes later the game was level. Reiss Nelson, who’d just been substituted on a few moments ago, picked out fellow substitute Ben White at the back post who volleyed goalward. Despite Neto getting behind the ball and parrying it away the ball had crossed the line, so the goal stood, and Arteta’s side surely had the momentum to go on and win the game.

And then, in the seventh minute of added time, a moment of magic sent The Emirates wild. Martin Odegaard curled a corner into the box which was headed away but only as far as Nelson. The youngster chested the ball down before lashing a powerful volley into the top right corner.

This goal encapsulated the desire, fight, and commitment of this Arsenal team to get themselves three points and in turn completing their second-half comeback. If Mikel Arteta’s team do go on to win the league this is certainly one of the results they’ll be looking back on as season defining moment.

There is no change at the top of the table with both Arsenal and Manchester City securing a win yet again.

Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 West Ham United

West Ham hadn’t beaten Brighton since they returned to the premier league nearly six years ago so despite winning 4-0 last weekend against Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium many hammers’ fans were apprehensive coming into this one.

Brighton started the game quickly applying pressure to the West Ham defence. The pressure paid off when after just 15 minutes Jarrod Bowen clumsily bundled Kaoru Mitoma over inside the area forcing the referee to point to the spot.

Up stepped Alexis Mac Allister who fired his penalty into the top left corner giving Alphonse Areola no chance. West Ham managed to survive until halftime with Brighton dominating and the hammers offering little going forwards.

However, soon after the break the West Ham defence once again cracked when Joel Veltman was left unmarked at the back post after a Brighton corner meaning when Mac Allister flicked the ball to the back post Veltman just guided the ball into the net unchallenged.

Brighton’s third goal really was breath-taking attacking football and showed just how good Roberto De Zerbi’s side can be on their day. The move started with fullback Veltman who played a one-two with Pascal Gross before playing a forward to pass to striker Evan Ferguson who had dropped deep. The young forward cleverly flicked the ball to Solly March who charged into the area before laying the ball of to Gross in a wide position. The German then flashed the ball across the face of goal towards Mitoma at the back post who was able to poke the ball into an open goal.

This goal simply demonstrated the difference in class between Brighton and West Ham and was a credit to just how good Brighton are.

With the game won De Zerbi opted to make four subs and the fresh legs were again too much for West Ham to handle with Brighton scoring a fourth. Danny Welbeck received the ball on the edge of the penalty area before weaving away from Flynn Downes and picking out the bottom corner excellently with a powerful drilled finished.

This goal sealed what was a five-star performance from the seagulls on their quest for European football.

The win puts Brighton in pole position among the other Europe challengers with De Zerbi’s side even able to break into the top four should they win all their games in hand.

West Ham fans may have thought that their side had turned a corner after last weekend’s big win however David Moyes will feel he’s back once more to square one with all momentum gained now lost. The hammers are still dangerously close to the drop zone with just a point keeping them the right side of the dotted line.

Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle United

All eyes were on Newcastle to see how they would respond to last weekend’s Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester United. A trip to the Etihad is never an easy one so many Newcastle fans will have been fearful of another poor result with morale low among the squad.

City looked really comfortable from the off in this game, with the usual suspects controlling the game and dictating the tempo.

Their early pressure paid off when the electric Phil Foden picked the ball up on the right wing and made an intricate darting run inside the box receiving a bit of luck as his shot deflected off Sven Botman and past a wrong-footed Nick Pope.

The youngster is really hitting a purple patch now with four goals in his last three games.

Despite the early set-back Newcastle knocked on the door and were presented with a golden opportunity in the 37^th minute. Kieran Trippier headed the ball across goal towards Callum Wilson however the out of form striker was unable to make proper contact with the ball scuffing hit shot and throwing away a big opportunity to level the game up. 

City’s second goal came from an inspired substitution with Bernardo Silva scoring just two minutes after his introduction from the bench. Erling Haaland flicked Jack Grealish’s deflected pass to Bernardo Silva on the edge of the box. The substitute just managed to get enough power behind the ball to see his shot beat Pope and end up in the back of the net.

This 2-0 victory marks yet another tricky test that Man City have navigated keeping themselves within touching distance of the leaders Arsenal.

With this result the magpies are winless in their last five Premier League games. Eddie Howe will need to turn things around on Tyneside with champions league football now under serious threat.

Wolves 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Wolves were winless in their last three games coming into their home clash with Spurs despite an upturn in form and performances since Julen Lopetegui took charge just before the World Cup break.

As for Spurs they couldn’t be any more inconsistent with wins against Manchester City and Chelsea as well as losses against Leicester and Sheffield United in recent weeks.

In the game Spurs certainly created a lot of chances with 21 shots however only six on target showing their lack of clinical finishing. Spurs even struck the bar twice before they went behind once from a Pedro Porro free kick and the other coming from an effort by Heung Min-Son.

Wolves managed to snatch the win in the last ten minutes with the goal coming from Adama Traore. The ball fell to the Spaniard after Fraser Forster parried a shot into his path. Traore was ruthless with his chance, volleying the ball into the top corner with some assistance off the crossbar.

Wolves managed to see the game off holding out for a massive three points and in turn steering themselves away from the relegation zone. Wolves move into 13^th; five points clear of Everton in 18^th.

Many will feel Wolves will just about have enough to keep themselves up this season but as we know anything can happen in the Premier League.

Chelsea 1-0 Leeds United

This game marked the first out of two crunch matches for Graham Potter’s Chelsea side after numerous poor results in recent weeks.

Potter switched to a back five for this game, perhaps to try and get the best out of Ben Chilwell who’d been quiet in recent weeks.

Despite this being a home game against the side in 17^th place this, you’d be foolish to believe this to be any easy game for Chelsea. Leeds won last week in their first game under new manager Javi Gracia and will have been hoping to bring any momentum gained into this game to get something to show for their trip to Stamford Bridge.

A lack of attacking penetration had been the story of Chelsea’s recent disappointment and it seemed it would be the same story this week when Joao Felix struck the crossbar after 21 minutes.

Despite going into halftime 0-0 Chelsea fans will have been more encouraged than usual with their side coming close as well as forcing a few good saves from Illan Meslier. It was a set piece that unlocked the Leeds defence with Wesley Fofana the scorer. The Frenchman timed his jump excellently managing to loop his header over the Leeds keeper and into the back of the net giving his side a deserved lead.

Leeds defeat wasn’t for a lack of trying with the Yorkshire side getting the ball into the right areas but ultimately it was a lack of cutting edge that prevented them from not getting anything from this game.

Gracia’s side will have to bounce back quickly with an important home game next against Brighton fast approaching and a season defining clash at the Molineux against Wolves the week after.

As for Chelsea this win will certainly lift some pressure of Potter. The Chelsea manager will want to use this result as a platform to build from ahead of their away trip against Leicester next weekend.

Brentford 3-2 Fulham

At the start of the season if you’d have told Brentford and Fulham fans that this West London derby would have a big say in which of these two teams would go onto secure European football, they wouldn’t have believed you.

Both sides were undefeated in their last four Premier League matches so this was set to be a cracker.

And so it was, the first goal came after just five minutes through an unlikely scorer. Fulham were only able to clear a Brentford corner as far as Mikkel Damsgaard who fired a shot straight back towards goal. The shot landed at the feet of Ethan Pinnock who quickly fired goalward. His shot deflected off Tim Ream, wrongfooting Bernd Leno in the process and bounced into the back of the net giving the bees an early lead.

Just before halftime Fulham equalized through Manor Soloman. The Israeli was the fastest to react to Andreas Pereira’s freekick that crashed against the post. Soloman was waiting to head the rebound into the back of the net with David Raya nowhere to be seen. Soloman has now extended his scoring run to four games with this game being his first start in the Premier League.

The other side of halftime Brentford retook the lead this time through Ivan Toney via the penalty spot. This came about when Issa Diop clumsily kicked Christian Norgaard’s foot in the box.

Ivan Toney hasn’t missed a penalty since October 2018 so there was no doubt, he would find the back of the net. And that was the case, the Englishman found the bottom right corner beating an outstretched Leno.

With Brentford holding a slim lead going into the closing stages Fulham had no choice but to commit bodies forwards in order to try and score a late equaliser. This left space for Brentford to counterattack which they used in order to score their third.

Substitute Kevin Schade managed to beat Antonee Robinson on the right wing before cutting the ball back to Mathias Jensen who beat Leno from a tight angle putting the game to bed.

Despite Fulham being seemingly out of the game with a few minutes remaining they kept on pushing until the final whistle to try and get themselves back in the game.

Fulham did manage to get a consolation goal in the ninth minute of added time when Carlos Vinicius was on hand to tuck away the rebound of Pereira’s long-range effort.

However, this was too little too late for Fulham with the final score being 3-2. Brentford move themselves just a point behind Fulham with a game in hand, only three points behind Newcastle in the last Europa League spot.

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton

With both teams suffering heavy four goal defeats coming into this game there was a need to bounce back in this game as both sides are well in the relegation scrap.

One thing that Forest have going for them in this relegation fight is their impressive home form. They’ve only lost three games at The City Ground all season so having gotten good results against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool at home many thought the visit of Everton would be quite straightforward for Steve Coopers side.

The first goal of the game came only ten minutes and was scored by the away side. Jonjo Shelvey tripped Dwight McNeil inside the area after some sloppy play from the home side in their own box.

Demari Gray stepped up to take the penalty and scored sending the Forest keeper the wrong way putting his penalty in the top right corner.

The home side quickly battled back and took no time to get a goal themselves, levelling up the game at 1-1. The lively Morgan Gibbs-White linked up with Chris Wood before forcing Jordan Pickford into a brilliant save that unfortunately for the toffees fell to Brennan Johnson on the edge of the six-yard box.

Despite getting themselves back into the game and livening up the crowd it was Forest who once again fell behind just ten minutes later. The goal came from a freekick that James Tarkowski headed into the penalty area. Michael Keane rose the highest to flick a header forward to Abdoulaye Doucoure who had just managed to keep himself onside. The French midfielder just got enough on his header to knock it past Keylor Navas who had now seen the ball beat him six times in the last two games.

With his side leading at half-time, Sean Dyche will have instructed his side to be rigid, compact, and focused with a massive three points just 45 minutes away.

Everton managed this for a further 32 minutes however a lapse of concentration from Doucoure cheaply giving the ball away on the halfway line allowed Forest to spring a counter-attack on the toffees.

Johnson drove forward with the ball and played It wide to Ryan Yates who cut the ball back and found Johnson in the area. The Welsh international took a touch before picking out the top corner with an inch perfect shot that Pickford could only watch fly past him.

The game ended two apiece with the draw not being ideal for either team as both are in the relegation scrap. The result keeps Everton in the bottom three, but they move level on points with Leeds in 17^th.

As for Forest they stay four points clear of the drop zone however with a critical game in hand which if Forest can win will do lots for them in terms of avoiding relegation back to the Championship. 

Southampton 1-0 Leicester City

Both teams came into this game on relatively poor form with neither side having won in their last two games, so this game was a big opportunity for both sides to pick up a crucial win in their relegation scrap.

Southampton started the game slowly however in the 31^st minute the game flipped on its head when the referee award the saints a penalty. Theo Walcott’s cross struck the arm of Timothy Castagne giving the referee only one choice.

Up stepped James Ward-Prowse however his penalty was saved by Danny Ward. A rare miss for the saint’s talisman who has bailed his side out on numerous occasions however not this time.

However, just minutes later all was forgotten when Carlos Alcaraz slotted a shot low past Ward in the Leicester goal. The Argentinian linked up with Che Adams before receiving the ball in behind the Leicester backline and finishing confidently.

With Leicester chasing the game and Southampton desperately trying to hold on there were plenty of chance for the foxes towards the end of the game. The best of which fell to centre-back Harry Souttar whose headed effort hit the bar just moments before the final whistle.

With the saints holding on for all three points they manage to drag themselves off the foot of the table.

Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace

Just four points separated these two teams coming into this mid-table clash with Villa in 11^th and Palace in 12^th.

VAR came to Villa’s rescue after five minutes when Wilfred Zaha rounded Emi Martinez to pass the ball into an open goal. After a lengthy VAR check it was deemed that Zaha had made his run a fraction too early.

The breakthrough came in the 27^th minute when Joachim Andersen attempted a prevent Matty Cash’s cross arriving in the path of Ollie Watkins. Unfortunately for the Dane his attempted block ended up in the back of his own net with the ball striking his trailing leg ricocheting into the back of the net.

Cheick Doucoure nullified any chance of Palace getting back into the game when he left the referee no choice but to show him a second yellow card after a dangerous challenge on Callum Chambers.

The game ended 1-0 meaning Palace are still searching for their first win since December and Patrick Vieira’s side edge closer to the relegation scrap.

THE TABLE