Premier League Matchweek 28: Talking Points Ft. Man United & Arsenal
Today at 07:03 AM
Manchester United held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw on Sunday to put further dent in their Premier League title hopes. A day before, Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table by overcoming basement boys Southampton, while Manchester City suffered yet another defeat.
It was a low-scoring Premier League matchweek as only a total of 20 goals was scored across 10 games. Without further ado, let's take a look at the 12 talking points from Premier League matchweek 28.
#Manchester United extinguish Arsenal's title hopes
Poor results against ordinary Premier League teams and decent ones against teams at the top and bottom of the table—this has been Ruben Amorim's Manchester United in a nutshell.
The Red Devils welcomed Arsenal on Sunday, with both teams needing points for different reasons. Tweaking his preferred 3-4-2-1 system to a 5-4-1, they defended in a low block and frustrated Arsenal for the entire first half. Just before the break, Bruno Fernandes delivered a sucker punch to the Gunners by scoring a splendid free-kick.
Declan Rice equalised in the 74th minute with a curling effort but that didn't demoralise United. instead, they were galvanised and created a few big chances that were heroically kept out by goalkeeper David Raya. In the end, a 1-1 draw was a fair result—however, one that extinguished Arsenal's title hopes.
#Liverpool overcome tricky Southampton
Liverpool looked leggy in the first half against basement boys Southampton at Anfield on Saturday after their gruelling midweek Champions League last 16 first leg win at Paris Saint-Germain. The Saints defended very deep in their box and frustrated the Reds.
Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone shocked the Anfield by capitalising on a misunderstanding between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. But Arne Slot's brave triple half-time substitutions re-energised Liverpool as Darwin Nunez equalised and Mohamed Salah calmly slotted two penalty kicks.
After huffing and puffing in the first half, the Merseysiders found a way to overcome a tricky Southampton side and continued their march towards the Premier League title.
#Mohamed Salah at the double vs Southampton
Mohamed Salah has been the best player in the Premier League this season. The forward's contract situation remains at an impasse, the sense being he awaits the right offer from Liverpool.
The Egypt king endured a poor outing against PSG in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in Paris. He was anonymous for large periods in the first half against Southampton on Saturday, but when the opportunity arose, Salah stepped up and scored two penalties to help the Reds win the contest 3-1.
#Cole Palmer's barren run continues
After a dream first season at Chelsea following his move from Manchester City last summer, where he scored 27 goals and supplied 15 assists in 48 appearances, Cole Palmer has blown more cold than hot this term.
The English forward's last goal for Chelsea came in mid-January in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. He had the chance to end his slump last weekend after the Blues won a penalty against Leicester City in the first half. Known for his prowess from the spot, Palmer's shot was brilliantly saved by Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
This stretched Palmer's barren run in front of goal. The 22-year-old was taken off in the second half having not trained for two days due to illness as Chelsea edged the Foxes 1-0.
Marc Cucurella makes a difference for Chelsea…yet again!
While Palmer failed to inspire Chelsea, Marc Cucurella stepped up and scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win over Leicester City.
With Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and Noni Madueke out injured, Palmer off form and Jadon Sancho back to his old habits, the Blues lacked the cutting edge in the final third. Cucurella provided a bit of magic, unlocking the Leicester rearguard with his late arrival in the box and scored the decisive goal—his fifth of the season.
Having been written off by the Chelsea fans after two seasons, the Spanish left-back is finally starting to show his true worth at Stamford Bridge.
#There is still spark left in Son Heung-min
Tottenham have endured a torrid campaign amid an unprecedented injury situation. They have been stuck in the bottom half of the table for months now, although Ange Postecoglou's side showed great character and fight to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at home on Sunday.
Son Heung-min has been ordinary this term. He is 32 and seems to have lost a yard of pace or two. The Spurs skipper has played a lot due to his fellow forwards being out injured, and while there continues to be speculation surrounding his future, Son showed on Sunday he might not be done at N17 yet.
The South Korean star was lively in the second half against Bournemouth, won a penalty and scored to help Tottenham pinch a point. With that performance, Son demonstrated there is still some spark left in him.
#Manchester City need a squad shake-up
Manchester City equalled the highest number of league defeats in a season (nine) under Pep Guardiola after losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
There have been several underperforming players, including maestros such as Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, while injuries to the likes of Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish and John Stones and Mateo Kovacic have harmed Man City severely.
The time has come for the Sky Blues to go for an extensive rebuild, perhaps which started during the January transfer window following the recruits of hugely talented players Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
#Ollie Watkins haunts Brentford again!
Once a Griffin Park favourite, it would not be a stretch to now term Ollie Watkins the pantomime villain of the Gtech Community Stadium.
Last season, Watkins scored Aston Villa's winner at the Gtech Community Stadium, which led to an ugly confrontation from a Brentford supporter. This time around, the English striker was jeered and booed from his first touch, and vociferously when celebrating the deflected strike that became the difference in a tight contest.
Watkins is a strong character as he barely looked flustered when competing against the Brentford defenders amid the chorus of boos, and him celebrating this time around after scoring what eventually turned out to be the winner was a tight riposte to the Bees' fans.
#Bruno Guimaraes helps Newcastle edge West Ham
Newcastle United had won just once in their last four league games and headed to West Ham after being dumped out of the FA Cup fifth round in extra time by Brighton. Before that, they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool—the team they are set to face in the Carabao Cup final at the weekend.
With Anthony Gordon suspended, the travelling Geordies looked to their talisman Alexander Isak for inspiration. Credit to West Ham defenders for keeping the in-form Isak quiet for large periods, which led to growing frustration within the Newcastle ranks.
But Bruno Guimaraes stepped up when the Swede couldn't unlock the hosts' defence, prodding the ball home past Alphonse Areola from a fine Harvey Barnes cross. When the chips were down, the Brazilian midfielder came up with the goods to help Newcastle win at the London Stadium and head to Wembley on Sunday with some confidence.
#Southampton doomed for the drop
After 28 league games, Southampton – battered and bruised again this weekend, this time by runaway league leaders Liverpool, albeit an admirable first-half show – have accumulated nine points, scored 20 goals and conceded a staggering 68.
The Saints are rooted to the foot of the table and no Premier League team from this stage and points tally have managed to beat the drop. The writing is on the wall for Southampton and Ivan Juric, who may or may not stay until the end with rumours of a sack filling the air.
#No Mateta, no problem for Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace continued their impressive winning run despite missing their top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta through injury. In Mateta's absence, Oliver Glasner started Eddie Nketiah up front against Ipswich Town. Nketiah missed a glorious chance to give Palace the lead inside the opening two minutes as he placed his shot straight at Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
When a Mateta-less Palace needed an inspiration, Ismaila Sarr produced the magic moment with a delicious chipped goal with seven minutes left on the clock to secure all the points for the home side. He followed it up by recreating Mateta's trademark corner flag celebration, demonstrating team spirit and bonding both on and off the field, according to Glasner.
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