Premier League Review, Monday 8th March 2021
The English Premier League is back in our lives once again after another weekend full of excitement and drama in the top flight. There were surprise results, implications for the title race & relegation battle and a whole load of other talking points that would’ve left the bookies smiling and seething in equal measure.
Burnley 1-1 Arsenal
Burnley were able to frustrate Arsenal and secure a 1-1 draw on a controversial afternoon in Lancashire.
An early Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang goal seemed to set the Gunners on the right track for victory, only for a Granit Xhaka mistake to hand Chris Wood the equaliser. From there Arsenal peppered the Burnley goal with a bizarre VAR decision denying them a penalty, ensuring the game ended 1-1.
Burnley will now prepare to take a trip to play Everton this weekend whereas Arsenal play Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday followed by Tottenham in the North London derby a few days later.
Sheffield United 0-2 Southampton
Southampton finally got back on the winning trail by condemning Sheffield United to a 2-0 defeat that takes them a step closer to relegation.
James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams scored either side of half time to put the Blades in a really uncomfortable position and from there, they just couldn’t seem to recover, but it’s not like many stood to make money off of Chris Wilder’s men anyway.
United now turn their attention towards another game in which they’ll be an underdog against Leicester. Southampton, though, have a mixed bag this week in the form of a game against Manchester City on Wednesday and Brighton on Sunday.
Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves
Midlands rivals Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers played out a goalless draw on an uninspiring evening in Birmingham.
Both sides had a few chances that would’ve helped their cause but in the end, their likely fate of being consigned to midtable mediocrity was on full display.
Neither team will actually be playing this weekend with Aston Villa taking on Newcastle on Friday and Wolves tackling Liverpool on Monday Night Football.
Brighton 1-2 Leicester
Injury-hit Leicester City came from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion and avoid a real scare at the Amex.
Adam Lallana opened the scoring in what could so easily have been a turning point for the Seagulls’ season. Instead, however, the bookies’ odds were proven right as Kelechi Iheanacho and a late Daniel Amartey strike saved the day for Brendan Rodgers.
A meeting with Southampton comes next for the hosts with Leicester fancying their chances in a home game against bottom of the table Sheffield United.
West Brom 0-0 Newcastle
West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United failed to inspire in a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns.
Some fans could’ve been forgiven for falling asleep in this one as the two relegation-threatened sides proved why many placed down a bet on under 2.5 goals before the game even got underway.
The Baggies have another winnable game on their hands against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but Newcastle have far more pressure on their shoulders when playing Aston Villa less than 24 hours prior.
Liverpool 0-1 Fulham
Liverpool slumped to their sixth successive home league defeat after they were humbled by Fulham at Anfield.
Even Reds fans could’ve been forgiven for betting against their team given the recent run of form they’ve had to endure as Mario Lemina scored the only goal of the game in the 45th minute.
Liverpool have to pick themselves up before taking on Leipzig and then Wolves on MNF, whereas Fulham will have no fear when going into battle against Manchester City.
Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United
Manchester United produced one of the surprise results of the weekend as they ended Manchester City’s 21-game winning streak last night.
The runaway Premier League leaders were left stunned as Bruno Fernandes handed the Red Devils an early lead from the penalty spot, but from there, City still couldn’t quite seem to get going. United continued to be the ones who dictated the pace of the game until Luke Shaw made it 2-0 with a cracking run and finish.
City don’t have long to regroup with a double header against Southampton and Fulham in the next few days, with Manchester United facing the return of Zlatan in the Europa League before a huge clash against West Ham.
Tottenham 4-1 Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur’s resurgence continued with a 4-1 triumph over Crystal Palace in North London.
Christian Benteke may have been able to peg Spurs back in the wake of Gareth Bale’s opener but in the second half, it was one-way traffic. Bale scored again before Harry Kane twice hit the back of the net as Tottenham begin to find their attacking edge under Jose Mourinho.
Spurs now await Dinamo Zagreb in their next Europa League challenge before the real headline-maker of the week: derby day against Arsenal. For Palace, they’ll know a defeat to West Bromwich Albion could drag them into the relegation mix.
