What a weird week it was in the Barclays Premier League. With several top clubs called into midweek European tournament action either before or after this weekend’s fixtures, you could expect dropped points from many of England’s elite. Not only did we get those dropped points, but we got an end to the title race thanks to the unlikeliest of sources.
Let’s get to the games:
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Crystal Palace | 3 | (8-9-12) |
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Queens Park Rangers | 1 | (6-4-19) |
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Crystal Palace powered their way to victory with three goals in a 20 minute span in the first half to defeat Queens Park Rangers 3-1.
For QPR, their free fall continues, as they’ve lost four consecutive matches. And while the game’s final stats will show that they had more of the ball than their opponents, the bulk of that possession came with the team down by multiple goals. With the loss, QPR sit alone in 19th place and show no signs of being able to answer the bell to avoid relegation. Their next match against 14th place Everton will be a vital one.
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Arsenal | 3 | (17-6-6) |
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West Ham United | 0 | (10-9-10) |
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Arsenal continued to look like a legitimate threat to finish in the top two at the end of the season with a strong performance against West Ham. The Gunners got goals from Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, and Mathieu Flamini to crush the Hammers.
Arsenal have won eight of their last ten matches to climb within one point of Manchester City for second place, and look to be in much better form than City as well. West Ham, meanwhile, is trending in the opposite direction, losing their third straight match. Only three teams have earned fewer points in their last ten matches than Sam Allardyce’s squad.
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Leicester City | 0 | (4-7-17) |
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Hull City | 0 | (6-10-13) |
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This game perfectly encapsulated the seasons had by both of these clubs this season. Both in the bottom third of the Premier League in goals, both Leicester and Hull engaged in their typical performances consisting of not scoring and praying that the opposition couldn’t poke a winner past them as they usually do. Both teams came away with a point but, realistically, there were no winners here.
That is especially true for Leicester, who need to pick up points in a hurry. With the draw, they sit at 19 points, making them the only team in the Premier League yet to earn 20 points in league play. With 10 games left to pick up enough points to stay in the top flight, it’s almost certain that Leicester will not be around next season.
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West Bromwich Albion | 1 | (8-9-12) |
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Stoke City | 0 | (12-6-11) |
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All good things must come to an end, as Stoke’s three match win streak was halted by West Brom thanks to Ideye Brown’s winner in the 19th minute. While both of these teams will finish the season somewhere in the middle of the table, both teams are surely thrilled not to be where Leicester is right now.
For the victorious West Brom, they now have a chance to start a win streak of their own, as they take on the struggling Manchester City in their next Premier League contest.
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Sunderland | 0 | (4-14-11) |
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Aston Villa | 4 | (7-7-15) |
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It’s one thing to lose in a relegation six pointer. With Sunderland and Aston Villa both within three points of the drop zone, that certainly hurts Sunderland enough as it is. But for Sunderland to lose the way they did, conceding four goals to the lowest scoring team in the Premier League, is just embarrassing.
Villa dominated this game with four first half goals, two from Christian Benteke and two from Gabriel Agbonlahor, earning 60% of possession in the process. They are now three points clear of the bottom three, and can ride this convincing result to more positivity going forward.
Sunderland, meanwhile, are in shambles. Just a point ahead of 18th place Burnley, they are in firm danger of relegation, and have let manager Gus Poyet go. They will need to officially name a replacement and win some matches, or enjoy Championship football next year.
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Burnley | 1 | (5-10-14) |
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Manchester City | 0 | (17-7-5) |
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This was the big one, the match that ended the title race. Burnley, like so many other teams in recent months, sat back and let City have all the empty possession they wanted, getting a breakthrough of their own in the 61st minute through George Boyd. The loss left City five points behind Chelsea at the end of Saturday’s action, adding a second game in hand to Chelsea’s advantage to boot.
On the flip side, Burnley’s three points put them on 25 points for the season, just one point behind Sunderland and the safety that is 17th place. Whether or not Burnley can ride this famous win to a continued stay in the Premier League remains to be seen, but this was a vital start to that process.
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Chelsea | 1 | (19-7-2) |
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Southampton | 1 | (15-5-9) |
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After playing an extra time, midweek Champions League game against Paris St. Germain, it was expected that Chelsea wouldn’t play up to their usual standards. Thanks to Man City dropping points the day before, though, they didn’t have to. Securing a point here upped their advantage to six points over second place City with a game in hand still to go, against last place Leicester of all teams.
Goals in this one came from Diego Costa and Dusan Tadic, which cancelled each other out in what was a very entertaining match.
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Manchester United | 3 | (16-8-5) |
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Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (15-5-9) |
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Manchester United are brilliant when they put it all together in a given match, and they did just that in a 3-0 win over Spurs. Three first half goals got the job done, and have entered United into the discussion to finish in the top two. They’ve won three straight matches, and have an in form Wayne Rooney at the moment, making them dangerous.
Spurs, with the loss, remained on 50 points. They sit in seventh place in the table, and are in real danger of failing to claim a European spot for next season, which speaks to how deep the Premier League has been this year thanks to the likes of Southampton.
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Everton | 3 | (7-10-12) |
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Newcastle United | 0 | (9-8-12) |
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Everton really needed a win like this. After struggling in Premier League competition and playing well during midweek Europa League action all season long, Everton finally got solid performances in both. Goals from James McCarthy, Romelu Lukaku, and Ross Barkley gave Everton the edge, and put them on 31 points. Entering the week just three points clear of the relegation zone, the Toffees were able to double that margin in just one game.
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Swansea City | 0 | (11-7-11) |
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Liverpool | 1 | (16-6-7) |
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Jordan Henderson fired home the winner for Liverpool in a game Swansea will feel they deserved more from given their strong performance in the early portion of the match. But Liverpool were not to be denied once again, continuing a torrid run of form in which they’ve been unbeaten over their last ten matches.
The Reds sit just two points behind Manchester United for fourth place in the table. Given the strong form of United and Arsenal sitting ahead of them, though, it’s unclear as to who they’d overtake to reach the top four if they were to do so. Judging by recent results, one would think it’d be City to drop out of the Champions League places, but only time will tell.