‘I feel the bell has rung for the last lap. We are not on the home straight. But we are on the last lap and every game means something now,’ said Gary Neville after the final whistle of Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over title-challengers Liverpool on Sunday.
The Sky Sports pundit’s apt metaphor is pertinent at both ends of the table, with a number of results looking consequential to the final standings.
Saturday’s Premier League action included a staggering 26 goals which came from the likes of Luton, Burnley and Everton – who all put strong survival cases forward. The same could not be said for Sheffield United.
Defending champions Manchester City won again, Manchester United looked in good nick and Chelsea, well, Chelsea continued to baffle, confuse and amuse at home to Wolves on Sunday.
Mail Sport takes a look at 10 things we learned from the weekend’s top-flight action.
Mikel Arteta’s side outwitted their title rivals Liverpool to earn a vital victory at the Emirates
Wolves bounced back from their late loss to Man United and piled the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino with 4-2 win
Arsenal’s hybrid defensive set-up pays dividends
Mikel Arteta’s side faced a do or die scenario on Sunday evening, lose and bow out of the title race or claim a second major scalp of the season to reinvigorate your quest.
The Gunners got the latter and were well worth it after a dominant performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side, who were unable to contain their hosts. A lot of blame will be laid at the feet of Virgil van Dijk but in truth, the Gunners tactically outfoxed their guests.
Arsenal deployed a hybrid pressing system that proved incredibly effective at blunting Liverpool’s build up play. The home side initially set up in a 4-4-2 shape out of possession before going man-to-man and blitzing their opposite number when a specific trigger had been initiated.
The results were phenomenal. Klopp’s men had only one shot on target, an xG of 0.37, xG against of 3.5 and they won possession just once in Arsenal’s final third – all season-worst statistics for the league leaders.
Arsenal deployed an incredibly effective hybrid pressing system that stunted Liverpool’s efforts to build up from the back
Liverpool lack a focal point without Salah or Nunez
Liverpool lined up for a Premier League game without Mohamed Salah or Darwin Nunez for the first time this season at the Emirates. It showed.
The duo have directly contributed to 36 goals this season, with the Uruguayan continuing to show flashes of his world class potential, albeit with frustrating reminders of his current deficiencies sprinkled in.
In Nunez’s place came Cody Gakpo, who was unable to win the physical battle with either of Arsenal’s centre backs. The Reds were sorely lacking an outlet to run onto the ball when they were forced long by the home side’s press or someone able to hold it up if they needed to get up the pitch.
Unfortunately, they were without either on Sunday. Nunez came onto the pitch in the second half during a period of the game where the Reds threatened to take control of proceedings. But the calamitous error from Virgil van Dijk and Alisson quickly swung the momentum back in Arsenal’s favour.
Darwin Nunez (purple) started on the bench after picking up a foot problem in the midweek victory over Chelsea
Phil Foden has made the leap
Manchester City’s yearly stretch of invincibility always seems to be spearheaded by a different member of the first-team squad.
In years gone by the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan have all caught fire during the run-in for Pep Guardiola’s side. That’s not to say that they aren’t usually superb or that they are the only important contributor – but their level reaches previously unseen heights.
Off the back of his hat-trick against Brentford, it seems like it’s Phil Foden’s turn. The England international has four goals and four assists in the eight Premier League games City have played since their defeat to Aston Villa in December.
De Bruyne’s return from injury has shifted him back out wide but Monday’s performance highlighted his expert positional awareness, as he perfectly timed his inversions to devastating effect.
Still only 23, Foden is some way off a frankly unfathomable peak. Guardiola has looked to him more this season than ever both, handing him 20 starts in 22 league games. And he is looking like one of the team’s more crucial performers.
Phil Foden was the match winner for Manchester City with a hat-trick against Brentford at the Community Stadium
There’s no quick fix for Chelsea
Chelsea’s young, vibrant, high-potential squad keep turning in lethargic, naive and disappointing performances. Their super expensive midfield duo have produced thrilling attacking sequences and costly lapses in concentration.
The Blues are a mess of contradictions and are plagued by inconsistency on pitch but this is what they paid for. Manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted that his job was not safe after their dismal 4-2 defeat at home to Wolves.
But Mail Sport has since revealed that his role at the club is secure by virtue of the financial fair play implications of his sacking. Even if Chelsea felt the only way to improve was to dismiss the Argentine, their unbelievable level of spending in previous windows prohibits them.
The west London club are unlikely to get much sympathy from neutrals after spending close to a billion pounds over the last 18 months and managing to achieve only a mid-table finish. It is extraordinary, the money the club has spent and the dividends they have received but there’s no point in changing now, they’re practically out of options.
Chelsea have a roster full of exciting young players, many of whom are on unusually long contracts. The club’s hierarchy have no chose but to keep faith with the former Tottenham boss and the current team.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team suffered their 10th league defeat of the season as they sit 11th in the division
United’s young trio have become their most important players
Manchester United claimed an impressive 3-0 win against West Ham on Sunday. The result was most creditable for the lack of fuss about the whole thing.
Their midweek victory against Wolves had shown their fragility before the class of youngster Kobbie Mainoo restored the win. At the weekend, it was the turn of two other starlets, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund.
Garnacho has made one of the two positions on the wing his own this season, starting 15 of United’s 23 league outings. Hojlund meanwhile, was thrust into a starting role but finally appears to have got the rhythm of the top-flight, scoring in each of his last four games.
Mainoo would have played more if not for an ankle injury he suffered in pre-season. The 18-year-old has hardly put a foot wrong since making his first league appearance of the season against Everton in November.
Rasmus Hojlund (left) , Alejandro Garnacho (middle) and Kobbie Mainoo (right) have scored five goals between them in Man United’s last two Premier League matches
Sheffield United might break an unwanted record
Goals for, goals against, xG difference, field tilt, passing accuracy, pretty much any statistic you look at, however complex, the Blades are the worst for it in the Premier League this season.
Saturday night’s crushing 5-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa, in which they conceded four goals in the opening 30 minutes, felt like more than just a loss. As fans left in their droves during the first half and Chris Wilder was stunned near silence on the touchline, they looked resigned to an immediate return to the Championship.
Sheffield United would not be the first team to be out of their depth in the top-flight but they’ll be keen to ensure they do not make their failure historic. The five goals they let in on Saturday made it 59 conceded – the most after 23 league games in Premier League history. The record after 38 games is 89.
It was their 19th defeat of the campaign, 10 off the all-time record for losses in a single season they share with Derby, Sunderland and Ipswich.
And then there’s the holy grail of unwanted records, the fewest points, ‘achieved’ by the Rams in 2007-08. Sheffield United are just one point off equaling Derby’s historic tally but it’s hard to back them in pretty much any fixture at the moment.
Chris Wilder watched on as his Sheffield United team ere blown away in the first 30 minutes of their clash against Aston Villa on Saturday
Spurs have obvious weaknesses
Tottenham are well ahead of where many expected them to be under Ange Postecoglou. The former Celtic manager has transformed the team, and the belief among the fans, in a little over six months.
Spurs sit fifth place, just two points off Aston Villa in fourth, though their current position may still be enough to secure Champions League qualification this term.
Nevertheless, Saturday’s 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Everton revealed a couple of recurring weaknesses of the side.
The Toffees first goal came from an inswinging corner aimed at goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who was being blocked off by Jack Harrison. It was almost an identical concession to Nathan Ake’s late strike in the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Man City.
That goal also featured the other trouble with this Spurs team, letting in late goals. Remarkably, Jarrad Branthwaite’s 94th-minute equaliser was the eighth goal Spurs have conceded after the 89th minute this season.
That is more than any other team in the league and more than Spurs have conceded in any full campaign in the competition’s history.
Tottenham conceded a league-high eighth goal after the 89th minute on Saturday on Everton
Palace’s poor Olise treatment could prove costly
Roy Hodgson can’t do right for doing wrong at present. The beleaguered Crystal Palace boss saw his side fall to a crushing 4-1 defeat at rivals Brighton at the weekend, though the loss was the secondary concern of the afternoon.
Palace rather unashamedly rely on the individual quality of star men Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. This was most recently highlighted in their midweek win over Sheffield United when the duo scored three sensational goals between them to squeeze past the Blades 3-2.
Well, on Saturday Hodgson was forced to start without Olise, who had only just returned from a hamstring injury, but turned to him in the second half with the scoreline 3-0 in their hosts’ favour.
Unfortunately, just 11 minutes later the 22-year-old limped off the pitch and now faces another two months on the sidelines after aggravating the same issue.
Eze was absent from the squad after picking up a hamstring injury of his own in that win over the Blades. The Eagles are just five points above the drop. The decision to play Olise could prove extremely costly.
Michael Olise (right) was forced off with a hamstring injury just 11 minutes after coming onto the pitch
Everton’s fight could keep them up
Sean Dyche’s side responded to their 10-point deduction in December with four wins in five games as they looked more than capable of escaping danger even with a hefty handicap.
But things have changed, their form has stuttered and Luton’s has rapidly improved. The weekend 2-2 draw against Spurs was the Toffee’s sixth game without victory and their third draw on the bounce but it did show their resolve.
Twice behind in the game, Everton managed to snatch a point right at the death that could prove incredibly valuable in May. With Sheffield United and Burnley looking nailed on to suffer relegation this term, that leaves just one more spot and there are at least four teams still within striking distance.
Branthwaite’s 94th-minute equaliser was vital in keeping them within a point of Hatters and two behind Nottingham Forest in 16th.
Everton matched the result of many of their survival rivals to ensure they did not get cut adrift
Newcastle are mounting a bid for European football
It’s strange to spin a home draw against Luton into a positive but Eddie Howe will be bouyed by a number of things in his team’s performance.
Before the winter break, the Magpies were running on empty, starting games well before conceding late on as they stretched squad struggled to keep up their intensive play style.
But over the past few weeks Newcastle have returned to the version of themselves that earned a fourth-place finish last season, surprising Aston Villa last week and rescuing a point against an ultra confident Luton.
Howe’s team have two- very winnable wins before they travel to the Emirates hoping to do the double over the north Londoners. They then take on Blackburn in the fifth round of the FA Cup as they bid to end their long wait for a trophy.
Injured players are returning and form is improving. It could an exciting end to the season for Newcastle fans.
Harvey Barnes (middle) returned from injury to score the equaliser for Newcastle against Luton
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