There were 3 Premier League games this weekend which were extremely important in the race for the Top 4. Here is a quick recap of all of these three and where these 6 teams stand now in the table.
Manchester City vs West Ham– This game between two of the top 4 teams was a marvelous game. City broke the tie after 30 minutes with their center back Rueben Dias. Kevin De Brunye delivered a beautiful cross into the box which Dias headed into the back of the net. The Hammers responded quickly though. Coufal passed to Jesse Lingard on the counter attack and he shot the ball. Michail Antonio tipped the ball in to equalize in the 43rd minute. It remained 1-1 past halftime till the 68th minute when Man City went ahead. Riyad Mahrez passed to John Stones in the penalty box and Stones just rocketed the ball into the back of the net. It was a perfect shot from the other City center back as they took the lead. West Ham tried and tried but couldn’t tie the game. West Ham gave the Cityzens a hard time but it wasn’t enough to tie the soon to be champions of England. Both City defenders won the game for their team to continue that amazing unbeaten streak.The Hammers are still 4th place with 45 points but Pep Guardiola’s team got 3 more points as they now have 62 points in 1st place.
Leicester City vs Arsenal- The Foxes, like Manchester United, were trying to keep up with Manchester City in this home game. Arsenal, on the other hand, were trying to fight back into the top 5. The game started Leicester’s way. Youri Tielemans ran down the right and found the space for the shot. He shot the ball far side from Leno to give City first blood. Arsenal then equalized 33 minutes in the 39th minute. Willian whipped a beautiful free-kick which David Luiz headed into the net to tie the game 1 apiece. Arsenal then got another one right before halftime. They received a penalty which Lacazette calmly scored to make it 2-1 Arsenal. It was 2-1 at halftime between these two sides. Arsenal scored another goal in the 58th minute with one of their striker’s Nicholas Pepe. He gave the Gunners a good 2 goal cushion which they maintained till the end of the game. It was a very disappointing loss for Leicester but a strong win for Arteta and his team. Leicester is still 3rd with 49 points but Arsenal is now 10th place with 37 points.
Chelsea vs Manchester United– This game between two of the top 4 sides was, unfortunately, pretty dull. In the first half, it was scoreless with not much action. The best chance of that half came with a marvelous cross by Hudson-Odoi to Olivier Giroud who was a fraction too late to head the ball and instead crashed his back into the post. The second half was the same way. Not much from either side as they both tied in a pretty boring match. A tie was not good enough for both teams as this part of the season gets tight. Chelsea are in 4th place with 47 points while United are still second with 51 points.
All these teams were vying for the top few spots in the table. While a couple of teams managed to create buzz and excitement, the last two teams faded out without any fizz. That match was surprisingly uninteresting.
THE END