What a mid-week we’ve had. 27 goals scored and 6 clean sheets. I managed to get 5 correct match results which is better than the 3 I got at the weekend.
Tuesday night football
Brighton 2 – 1 Bournemouth – Seagulls beat rivals to enhance their chances of european football next season
Tuesday night saw Brighton beat Bournemouth at the American Express Stadium.
A Joao Pedro penalty and a late Danny Welbeck goal was enough to win Brighton all three points.
The Seagulls have now won 3 games back-to-back for the first time this season. The win also completes a double over the Cherries for the season.
Justin Kluivert had equalised just after the hour mark but it was not enough to stop the Cherries from losing.
Bournemouth’s defeat makes it 3 losses in their last 4 league games. Not a good stat if you’re looking for Champions League football.
Both Brighton and Bournemouth are in FA Cup action this weekend as they take on Newcastle and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
Crystal Palace 4 – 1 Aston Villa – Palace dent Villa’s hopes of european football
Crystal Palace crushed Aston Villa as the Eagles continued their push for the top half of the table. Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Villa were torn apart. Palace now have 4 wins in their last 6 league games.
A goal from Morgan Rogers levelled the score, briefly. Villa dominated possession but created little. 6 shots away from home says it all. For a team chasing Champions League football it simply wasn’t good enough.
Palace will be hoping they take their good form into the FA Cup this weekend and make it to the Quarter Finals for the first time since 2022.
Wolverhampton Wanders 1 – 2 Fulham – Fulham win to boost chances of playing in europe next season
Wolves gave themselves extra work when they went behind in the first minute of the game. The hosts levelled in the 18th minute and then went behind to another goal at the start of the second half.
Despite 60% possession, Wolves experienced their 17th defeat of the season. Fulham put Saturday’s poor performance behind them to move up to 9th place. They now find themselves 5 points off 3rd place Nottingham Forest.
Fulham are in action again this weekend when they travel to Old Trafford to take on a struggling Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Chelsea 4 – 0 Southampton – The Blues crush The Saints to climb into the top 4
Chelsea recorded their 13th win of the season with a demolition of Southampton.
The hosts found themselves 3 – 0 up at half time with goals from C. Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and L. Colwill. A late Cucurella goal made it 4. The win stops a 3 game losing streak and puts the Blues back in the top 4.
As for Southampton, they go back to the drawing board and prepare for their next game away at Anfield. The Saints will be hoping that they don’t get stuffed 4 – 0 for the third time in a row.
Wednesday night football
Brentford 1 – 1 Everton – Brentford miss chance to close gap on teams above
Everton denied Brentford the opportunity to close the gap between themselves and the european places up for grabs.
Everton’s Beto wasted 2 glorious one-one-one chances to put the visitor’s in front when he was denied by Brentford keeper Mark Flekken. The hosts went on to lead at half-time thanks to a headed goal from Yoane Wissa.
The Toffees equalised thanks to a Jake O’Brien header and had the chance to win it. Beto was handed another one-on-one against Flekken but was denied by the keeper again.
If not for some poor finishing, Everton could have won this encounter comfortably.
Manchester United 3 – 2 Ipswich Town – Ten-man United beat poor Ipswich
United got off to a horror start when Onana and Dorgu failed to communicate for Ipswich’s first goal. Philogene took advantage of the mix-up to put the Tractor Boys 1 up inside 4 minutes.
The Red Devils responded with a set-piece that had the Ipswich skipper heading into his own net. 4 minutes later, United were in front thanks to de Ligt.
Late in the first half VAR intervened and Dorgu was sent of for a horrible challenge on Hutchinson. 2 minutes later Philogene got his second of the game to level the scores at half-time.
With a man advantage and a whole half still to play, Ipswich threw away their advantage by conceding a Harry Maguire header early into the second half.
From that point onwards it was all about the away sides ability to break down a determined United defence. For a team facing the threat of relegation, they created little despite having a man extra.
Ipswich, like Leicester and Southampton, look doomed. They have about 3 winnable games between now and the end of the season. That’s not enough points to keep them up in my opinion. 28 points will probably be enough to stay up this season, a points mark that Ipswich will fail to reach.
As for United, they now prepare for the arrival of Fulham in the FA Cup this weekend before going away to Real Sociedad in the Europa League next week.
United’s season could be over by the international break. Let’s hope so.
Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Arsenal – The Gunners in control but no goals
In a game where Arsenal dominated possession but could only produce 1 shot on target. The Gunners once again showed why they desperately need a striker.
In the first half, Calafiori hit the post after creating space between himself and Dominguez for the shot. It turned out to be the only moment of pure quality the match was to experience.
Forest defended well against an Arsenal team that struggled to create clear cut chances. Mikel Merino was denied by Forest keeper Sels. And an unmarked Kieran Tierney header was put wide.
Forest had two big chances to take the lead. Both falling to Chris Wood. Wood forced a save from Arsenal keeper David Raya after winning the ball in the air and Morgan Gibbs-White collecting the 2nd ball and putting Wood through on goal.
The second big chance for Forest came when a Morgan Gibbs-White pass almost put Wood through on goal. A recovering Saliba challenge denied Wood the opportunity to get the shot away.
Realistically, Arsenal are not in a title race. Their last 2 games have seen them produce 3 shots on target. Simply not good enough for a team supposedly chasing a league title.
Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 1 Manchester City – City edge close contest
In the 12th minute Erling Haaland grabbed his 20th league goal of the season for Man City. The Sky Blues could have been leading 3 – 0 inside 30 minutes if not for some poor finishing and a great save from Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Haaland had a second goal ruled out by VAR for handball. Tottenham had chances of their own. In the first half a Kevin Danso header needed to be tipped over the bar by Ederson.
The Man City keeper was called into action again late in the game to deny Son Heung-Min an equalising goal.
The win for City lifts them back into the top four. They now get to stuff, I mean play, Plymouth Argyle in the 5th round of the FA Cup.
Liverpool 2 – 0 Newcastle United – Liverpool too good for the Magpies
In the Cup Final dress rehearsal Liverpool came out on top. The Reds dominated possession and created more chances. Early in the first half Liverpool were denied what looked a clear penalty.
A couple of minutes later Dominik Szoboszlai put the home team in front. A scuffed strike through the legs of 2 Newcastle defenders caught Nick Pope by surprise.
Callum Wilson had the chance to equalise but sent his effort wide. In the second half Liverpool continued to dominate. In front of the Kop Liverpool scored a second, Alexis Mac Allister with his 3rd goal of the season.
It was a difficult night for Newcastle, they managed only 3 shots in 90 minutes with none on target. It doesn’t look good for the Magpies. If they’re to have any chance in the Cup Final, they have to improve significantly.
Thursday night football
West Ham 2 – 0 Leicester – Hammers add to Leicester woes
West Ham recorded their 9th win of the season against a Leicester side desperate for the points. Tomas Soucek put the hosts in front in the 21st minute with a simple finish from less than 6 yards out.
Jannik Vestergaard scored an own goal by deflecting a Jarrod Bowen effort into his own net just before half-time.
Leicester put in a much improved performance against the Hammers but it still wasn’t enough. West Ham showed they’re a cut above relegation threatened Leicester as they moved up to 15th place.
Leave a comment