Premier League Review: Man City take league lead after Chelsea slip
By Oli Dickson Jefford
Another dramatic weekend of Premier League action is drawing to a close with Arsenal taking on Everton tonight.
And though that match will have plenty of implications on how the table looks heading into next weekend, there is still plenty to talk about from Saturday and Sunday’s action.
Chelsea slip up as Man City take league lead
The title race is continuing to build up nicely and Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool are still leading the away by a comfortable margin - though they’ve swapped positions after the weekend.
Chelsea, who were top of the table, needed a win after only taking a point from their previous match against Man City, though fell to a 3-2 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium.
Arthur Masuaku’s cross-cum-shot in the 87th minute proved to be decisive for David Moyes’ men, who have now beaten all of the traditional ‘Top Six' in 2021.
Most frustratingly for Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will be individual errors from the likes of keeper Edouard Mendy, who gave away the penalty for the Hammers’ first.
Tuchel will also be frustrated by the fact his side led twice before being pegged back, and by the fact Man City and Liverpool both claimed three points- albeit in contrasting fashion.
It looked as if Liverpool would be held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Wolves, with former Wolves star Diego Jota among those spurning key chances for the Reds.
However, super sub Divock Origi once again starred for Jurgen Klopp’s men, scoring the latest of late winners to take three points and leapfrog Chelsea in the table.
They still trail Man City though, with Pep Guardiola’s side picking up another league victory against Watford at Vicarage Road.
The Citizens simply had too much for the Hornets, with Raheem Sterling's strike and a Bernardo Silva brace helping them ease to a 3-1 victory.
City now lead the league on 35 points, with Liverpool on 34 and Chelsea on 33; it is still very much all to play for.
New gaffers Rangnick and Conte make their mark in European hunt
West Ham continue to lead the charge for the fourth and final Champions League spot after yet another impressive victory at the weekend.
Moyes’ men will be difficult to stop, though Man Utd and Tottenham - potentially rejuvenated by new managers - will fancy their chances as well.
Sunday saw Ralf Rangnick make his first appearance in the Old Trafford dugout, and the German will be largely happy with what he saw in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Man Utd were in charge of the vast majority of the match and were unlucky not to score more, though a sublime strike from Fred in the 77th minute saw Rangnick’s reign start with victory.
However there will be frustration for Palace boss Patrick Vieira, who saw Jordan Ayew spurn a golden opportunity to put the Eagles ahead shortly before Fred’s effort at the other end.
Down in North London, Tottenham continued their impressive league form under new boss Antonio Conte with a 3-0 victory over Norwich.
Norwich had chances, with Teemu Pukki missing a couple of good opportunities, though it was a largely comfortable performance from Spurs as should have been expected.
Lucas Moura opened proceedings early on with a stunning strike, before Davison Sanchez and Heung-min Son sealed victory in the second half.
Arsenal are yet to play and will be fancied to beat a struggling Everton side, though Leicester’s European hopes took another hit with defeat at Villa Park.
A controlled effort from Harvey Barnes put the Foxes 1-0 ahead, though Aston Villa were on level terms shortly afterwards after Ezri Konsa got the final touch from Emiliano Buendia’s header.
And, after Jacob Ramsey controversially had a goal disallowed before half time, Konsa’s 54th minute header was enough to continue Steven Gerrard’s impressive start to life in the Midlands.
Villa now sit tenth in the table and will have their own European ambitions.
Newcastle finally win
15 games in, there was finally some joy at St. James’ Park as Newcastle picked up their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Burnley.
Callum Wilson’s 40th-minute effort after Burnley keeper Nick Pope spilled the ball was enough to bring a first win of Eddie Howe’s reign, and provide some hope of survival.
Norwich’s failure to win on Sunday mean’s Newcastle are no longer bottom of the table, and they will be buoyed by some other potential relegation rivals not picking up victories.
Leeds and Brentford played out a 2-2 draw at Elland Road, with the returning Patrick Bamford scoring a 95th minute equaliser much to the delight of his home fans.
Leeds had taken the lead through Tyler Roberts, before Shandon Baptiste and Sergi Canos put the Bees ahead in the second half.
Southampton also missed out on sealing three points, with Neal Maupay once again coming to the rescue for Brighton in a 1-1 draw.
Saints took the lead at St. Mary’s through Armando Broja just inside the half hour mark, though Maupay’s 98th-minute equaliser saw the Frenchman salvage a point for Graham Potter’s side for the second game in a row.
Burnley’s loss mean they sit down in 18th, though the likes of Watford, Southampton, Leeds, Everton and Brentford are all within touching distance for the bottom three.
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