Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend | OneFootball

Every Monday we share the learnings we have gleaned from the weekend’s Premier League action.

When Liverpool can win the title

It was possible that Liverpool could have won the Premier League title this past weekend, although everyone knew it was extremely unlikely Arsenal were going to enable that by losing to Ipswich Town.

After squeezing past Leicester City on Sunday, the Reds are 13 points ahead with just five games remaining. That means if they beat Spurs at Anfield this week they will be officially crowned champions for the 20th time in their history.

They could even win it earlier than that if the Gunners lose to Crystal Palace in midweek, but it’s far better to do it on your own terms in front of your home fans. Either way, I think we can confidently predict the trophy will be making its way to Liverpool this Sunday.

Read – Trent Alexander-Arnold dodges question on Liverpool future

Top Five race is too close to call

This was the week when the stronger clubs shook off the pretenders to the Champions League spots and consolidated their place in the top seven.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa all picked up important wins, and even Newcastle United‘s defeat to the latter ensured the race is insanely tight; only two points separate the Magpies in third and Villa in seventh.

Nottingham Forest have faltered in recent weeks, losing back-to-back matches to allow everyone else to catch up, but they can jump back into third with a win over Spurs on Monday night. Good luck trying to predict who will join Liverpool and Arsenal in Europe’s top competition.

Meanwhile, Brighton and Fulham both lost while Bournemouth dropped points to realistically leave them all just out of reach of the top five as we enter the final stretch of the campaign. All three will now be duking it out for eighth place and Conference League qualification, although they have a new contender to deal with…

Premier League Awards – Trent rises, Neto’s netbuster, fuming Fullkrug

Brentford have something to play for after all

Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa linked up yet again on Saturday to give Brentford their first win in five games as they beat Brighton 4-2 in an entertaining tie.

Wissa set up Mbeumo for the Bees’ second goal before the Cameroon international returned the favour shortly after. It was the 18th Premier League game in which both players have scored – only seven pairs of players have scored for a side in the same match more times in the entire history of the competition.

Their telepathic relationship is helping Brentford make a late bid for Europe after the west London outfit had appeared destined to swim in midtable waters. They currently sit in 11th, but are just three points off Bournemouth in 8th, and they have pretty kind run of fixtures until the end of the season.

Now they just have to win their games and hope Crystal Palace don’t snag that Conference League place by winning the FA Cup.

Read – Brentford’s Mbeumo and Wissa match feat of Salah and Mane

Ollie Watkins proved a point

Ollie Watkins was on a mission to prove Unai Emery wrong on Saturday. The striker had started just one of Aston Villa’s previous six matches in all competitions, including the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final against PSG.

Within 33 seconds of kickoff against Newcastle he found the back of the net, before later setting up Ian Maatsen on their way to a 4-1 victory. It was the performance of a man who took great exception to being dropped for a loan player in Marcus Rashford, and he said as much after the final whistle.

“I was fuming I wasn’t playing,” Watkins told Sky Sports. “I let [Emery] know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.”

Emery responded by saying “it’s fantastic to be angry, it’s fantastic to play like he played today,” but has he lost the player’s faith in the meantime? Rumours of a potential summer exit are now swirling around and there will doubtlessly be suitors looking to sign him.

Watkins has likely reclaimed his starting berth, but it may already be too late.

Read – Premier League Team of the Weekend as Aston Villa dominate

Southampton won’t break Premier League record

Lesley Ugochukwu pulled out a stunning finish in stoppage time to ensure Southampton left the London Stadium with a point on Saturday; it’s only the seventh time this season they have avoided defeat in the Premier League.

More significantly for the Saints, it also means they cannot do any worse than the historically terrible Derby County of 2007/08. The Rams finished that season with a record points total of 11, the same number Southampton have accumulated after 33 games.

There is still time for the bottom dwellers to add to their tally avoid the ignominy of having the joint-worst ever campaign, but with only a handful of games remaining they will surely end it among the most rotten teams we’ve ever seen.

Read – Pintsman Pereira, Pusk-ass Award, Amad, and watch the football!

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