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Monday, May 1, 2023

EPL Round-up: City back to top; United, Newcastle, Liverpool win

Erling Haaland put City upfront three minutes into the game from a spotkick.

• April 30, 2023
English Premier League games
English Premier League games

Manchester City are back to top of the Premier League table following a 2-1 win away at Fulham as Pep Guardiola’s team inches closer to their third consecutive Premier League win.

Erling Haaland put City upfront three minutes into the game from a spotkick. It was the Norwegian 50th goal for the Etihad landlords in all competitions this season.

Carlos would, however, score 12 minutes later to put Fulham right back into the match.

Nine minutes before the break, Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez roofed the ball over Bernd Leno front yards out to steal the victory for Man City which took them one point ahead of Arsenal despite having one game in hand.

With Champions League football already guaranteed for both Manchester City and second place Arsenal next season, the race for the remaining two spots remain so close with Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool all recording important victories.

Newcastle United vs Southampton

At the Saint James’ Park, Newcastle United came from a goal down to record an impressive 3-1 win over relegation strugglers Southampton who are at the bottom of the Premier League table and without a win in all of their last nine league games.

Stuart Armstrong gave the Saints an unlikely lead in the 44th minute before Callum Wilson brought Newcastle back into the game only nine minutes after the halftime break.

An own goal from former Arsenal star Theo Walcott in the 79th minute put Newcastle ahead for the very first time in the encounter before Wilson grabbed his brace of the Sunday evening nine minutes from fulltime to further bolster the Magpie’s top four hopes.

They remain third on the table with 65 points and two points ahead of Manchester United who still have one game in hand.

Meanwhile, Southampton’s fate might have already been sealed as they sit last on the table with 24 points and only four rounds of matches left to be played.

Manchester United vs Aston Villa

Meanwhile, fourth-placed Man United returned to winning ways as the Red Devils grabbed a narrowly 1-0 victory over Aston Villa courtesy of a first half goal by Bruno Fernandes.

It was the Portuguese’s 100th career league goal spanning five clubs including Manchester United, Novara where he made his senior debut; Udinese, Sampdoria and Sporting CP.

The win further boosted Erik ten Hag’s side’s chances for Champions League qualification. The Dutch coach said is the team’s ultimate target in an already successful season having won the Carabao League Cup less than a year into his reign at the Theatre of Dreams.

Liverpool vs Tottenham

It was a dramatic scene at the red side of Merseyside with Liverpool and Tottenham played out an entertaining seven-thriller at the Anfield Stadium in another Champions League football race game as the Reds displaced Spurs from the fifth position.

Tottenham experienced a dejavu as the North Londoners found themselves three goals behind inside the opening 15 minutes of the game which was the case a week earlier during the devastating 6-1 lost to Newcastle United.

Three minutes into the match, Curtis Jones scored his first goal since 2021 to open the scoring for Liverpool before Luis Diaz doubled the lead in the fifth minute. It was the Portuguese winger’s first start since he suffered in October last year.

In the 15th minute, Mohamed Salah made it three from the spot to comfortably put the Reds upfront.

But Kane pulled on back for Tottenham just six minutes before the break. With the strike, Kane levelled with Man United legend Wayne Rooney on 208 Premier League goals to sit second on the all-time list.

Spurs came into the second half rejuvenated as they grew into the game and maintained the control of the ball which paid off in the 77th when Heung-min Song found the back of the net to reduce Liverpool’s lead to just a goal.

The drama began in the stoppage time when substitute Richarlison sensational found the back of the net with a header to net his first Premier League goal for Tottenham and finally brought Spurs back into the game.

Less than 60 seconds later and Spurs thinking they already salvaged a point from the game, Diogo Jota capitalised on a short back pass from Lucas Moura, putting the ball past Fraser Forster to grab a last minute winner for Liverpool.

The win took the Reds to fifth on the table with 56 points and two points ahead of their today’s opponent despite having one game in hand – Liverpool would now work to dispatch either Man United or Newcastle from the top four in order to secure a Champions League qualification spot.

Full matchday 34 Sunday results;

Fulham 1 va 2 Manchester City

Manchester United 1 vs 0 Aston Villa

Newcastle United 3 vs 1 Southampton

Bournemouth 4 vs 1 Leeds United

Liverpool 4 vs 3 Tottenham

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