Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 38
The 38th and last week of the Premier League action saw:
36 goals - most by Crystal Palace = 5
281 shots - most by Man United = 26
109 on target - most by Man United = 10
89 corners - most by Man United = 11
170 fouls - most by Everton = 13
23 bookings - most by Burnley = 5
1 red card - Holebas for Watford
2 penalties - 2 scored (Mendez-Laing for Cardiff, Noble for West Ham)
What a game! Whoever thought the last day wouldn’t bring much action or no surprises, think again! The Premier League served plenty of belters and OMGs yet again. And for 83 seconds it looked like there could and would be a major twist at the top as well. But it was not to be. After Glenn Murray’s opener for Brighton (27’), Sergio Agüero didn’t take long to equalise for Manchester City (28’). Aymeric Laporte put the Citizens back in the lead and to the top of the table before the break (38’). There was no looking back after that. Riyad Mahrez (63’) and İlkay Gündoğan (72’) made sure the Blue party could get started at the Falmer Stadium, Pep Guardiola becoming the first boss since Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United in 2008-09 to see his side lift the Premier League title for a second consecutive season.
Liverpool stayed second on a record 97 points after beating Wolves 2-0 thanks to Sadio Mané’s brace (17’, 81’). The Reds were top for 21 first-half minutes... It was nice for them whilst it lasted! :-P Anfield still stayed loud and proud of their record-achievement and with a Champions League final to look forward to. With more points than the Invincibles and better than Sir Alex in all his years at the top, Jürgen Klopp will be wondering how the hell his side didn’t end up on top and what else he has to do to change and improve on that. The Reds have made the biggest leap up, 22 points better off than last season, see the Premier League comparison table at the bottom of this post, under the results.
Selhurst Park witnessed a football feast, eight goals off 33 shots, 12 attempts on target, Crystal Palace leading by three, then Bournemouth fighting back to 3-2, but the home side made sure they ended the season on a high, 5-3 winners and with a dizzy Roy Hodgson. The Eagles had only scored 14 goals at home before this game and had only taken 17 points from 18 home games, the second-worst record in the league. As Eddie Howe put it, it summarises the Cherries’ season, scoring plenty (= 56, most outside the top six), but conceding too many (= 70, third most after the bottom two).
What a team! Huddersfield scored a goal and nicked a point at Southampton, a little high and nice farewell from the Premier League after a drag of a season, where they have been bottom most of the weeks (24 match weeks out of 38, relegated for the last 7) and lost most of the points compared to last season (-21), see the Premier League comparison table at the bottom of this post, under the results. Main gainers are Liverpool (+22), West Ham (+10) and of course Wolves, the promoted side finishing 7th on 57 points, Nuno Espírito Santo and his side not getting a fraction of the attention and praise they deserve, as the picture of the post-match press conference shows! Burnley will warn them not to party too hard though, the main gainers from last season, also promoted, also ended 7th, got hit hard this season, 14 points and 8 positions worse off in 15th, only relegated Huddersfield (-21) and Manchester United made a worse drop (-15). More to the Red Devils’ misery below.
The draw against Everton was enough for Tottenham to secure their fourth consecutive top-four finish in the top-flight, their best run since a run of five between 1959-60 and 1963-64.
What a man! Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brace helped Arsenal beat Burnley at Turf Moor (52, 63’), and put the Gabonese at the top of the Premier League scorers list with Mohamed Salah and Mané on 22 goals each, sharing the Golden Boot between the three of them! The Gunners failed to finish in the top four for the third successive season, the Europa League final against Chelsea on the 29th May being their last chance to grab Champions League qualification. The Golden Glove went to Red stopper Alisson Becker with 21 clean sheets.
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini was a proud man after watching his side thrash FA Cup finalists Watford 1-4 at Vicarage Road, the Hammers finishing in the top-half of the table for the first time since 2016, 10 points and 3 places better off than last season. Despite their defeat today, the Hornets recorded their highest season finish (11th) in the top-flight of English football since 1986-87 (9th place), not bad at all, including their first cup final in 35 years, their second in the club's history, Javi Gracia has not done too bad in his first season in charge.
What a goal! Jonjo Shelvey’s opener for Newcastle (9’) was a cracker from just inside the box, ending his year-long wait for a goal and contributing to a very comfortable 4-0 win at relegated Fulham. The Magpies end the season on high, but questions still remain about Rafael Benítez’s future at the club. Fans made their feelings clear against owner Mike Ashley in attendance at Craven Cottage, wanting the Spaniard to stay.
Christian Eriksen's equaliser for Spurs, that made it two goals and a point each against the Toffees, was the 1,067th Premier League goal this season, beating the total from any previous 38-game season in the competition.
What the hell?! Cardiff's victory thanks to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s brace (pen 23’, 54’) was their first win over Manchester United since 3rd April 1954, when manager Neil Warnock was just five years old. The relegated side’s keeper Neil Etheridge made save after save against the Red Devils, keeping a clean sheet after facing 26 shots and 10 on target, denying Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men and fans anything to celebrate at Old Trafford. United have finished 32 points behind the champions this season - more than they finished behind the top-flight winners when they were relegated in 1973-74 (30 points). The reaction of the fans, especially towards the title race between their two arch rival teams and towards their most expensive player and French world champion Paul Pogba when he joined them after the match, summarises their flop and frustration. And Ole's quote says it all: "The only positive from today is that the season is over."
Chris Hughton’s sacking seems a bit harsh after seeing Brighton through promotion, a record cup run and avoiding relegation. This tweet lists the 60-year-old's achievements, we will see next season if Albion chairman Tony Bloom's decision is too much of a gamble or it will pay off...
My Predictions - Actual Results
Brighton 1:1 Man City - 1:4
Burnley 1:1 Arsenal - 1:3
Crystal Palace 1:3 Bournemouth - 5:3
Fulham 2:1 Newcastle - 0:4
Leicester 2:1 Chelsea - 0:0
Liverpool 4:1 Wolves - 2:0
Man United 2:1 Cardiff - 0:2
Southampton 2:0 Huddersfield - 1:1
Tottenham 2:1 Everton - 2:2
Watford 1:1 West Ham - 1:4
The Premier League Table compared to last season
1) Man City 98 points = -2 points, same position = 1st
2) Liverpool 97 points = +22 points, up 2 places from 4th
3) Chelsea 72 points = +2 points, up 2 places from 5th
4) Tottenham 71 points = -6 points, down 1 place from 3rd
5) Arsenal 70 points = +7 points, up 1 place from 6th
6) Man United 66 points = -15 points, down 4 places from 2nd
7) Wolves 57 points = not bad at all for a promoted side!!!
8) Everton 54 points = +5 points, same position = 8th
9) Leicester 52 points = +5 points, same position = 9th
10) West Ham 52 points = +10 points, up 3 places from 13th
11) Watford 50 points = +9 points, up 3 places from 14th
12) Crystal Palace 49 points = +5 points, down 1 place from 11th
13) Newcastle 45 points = +1 point, down 3 places from 10th
14) Bournemouth 45 points = +1 point, down 2 places from 12th
15) Burnley 40 points = -14 points, down 8 places from 7th
16) Southampton 39 points = +3 points, up 1 place from 17th
17) Brighton 36 points = -4 points, down 2 places from 15th
18) Cardiff 34 points = promoted and relegated in consecutive seasons.
19) Fulham 26 points = promoted and relegated in consecutive seasons.
20) Huddersfield 16 points = -21 points, down 4 places from 16th.
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