Premier League Notes - Week 27

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 27

The 27th week of the 2019-2020 Premier League Football season saw:

28 goals - most by BUR, MUN, WOL, ARS and LIV = 3 each

269 shots - most by Southampton = 28

101 on target - most by Burnley = 10

115 corners - most by Liverpool = 16

213 fouls - most by Aston Villa = 17

38 bookings - most by Newcastle = 6

1 red card - Lazaro for Newcastle

3 penalties - 2 scored (Jay Rodriguez for Burnley, Bruno Fernandes for Man United)

#CHETOT

The Blues were bossing it at Stamford Bridge. Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock off a rebound (15’), after the ball came off the woodwork from Ross Barkley’s shot, following Hugo Lloris' save against the ex-Arsenal man’s first attempt. Brilliant goal! Marcos Alonso doubled their lead shortly after the break (49’), a yard outside the area, with his left foot, across goal and into the bottom right corner. BOSS! Frank Lampard’s choices and lineup were definitely vindicated. And it could have been a much worse thrashing for José Mourinho’s men, if it weren’t for their French stopper, and Giovani Lo Celso should have been sent off for an aweful challenge on Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, but the VAR didn't feel it was worth anything - the officials at Stockley Park later admitting it was a mistake and should have been a red card. But there will be no retrospective action taken as it was all in the referee’s report. Absolute farce. VARce. Erik Lamela’s shot/cross was deflected in by Antonio Rüdiger to pull one back for Spurs (90’), which made added time more interesting (and my prediction bang-on). But Mourinho is still winless as an away manager at the Bridge, and Spurs have only won one of the last 34 clashes at the ground. The great Portuguese didn’t see or comment anything of note in the match. Yeah, rrrrright. Liar liar, you’re gonna get fired! Again.

#BURBOU

After consulting the VAR, referee Mike Dean overturned Josh King’s opener because there was a handball by Philip Billing in the build-up (24’). Matěj Vydra controlled Dwight McNeil's through-ball, ran at the defence and hammered his strike home (53’). And then again, Dean chalked a Bournemouth goal off, Harry Wilson denied this time after a counter, Adam Smith this time the one handling the ball in the build-up - and a penalty was given to Burnley instead! Absurd! Jay Rodriguez netted the spot kick in the top corner to double the home side’s lead (61’). Mad. McNeil’s left-foot drive into the bottom corner made it three (87’). Absolute misery for the Cherries. Ridiculous refereeing. Clear win for the Clarets, taking them up to eighth, whilst Eddie Howe's men remain 16th, just two points away from the drop zone 

#CRYNEW

Patrick van Aanholt bent in a brilliant free-kick to open the scoring just before the break (45’). In the final minutes, Valentino Lazaro was given a straight red card for bringing down Wilfried Zaha, pulled him back as he was through on goal. It all helped Roy Hodgson’s men to their first win in 2020, ending their run of three league defeats, the two sides exchanging places to 13th and 14th respectively. Magpies boss Steve Bruce summarised it well in the post-match interview: "The better team won."

#SHUBHA

Smashing opener into the roof of the net by Enda Stevens to give the Blades the lead (26’). The visitors instantly replied, United unable to deal with a free kick, Neal Maupay headed it home to level the score 3:09 minutes after the opener (30’). The VAR checked a coming together between John Lundstram and Lewis Dunk (85’): No red card was given for the Blades midfielder. Of course. They are asking for broken legs before they take action. FFS. Four years ago this month Sheffield United lost to Wigan, Bury and Rochdale in a League One north-west nightmare as Chris Wilder was on his way to winning League Two with Northampton. Now, this draw keeps them in sixth, level on points with Spurs in fifth, definitely in contention for a European qualifying spot. Mad.

#SOUAVL

The Saints controlled the match, Shane Long kneed them ahead early on (9’), poor from the Villans. Stuart Armstrong doubled the home side’s lead in the final seconds, easy one on an empty goal (90+5’). The Villa boss Dean Smith didn’t hold back in his disappointment and understandably so, saying some of his players had “played their way out” of next Sunday’s Carabao Cup final. The result keeps the sides in 12th and 17th respectively, the winners level on points with Arsenal in 11th, the losers just one point away from the drop zone. 

#LEIMCI

Gabriel Jesus made the difference, coming off the bench to score the winner at the King Power Stadium (80'). Both sides wasted a lot of chances, Jamie Vardy hitting the woodwork in the first half, the Foxes should have been on top at the break. Kasper Schmeichel was kept the busier after the restart, denying Sergio Agüero from the spot, continuing the Blues' penalty woes. It was the stopper's fourth Premier League penalty save - one more than his father Peter made in his entire PL career. Not bad. But it all counted for nothing in the end, the super-sub making the difference for Pep Guardiola and his men, cutting the gap to the top to 19 points. Brendan Rodgers was left bitterly disappointed meanwhile, and rightly so, the VAR missing out a few calls for penalties and harder cautions, missing or just ignoring replays of handballs and fouls. Pf. The Foxes stay third, six points ahead of Chelsea in fourth, seven points behind the Citizens.

#MUNWAT

Bruno Fernandes was brought down by Ben Foster in the box, clear penalty, and the fouled was the taker, converting from the spot to score his first goal for the club, giving the Red Devils the lead at the end of a less threatening and more frustrating half (42’). That goal ended a wait of 235 minutes for a Premier League goal by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Mason Greenwood got the last one, in a 4-0 win against Norwich on 11 January (PL Week 22). Watford’s ping-pong equaliser off a corner was disallowed and correctly so by the VAR as it came off Craig Dawson’s arm before bouncing off the woodwork for Troy Deeney to net the rebound (52’). It would have been a deserved leveller, but it was not to be. And shortly after that Anthony Martial doubled the hosts’ lead with a lovely looping finish over and in after Foster saved his first attempt (58’). Martial has scored in three successive games now. The Frechman has not done that since September 2017. A lovely run, take and finish by Greenwood made it three (75’). The win took United up to fifth, just three points separating them from Chelsea in fourth, whilst the Hornets remain 19th, one point from safety. 

#WOLNOR

Norwich played well, dominated the game early, just to fall behind. That summarises their season. A lovely flowing Wolves counter attack ended with Matt Doherty collecting the ball in the D, spinning and finding Diogo Jota running on, who nutmegged Tim Krul to break the deadlock (19’). And the Portuguese forward tapped in Romain Saïss’ cross to double the hosts’ lead (30’). Raúl Jiménez made it three after the restart banging in the rebound off Jota’s shot that came off the post (50’). The comfortable victory takes the Wanderers up to eighth, just two points behind the Red Devils in fifth, whilst the Canaries are stuck rock-bottom, seven points from safety.

#ARSEVE

23 games without defeat for the Gunners against the Toffees, but it didn't come easy: Dominic Calvert-Lewin broke the deadlock after 49 seconds, overhead-kicking the ball in after Arsenal were unable to deal with Gylfi Sigurðsson’s free kick, David Luiz seeing the ball come off his back, the defence all over the place. Bukayo Saka produced the perfect cross from the left, Eddie Nketiah netted it with a fine leap and right-footed connection to level the score from the centre of the box, a lovely recovery after a poor start for the hosts (27’). Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang broke clear and poked Luiz’s lovely through-ball across and in to turn the score around (33’). Richarlison beat the keeper to Mina’s flick-on, or did Bernd Leno touch it into his own net?! It was an equaliser just before the break either way (45+4’), a messy one to end a crazy half. And 25 seconds after the restart, Aubameyang headed the Gunners ahead, Carlo Ancelotti looked absolutely gob-smacked, his HT-team-talk out of the window. This was the third game in Premier League history to see a goal scored inside the opening minute of both halves, after Newcastle v Arsenal in January 1996 and Charlton v Leeds in March 2001. Leno made a couple of good stops denying DCL. Nketiah hit the woodwork late on in a tense ending, which saw DCL head a chance wide as well. Mikel Arteta's men ended up banking the three points, to the Spaniard's relief, taking his side up to ninth, four points away from the fifth spot. 

#LIVWHU

Liverpool equalled Manchester City's all-time English top-flight record of 18 league wins in a row with their 21st successive league victory at Anfield, which also equalled their own English top-flight record for consecutive home wins, set between January and December 1972. The Reds are unbeaten in eight league matches against West Ham (W6, D2), scoring four goals in four of those eight matches. The Hammers have won only three of their 58 top-flight away matches against the Merseysiders (D15, L40). Georginio Wijnaldum's header put the league leaders ahead (9’), before Issa Diop levelled the score with a nod in of his own soon after (12’). 174 seconds between the two goals. All Reds were just watching in the box when Pablo Fornals banged the Hammers ahead (54’). Mo Salah beat Łukasz Fabiański unmarked in the box, putting the ball through the keeper’s legs for the second equaliser (68’). And Sadio Mané poked the third into an empty net from close range after the visitors were just unable to clear or do anything with the ball, a bit all over the place (81’). That was the turnaround completed by Jürgen Klopp's men and their record(s) kept in tact, as mentioned above. Top. David Moyes' side have won only three of their last 21 Premier League fixtures - as many as in their opening six games. They have lost 22 points from a winning position this season. Their last league win was on New Year's Day. Flop.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Chelsea 2:1 Tottenham - 2:1

Burnley 1:0 Bournemouth - 3:0

Crystal Palace 1:1 Newcastle - 1:0

Sheffield United 2:1 Brighton - 1:1

Southampton 2:1 Aston Villa - 2:0

Leicester 3:2 Man City - 0:1

Man United 2:0 Watford - 3:0

Wolves 2:0 Norwich - 3:0

Arsenal 2:1 Everton - 3:2

Liverpool 4:0 West Ham - 3:2

Click here for my previous Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, ByTheMinPL and ByTheMinLFC Twitter and RMC Sport coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League -  Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Man City, Watford, Southampton and Liverpool = 3 each

238 shots - most by Liverpool = 36

76 on target - most by Liverpool = 11

90 corners - most by Liverpool = 13

187 fouls - most by Wolves = 15

25 bookings - most by Southampton = 3

0 red cards

0 penalties

What a match! Liverpool played Manchester United off the park on Sunday. The Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield was a let-off for the Red Devils, they could and should have been thrashed by much more, they were so bad, 36-6 shots, 11-2 on target! The opening goal was created by Fabinho with a beautiful cross and finished with a lovely take off the chest and shot in by Sadio Mané (24’). The visitors only got back into the game thanks to Alisson’s spill, netted by Jesse Lingard (33’), the hosts bossed it before and after. But it was substitute Xherdan Shaqiri who made the difference, with his brace shortly (= 144 seconds) after coming on (73’, 80’), both times helped by deflections, winning it for the Scousers. The Swiss is only the second LFC player to score at least two goals in their first game against United, the first since Nigel Clough in January 1994. The win extended the unbeaten run for Jürgen Klopp’s men and took them back to the top, a record 19 points ahead of their bitter rivals, whilst José Mourinho’s side’s misery continues, equalling their worst start to a top-flight season after 17 games back in 1990-91 (also 26 points). Even the Portuguese conceded how much better the opposition were in the match and are in general. Full. Stop.
Hence, it came to no surprise when the news broke on Tuesday, of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager's dismissal. The more of a surprise was his replacement, former United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

What a team! Manchester City made an easy recovery from their first league defeat last weekend, brushing aside Everton 3-1 at the Etihad in the early kick-off on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus’ brace (22’, 50’) and Raheem Sterling’s header minutes after coming off the bench (69’) were enough to down the Toffees, Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the only response (65’) against the dominant Citizens. The win put Pep Guardiola’s men back to the top of the table, at least for the day, whilst Marco Silva was left disappointed, with his main men Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson firing blanks and missing sitters, wasting the little and few chances they had, seeing them fail and fall down to eighth. 

What a man! Ralph Hasenhüttl was entertaining to watch on the sideline in his first match as Southampton manager and could not have asked for a better start, shocking and beating Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary’s. The surprise result ended the Saints’ 14-game winless streak and the Gunners’ 22-match unbeaten run. Charlie Austin’s 85th minute winning header ended a cracking contest, that saw Danny Ings (20’, 44’) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (28’, 53’) keep the competitive encounter going with a brace each for either side, strong headers and capitalising takes. Juicy footy. The victory took the Saints out of the drop zone, up to 17th, their Austrian boss left apologising to his counterpart Unai Emery after forgetting to shake hands as emotional celebrations took over. Who can blame him after that epic win?!

Eden Hazard scored one (33’) after having assisted the opener (Pedro 17’) to make sure Chelsea ended up 1-2 winners at Brighton on Sunday, leaving boss Maurizio Sarri relieved and full of praise for the 27-year-old. Blues defender Marcos Alonso was a very lucky man to remain on the pitch after fouling Solly March late on, who had pulled one back for the home side (66'), making the last half an hour a tense affair. Tough luck for the Seagulls.

What a goal! Captain Luka Milivojeviç's stunning strike from 25 yards out gave Crystal Palace the lead against Leicester and ended up securing a much-needed win for Roy Hodgson’s side. It's the first time the Foxes haven’t scored on the road in the league this season. Jamie Vardy got so close, the ball coming back from the inside of the post and back to the keeper. It stayed 1-0 at Selhurst Park to make it three wins on the trot for the home side, taking them up to 15th, two consecutive defeats for the visitors, pushing them down to 12th.

Salomón Rondón scored his 40th PL goal for his club, Newcastle’s first second-half goal of the season, at Huddersfield. With that the Magpies edged past the Terriers, against the run of play, to move six points clear of the drop zone. David Wagner’s side are falling further and further after their fourth successive defeat despite all the chances they created (15-8).

And it was a delightful day for Watford against Cardiff, youngster Domingos Quina making it 3-0 with a lovely turning curler (68’). It could have been double that score if it weren’t for Neil Etheridge’s solid and exemplary display and saves. The Welsh side hit back late on though and got one beautiful curler of their own back to make it 3-1 (Junior Hoilett 80’). Bobby Reid’s back-heeler was deflected, but poked back in (was it offside though?), making it two goals in two minutes and 3-2 (82’). Too little, too late.

Robert Snodgrass’ opening goal from 20 yards put West Ham ahead at Fulham (17’) in the evening kick-off on Saturday. Michail Antonio doubled the Hammers’ lead from close range (29’), the Cottagers unable to defend and keep control at the back. Or the front. They didn’t offer much after that, an easy win and crucial three points for the Hammers, the Cottagers remaining slumped and dumped at the bottom of the table.

What the hell?! How did Dele Ali miss that last-minute chance for Tottenham against Burnley?! Super sub Christian Eriksen made up for it though, to his team mates' relief, scoring the winner moments later in added time, finally breaking Sean Dyche’s men’s resistance, who failed to record a single shot on target at Wembley. Mauricio Pochettino will be a very happy man, being the first Spurs boss to record 100 PL wins in 169 games (10 matches quicker than a certain Arsène Wenger), and a club-record total of PL points after 17 games = 39.

Bournemouth suffered their sixth defeat in seven at Wolves, who won for the third time in a row in the top flight for the first time since March 1980. Worrying times for one, down to tenth, relieving and encouraging for the other, up to seventh.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Man City 1:0 Everton - 3:1

Crystal Palace 0:1 Leicester - 1:0

Huddersfield 1:1 Newcastle - 0:1

Tottenham 4:1 Burnley - 1:0

Watford 3:1 Cardiff - 3:2

Wolves 0:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Fulham 2:2 West Ham - 0:2

Brighton 1:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 2:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Liverpool 2:1 Man United - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Gillette Soccer Saturday, MOTD, Twitter and Sky Sports match coverage.

Deadlocked & Unbeaten Reds & Citizens

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 0:0 MCFC

Liverpool and Manchester City remain unbeaten and tied with Chelsea on 20 points at the top of the Premier League after their goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday.

It was definitely not the Super Sunday clash as it was built up and expected to be between the two sides that shared 12 goals in their two league meetings last season and six goals in their Champions League matches.

MCFC 5-0 LFC (09/09/2017), LFC 4-3 MCFC (14/01/2018)
LFC 3-0 MCFC (04/04/2018), MCFC 1-2 LFC (10/04/2018)

It took 62 minutes to get the first shot on target, Riyad Mahrez testing Alisson from inside the box shortly before Mohamed Salah's curler from 20 yards was easily caught by Ederson.

Both keepers had nothing to do until then, after a frantic opening 15-20 minutes, the Sky Blues kept the Reds under control and vice versa.

The visitors had 51% possession, their lowest in a Premier League games under their Spanish boss, the home side weren't helped though by injury to their vice-skipper James Milner with under half an hour gone.

It was the first time City failed to have a single shot in the first half since April 2010 against Arsenal and a shot on target in the first half of a Premier League game since the final game of last season against Southampton.

And November 2017 against Chelsea was the last time for Jürgen Klopp's side not to register an attempt on target in the first half of a Premier League game.

But it was not like they were not trying, Sadio Mané and Salah worked hard throughout, Roberto Firmino still seemed isolated and hardly got a touch or look into the game.

Man of the match Bernardo Silva was the key to that, keeping the Citizens locked, recording and completing more tackles than anyone else on the pitch.

Former Red Raheem Sterling and Argentinian fireman Sergio Agüero were both kept quiet, the latter was taken off after 66 minutes, his record against LFC looking dire with no goals in his ten appearances (700 minutes played, 0 wins, 11 shots, 3 on target).

The first genuine save came in the 74th minute, the home side's Brazilian stopper tipping away Mahrez's low shot.

Pep Guardiola's men were given a lifeline after Virgil van Dijk slid into Leroy Sané, getting more of the man than the ball, seconds after it looked like the latter had fouled Salah in the buildup.

Penalty to City it was, five minutes of normal time to go, all hard work looked to be undone for the Reds, until Mahrez took the kick off Gabriel Jesus and put it sky-high to the left and out, relief all round at Anfield.

The Algerian winger has missed five of his last eight spot kicks (four for Leicester, one for City), among players to have taken at least 10 penalties in the Premier League, only former Aston Villa man Juan Pablo Ángel (50%, 5/10) has a lower rate than Mahrez (58%, 7/12).

The champions have not won a league game at Anfield in 15 years, but as frustrating as that miss was, both bosses left happy with their sides' unbeaten records and clean sheets in tact.

Pep has won just one of his past eight managerial meetings with Klopp in all competitions (D3, L4), and is winless in the most recent four (D1, L3, see links above).

Liverpool's total of 20 points is their joint-most after eight games of a Premier League campaign, having also done so in 1996-97 and 2008-09.

As mentioned above, both the Reds and Sky Blues with Chelsea remain unbeaten in the league this campaign, which is just the second time in the Premier League era that as many as three teams have gone unbeaten in their opening eight games of a single season (also 2011-12 with Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle).

The international break is coming at a perfect time for all three sides, to recharge, recap and restart their winning mentality and firing boots.

Liverpool Team: 13 Alisson; 26 Robertson, 4 van Dijk, 6 Lovren, 12 Gomez; 7 Milner (8 Keita 29'), 14 Henderson (c), 5 Wijnaldum (booked 90'); 10 Mané, 9 Firmino (15 Sturridge 72'), 11 Salah. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 3 Fabinho, 22 Mignolet, 23 Shaqiri, 32 Matip, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Man City Team: 31 Ederson; 22 Mendy (booked 64'), 14 Laporte, 5 Stones, 2 Walker; 25 Fernandinho, B Silva (booked 21'); 7 Sterling (19 Sané 76'), 21 D Silva (c), 26 Mahrez; 10 Agüero (booked 56') (33 de Jesus 66'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 3 Danilo, 4 Kompany, 30 Otamendi, 47 Foden, 49 Muric.

HT Stats: LFC 0-0 MCFC
Possession: 43%-57%
Shots: 2-1
On target: 0-0
Corners: 2-4
Fouls: 5-3
Bookings: 0-1

FT Stats: LFC 0-0 MCFC
Possession: 49%-51%
Shots: 7-6
On target: 2-2
Corners: 2-6
Fouls: 10-10
Bookings: 1-3

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 52,117

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter, Sky Sports and RMC app and match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 38

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 38

The 38th week of the Premier League action saw:

31 goals - most by Tottenham = 5

247 shots - most by Swansea = 26

93 on target - most by Liverpool & Swansea = 11 each

98 corners - most by Man City = 12

193 fouls - most by Burnley = 14

22 yellow cards - most by Man United = 4.

0 red cards

1 penalty - 0 scored

What a game! Leicester and Tottenham could just not stop scoring. The two sides shared NINE GOALS between each other!!! What a comeback it was by the London side, trailing three times, 3-1 down at the break to lead 4-3, see Gazza dancing, the Foxes equalising and Harry Kane netting his second and the match winner - not enough to clinch the Golden Boot though. With Erik Lamela’s double and Christian Fuchs’ own goal, it ended 5-4 at a very entertained Wembley and with a very happy Mauricio Pochettino seeing his side end up third. Jamie Vardy’s brace, together with Riyad Mahrez and Kelechi Iheanacho all on the scoreboard, was still not enough and just another defeat at the end of a disappointing season for the 2016 champions. Claude Puel called the match crazy, which it was, but it cannot hide the fact that finishing 9th after their 15th defeat is just not good enough and it remains to be seen who will be the boss and stay part of the team at the King Power Stadium next season.

What a team! Newcastle took Chelsea apart with the great help of Ayoze Pérez’s brace, two goals in four minutes, after Dwight Gayle’s header from close range gave the home side the lead at St James’ Park. The little chance the Blues had of sneaking into the top four was blown away by the Magpies, manager Antonio Conte taking the blame for such a disappointing campaign. The Londoners still have the FA Cup final to play next weekend, but either way, no matter how that ends, I would be very surprised to see the Italian still at the Stamford Bridge helm next season, given their Russian owner's managerial record, not exactly the patient one... Newcastle on the other hand would love for their boss Rafa Benítez to stay after the Spaniard guided their side back up into the PL and up to 10th, but his relationship with the hierarchy puts doubt on that as well...

The miracle of a 10-goal swing was not to be for Swansea, no matter how much they tried at the Liberty Stadium (26 shots!). After taking the lead early on thanks to Andy King, the Welsh side fell behind Stoke after Badou Ndiaye's equaliser and Peter Crouch's winner turned the game around within ten minutes, all in the first half. And it could have been worse, the visitors missing a penalty in Wales, Martin Olsson penalised for handball, Xherdan Shaqiri’s spot kick saved by Łukasz Fabiański in the bottom left corner. Just like their run under Carlos Carvalhal, 17 points from the first 9 games, to only three from the last 8, the Swans’ run went from top to flop, just not good and consistent enough to stay up.

What a man! Will the 3-1 defeat and plenty of bubbles for Everton at West Ham put another nail in Big Sam’s coffin? The Hammers moved up two places to finish 13th after this fine win, inspired by Manuel Lanzini once again with two goals and Marko Arnautović adding to the Toffees misery and making Oumar Niasse’s goal count for nothing. David Moyes’ men ended a very topsy turvy campaign on a high, finishing 13th after beating his former side who appointed Allardyce on a slide and fall of their own. The big boss will point out the blue side of Liverpool have finished in 8th, top half of the table, much better than expected after their nightmare start, but I will be very surprised to see him still in the same job in August.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once again like in their last home game last weekend served Arsène Wenger with a perfect send-off, this time at Huddersfield, his goal completing the Gunners’ first away win in 2018. It was a nice touch by the Terriers to display "Merci Arsène" and join in the standing ovation after 22 minutes to celebrate the Frenchman’s 22 years at the London club, a reign of 1,235 matches (707 wins, 280 draws, 248 defeats). The John Smith’s Stadium was the 48th different ground Wenger has won at in the PL - a record (breaking Sir Alex Ferguson’s 47). Who will dare to fill those shoes I wonder...

Roy Hodgson meanwhile was celebrated at Crystal Palace after a comfy 2-0 win against already relegated West Brom, pulling the side out of trouble and much higher than anyone would have expected after their pointless and goalless start to the season, losing their opening seven games. But the ex-England boss was still sad to see his former side Albion go down, especially after their impressive resurgence under caretaker manager Darren Moore, this being their only defeat in his six matches in charge. The Baggies still finished bottom, for a record 10th season in the top flight and second time in the Premier League era (also 2008-09).

What a goal! Dominic Solanke finally opened his account for Liverpool with a smacking finish and thanks to an unselfish Mohamed Salah setting him up with his pass in the box after he had scored the opener - his record 32nd goal of the season, most by any player in a 38-game PL season. Much-criticised defender Dejan Lovren rose to head in the third, his celebration showing how much it meant to him. And Andrew Robertson scored his first for the Reds as well to make it 4-0. It was the great Egyptian of course who collected all the records and awards after the match, but it was an exemplary team display. Brighton were left watching in awe, Jürgen Klopp’s men all over them, just what the Merseyside’s doctor ordered before their Champions League final in 13 days.

Marcus Rashford showed how to tap it in and win it for Manchester United against Watford, there was not much else notable that happened in the match. Like the rest of the season, the Red Devils weren’t much to watch but still got the points, typical José Mourinho - who had made nine changes for this match. United ended the season in second place on 81 points, their highest finish since Fergie retired in 2013. I’m sure their current Portuguese boss will underline, frame and point that out to anyone who dares to criticise him and his less-entertaining style.

What the hell?! If that was not typical Manchester City, Gabriel Jesus whacking in the winner Agüero-style in the dying seconds of added time (94’) at Southampton as the commentators were already lauding the point and draw. But it ended 0-1 at St Mary’s, three points and the full century of points for Pep Guardiola’s men, a record 100 points from 38 games, 50 at home, 50 away, muchas gracias!!! What an achievement! And the Saints were still happy too, nice and safe after the Swans’ defeat, mentioned above.

And Jermain Defoe set up Bournemouth’s last-second winner in injury time as well, unselfishly serving Callum Wilson the goal to make it 1-2 at Burnley after Joshua King’s delicious curling equaliser levelled Chris Wood’s opener. Sean Dyche can still be happy with his side’s best league finish since 1973-74 and Europa League qualification in 7th place, returning to European football for the first time in 51 years.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Burnley 1:1 Bournemouth - 1:2

Crystal Palace 2:1 West Brom - 2:0

Huddersfield 1:0 Arsenal - 0:1

Liverpool 3:0 Brighton - 4:0

Man United 1:0 Watford - 1:0

Newcastle 1:1 Chelsea - 3:0

Southampton 2:4 Man City - 0:1

Swansea 2:1 Stoke City - 1:2

Tottenham 3:1 Leicester - 5:4

West Ham 1:2 Everton - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Red Over Blue Again & Into CL Semis

Sports - Football - Champions League - MCI 1:2 LIV

Liverpool booked their place in the Champions League semi-final for the first time in a decade after coming back from behind to beat Manchester City 1-2 in the quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, thrashing them 1-5 on aggregate. 

Mohamed Salah started for the Reds after missing out the goalless Merseyside derby on Saturday due to injury, whilst the Citizens made four changes to the side that lost the mad Manchester derby at the weekend with Sergio Agüero on the bench.

And the home side could not have asked for a better start after their shock in the first leg at Anfield, Virgil Van Dijk losing the ball looking for a free kick, former Red Raheem Sterling ripping through the visitors, given too much space to run and provide Gabriel Jesus who netted the opener after just one minute and 57 seconds! Too easy!

Kevin De Bruyne sent a chance high soon after, before Sadio Mané and Nicolas Otamendi collided, City keeper Ederson Moraes getting involved and pushing the Senegalese again and again, both names were added to the referee's book after just 14 minutes.

It was a feisty, breathtaking start, the home side dominating and pressing, testing the visitors again and again, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren and Andrew Robertson dealing and coping well with all the pressure, clearing the ball again and again, top class.

Sterling went down too easy too many times, desperately looking for trouble against Robertson, the referee had a word, whilst Alexander-Arnold and Bernardo Silva were cautioned for choking Leroy Sané and verbal protests respectively.

Roberto Firmino was also booked for catching De Bruyne too late, the Belgian too quick for the Brazilian striker on the counter before Liverpool finally got their first shot on target with nearly 40 minutes on the clock, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain serving Ederson an easy catch.

The first half ended as crazy as it started, Bernardo Silva hitting the bar before Jesus' shot was blocked, James Milner with the last touch and Loris Karius nowhere near, Sané netting the rebound, but the flag was up, goal disallowed.

The Ox and Salah combined well in the final seconds before the interval, a nice one-two and rare Red combo attack, but the chance went just high. It stayed 1-0 at half-time without any time added on.

Spanish referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz probably needed the break more than anyone else after a crazy 45 minutes, City boss Pep Guardiola was not happy with the officials and sent to the stands from the restart, obviously having taken his protests too far.

Jürgen Klopp could be glad it was only 1-0 but surely needed the Reds to step up if they did not want to collapse under all the pressure and after having worked so hard. And they didn't. Quite the opposite.

Their Egyptian star shined once again, beating Ederson with a lovely move and finish after collecting the ball off a falling Mané in the box, making it 1-1 with his 10th European goal and 39th in all competitions eleven minutes after the break.

Guardiola communicated with his coaching staff to make changes, Agüero and Ilkay Gündogan were brought on, the home side looking to make their continuous dominance count, but to no avail.

Firmino gave the Reds the lead with just under a quarter of an hour to go, 1-2 on the night, 1-5 on aggregate, his 24th goal of the season after Otamendi gave the ball away and Fernandinho backed away, breaking more European records.

The front duo of Salah and Firmino have both scored more goals in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign for Liverpool than any other player in the club's history (10 each = 20).

These two goals bring the Reds' total to 33 goals in the Champions League this season, the most by an English side in a single campaign.

It was just not City's night, seeing another goal disallowed for offside, correctly this time, Sané mistiming his runs too regularly, no wonder the officials kept raising their flags. 

It stayed 1-2, the Reds' persistence paying off and breaking down the Citizens once again, making it three wins out of three meetings, to reach their 18th European semi-final.

City had scored three or more goals in 12 out of their 26 home games this season, so, they are more than capable to come back from three goals down, but Klopp's men were able to stop them.

Liverpool have only lost by three or more goals three times under Klopp:

Watford 3-0 (2015)

Manchester City 5-0 (2017)

Tottenham 4-1 (2017)

The German made sure that didn't happen again this time, recording his seventh win against Guardiola, the first time the Catalonian has lost three times in a row since May 2015 with Bayern.

Next on the list for the Reds are Bournemouth at Anfield Saturday evening, surely the Kop will be bouncing still after this display - ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ! :-D

Man City Goal: de Jesus 2’.

Liverpool Goals: Salah 56’ & Firmino 77’.

Match Stats: MCFC 1-2 LFC

Possession: 68%-32%

Shots: 20-5

On target: 3-3

Corners: 9-2

Fouls: 5-7

Yellow cards: 2-4

Man City Team: 31 Ederson (booked 14’); 14 Laporte, 17 De Bruyne, 25 Fernandinho; 30 Otamendi, 2 Walker; 7 Sterling, 33 de Jesus, 21 D Silva (c) (10 Agüero 66’), 20 B Silva (booked 30’) (8 Gündogan 74’); 19 Sané. 3-2-4-1

Subs not used: 1 Bravo, 4 Kompany, 18 Delph, 35 Zinchenko, 47 Foden.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 26 Robertson, 4 van Dijk (booked 65’), 6 Lovren, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 29’) (2 Clyne 81’); 5 Wijnaldum, 7 Milner (c), 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain; 19 Mané (booked 14’), 9 Firmino (booked 35’) (17 Klavan 81’), 11 Salah (28 Ings 89’). 4-3-3

Subs not used: 18 Moreno, 22 Mignolet, 29 Solanke, 58 Woodburn.

Referee: Antonio Miguel Matheu Lahoz

Man of the match: Mohamed Salah

Ground: Etihad Stadium

Attendance: 53,461

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Sky Sports app, Twitter, BT Sport and beIN sports match coverage.