Category: English Premier League

Ollie Watkins was the star turn of a comprehensive Villa victory, as Unai Emery’s team closed the gap on the top five

McGinn tries to release Watkins down the left. Tonali comes across to put a stop to his gallop. But Tonali’s clearance only goes to Tielemans, who immediately returns it down the inside-left channel to Watkins. He shoots. A deflection off Schar sends the ball into the bottom left, past the wrong-footed, and rooted, Pope. What a start!

Newcastle get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Holte End in this first half.

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Lesley Ugochukwu’s added-time equaliser ensured Southampton equalled Derby’s record-low Premier League points total with a 1-1 draw at West Ham.

The already-relegated Saints were still on course to be crowned the worst team in Premier League history after Jarrod Bowen fired the hosts into the lead. But they were not even the worst team at the London Stadium for long periods of a dreadful game, and they snatched a deserved point deep into added time when the Chelsea loanee Ugochukwu drove home through a crowded penalty area.

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The Premier League trophy Manchester City have proudly held for the past four years will be soon heading to one side of Stanley Park but, after exploding to life late against Everton, they took an important step towards Champions League qualification on the other. Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic sealed a victory that even Pep Guardiola may not have seen coming to edge City towards a place among the European elite for a 15th season in succession.

A goalless draw appeared the most likely outcome for most of a pedestrian contest but in a late twist, shaped by the positive impact of Guardiola’s substitutions and David Moyes’ subs having the opposite effect, City seized control of the closing stages and secure a ninth consecutive win at Goodison.

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It is unlikely anyone will remember this game fondly in years to come. Bournemouth missed the chance to make up ground in the race for European football next season as 10-man Crystal Palace stood firm after a week of two heavy defeats in which they conceded five goals twice.

A red card for Chris Richards at the end of the first half left his side with an uphill task to make it five successive home wins after the referee, Sam Barrott, had bizarrely decided against meting out the same punishment to Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

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Aston Villa host Newcastle in a top-five battle while Leicester will be relegated if they fail to beat Liverpool

Saturday 3pm Venue Gtech Community Stadium

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Brighton hope their injury problems ease, Palace must stem the tide and Forest could do with Chris Wood fully fit

Considering the length of Brighton’s injury list, Fabian Hürzeler will be desperate to get Kaoru Mitoma back in time for Saturday’s trip to west London. The Japanese winger sustained a heel injury against Crystal Palace, ruling him out of the draw with Leicester. It was the first time he had missed a Premier League game all season after making 31 appearances. Whether he will be available against Brentford is yet to be seen but, with three teenagers on the bench last weekend, the more experience Hürzeler can name on the teamsheet the better. James Milner, Igor Julio, Georginio Rutter, Adam Webster, Ferdi Kadioglu and Tariq Lamptey are all out, while the goalkeeper Jason Steele returned to action for the under-21s this week but Carl Rushworth will remain the backup to Bart Verbruggen for now. If Mitoma can recover in time, it will be a timely boost as Hürzeler’s side fight for a European place. Will Unwin

Brentford v Brighton, Saturday 3pm (all times BST)

Crystal Palace v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Manchester City, Saturday 3pm

West Ham v Southampton, Saturday 3pm

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When Eddie Howe fell ill last week and it became clear Newcastle’s manager could be absent for some time, the team’s captain, Bruno Guimarães, convened an emergency meeting of senior players.

According to Guimarães, everyone resolved to “keep our standards as high as ever” and subsequent actions have shown they really meant it.

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Antoine Semenyo’s classy first-minute goal gave Bournemouth a vital victory that moved them above Fulham into eighth

3 min Antonee Robinson has got a heap of assists this season so he’s still well in credit. Even so that was an untimely slip, especially given Bournemouth’s fragile morale going into the game.

Antoine Semenyo has put Bournemouth ahead inside 60 seconds. Bournemouth broke through Scott, who lost his balance as he tried to push a pass out to Semenyo on the right. It was intercepted by Robinson – but then he was robbed by Semenyo, who cut inside Andersen on the edge of the area and shaped an excellent left-foot shot into the far corner. That’s a really good finish, although Robinson will know that his mistake led to the goal.

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The Scottish Grand National, the Hell of the North that is the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race and the Masters at Augusta were among the sporting spectacles which Football Daily watched over the weekend while also keeping an eye on goings-on in the Premier League. And while we are happy to applaud the spirited efforts of also-rans such as – deep breath – Our Power, Grozni, Rock My Way, Mads Pederson, Wout van Aert, Florian Vermesch, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler and Im Sung-jae, our interest in these not-football contests was certainly not piqued by the prospect of seeing who would finish third, fourth and fifth.

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Pep Guardiola’s side appear to have corrected the worst of their problems but the days when they conquered all before them are probably over

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There was something very familiar about Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. In August 2022, Palace went 2-0 up at the Etihad, the second goal a header from a corner but City came back to win 4-2, Erling Haaland scoring a hat-trick in a dominant second-half performance. Saturday’s game followed a similar path, with the exception that the City comeback began before half-time. This time the key figure wasn’t Haaland, but Kevin De Bruyne, who produced a display to remind everybody just how worthy he was of the tributes that have followed the announcement that he will leave the club in the summer.

Does this, then, mean that City are somehow suddenly back? They’re unbeaten in five games, three of them won. The January signings, Omar Marmoush in particular, have enabled them to stabilise. They are back in the top five and should qualify for the Champions League next season (with all the usual caveats about the Premier League charges they are facing, which they deny). That is a significant step as they look to rebuild, not only in terms of being to attract players but for future PSR calculations.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

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Wolves’ revival continues, Jadon Sancho needs to show more consistency and Fabian Hürzeler backs his captain

• Premier League top scorers: the latest standings

Among several excellent individual performances, it was Newcastle’s collective endeavour that was most impressive against Manchester United, the home side’s press rarely giving their opponents a chance to settle on the ball. As a result the visitors kept coughing it up in dangerous positions, and this was where the game was won. None of the home side’s goals involved them crossing the halfway line, and the amount of time they spent in possession in the buildup to each of them was, in order of them being scored, eight seconds (with four players touching the ball), nine seconds (also four players), five seconds (one player) and three seconds (two players). More than a fifth of their total ball recoveries, 12 of them in all, took place in their attacking third, four of which led to goals; the equivalent figures for the visitors were two, and 4.3%. Simon Burnton

Match report: Newcastle 4-1 Manchester United

Match report: Liverpool 2-1 West Ham

Match report: Wolves 4-2 Tottenham

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Harvey Barnes’ double set up a convincing win and moved Newcastle up to fourth in the Premier League

Hey Jude rings out around St James’ Park. KEEGAN, says a tifo in the stands. “He saved us in 82,” adds a banner, “he entertained us in 92.”

In a dramatic development, I have received an email. “G’Day Tim,” says Chris Paraskevas. “Hope you’re well!” I am, thanks, hope you are too. “And seriously, sending best wishes to Toon Legend® Eddie Howe, who also seems like a top bloke!

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Eddie Howe was missing, watching on television from a hospital bed and too ill to activate a telephone line to the home dugout, yet his absence proved irrelevant.

Newcastle’s players were so determined to send their manager a meaning­ful get-well message that they ultimately put on the sort of show that not merely proved Howe’s hard work on Tyneside is yielding rich rewards but blew Manchester United away.

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A shocking second half did not quite derail Liverpool as Virgil van Dijk’s late headers secured three points against West Ham

4 mins: Good work from Todibo to hold up Luis Diaz on the Liverpool left, and then to toe-poke the ball away from Jota as it ran towards him in the area.

3 mins: The home fans sing Mo Salah’s name. He’s done little of interest so far, but he’s signed a new contract and everyone’s happy about it.

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Yoane Wissa cancelled out Thomas Partey’s second-half opener to earn Brentford a share of the spoils at the Emirates Stadium

• Read David Hytner’s match report from the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has praised Declan Rice for his initiative after the midfielder ignored the instructions of Arsenal’s set-piece coach before scoring the first of his two free-kicks against Real Madrid. Ed Aarons reports …

Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace

Brighton 2-2 Leicester City

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton

Southampton 0-3 Aston Villa

View the Premier League table

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