Premier League interesting rankings: Chelsea’s melting wings
A stumble against Manchester United has left Chelsea in a precarious lead at the top of the table. How does the rest of the league stand?
20. Sunderland (LW: 20)
A 2-2 draw at home against West Ham seems to have assuaged the doubts of many, with reports suggesting David Moyes’ job is safe for now. Of particular note, however, is the emergence of Wahbi Khazri, who scored a goal directly from a corner after being largely ignored this season. The grass may very well be greener for him this summer.
19. Burnley (LW: 17)
After Sam Vokes drew the Clarets level, Ben Mee caught the end of a Ross Barkley shot, earning an own goal and sending Everton on their merry way. Michael Keane was typically excellent at the back, but Burnley may already have their sights on a replacement: Swansea defender Kyle Bartley, currently on loan with Leeds.
18. Middlesbrough (LW: 19)
After surrendering the opener, Alvaro Negredo pulled Boro back level just after halftime, but they couldn’t hold it together. Even with a game in hand on Swansea and Hull directly above them, it may be too deep a hole to climb out of in time to avoid relegation.
17. Stoke (LW: 18)
Marko Arnautovic seized the lead for the Potters, and second-half goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and (who else?) Peter Crouch erased any doubt. It was the first time they scored three since January and only the second time in 2017, perhaps signaling a bit of found momentum ahead of the stretch run.
16. Bournemouth (LW: 14)
The Cherries plainly ran into the wrong chopping block at the wrong time. Spurs have a late title run to light their fire, while Bournemouth are in relatively good stead to stay in the Premier League. On the bright side, though again injured, Jack Wilshere doesn’t have a broken ankle. It’s the little things.
15. Southampton (LW : 15)
Despite having one of the stoutest goalscoring defenses in the league, the Saints continually fail to generate the offense necessary to compete. Their 3-0 shutout at the hands of City, while not necessarily indicative of the club’s trajectory, shed some light on the weakness, which they reportedly plan to address by pursuing Montpellier’s Ryad Boudebouz in the summer.
14. Watford (LW: 16)
Etienne Capoue followed his own blocked shot to the decisive goal, striking one into the far corner and lifting his Hornets over Swansea. With the win, Watford drew level with Southampton in the table for the moment, which may quell fears of a Walter Mazzarri firing in favor of Claudio Ranieri.
13. West Brom (LW: 12)
Not unlike Southampton behind them, it is apparent that the Baggies suffer from a scoring problem; the 21-goal difference between them and the team directly ahead of them in the table, Everton, reveals the extent of it. Tony Pulis is already grappling with the idea of letting Jonny Evans walk in the summer, if it means he can increase his scoring muscle somehow.
12. West Ham (LW: 11)
A poor bit of positioning fell the Hammers on Wahbi Khazri’s corner strike, but West Ham had other chances on which they simply failed to capitalize. Reports that John Terry may head to West Ham, where he spent a portion of his youth career, are a bit premature but nevertheless tantalizing.
11. Liverpool (LW: 10)
Roberto Firmino’s header helped the Reds eek by West Brom, maintaining third in the table and keeping pressure on the Manchester clubs, who are interested in destroying each other. Afterward, Jurgen Klopp admitted that he could see himself retiring at Anfield.
10. Swansea (LW: 6)
Paul Clement’s club fell to Watford by the slimmest of margins, and the Swans are in a perilous position in the table. With Swansea hanging on for dear life in the top tier, it’s a wonder why Fernando Llorente isn’t running from danger — he apparently ran fewer than 20 meters in over 80 minutes of action.
9. Everton (LW: 8)
Romelu Lukaku can’t help himself, adding yet another goal onto his impressive tally for the season. His form should benefit his current club, at the (literal) expense of his presumptive next one: reports indicate that Everton have set an asking price that would break the transfer fee record to secure his services this summer.
8. Chelsea (LW: 13)
Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that captain John Terry’s announcement that he will be leaving the Blues at the end of the season followed a tremendously inopportune loss to United. Chelsea remain the presumptive title favorites, but wrapping things up ahead of time just became much more difficult.
7. Hull (LW: 5)
The Tigers found themselves in an early debt against Stoke, and it only got worse. Though Harry Maguire drew Hull level just after halftime off a fortuitous short corner set up, they quickly relinquished the lead, falling 3-1 and prompting Marco Silva to beg his team to play the entirety of games. Hull sit only two points clear of the drop zone.
6. Manchester City (LW: 9)
Pep Guardiola has City playing their best soccer of the season right now, due in no small part to possible Young Player of the Year winner Leroy Sane. The winger scored a killer goal for his side’s second on the way to a 3-0 shutout.
5. Manchester United (LW: 7)
For better and for worse, we have Jose Mourinho partially to thank for suddenly making the title chase a much more heated pursuit. Mou deserves credit for placing his trust in Marcus Rashford, who played admirably and scored the opener.
4. Arsenal (LW: 4)
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil came to Arsene Wenger’s rescue, saving the skipper a measure of embarrassment. The former reportedly stoked interest from his former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, whose City squad may bid for the winger this summer.
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3. Leicester (LW: 3)
Despite the eventual draw, the Foxes played with a distinctly 2016 vigor, with Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy almost stealing their goals. Despite a disappointing loss to Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday, Craig Shakespeare has his side in excellent form.
2. Tottenham (LW: 2)
Vincent Janssen provided the exclamation point on a fine afternoon for Spurs, who find themselves in a familiar position: just within striking distance of the top of the table, in need of help from others. Next week’s FA Cup semifinal between the two clubs may spark serious bad blood.
1. Crystal Palace (LW: 1)
Down 2-0, the Eagles soared back, first cutting the lead in half with a quick Yohan Cabaye goal and, later, a Christian Benteke header equalizer. Though they didn’t make up ground on the Foxes, Sam Allardyce and company proved they are still consistently an enticing outfit capable of responding under intense pressure.