There were only eight Premier League matches this weekend, with Liverpool and Newcastle busy contesting the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium and Aston Villa and Crystal Palace sitting at home idle. Let’s see what happened.
Premier League winners
Newcastle United
Not only did they win the Carabao Cup, they saw Manchester City, Chelsea, Brighton, and Bournemouth all drop points in their race for fourth place. If that doesn’t give the Magpies a morale boost going forward, staring at that shiny new trophy in their cabinet should do the trick. It’s their first since the 2006 Intertoto Cup. Who remembers that competition? A winner-within-a-winner gong goes to Coach Eddie Howe, who now has that trophy to point to when people question Newcastle's results.
Nottingham Forest
Three goals in six minutes in the first half put Ipswich to the sword. The Blues scored a couple of late consolations to make the final score 4-2, but their defending manufactured all the counterattacking goals that went from Forest’s end of the pitch into Ipswich’s goal in a matter of seconds.
Ryan Sessegnon
The ex-Spurs player did not celebrate scoring against his old team, but his outrageous solo goal would have been worth it, as he ran past an oblivious Djed Spence and then overpowered Ben Davies to put a great shot inside Guglielmo Vicario’s far post. That sealed the victory for Fulham. The Cottagers have a lot of teams to climb over, but they are only four points behind fourth-place Chelsea.
Norwegians
Erling Haaland scored for Manchester City, Alexander Sørloth put Atlético 2-0 up against Barcelona, and Jørgen Strand Larsen scored both of Wolverhampton’s goals against Southampton to put Wolves nine points clear of relegation. If Norway can sort out their defense, they will be a scary proposition at next year’s World Cup.
Manchester United
Not a dominant display against Leicester, but an efficient one resulting in a 3-0 victory for the team in red. The Foxes were pretty dire, but United and their fans will take the result as a hopeful sign.
Pervis Estupiñán
The Brighton left-back’s free-kick goal against Manchester City was just gorgeous. Most teams struggle to find one decent left-back. Ecuador somehow has two, between Estupiñán and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié, who scored in the Bundesliga this weekend as well.
Premier League losers
Manchester City
Their pulsating 2-2 draw with Brighton was great entertainment, but the result hurts City more, leaving them in fifth place, one point ahead of Newcastle with the Tyneside club having a game in hand. Things are poised very finely for Pep Guardiola’s team, and we can’t count on them any longer for their composure and talent to see things through.
Chelsea
With Manchester City drawing Brighton, the Blues had a chance to put pressure on them by winning against Arsenal, but nominal striker Mikel Merino headed home a corner kick and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer-less offense failed to generate much other than Marc Cucurella’s shot which squirted through David Raya’s arms but then dribbled wide of the goal post. Chelsea’s loss leaves them clinging on to fourth place by their fingernails.
Andoni Iraola
When Bournemouth’s offense is clicking, they’re as good as anybody in the Premier League, but getting into Europe demands consistency. The Cherries can’t be letting matches like their home loss to Brentford get away, and still less can they be losing their rag and piling up yellow cards when they’re behind. The Basque manager is only 42 and learning his trade along with his team, but his initial push for the top places is falling short.