Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week, including Kai Havertz, Conor Gallagher and Andrew Robertson.
More Premier League fates were decided during the last round of April fixtures, as Sheffield United‘s demotion back down to the Championship was confirmed with a 5-1 demolition at the hands of Newcastle United.
At the other end of the division, Arsenal maintained their slender lead at the top in a gripping 3-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, but Manchester City remain hot on their trail thanks to their 2-0 success over Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool‘s title challenge is all but dead in the water, though, as the Reds drew 2-2 with West Ham United, but Aston Villa remain in charge of their top-four destiny despite throwing away a two-goal lead in an identical stalemate with Chelsea.
Manchester United kissed goodbye to their own Champions League hopes by conceding a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Burnley, while Bournemouth rose into the top half with a convincing 3-0 success over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Lower down the division, Everton confirmed their survival by edging past Brentford 1-0, Luton Town remain in deep danger owing to their 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and a low-key London derby between Crystal Palace and Fulham ended 1-1.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.
DEFENCE
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As Andre Onana was left to bemoan his costly error at the other end of the Old Trafford field, Burnley stopper Arijanet Muric further consigned his horror mistakes against Everton and Brighton to history, making a staggering nine stops to ensure that the Clarets would remain within touching distance of top-flight safety.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou claimed that a few of his players could learn something from defender Cristian Romero, who displayed incredible spirit in the derby loss to Arsenal and left with his head held high. The Argentine could have had a hat-trick on the day but sufficed with the one goal from a David Raya error, in addition to making five tackles, completing 97% of his passes and winning five of his six aerial duels in the capital.
Romero is shoe-horned into a full-back role in our XI to make room for Everton cornerstone James Tarkowski, invaluable in the Toffees’ survival-clinching win against Brentford. While he and his teammates benefitted from the Bees’ profligacy, Tarkowski made 11 clearances and won all 10 of his duels – seven in the air and three on the ground – in a monstrous display at the back.
Slowly establishing a reputation as a menace in the final third, City defender Josko Gvardiol set the reigning champions on the path to victory against Nottingham Forest, making an exceptional run to the near post to head home from Kevin De Bruyne‘s delivery in addition to triumphing in three of his four aerial duels en route to a well-earned clean sheet.
One of – if not the only Liverpool player to do himself justice in the dismal draw with West Ham – Andrew Robertson got his reward for having a pop at goal early in the second half, seeing his deflected strike deceive Alphonse Areola at his near post. The Scotsman’s playmaking was on point too, as he created five chances and completed 90% of his passes, but his efforts were largely in vain.
MIDFIELD
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A few weeks on from the unsavoury Everton penalty incident, Noni Madueke‘s short temper was on full show again as the winger let rip at referee Craig Pawson following the draw with Villa, but the ex-PSV Eindhoven man was too hot to handle on the field. In addition to a clinical curling finish into the bottom corner, Madueke claimed the assist for Conor Gallagher‘s stunner and completed six dribbles, giving Lucas Digne a torrid time all evening.
While a handful of Chelsea’s performers put in praiseworthy displays in the West Midlands, the two-man show of Madueke and Conor Gallagher was key to the visitors’ brilliant fightback. The latter’s terrific pressing saw the Blues regain possession in a dangerous area for Madueke’s strike, and the Englishman then bent an exquisite effort into the top corner to complete the visitors’ turnaround, albeit one that left a bitter taste in the mouth as a last-gasp winner was denied by the VAR.
The likes of Adam Wharton, De Bruyne and Bruno Guimaraes all merit a mention, but having scored the goal that extended Everton’s perennial Premier League status, Idrissa Gueye was a sure-fire pick. In addition to his predatory finish – quickly arriving on the scene to smack a loose ball into the top corner – the Senegalese lynchpin won both of his aerial duels and five of his seven ground battles to deservedly take home the Man of the Match award, receiving a camera shoutout from Arnaut Danjuma in the process.
Capitalising on Liverpool’s untimely defensive frailties, West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen was back in the starting XI with a bang on Saturday lunchtime. Having sat out the thrashing versus Palace for fitness reasons, the former Hull City attacker firstly took advantage of shoddy Reds marking to head home, before laying on the delivery for Michail Antonio to all but stamp out Liverpool’s title aspirations.
ATTACK
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The St James’ Park was left shell-shocked when Sheffield United drew first blood on Saturday, but the Blades had only awoken the Alexander Isak-inspired beast. Netting his 18th and 19th goals of the top-flight campaign, the talismanic Scandinavian coolly found the far side of the net with a first-time strike across goal before dispatching a penalty with aplomb, putting him just two behind Erling Haaland and one adrift of Cole Palmer in the gripping Golden Boot race.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is some way off challenging for the individual accolade, but the German is still enjoying his most productive Premier League campaign to date and flaunted his playmaking and finishing qualities in the North London derby. Firstly producing a fantastic switch of play to set Saka away for Arsenal’s second, Havertz then made the most of Tottenham’s well-documented weaknesses from corner routines to head home from inside the six-yard box, further justifying Mikel Arteta‘s hitherto questionable faith in him.
Sports Mole’s Premier League Team of the Week (4-4-2): Muric; Romero, Tarkowski, Gvardiol, Robertson; Madueke, Gallagher, Gueye, Bowen; Havertz, Isak