CONGRATULATIONS TO LEICESTER CITY, WINNING THE FA CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE CLUBS HISTORY.
CHELSEA 0 V 1 LEICESTER CITY
Youri Tielemans produced one of the great FA Cup final goals to give Leicester City the trophy for the first time in their history with victory over Chelsea at Wembley.The Belgian settled a closely contested encounter with a spectacular right-foot drive that flew beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga into the top corner from 25 yards in the 63rd minute.It sent manager Brendan Rodgers racing down the touchline in celebration although Leicester’s fans – inside Wembley as 21,000 supporters formed the biggest attendance since lockdown – had to survive a nerve-jangling closing phase before they could celebrate the win in their first final since 1969.The Foxes were indebted to two crucial saves from keeper Kasper Schmeichel, who turned former Leicester defender Ben Chilwell’s header on to a post then produced an even better stop to turn Mason Mount’s powerful shot wide.And in a final act of drama, Wes Morgan bundled into his own net following a last-minute goalmouth scramble before it was ruled out by the barest of margins following the intervention of VAR.Leicester closed out the win to spark emotional scenes as those inside Wembley rejoiced in a landmark victory.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 36 ROUND-UP
CONGRATULATIONS TO MANCHESTER CITY, PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FOR THE THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS
MANCHESTER UNITED 1 V 2 LEICESTER CITY
Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons as Leicester City secured their first Old Trafford victory over Manchester United since 1998 to take a major step towards a place in next season’s Champions League.Defeat for United means they are 10 points behind City with only three games remaining.Caglar Soyuncu’s far-post header was enough to bring a smile to Brendan Rodgers’ face and that of Pep Guardiola, whose dominance of the English game is increasing.A United side showing 10 changes to the team that won at Aston Villa two days previously battled hard, with Mason Greenwood levelling after fellow 19-year-old Luke Thomas had put the visitors in front with a fantastic far-post volley into the top corner.
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BRIGHTON 1 V 1 WEST HAM UNITED
West Ham’s Premier League draw at Brighton effectively ended the Londoners’ Champions League hopes.The result leaves West Ham in sixth and needing to bridge a five-point gap to fourth-placed Chelsea, with two games remaining.Liverpool also sit a point above David Moyes’ side and have the benefit of a game in hand. After such a good season, once the Europeanopportunity was within their grasp,they have bottled it, they have been left looking like rabbits caught in the headlights, only getting four points out of the last fifteen,pressure has to be handled and West Ham have certainly not done that.
Danny Welbeck had looked likely to give the hosts victory, racing clear in the 84th minute to lift the ball beyond West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.Until Welbeck scored his 50th Premier League goal, Alireza Jahanbakhsh had gone closest to breaking the deadlock for the hosts, arrowing an effort wide of the left post with Fabianski stranded off his line.Brighton remain 17th, safe from relegation.
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SOUTHAMPTON 3 V 1 FULHAM
Nathan Tella scored his first senior goal in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over relegated Fulham, Tella took less than two minutes to double Southampton’s lead after coming on as a second-half substitute as they registered back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since December.The 21-year-old, who has made only six Saints starts after overcoming a serious knee injury as a teenager, also set up the home side’s third goal with a classy backheel to find Theo Walcott.Whilst Tella’s talent will continue to flourish, Scott Parker has a massive task at relegated Fulham, they were a team who looked devoid of talent and effort, but Parker will be looking at an immediate return to the top flight next season, but work has to be done at the Cottage.
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BURNLEY 0 V 4 LEEDS UNITED
Leeds United took the lead when Mateusz Klich curled in from the edge of the penalty area shortly before half-time and Jack Harrison’s flicked finish from Ezgjan Alioski’s strike after 60 minutes all but sealed the three points. Substitute Rodrigo then scored twice in three minutes to complete a fine away win, producing a delightful chip over Bailey Peacock-Farrell for his first before rounding the Clarets keeper for Leeds’ fourth.The result means Leeds have lost only once in nine league games and remain on course for a top-half finish, if not a late push for European football.Burnley remain 15th, safe from relegation.
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SOUTHAMPTON 3 V 1 CRYSTAL PALACE
Danny Ings scored twice as Southampton fought back to beat Crystal Palace in an entertaining Premier League affair.Ings, returning from a hamstring injury, steered a low effort into the bottom corner to level after Christian Benteke had driven in an early opener for the visitors.And the hosts, who were thankful for goalkeeper Fraser Forster’s penalty save from Luka Milivojevic, had the better of a seesaw contest after the break.Che Adams put them ahead with a neat close-range finish from Stuart Armstrong’s corner and Ings latched on to a pass from his strike partner to round off the scoring.Saints’ first win in five games moves them up to 14th in the table, with Palace in 13th, a point above them.
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CHELSEA 0 V 1 ARSENAL
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says he takes full responsibility for his side’s home defeat by Arsenal after making seven changes for the game.A mistake by Jorginho in the first half allowed Emile Smith Rowe to score what proved to be the winning goal for Arsenal and, although Chelsea dominated possession and hit the woodwork twice late on, they couldn’t find an equaliser.Chelsea remain fourth on 64 points but the defeat will give their rivals hope of sneaking into the top four. They are six points ahead of West Ham, who have a game in hand, and seven ahead of Liverpool, who have two games in hand on the Blues.
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MANCHESTER UNITED 2 V 4 LIVERPOOL
Jurgen Klopp celebrated his first win at Old Trafford as Liverpool came from behind to beat Manchester United and boost their chances of a Champions League place.United opened the scoring when Bruno Fernandes deflected opener put them in front..Liverpool hit back through Diogo Jota’s instinctive effort.Roberto Firmino, who had only scored once since his two-goal haul at Crystal Palace in December, then put his side on top with a well-taken double either side of half-time.Marcus Rashford pulled one back for United midway through the second half but Mohamed Salah wrapped up the points with a late breakaway strike for his 21st Premier League goal of the season.That moved him level with Harry Kane in the Golden Boot standings and condemned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to a sixth home defeat of the season.The result takes Liverpool fifth in the Premier League.
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ASTON VILLA 0 V 0 EVERTON
The bore draw of the week came at Villa Park, where Everton’s hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s European places suffered a blow as they played out a goalless draw at Aston Villa.In an uninspiring contest devoid of quality Tyrone Mings headed Villa’s best chance wide from Douglas Luiz’s cross.The result leaves Everton side eight points adrift of Chelsea in fourth, with West Ham, Liverpool and Tottenham all better placed to qualify for Europe.
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NEWCASTLE UNITED 3 V 4 MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City twice came from behind to win a Premier League classic against Newcastle in their first game since being confirmed as champions.Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick for City and his superb backheeled finish was the highlight of a remarkable game and must be a contender for goal of the season.Newcastle took the lead with Emil Krafth’s powerful header flying in from Jonjo Shelvey’s corner.Joao Cancelo equalised with a deflected effort into the bottom right corner and when Torres expertly turned home Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick 185 seconds later it looked as though the visitors could cut loose.Newcastle levelled when City defender Nathan Ake was deemed to have fouled Joelinton, allowing the Brazilian to score from the penalty spot.A poorly judged tackle by City full-back Kyle Walker handed the Magpies a second penalty just after the hour mark, with Joe Willock following-up to score after Carson had saved his initial spot-kick.However, man of the match Torres had the final word, guiding Gabriel Jesus’ cross into the top right corner and then becoming the youngest player to score a league hat-trick for a Guardiola team, when turning in a Cancelo shot that bounced back off the Newcastle post.It rounded off a captivating encounter and brought up another milestone for Guardiola’s side, who set a new league record with their 12th consecutive victory away from home.
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CRYSTAL PALACE 3 V 2 ASTON VILLA
Tyrick Mitchell, Palace’s 21-year-old full-back was in the perfect spot with six minutes left to bundle the ball in with his shoulder following Eberechi Eze’s fluffed cross.Trailing 2-1 from the 34th minute, Palace battered at the door after the break until the visitors’ resistance was finally broken at Selhurst Park.With 15 minutes left, Wilfried Zaha produced a driving run before cutting inside and firing a fierce shot that deflected into the net off Villa defender Ahmed Elmohamady, with Mitchell netting soon after.Palace had already come back into the game once, Christian Benteke heading in against his former club following John McGinn’s well-taken opener.Anwar El Ghazi lashed in at the back post to restore Villa’s lead – a goal that looked like being the winner until Palace’s late rally.Villa remain 11th, four points behind 10th-placed Leeds with two games to play, making a Premier League top-half finish unlikely.Already safe from relegation, the win took Palace to 44 points – with a chance of hitting the 50-point mark for the first time in the Premier League.On a more positive note for Villa and potentially England, Jack Grealish made a second successive appearance from the bench following injury to provide further evidence of his improving fitness before this summer’s European Championships.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UldQ0VbHZK8
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 V 0 WOLVES
Spurs deserved their victory against a team who were looking forward to their summer holidays. Spurs hit the woodwork three times after creating a number of excellent chances.Harry Kane saw an early effort cannon off the left-hand post before setting Spurs on their way, calmly slotting in the opener from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s superb pass on the stroke of half-time. Wolves occasionally carried a threat on the break but they were forced to ride their luck at times, with Kane and Dele Alli both hitting the right-hand post within seconds of each other.Hojbjerg doubled Spurs advantage, reacting first after Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio had parried a Gareth Bale effort to slide the ball into the bottom right corner.It was an end of season run out for Wolves, who remain 12th in the table.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgxlM4G8tqo
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 V 2 LIVERPOOL
Goalkeeper Alisson scored an incredible injury-time winner as Liverpool claimed a significant victory in their quest to achieve a Premier League top-four finish by coming from behind to beat West Brom.With three points a must and just seconds left of a game in which the visitors had been frustrated by a obstinate opponents, the Brazilian keeper came up for a corner.It was surely the Reds’ final chance to snatch the win and so it proved as Alisson rose to glance Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery into the far corner of the net to send the away side into delirium. In an example of extraordinary timing, it is the first occasion in which a goalkeeper has scored a competitive goal for Liverpool in their entire history, dating back to 1892.The stunning moment takes the Reds just a point and a place behind Chelsea in fourth and three points worse off than third-placed Leicester with two games to go.That the Blues and Foxes face each other in their next league game gives Jurgen Klopp’s side a huge opportunity to take control of their own destiny in the race for Champions League qualification when they travel to Burnley on Wednesday.Things had got off to a terrible start for the reigning champions at the Hawthorns with Hal Robson-Kanu capping his first Premier League start since December 2017 with a neat side-foot finish to give West Brom the lead. A typically incisive Mohamed Salah finish brought the visitors level, with the Egyptian’s low shot inside the far post taking him to 22 goals for the season, level with Harry Kane at the top of the scoring charts.With Roberto Firmino firing against the woodwork, Sadio Mane seeing a finish ruled out for offside and others profligate in front of goal, it looked as though the Reds had blown their chance, until Alisson stepped up and showed them how to do it 🙂
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylSF12Kb5nU
EVERTON 0 V 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED
Everton’s woeful consistency was again there for all to see, against a team who have accumulated the lowest points and relegated, they were awful, despite a European place opportunity.Teenager Daniel Jebbison scored on his first Premier League start as he gave Sheffield United a victory that dented Everton’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.The 17-year-old forward, who was on loan at National League North side Chorley earlier in the season, slid in from close range after good work by Jack Robinson in the area.Jebbison could have doubled his tally when he seized on a short backpass by Mason Holgate, but saw his effort saved by Jordan Pickford.At the other end, Aaron Ramsdale pulled off a stunning double save from Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to preserve Sheffield United’s lead.Ramsdale was then alert to deny Richarlison again in the second half as the relegated Blades held on for just their second Premier League away win of the season.For Everton, a ninth home league defeat of the campaign means they stay eighth and miss the chance to draw level on points with Tottenham and West Ham in the race for European football.
Click here for the highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvMsiLtRDmA
I got eight corect scores this week, title contending form 🙂
Please see following my week 37 predictions :-
Manchester United 4 v 1 Fulham
Southampton 2 v 1 Leeds United
Brighton & Hove Albion1 1 v 3 Manchester City
Chelsea 1 v 2 Leicester City
Everton 1 V 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Newcastle United 3 V 1 Sheffield United
Tottenham Hotspur 3 V 1 Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 2 V 1 Arsenal
Burnley 2 V 1 LiverpoolWest Bromwich Albion 2 V 1 West Ham United
Have a nice week
Take care
Gary