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Southampton and Leicester City would rotation implicit for Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, respectively, successful the apical 5 race. That was the expectation.
But this fierce European contention is afloat of surprises and they were connected afloat show implicit the play arsenic some Newcastle United and Aston Villa came distant arsenic the large winners with the relegated duo upsetting the likelihood against City and Forest.
At the different extremity of the table, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur’s miserable seasons plunged to adjacent deeper lows with the upcoming Europa League last successful Bilbao weighing dense connected their minds.
Arsenal’s play continues to hazard fizzling retired aft their 2-2 gully distant to Liverpool, portion Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo lone raised his terms tag with different splendid show arsenic the Bees won down successful Ipswich.
In the newest instalment of this play column, Mail Sport picks retired 5 of the astir absorbing talking points to look from the Premier League’s latest circular of matches.
TOP FIVE RACE IS NOT OVER YET FOR FOREST
There is nary uncertainty that drafting astatine location to already relegated Leicester City was acold from perfect successful Nottingham Forest’s bid to onshore Champions League - but each is not lost.
Taiwo Awoniyi suffered an wounded astatine the extremity of Nottingham Forest's gully with Leicester but a mix-up meant helium was not substituted close away
Facundo Buonanotte's precocious equaliser was a bitter stroke to Forest's Champions League hopes
Frustrated Forest proprietor Evangelos Marinakis stormed the transportation astatine the extremity to person words with brag Nuno Espirito Santo astir a mix-up that meant injured striker Taiwo Awoniyi was not substituted.
But erstwhile the particulate settles Forest volition realise that apical 5 is not a mislaid origin with against West Ham and against Chelsea to go. Forest are 4 points down Newcastle United (3rd), 3 points down Manchester City (4th), and conscionable 1 constituent down Chelsea (5th) and Aston Villa (6th).
It is imperative that Forest triumph connected the roadworthy astatine West Ham to instrumentality the contention until the last time but contempt the evident frustrations of the Leicester draw, the apical 5 contention is inactive arsenic live arsenic it was earlier the crippled astatine the City Ground adjacent kicked off.
Newcastle inactive person to play Arsenal portion Chelsea and Aston Villa look the unpredictable (albeit usually predictably bad) Manchester United. Bournemouth and Fulham are not the astir straightforward of assignments for Manchester City, either. Anything tin hap yet.
Recover, regroup and transmission vexation into a triumph astatine West Ham. There is different twist inactive to travel successful the apical 5 race…
MAINOO LOOKS LOST IN AMORIM SYSTEM
When it comes to problems astatine Manchester United close present you could dedicate an full file and past immoderate to effort and get done conscionable immoderate of them. There are loads, essentially.
But 1 that became glaringly evident successful the dismal 2-0 location decision to West Ham was the power - oregon large deficiency of - of Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo is simply a fabulous footballer but helium looks progressively mislaid trying to acceptable into a strategy that does not cater to his strengths.
Kobbie Mainoo is simply a fabulous footballer but helium looks progressively mislaid trying to acceptable into a strategy that does not cater to his strengths
It has been a stop-start run for Mainoo owed to wounded which hasn’t helped
Amorim does not judge helium tin play successful 1 of the 2 pivot positions successful beforehand of the backmost three, portion the deficiency of familiarity playing arsenic a No 10 is glaringly evident arsenic helium gets mislaid successful games similar helium did connected Sunday.
Too often against West Ham helium was swallowed up and ample spells of the crippled played retired without him being capable to enactment immoderate benignant of stamp connected the contest.
It has been a stop-start run for Mainoo owed to wounded which hasn’t helped. But a deficiency of spot from Amorim to play successful a deeper relation - helium did get dropped backmost determination connected Sunday aft West Ham went 2-0 up but it was excessively little, excessively precocious - means helium has tried to shoehorn him successful astatine No 10.
Pursuit of the likes of Matheus Cunha astatine Wolves, Bryan Mbeumo astatine Brentford and Antoine Semenyo astatine Bournemouth is acold from perfect news, either, from Mainoo’s constituent of view.
If Manchester United cannot settee connected Mainoo’s champion presumption and enactment him successful presumption to larn it wrong retired and get backmost to his best, his semipermanent prospects look progressively much worrisome.
This summertime is captious for Amorim and Manchester United to crook things around. It’s immense for Mainoo, too.
NEWCASTLE THRIVE AGAINST TOP 7
Eddie Howe’s side, connected paper, looked to person the toughest way to securing a apical 5 decorativeness with Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton their last 3 games.
But what seemed to beryllium mislaid connected astir is that Newcastle are champion successful people this play erstwhile it comes to games against the league’s apical seven.
Newcastle person been fantabulous against the apical 7 this season, compounded by their 2-0 triumph implicit Chelsea connected Sunday
Newcastle person already beaten Arsenal 3 times successful each competitions this play - without conceding a azygous goal
After a 2-0 triumph implicit Chelsea, successful which they were fixed a helping manus by Blues striker Nicolas Jackson aft his idiotic reddish card, Newcastle improved their grounds to 9 wins from 16 games against the apical 7 successful each competitions successful 2024-25. They person lone mislaid 4 from that run, too.
What we person seen of precocious is teams tripping themselves up successful games against lower-ranked opposition. Both Manchester City and Nottingham Forest tied themselves successful knots against relegated opponents this past weekend, for example.
So with Arsenal up next, Newcastle volition consciousness emboldened that they tin spell to the Emirates Stadium and get a effect to determination 2nd successful the table.
Arsenal person conscionable 4 wins from 13 games against apical 7 opponents this play and were fortunate to get a gully astatine Liverpool connected Sunday.
‘I deliberation we’ve go utilized to the large games,’ Howe said aft the Chelsea win. ‘I don’t deliberation that was the lawsuit erstwhile we archetypal arrived, but we’ve dilatory built our league position.
‘Having 2 cupful finals and the Champions League acquisition has decidedly helped america successful that respect. I deliberation present there’s a overmuch amended absorption to the bigger occasions, and nary bigger than contiguous really.
‘The unit connected america was huge, with the anticipation and the crowd, and you’ve got to effort to usage each those things to your advantage.’
The bigger the juncture the bigger Newcastle go it seems. Arsenal, you’ve been warned.
TOP 7 RESULTS (ALL COMPETITIONS)
Newcastle United - P16 | W9 | D3 | L4 = 56.3 triumph %
Manchester City - P13 | W6 | D2 | L5 = 42.2%
Liverpool - P13 | W5 | D5 | L3 = 38.5%
Aston Villa - P12 | W4 | D2 | L6 = 33.3%
Arsenal - P13 | W4 | D6 | L3 = 30.8%
Chelsea - P12 | W3 | D2 | L7 = 25%
Nottingham Forest - P13 | W3 | D4 | L6 = 23.1%
EZE READY TO TAKE NEXT STEP
Eberechi Eze is entering the premier of his vocation and present feels the close clip for him to instrumentality that adjacent measurement to spell connected and play Champions League football
He has 12 goals and 11 assists this play aft his brace successful the 2-0 triumph astatine Tottenham
Watching Michael Olise assistance the Bundesliga rubric connected Sunday and past seeing Eberechi Eze artifact with Tottenham arsenic Crystal Palace ripped them isolated was to deliberation it feels clip for Eze to instrumentality that adjacent measurement of his own.
That is not a sound connected Palace. If each goes to plan, Eze volition beryllium lifting the FA Cup astatine the play with a triumph implicit Manchester City astatine Wembley.
At 26, Eze is entering the premier of his vocation and present feels the close clip for him to instrumentality that adjacent measurement to spell connected and play Champions League football.
Newcastle United are reported to beryllium monitoring him, portion Manchester United person made an enquiry astir his availability arsenic they bid to get into Europe’s premier contention by winning the Europa League. Tottenham, the different Europa League finalist, is besides a known admirer of Eze.
Arsenal and Aston Villa, 2 different clubs acceptable for a apical 5 berth and Champions League football, would some beryllium instantly improved with the summation of Eze, too.
He has 12 goals and 11 assists this play aft his brace successful the 2-0 triumph astatine Tottenham and portion Eze has not publically stated immoderate tendency to permission Palace, the nine helium joined from Reading backmost successful 2020, seeing Olise astatine the precise apical of the crippled was to wonderment whether present it’s clip for Eze to get his shot.
As helium near the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium connected Sunday, Eze agreed to motion immoderate autographs for fans erstwhile helium was asked if helium would similar to articulation Ange Postecoglou’s side. It was met with a cheeky grin, causing a ripple of laughter.
Come the summer, the aboriginal of Eze volition beryllium nary laughing matter. Decision clip is connected the horizon…
CITY COMPLAINTS WERE PLAIN WRONG
Ruben Dias deed retired astatine Southampton's tactics pursuing their 0-0 gully with Manchester City
It spoke volumes that Southampton fans were afloat of pridefulness astatine the extremity for specified a valiant display, adjacent if it wasn’t a 90 minutes for the shot purists similar Dias
One of the astir irritating moments of the play was Ruben Dias’ whining astir however Southampton played successful their 0-0 gully with Manchester City.
This thought that it would person been much honourable for Southampton to spell gung-ho, get hammered successful the process, and stay connected people to beryllium the worst Premier League broadside ever, is implicit nonsense.
'It’s evidently frustrating to play against a squad similar this,’ Dias moaned. ‘They don’t adjacent effort anything, they conscionable beryllium and don’t adjacent privation to play oregon triumph the game, they conscionable privation to beryllium there.’
It wasn’t Southampton's responsibility that City managed to lone get 5 of their 26 shots connected target. Or that their 72 per cent possession each amounted to thing astatine the last whistle.
City didn’t manner a azygous ‘Big Chance’, according to stats boffins, portion their unfastened play Expected Goals (xG) was conscionable 1.03.
So, spare maine the sour grapes that you fluffed your lines to instrumentality a elephantine measurement towards securing Champions League shot for adjacent season, Ruben.
Southampton person had a historically miserable play that they volition privation to hide successful a hurry. They desperately wanted to debar getting less points than Derby County’s 11 and their champion people of enactment against Manchester City was to excavation successful and marque it arsenic hard arsenic possible.
It spoke volumes that Southampton fans were afloat of pridefulness astatine the extremity for specified a valiant display, adjacent if it wasn’t a 90 minutes for the shot purists similar Dias.
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