EPL Weekly Wrap | All the Headlines You Missed – Gameweek 33

I don’t think I’ve seen a Premier League weekend this dramatic in years. Seven of the nine completed fixtures produced three or more goals. Late winners at Villa Park and St James’ Park reshaped the table, and then the big one at the Etihad went exactly as Arsenal feared. Here’s a breakdown of all the Premier League news you may have missed last week.

Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad on Monday morning NZT to cut the gap at the top to three points. Rayan Cherki’s 15th-minute opener was cancelled out by Kai Havertz three minutes later, but Erling Haaland scored the winner on 64 minutes and City controlled the game from there. 

I thought Arsenal looked passive after the equaliser. They had just 41% possession and only two shots on target.

Arsenal’s bigger problem is momentum. This is back-to-back league defeats after the Bournemouth loss in Gameweek 32, and City now have real belief they can reel them in. Five games to go, three points in it. I wouldn’t have said this a month ago, but City are favourites now if you’re weighing up football betting options for the title.

Manchester United won 1-0 at Chelsea to open up a 10-point gap over the Blues for Champions League places. Matheus Cunha scored just before half-time after Bruno Fernandes played him in with a pass from deep, taking Fernandes to 18 assists this season. That’s two short of the all-time Premier League record. Chelsea had 60% possession and 20 shots but couldn’t convert. I reckon that result all but seals a top-five spot for United.

Carrick’s Premier League record as United manager now reads eight wins from 12 games, averaging 2.16 points per match.

Liverpool left it until the 100th minute to win the first Merseyside derby at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Mohamed Salah gave them the lead on 29 minutes before Beto equalised on 54. It looked like finishing level until Virgil van Dijk headed in from a corner deep into added time. In what could be Salah’s final derby, it was a fitting end.

Nottingham Forest were 1-0 down to Burnley at half-time after Zian Flemming converted at the far post in first-half stoppage time. They looked flat after their Europa League exertions in midweek.

Then Morgan Gibbs-White took over. He scored three times in 15 second-half minutes, starting with a composed finish on 62 before rattling in a volleyed back-post strike seven minutes later. A towering header on 77 completed his first career hat trick. Only Kevin Campbell and Chris Wood have scored Premier League hat tricks for Forest before him. Igor Jesus added a fourth in stoppage time to seal a 4-1 win.

Forest are now five points clear of the drop zone on 36 points, and their unbeaten streak extends to seven games across all competitions. 

Burnley, 12 points adrift on 20, are done. If you’re using the best betting apps to check relegation markets, their return to the Championship looks certain.

Bournemouth won 2-1 at Newcastle through goals from Marcus Tavernier and a late Adrien Truffert winner, moving them to 48 points. Newcastle have lost three consecutive home league games.

Pedro Porro headed Tottenham into the lead on 39 minutes against Brighton, but Kaoru Mitoma’s stunning volley in first-half stoppage time levelled it at 1-1. Xavi Simons curled in a superb strike on 77 to restore the advantage, and the stadium was bouncing. Then Kevin Danso lost possession in the 95th minute and Georginio Rutter curled in the equaliser. I felt sick watching it.

Roberto De Zerbi’s home debut against his former club ended 2-2 with Tottenham still 18th on 31 points. Their winless league streak now stands at 15 games, the fourth-longest to start a calendar year in Premier League history. Every club with a longer one – Derby in 2008, Sunderland in 2003, Swindon in 1993 – went down. Five matches left, one point below 17th-placed West Ham.

Aston Villa beat Sunderland 4-3 in one of the games of the season. Ollie Watkins scored inside two minutes but Chris Rigg equalised with his first Premier League goal on nine. Watkins restored Villa’s lead before half-time and Morgan Rogers added a third early in the second half, but Sunderland scored twice in 58 seconds through Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor to level at 3-3. Tammy Abraham won it in the 94th minute.

Leeds beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to move to 39 points and virtual safety.

For NZ punters browsing new betting sites ahead of Gameweek 34, Crystal Palace and West Ham still have their Gameweek 33 fixture to play at 7:00am NZST on Tuesday. After that, Brighton host Chelsea on Wednesday at 7:00am NZST.