Matchday 17 was marred by COVID-19 outbreaks within two clubs that forced postponements of two matches. Regardless of the outbreaks, we got an excited two days of quality soccer; a blowout, close wins and shocking draw capped off our
Norwich City (0) vs. Aston Villa (2)
Jacob Ramsey started the campagne off with a beautiful goal that he marched down the field from the center line into the Norwich 18-yard box and over the keepers outstretched arms. Norwich put the pressure on Aston Villa to try to find their equalizer, but in the 87th minute, Carney Chukwuemeka placed a beautiful cross on Ollie Watkins’ right foot for an easy tap in.
Manchester City (7) vs. Leeds (0)
Utter domination from Manchester City in their match against Leeds. It started with a goal by Phil Foden after a near miss by Bernardo Silva that continued with 6 more goals.
Burnley vs. Watford [POSTPONED]
The Burnley and Watford match was postponed due to concerns with the increased number of COVID-19 cases on the Watford squad.
Brighton (0) vs. Wolves (1)
A missed clearing attempt by Brighton off a Wolves corner kick led to the lone goal of the match. Brighton’s Yves Bissouma received the corner kick directly to him just outside the 6-yard box and buffed his clearing attempt which landed on the foot of Ruben Neves, who chipped his cross to Romain Saiss behind the Brighton defenders. Saiss made a brilliant redirect into the opposite corner of the goal.
Crystal Palace (2) vs. Southampton (2)
A back and forth game that was reflected in the final score. Crystal Palace jumped ahead in the second minute off a close challenge by Will Hughes at midfield, which led to an offensive chance by Palace that Wilfried Zaha buried in the back of the goal. Southampton scored two quick goals at the end of the half by James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja to take the lead going into the half. In the 65th minute, with chaos in the Southampton 18-yard box, the ball managed to find Jordan Ayew at the side of the goal to tie the game.
Arsenal (2) vs. West Ham (0)
Gabriel Martinelli kicked off the scoring for Arsenal in the 48th minute. He slipped the ball past Lukasz Fabianski’s outstretched hands into the left corner of the goal. West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal was given a red card for his challenge on Alexandre Lacazette just inside his 18-yard box. It was a questionable red card since he got the ball first and then his momentum carried him into Lacazette. Regardless, a penalty was awarded to Arsenal. Rice saved the penalty from Lacazette, keeping the game close. The Gunners pulled ahead late in the 87th minute with a goal by Emile Smith Rowe that sealed the victory.
Leicester City vs. Tottenham [POSTPONED]
In the second match in as many days, the match between Leicester City and Tottenham was postponed due to the increased number of positive COVID-19 cases. The number of cases left Leicester City with an insufficient number of players to play the match.
Chelsea (1) vs. Everton (1)
A stellar 23-save performance by Jordan Pickford helped Everton draw against one of the top English teams in Chelsea. The home squad dominated possession throughout the game and out-chanced Everton. But, it wasn’t until the 70th minute that Chelsea found the back of the goal when Mason Mount scored his fourth goal in as many games. Everton responded quickly four minutes later, off a free kick by Anthony Gordon that found Jarrad Branthwaite in the box for his first Premier league goal. C
Liverpool (3) vs. Newcastle (1)
An early scare was later calmed after three straight goals by Liverpool. Jonjo Shelvey opened the scoring in the match with a perfectly placed ball curling away from Alisson putting, the bottom of the table, Newcastle ahead. Diago Jota and Mo Salah each scored in the midpoint of the first half to gain the lead for Liverpool. Jota’s goal was controversial when a Newcastle player was on the ground injured but play continued. VAR was administered to determine whether Jota stayed on-side. Trent Alexander-Arnold put the nail in the coffin with an 87th minute goal to seal the victory for Liverpool.
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