On matchday 29, all eyes were on the two teams at the very top of the table. Liverpool has been on a run of positive results tracking down Manchester City at the top. At the beginning of the matchday, there were six points separating both teams. Liverpool was up first and they took care of business against Brighton. All the focus was on the final match between Man City and Crystal Palace. It was a frustrating performance by City in which they could not score. The draw to Palace now brings the gap between both teams to four points.
Brighton (0) vs. Liverpool (2)
Liverpool continues their League undefeated streak of 2022. Luiz Diaz gave Liverpool the opening goal of the match when he managed to head the ball past just before being clotheslined by the keeper’s leg as he was trying to challenge the ball with a high foot. After their first goal, Liverpool had difficulty solving Brighton’s defence but a handball by Yves Bissouma gave Liverpool a spot-kick in the 61st minute. Mo Salah stepped up to take the shot and drove it into the middle of the net. Salah scored his 20th goal of the season, reaching that mark for the fourth time in five years.
Brentford (2) vs. Burnley (0)
A tight match that came down to five minutes plus stoppage time to determine the result. Ivan Toney opened the scoring for Brentford heading Christian Eriksen’s remarkable cross. In stoppage time, Nathan Collins denied Toney an opportunity at goal and was sent off and awarded Brentford a penalty kick. Toney took the penalty kick and made no mistake putting his team up by two.
Manchester United (3) vs. Tottenham (2)
Cristiano Ronaldo turned back the clocks in his performance against the Spurs willing United to a victory. Ronaldo’s first goal of the match was a brilliant long-range shot from outside the box that put United up a goal. Spurs responded in the 35th when they were awarded a penalty kick from a handball in the box by Alex Telles. Harry Kane stepped up and made no mistake blowing the ball past De Gea. Ronaldo scored his second goal of the night three minutes later with a tap-in goal on the counter-attack. An own goal by Harry Maguire levelled the Spurs for a second time. But, Ronaldo came to the rescue again with a magnificent header from Alex Telles’ pass. This record-breaking goal has Ronaldo surpassing the all-time goal record of 807 for club and country. His hat-trick was only the second he’s scored in the Premier League since 2008.
Chelsea (1) vs. Newcastle (0)
Kai Havertz’s late goal ends Newcastle’s undefeated streak. Chelsea came out hungry early putting some good chances on goal but couldn’t get find the back of the net. Newcastle responded with their own chances but all couldn’t capitalize. The breakthrough for Chelsea came in the 89th minute when Havertz took Jorghino’s ball over the top and slotted it in goal.
Everton (0) vs. Wolves (1)
Both teams played a highly contested match trading chances throughout but it took an unlikely goal-scorer to determine the result. Everton was the closest to scoring the first goal of the match in the 6th minute when Richarlison had a close-range opportunity at goal but was denied by José Sá. João Moutinho and Raúl Jiménez both had opportunities at goal before the half but they could not get past Jordan Pickford. Four minutes after the second-half kickoff, Rúben Neves found a running Connor Coady with his cross who headed the ball into the goal. That was all that was needed for Wolves to walk away from Goodison Park with a victory.
Leeds (2) vs. Norwich City (1)
Leeds find their first win under new manager Jesse Marsch in stoppage time. Rodrigo Moreno put Leeds ahead in the fourteenth minute and it looked as if Leeds would have their first victory in the bag. But, Norwich found their equalizer in the first minute of stoppage time from Kenny McLean. Now, it looked as if both teams would walk away with a point but Joe Gelhardt tapped in Raphina’s centring pass. It was a crucial victory for Leeds to stay out of relegation but also to snap their losing streak.
Southampton (1) vs. Watford (2)
Watford takes advantage of a slumping Southampton to take the victory and important points to get out of relegation. Cucho Hernández scored twice in the first half giving a two-goal lead. Just before the half whistle, Mohamed Elyounoussi cut the deficit to one goal. Ben Foster stood tall in his goal in the second half, not allowing any goals past him to give his team a crucial victory.
West Ham (2) vs. Aston Villa (1)
An emotional victory by the Hammers keeps them within striking distance of fourth place. A deadlocked first half led to an important second half. West Ham was the first to break the deadlock in the 70th minute when substitute Andriy Yarmolenko took Said Benrahma’s pass cleverly spun around to put it in the goal. Yarmolenko, a Ukrainian player, was brought to tears during his goal celebration. His teammates rallied around him consoling him after his emotional celebration. Pablo Fornals put the Hammers up by two in the 82nd minute. Aston Villa got their goal in the 90th minute but it was too late to surge a comeback.
Arsenal (2) vs. Leicester City (0)
A dominant victory by Arsenal continues their stranglehold of the fourth spot in the Premier League. A goal by Thomas Partey in the eleventh minute put the Gunners ahead early. Leicester put some pressure on Aaron Ramsdale when Harvey Barnes challenged Ramsdale twice, once off a shot on target and the second a header on goal. A second-half foul in the box by Leicester gave Arsenal a penalty kick. Alexandre Lacazette scored the penalty kick providing Arsenal with a two-goal lead and breaking his scoring slump. The Gunners take back the fourth place spot from Man United and still have three matches in hand.
Crystal Palace (0) vs. Manchester City (0)
Crystal Palace frustrated Manchester City throughout the 90 minutes plus extra time of the match. The team in white could not penetrate the team defence of Palace and when they managed an opportunity Vincente Guaita was there to stop the chance. The frustration was evident in the final minutes of the match when mistakes were made by City, the players would look around to look for someone to blame or they were crying out in frustration. Pep Guardiola seemed to have made up his mind that the players on the field put out that disappointing performance that they would need to solve it themselves. He made no substitutions in the entirety of the match. On the other hand, Palace got the better of City in both matches, at home and away, not allowing Man City to score in either match. The result for City is incredibly disappointing because Liverpool is breathing down their necks and are only four points behind.
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