by Ruairi Criscuolo
Just when you thought The Premier League was predictable and boring, this weekend arrives and five of the bottom six teams all pick up points, making the relegation battle heat up as the season reaches the business end.
The weekend started on Friday night at Carrow Road, Norwich put in a quality display that brief glimpse performances throughout the season have hinted they are capable of. The first half saw Leicester get the best of the chances with Dennis Praet hitting the post and Kelechi Iheanacho, in for still-injured Jamie Vardy, fired over the bar before having a goal disallowed harshly for an accidental handball thanks to VAR and the confusing new handball rule. The second half saw The Canaries come into the game more and Jamal Lewis' stunning strike from the edge of the area into the bottom corner proved to be the difference. Kasper Schmeichel was also forced into two key saves to keep the score respectable. This victory leaves Norwich still bottom now only four points off safety. Whilst Leicester's season seems to be petering out as they continue to look for their early season form, The Foxes desperately need their hitman Vardy back in the team and in form if their season is to have a positive end.
Next, eyes were on the Amex Stadium as Brighton took on Crystal Palace in a derby that didn't disappoint. Brighton continue to be lacklustre upfront with top-scorer Neil Maupay spurning a few gulit-edged chances and Vicente Guaita, in goal for Palace, providing an equal match for the Frenchman on several occasions. The Seagulls' bench got involved in the first-half as Ezequiel Schelotto and Wilfried Zaha had a spat. As the Argentine was warming up just before the break he seemed to kick a ball at Zaha, who had a few choice words in return. Schelotto came on at half-time, but had made more of an impact heckling than playing. Palace's frontline continues to be frustrating with Christian Benteke's search for form, confidence, composure or any signs from his Villa days continuing. He headed wide from close range, but he did provide the assist for key-man Ayew to put The Eagles into the lead in the 70th minute. Brighton's talismanic striker Glenn Murray has said that his team expected “ a dogfight” and “they are ready to deal with it”: they will need him if they are to survive, as this leaves Graham Potter's men just one point away from the relegation zone and above fellow strugglers West Ham.
David Moyes might just be able to see the light that he has been chasing since his days at Sunderland, just maybe he can inspire survival. A switch-up in personnel saw Jarrod Bowen making his debut after his January move from Hull. Partnered by Antonio and Pablo Fornals in a three behind Sébastien Haller, they produced a very impressive attacking performance. When I look at those names I'm amazed West Ham are even in the mess they are, but nevertheless, this switch-up made a real difference for The Hammers as they ran out 3-1 winners over Southampton, who looked to have turned a corner. It didn't take Bowen long to open his account for The Hammers: in the 15th minute he opened the scoring with a tidy finish before Michael Obafemi equalised for the visitors, then just before half-time Haller restored West Ham's lead. In the second half David Moyes' team had the best of it and the result was secured by Antonio, making it a goal and an assist and maybe showing his manager that he should be using him more often. The outstanding performance, though, came from Fornals, who is settling well into life in The Premier League, as he registered another two assists, showing he can provide the creative spark this team needs. The shuffling of personnel seems to be working for Moyes as he is starting to pick players who are seemingly more up for the fight that is involved in surviving relegation. Players like Felipe Anderson seem like a luxury to me when you just need to grind out results. West Ham find themselves out of the relegation zone on goal difference and level on points with both Bournemouth and Watford.
Bournemouth continued their ability to upset “the big boys” as they secured a point at home to Chelsea, who also continue to defy the odds by remaining in 4th spot despite a terrible run of form. Marcos Alonso scoring his second goal in two games seemed to have given The Blues a routine start on their way to three points, before a quick double from Jefferson Lerma in the second half gave The Cherries the lead. The points looked to be secured for Eddie Howe, before Alonso again scored to make it three goals in two games, an unexpected hero for Chelsea in a run of games that has seen their striking problems really come to the fore. Chelsea are still in the Champions League spots for next season, but they can't keep relying on teams around them to drop points, even if they do indeed endeavour to do so. Frank Lampard's reputation as a manager to me has always been inflated because of who he is, and the “youth” of this team can only be an excuse for so long: frailties at the back and a lack of clear system are leading to confusing performances and more importantly confusing results.
Then, Saturday evening arrived and all eyes were on Vicarage Road and Watford vs Liverpool. To tell you the truth I wasn't going to watch as I thought it would be a routine 4-0 win for Jurgen Klopp's team, yet again... little do I know. Watford put in a performance that few expected as they were hard-working, organised and lethal on the break. Watford frustrated a Liverpool side who were far from their best. That isn't to take away from Nigel Pearson's side, who really were incredible and will have provided a blue-print for many other Premier League managers. Although, there has been a dip in form for Klopp's men, as they have gone behind in their last three games. Against West Ham they managed to spare their blushes, but they had no such luck this time. Ismaila Sarr announced himself showing the type of performance that got Watford fans excited when he first arrived. Sarr twice broke the lines and punished the Liverpool defence with his pace, before he then provided the assist for talisman Troy Deeney to wrap up the points and put an end to Liverpool's 44 game unbeaten run. And, from an Arsenal fan... just in time, too. In the long-run this result makes little difference to Liverpool in their hunt for their first Premier League title, but they will need to spark some form again for a crunch F.A Cup tie at Stamford Bridge.
On Sunday, the focus shifted to the ever expanding race for European football. The teams from 4th to 11thplace are separated by only 8 points, and with Manchester City's possible ban from Europe, there is an extra place up for grabs. The first game on Sunday saw 5th place Manchester United take on 11thplace Everton. The game got off to a flyer as David De Gea kicked the ball straight into Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who made it five goals in his last six games. It was an even contest, and Bruno Fernandes yet again showed signs that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a player on his hands, as he scored the equaliser with a low driven shot on the half hour mark. The second half was all about what could've been, for both teams. Gylfi Sigurdsson hitting the post from a free-kick, then later causing a potential second goal for Calvert-Lewin to be ruled out through VAR. The Icelandic was judged to be blocking De Gea's view as he sat in an offside position. There was drama at the other end, too, as a late double save from Jordan Pickford denied both Fernandes and Odion Ighalo from stealing the points. Solskjaer's men find themselves still three points off Chelsea in fourth but now level on points with Wolves, who are slowly staking their claim for the final Champions League spot.
Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolverhampton were the visitors to The London Stadium as they took on José Mourinho's recently struggling Spurs. Santo's side seem to be a bit of a bogey team for Tottenham, as they secured their second win in two seasons away to the North Londoners. The first half looked encouraging from the home team: they took the lead through new star Steven Bergwijn, then Matt Doherty equalised and then again they saw their lead restored by Serge Aurier on the stroke of half-time. The second half was all about Wolves, who equalised through Diogo Jota in the 57th minute before Jimenez's 73rd minute strike sealed the win. Mourinho's men need to find a way to improve their performances, things that go well for Spurs seem to be accidental, and things that go badly usually come from errors, so are self-inflicted. As for Espirito Santo, Jota and Raul Jimenez are in incredible form and have a partnership that rivals any in the league, so the Wolves Manager can now start to look towards the Champions League spots: they are the in-form team chasing that final spot.
Finally, I refuse to write about a 0-0 between Newcastle and Burnley, because, let's face it... life is too short.