Premier League supporters from Manchester – whether you’re for City or United – are probably satisfied with what they saw from their respective clubs last weekend.
The Sky Blues have moved up on top of the English top-flight table for the time being after taking care of business and seeing one of their fellow contenders stutter. On the other hand, the Red Devils finally broke their league drought as it looks like they’ve finally found their identity on the pitch.
Elsewhere, West Ham United have solidified their hold at the top four spot while Newcastle United have officially entered into the win column for the first time in 15 tries.
It was quite a fascinating week to say the least and the football action keeps getting better with each matchday passing by.
As we reflect what happened in the last time out, allow SBOTOP to analyse certain takeaways from last weekend’s set of Premier League 2021 results.
Manchester City are back in the driver’s seat
City were bound to occupy the top table spot at some point and they finally did It yesterday through another fine display at Vicarage Road. Pep Guardiola’s men are now enjoying a seven-game winning streak in all competitions since suffering a loss to Crystal Palace last October.
Raheem Sterling put the reigning champions ahead within four minutes, and it was followed up by a brace from Bernardo Silva – who has arguably been their best player so far this season.
Bernardo Silva has hit a rich vein in scoring form as he’s been their second-leading scorer with seven goals and two assists, and three of those have come from the last two matches.
The Portuguese’s brilliance has helped mask the missing piece in City’s championship puzzle, which is having a world-class striker. Earlier this year, City tried to lure Harry Kane out of Tottenham, but instead they got Jack Grealish – who is struggling as of the moment – for a substantial amount.
Grealish is obviously aware of his low output of two goals and three assists and he may be in his head as of the moment.
But given how they’ve coped without a legitimate false 9, the Sky Blues can still gather the points needed for their title defence – especially as they’ll enter the easier part of their schedule.
West Ham United hold solo fourth after stunning Chelsea
An unfortunate error from Edouard Mendy was all it took for Chelsea to relinquish their hold at the top spot yesterday since they lost on the road to West Ham United, 3-2.
West Ham United have defied the preseason Premier League 2021 odds this term by continuously punching above their weight. And given the way they’re playing, we wouldn’t be surprised if they’ll finish within the top four at the end of this season.
It was a fun back-and-forth at the London Stadium as Thiago Silva, Manuel Lanzini, Mason Mount, and Jarrod Bowen all exchanged goals within the first 60 minutes of action.
Chelsea monopolised possession from the start, but West Ham’s fighting spirit was evident since they kept on pressuring their visitors.
The Hammers’ persistence eventually paid off at the 87th minute as Michail Antonio opened an opportunity through his run. After a missed attempt from Jarrod Bowen, West Ham recovered and Arthur Masuaku’s mis-hit cross found the back of the net.
Newcastle United finally get their first win
Eddie Howe will hope that Newcastle’s victory over Burnley can kickstart something positive.
Newcastle earned their long-awaited first victory of their 2021/22 campaign as Callum Wilson scored the marginal goal after a costly fumble by Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Burnley looked like they were about to deal Newcastle their eighth loss as they created the better chances to start. However, the Clarets simply couldn’t convert.
After Wilson’s score at the 40th minute, Burnley were aggressively hunting for the equaliser and they thought they had one when Jay Rodriguez poked the ball in after Ashley Westwood’s pass with seven minutes left.
The VAR declared that Rodriguez was offside to deny him what should’ve been his 100th career league goal and that gave Newcastle fans a huge sigh of relief.
This victory gives the Magpies some much-needed momentum given their tough fixtures ahead to close out the 2021 calendar year.
Next up will be Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. And after that, they’ll take on Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Everton.
There’s still enough time for the Magpies to move out of the drop zone. Nevertheless, you can count on Eddie Howe’s new employers to keep tabs of his progress.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
