Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal ended the weekend as they started it, at the top of the Premier League, thanks to a dramatic 3-2 win in the North London derby.
It was the classic case of a game of two halves as the Gunners stormed into a first-half 3-0 lead before getting an almighty scare in the second.
Spurs started strongly, but the home Tottenham crowd was silenced when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed into his own net. Christian Romero hit the post with a header, and Spurs were again denied a leveller when Micky Van de Ven was ruled offside by a whisker.
When the Spurs crowd exploded with a penalty appeal, which was turned down, Bukayo Saka compounded the pain with a breakaway goal before Kai Havertz made it three with a superb header.
When all seemed to be plain sailing, Arsenal keeper David Raya invited Spurs back into the match when he gifted Romero a goal, and when Heung-Min Son converted a late penalty, it made for a nervy finish. But the Gunners held out for another huge three points, which put the pressure back on Manchester City.
This second consecutive defeat left Tottenham seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, with their hopes of Champions League football fading fast.
Manchester City responded with a comfortable 2-0 win away to Nottingham Forest to climb back up onto Arsenal’s shoulders.
In a competitive first half, City had to be patient until Josko Gvardiol put the Sky Blues ahead with a deft header, his second goal in the Premier League.
Forest were in the in the game but were unable to get a real foothold in the match, and they went two behind on 70 minutes.
Erling Haaland, on as a 60th-minute substitute, collected the ball from Kevin de Bruyne and calmly slotted home the second and killer goal.
With a single point separating the top two, there’s plenty more life in this title race, and here at SBOTOP, we’ll be there for every twist and turn, but one of the three title chasers now look to have bowed out.
Over and Out for Klopp
Jurgen Klopp’s reign as Liverpool manager is set to end with the Carabao Cup as his final trophy in charge. Out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, the Reds were still in the league title race, but that ship also seems to have sailed after this weekend’s Premier League 2024 results.
And after the last round of scores from the midweek games, the situation now looks hopeless for the Reds.
While Manchester City and Arsenal both had big wins in the week, the Premier League 2024 betting odds took a sharp turn away from Merseyside when Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat to Everton.
And the effervescent German head coach had another bad day on Saturday as he watched his team struggle to a 2-2 draw with West Ham United.
The Reds were well off the pace in the first half, and the in-form Jarrod Bowen took advantage to fire the Hammers in front.
Liverpool came out fighting and levelled through Andrew Robertson, and the Reds went ahead when Cody Gakpo’s effort bounced in off Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola.
But Michail Antonio’s late header meant that, after a run of only one win in five league games, Liverpool are now five points off the lead with just three games remaining.
To make matters worse for Liverpool fans, it looks like talisman Mo Salah has fallen out with the boss after he was left out of the starting line-up.
It appears that more than one beautiful relationship at Anfield is about to end.
Oh no Onana!
The ding-dong battle at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Burnley was ultimately decided by two big mistakes, which resulted in a 1-1 draw, arguably a better result for the relegation-threatened Clarets.
Red Devils keeper Andre Onana made a sequence of outstanding saves to keep United level in the first half, denying Wilson Odobert and Lyle Foster twice, while Bruno Fernandes hit the post at the other end of the pitch.
Burnley midfielder Sander Berge was dominant throughout with his positional strength, driving runs, and raking passes, but a misplaced ball late in the game allowed Antony to nip in to score a likely winner.
But Burnley weren’t finished, and when Onana came out and clattered striker Zeki Amdouni, almost taking his head off, the referee, with VAR assistance, pointed to the spot.
Amdouni, presumably with his double vision subsiding, sent Onana the wrong way and calmly slotted the spot-kick home.
The point lifted Vincent Kompany’s Clarets to within two points of safety, while Erik ten Hag’s United clung on to sixth place, ahead of Newcastle United, who hammered Sheffield United 5-1 to send the Blades back to the Championship.
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