The Premier League table saw huge changes as the likes of Manchester City dropped points just as almost everything went in the favour of Manchester United in their top four pursuit. Here, we look at the most interesting games from the past weekend.
🔵 @ChelseaFC are the first #PL side to win 500 points in London derby matches#CHETOT pic.twitter.com/aFrJncfUMx— Premier League (@premierleague) January 23, 2022
🔵 @ChelseaFC are the first #PL side to win 500 points in London derby matches#CHETOT pic.twitter.com/aFrJncfUMx
Manchester United fought it out with West Ham United in a must-win top four battle on Saturday. The game was lacklustre, chances were scarce, and it seemed like another poor performance for United to have to deal with as once again nobody really turned up for the Red Devils.
In typical United-esque style towards the end, however, Ralf Rangnick installed three attacking players as his substitutions to go for the win, as Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial all entered the pitch.
Martial gave the ball to Cavani, who whipped the ball to the back post for Rashford to tap home. It was the perfect trio of subs as Rangnick’s men won the game in the final few seconds to leap into the top four.
When you’re down at the bottom and staring into the face of the Championship, every game is a must-win and when you come up against a fellow relegation fighter, anything but three points could spell disaster come the end of the season.
Newcastle United managed to squeeze past Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road and it was the Magpies first win away from home this season and it has subsequently closed the gap on the 17th-placed Yorkshire side to seven points, while they are now a mere point off Norwich City who have all of a sudden escaped the bottom three.
Chelsea welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge once again on Sunday, as the two met for the third time in two weeks following the Blues wins in the League Cup semi-finals. Chelsea’s 2-0 win meant they’ve now scored five times in three games against Antonio Conte’s men and not conceded a single goal.
It still keeps Spurs’ top four hopes alive with their two games in hand over United and Arsenal’s dropped points against Burnley too, but with their result, things have now seriously ramped up in this battle.
As for Thomas Tuchel’s men, they needed a positive win and one which came with a decent performance to brush aside the negativity around the club right now, and they got just that.