Tuesday, 11 October 2022

Gunners’ strong start

 

After 10 weeks, Arsenal continue to lead the way ahead of reigning champions and favourites Manchester City.

Week 1 -The 2022-23 Premier League season began on Friday evening with a 2-0 win for Arsenal at Crystal Palace while on Saturday Liverpool twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Fulham with Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring both goals for the hosts and Tottenham came from a goal down to cruise 4-1 past their visitors from Southampton. Nottingham Forest began life in the top tier with a 2-0 loss at Newcastle while Wolves took and early lead but lost 2-1 at Leeds and Bournemouth enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Aston Villa. A Chelsea penalty conversion was the difference between them and their hosts Everton while on Sunday Manchester United lost 2-1 at home to Brighton with Pascal Gross netting a brace for the Seagulls. Erling Haaland scored both goals on his Premier League debut in Manchester City’s win at West Ham while Brentford came from 2 goals down to draw 2-2 at Leicester City.

Week 2 – Manchester United sank to the bottom of the table after their 4-0 humiliation at Brentford while Manchester City sit at the top having brushed Bournemouth aside 4-0 at the Etihad and a Gabriel Jesus double helped Arsenal to a 4-2 home victory over Leicester. Leeds United took a 2-goal lead with Rodrigo goals but drew 2-2 at Southampton while Everton lost 2-1 at Aston Villa and there were goalless draws for Newcastle at Brighton and for Wolves who were hosting Fulham. On Sunday Tottenham scored in stoppage time to draw 2-2 at Chelsea with both managers seeing red while Nottingham Forest picked up a 1-0 win at home to West Ham and on Monday evening 10-man Liverpool salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.  

Week 3 – Brentford clawed back a 2-goal deficit but lost 3-2 to a last-minute goal at Fulham while Crystal Palace bounced back from an early setback to win 3-1 at home to Aston Villa with a double from Wilfried Zaha and a single goal gave Tottenham a home win against Wolves. Leicester City took the lead at home but lost 2-1 with Che Adams scoring both goals for Southampton while Martin Odegaard scored 2 of Arsenal’s 3 goals at Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 at Everton. On Sunday Newcastle United came from an early goal down to take a 3-1 lead but drew 3-3 at home to Manchester City while Chelsea, who finished the match with 10 players, were brushed aside 3-0 at Leeds and Brighton were 2-0 winners at West Ham. On Monday evening Manchester United enjoyed a 2-1 home win over Liverpool.

Week 4 – Liverpool battered Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield with Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino scoring 2 apiece while Manchester United were 1-0 winners at Southampton and Leicester lost 2-1 at 10-man Chelsea for whom Raheem Sterling scored both goals. Crystal Palace went 2 up at Manchester City who hit back after the break to win 4-2 with a hat-trick from Erlin Haaland while Arsenal came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at the Emirates and Leeds United lost 1-0 at Brighton. Everton drew 1-1 at Brentford and on Sunday Harry Kane missed a penalty but scored both goals as Tottenham won at Nottingham Forest while West Ham were 1-0 winners at Aston Villa and Newcastle scored in the last minute to earn a 1-1 draw at Wolves.

Week 5 – In midweek matches Erlin Haaland claimed a hat-trick and Julian Alvarez netted twice as Manchester City spanked Nottingham Forest 6-0 at the Etihad while Liverpool came from behind to defeat Newcastle 2-1 at Anfield and Arsenal registered the same scoreline at home to Aston Villa. Chelsea took the lead but lost 2-1 at Southampton while Brighton fell by the same result at Fulham and Bretford scored late to draw 1-1 at Crystal Palace. Leeds drew 1-1 at home to Everton and West Ham had the same outcome at home to Tottenham while Wolves played a goalless match at Bournemouth. On Thursday evening a single goal gave Madchester United 3 points at Leicester.

Week 6 – Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick as 10-man Leeds were taken apart 5-2 at Brentford while Brighton enjoyed the same result at home to Leicester City with Alexis Mac Allister scoring a double and Arsenal were beaten 3-1 at Manchester United for whom Marcus Rashford netted a brace. Bournemouth came from 2 goals down to win with 3 goals in the second half at Nottingham Forest and Chelsea came from behind to send West Ham away 2-1 losers while Liverpool drew 0-0 at Everton as did Crystal Palace at Newcastle. Fulham lost 2-1 at Spurs while a single goal gave Wolves a win over their visitors from Southampton and Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Week 7- Due to the passing of H.M Queen Elizabeth II all week 7 matches were postponed.

 

Week 8 – When the Premier League returned, Fulham won 3-2 at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa earned 3 points with a goal at home to Southampton on Friday evening. On Saturday Heung-min Son came on to score a hat-trick in Tottenham’s 6-2 thrashing of their visitors from Leicester while Manchester City were 3-0 winners at 10-man Wolves and Bournemouth drew 1-1 at Newcastle. On Sunday Arsenal won 3-0 at Brentford and one goal gave Everton all 3 points at home to West Ham.

Week 9 – Anthony Martial scored twice for Manchester United who were thrashed 6-3 at Manchester City for whom Erling Haaland and Phil Foden each scored a hat-trick while a double from Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool fight back from 2 down to take the lead before Leandro Trossard completed his hat-trick to give Brighton a 3-3 draw at Anfield and Arsenal beat 10-man Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates. Miguel Almiron netted a brace as Newcastle thumped 10-man Fulham 4-1 at Craven Cottage while Chelsea came from behind to win 2-1 with a last-minute winner at Crystal Palace and Everton achieved the same result at Southampton. Wolves lost 2-0 at West Ham, resulting in the sacking of manager Bruno Lage, while there were goalless draws for Brentford at Bournemouth and for Aston Villa at 10-man Leeds United. On Monday evening James Maddison scored twice as Nottingham Forest were brushed aside 4-0 at Leicester City.

Week 10 – Bukayo Saka scored twice as Arsenal defeated Liverpool 3-2 at the Emirates while Manchester United came from an early goal down to win 2-1 at Everton and Manchester City put 4 past their visitors from Southampton without reply. Brentford were thumped 5-1 at Newcastle with Bruno Guimaraes netting twice for the Magpies while Leicester and Leeds took early leads but lost 2-1 at Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively and a single goal gave Tottenham 3 points at Brighton. Wolves lost 3-0 at Chelsea in Graham Potter’s first home match in charge of the Blues while West Ham bounced back from an early setback to enjoy a 3-1 home win over Fulham and on Monday evening Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 at home to Aston Villa.

Monday, 23 May 2022

Final push gives City League title

 

Having led for most of the season, Manchester City secured their fourth Premier League title in 5 years with a winning goal 9 minutes from time to finish a point ahead of Liverpool. Chelsea were third best, followed by Tottenham and Arsenal.  

Week 31 – Brentford bounced back from a goal down to brush Chelsea aside 4-1 with a brace from Vitaly Janelt at Stamford Bridge while Liverpool and Manchester City were 2-0 winners at home to Watford and away to Burnley respectively. Wolves defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at Molineux while there were 1-1 draws for Leeds at home to Southampton and Leicester at Manchester United and Brighton played a goalless match at home to Norwich City. On Sunday Newcastle took the lead but were demolished 5-1 at Tottenham while 10-man Everton lost 2-1 at West Ham and on Monday Crystal Palace swept Arsenal aside 3-0 at Selhurst Park. Everton came from a goal down to take the lead with 2 Richarlison penalties but lost 3-2 at Burnley on Wednesday evening.

Week 32 – On Friday evening, Wolves lost 1-0 to a penalty at Newcastle while Saturday began with the 1-0 defeat of Manchester United at Everton. Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Brighton while Mason Mount and Timo Werner scored 2 apiece as Chelsea demolished Southampton 6-0 at St Mary’s and a Son Heung-min hat-trick helped Tottenham to a 4-0 win at Aston Villa. Leeds United enjoyed a 3-0 win at Watford while on Sunday Burnley lost 2-0 away to bottom-of-the-table team Norwich and Brentford picked up and important 2-0 home win against West Ham. Leicester were 2-1 winners at home to Crystal Palace and in the top-of-the-table clash, Manchester City and Liverpool drew 2-2 at the Etihad.  

Week 33 – In a weekend that saw Liverpool and Chelsea book their places in the FA Cup final at the expense of Manchester City and Crystal Palace respectively, Norwich City fought back from 2 Cristiano Ronaldo goals to draw level at Manchester United but lost 3-2 when Ronaldo completed his hat-trick while Tottenham lost 1-0 to a last-minute goal at home to Brighton and Arsenal suffered the same result at Southampton. Brentford scored a last-gasp 2-1 winner at Watford while on Sunday Bruno Guimaraes completed his brace with the last strike of the match to give Newcastle a 2-1 home win over Leicester and in their first match after the sacking of Sean Dyche, Burnley drew 1-1 at West Ham. In rearranged matches played during the week, Manchester United were brushed aside 4-0 at Liverpool with a brace from Mohamed Salah while an Eddie Nketiah double helped Arsenal to a 4-2 victory at Chelsea and Manchester City broke Brighton’s resistance with 3 goals in the second half at the Etihad. Everton cancelled out Leicester’s early goal to earn a 1-1 home draw in stoppage time while Crystal Palace fell to a single goal at Newcastle and on Thursday Burnley put 2 past their visitors from Southampton without reply.

Week 34 – Gabriel Jesus scored 4 times as Manchester City thumped Watford 5-1 at the Etihad while Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-1 at the Emirates and Tottenham drew 0-0 at Brentford. A Joelinton brace helped Newcastle United to a 3-0 win at Norwich while Aston Villa played a goalless match at Leicester and on Sunday, having missed a late penalty at home, Chelsea broke the deadlock with a last-minute goal against 10-man West Ham. Southampton twice came from behind with goals from James Ward-Prowse to draw 2-2 at Brighton while Wolves lost 1-0 at Burnley and in the Merseyside derby Everton lost 2-0 at Liverpool. Leeds United drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Monday while on Thursday evening Chelsea drew 1-1 at Manchester United.

Week 35 – Norwich City were relegated after losing 2-0 at Aston Villa while Burnley came from an early goal down to win 2-1 with 2 late goals at Watford and Crystal Place came from behind to win by the same scoreline at Southampton. A single goal gave Liverpool all 3 points at Newcastle while Manchester City netted 4 times without reply at Leeds and Brighton enjoyed a 3-0 victory at Wolves. On Sunday Chelsea lost 1-0 at Everton while Arsenal were 2-1 winners at West Ham and Heung-min Son scored twice in Tottenham’s 3-1 home win over Leicester. On Monday evening, Brentford were beaten 3-0 at Manchester United.

Week 36 – Liverpool dropped points as they drew 1-1 at home to Tottenham while Raheem Sterling scored twice as a relentless Manchester City demolished their visitors from Newcastle 5-0 and Wolves trailed to a Romelu Lukaku double but fought back to earn a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Chelsea. Watford, who were reduced to 10 players, were relegated after losing to a penalty conversion at Crystal Palace while Burnley lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa and Everton enjoyed a 2-1 win at Leicester City. Manchester United were embarrassed 4-0 at Brighton and West Ham enjoyed the same result at Norwich with Said Benrahma netting twice for the Hammers while Leeds United fell to 2 early Eddie Nketiah goals but pulled a goal back despite playing a large part of the game with 10 players and Brentford celebrated a 3-0 home win over Southampton.

Week 37 – During the week several rearranged matches were played. Kevin de Bruyne scored 4 times as Manchester City thumped Wolves 5-1 at Molineux while Liverpool came from an early goal down to win 2-1 at Aston Villa and Chelsea won 3-0 at 10-man Leeds United. A double from Jamie Vardy helped Leicester to a 3-0 home win over Norwich while Everton picked up a point in a goalless draw at relegated Watford and on Thursday evening Harry Kane scored twice as 10-man Arsenal lost 3-0 at Tottenham. There were no league matches on Saturday as Liverpool were winning the FA Cup on penalties against Chelsea while on Sunday Manchester City came from 2 Jarrod Bowen goals down to draw 2-2 at West Ham and a spot kick was the difference between Tottenham and their visitors from Burnley. Ten-man Everton took a 2-1 lead but conceded 2 goals in quick succession to lose 3-2 and finish the match with 9 players at home to Brentford while Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes scored 2 apiece as Leicester hit back to wallop Watford 5-1 at Vicarage Road and there were 1-1 draws for Norwich at Wolves and Crystal Palace at Aston Villa. Leeds United scored in stoppage time to earn a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton while on Monday evening Arsenal suffered a 2-0 loss at Newcastle and on Tuesday Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1 at Southampton.

Week 38 – Before the final Sunday of the season, three matches were played on Thursday evening. Everton came from the abyss of a 2-goal deficit to win 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace and secure their safety in the Premier League while Burnley, who ended the match with ten players, drew 1-1 at Aston Villa and Chelsea fought back to draw 1-1 at home to Leicester.

On the final day Liverpool conceded an early goal but won 3-1 at home to Wolves while Manchester City, who were losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa until the 76th minute, scored 3 times in 5 minutes with a double from Ilkay Gundogan to win the Premier League. Leeds United scored a last-minute 2-1 winner at Brentford, who ended the match with 9 players through injury and dismissal, to stay up as Callum Wilson netted twice in Newcastle’s 2-1 win at Burnley who were relegated. Arsenal’s 5-1 win at home to Everton was not enough as Dejan Kulusevski and Heung-min Son scored 2 apiece for Tottenham who claimed the last Champions League place with a 5-0 victory at bottom-of-the-table Norwich. An Ayoze Perez double for Leicester sent Southampton home 4-1 losers and Manchester United lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace while West Ham took the lead but lost 3-1 at Brighton and Watford bowed out of the Premier League with a 2-1 loss at third place Chelsea.  

The final Premier League table for 2021-2022

Pos

Team

Points

GD

1

Manchester City

93

+73

2

Liverpool

92

+68

3

Chelsea

74

+43

4

Tottenham

71

+29

5

Arsenal

69

+13

6

Manchester United

58

0

7

West Ham United

56

+9

8

Leicester City

52

+3

9

Brighton

51

-2

10

Wolves

51

-5

11

Newcastle

49

-18

12

Crystal Palace

48

+4

13

Brentford

46

-8

14

Aston Villa

45

-2

15

Southampton

40

-24

16

Everton

39

-23

17

Leeds

38

-37

18

Burnley

35

-19

19

Watford

23

-43

20

Norwich

22

-61