Top dogs chased by Foxes

After 10 weeks, Liverpool and Manchester City are the top runners, but Leicester City are hot on their tails with a young Chelsea side also in the mix.

Week 1 – On Friday evening the 2019-20 Premier League began with VAR making its debut, but it was business as usual for Liverpool who brushed Norwich aside with 4 goals in the first half, though the visitors pulled a goal back after the break. In the early kick-off on Saturday, Raheem Sterling netted a hat-trick as champions Manchester City demolished West Ham United 5-0 at the London Stadium while on Sunday Frank Lampard’s Chelsea were taken apart 4-0 at Manchester United with Marcus Rashford scoring twice for the Red Devils. Harry Kane scored 2 late goals as Tottenham came from behind to win 3-1 at home to Aston Villa while a single goal gave Arsenal all 3 points at Newcastle and there were 3-0 wins for Brighton at Watford and for Burnley at home to Southampton with Ashley Barnes scoring a brace in front of his home crowd. Sheffield United drew 1-1 at Bournemouth and there were goalless draws for Wolves at Leicester and 10-man Everton at Crystal Palace.

Week 2 – Tottenham drew 2-2 at Manchester City who had a stoppage-time winner denied by VAR while Liverpool won 2-1 at Southampton and Arsenal were 2-1 winners at home to Burnley. Teemu Pukki claimed a hat-trick as Norwich defeated Newcastle United 3-1 at Carrow Road while Bournemouth scored 2 early goals to win 2-1 at Aston Villa and an early goal gave Everton a win at home to Watford. West Ham drew 1-1 at Brighton while on Sunday Crystal Palace lost 1-0 at Sheffield United and Leicester City drew 1-1 at Chelsea. On Monday evening Manchester United, who missed a penalty, drew 1-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Week 3 – On Friday evening Aston Villa were 2-0 winners at home to Everton while on Saturday Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool defeated Arsenal 3-1 at Anfield and Norwich City fought back twice but lost 3-2 at home to a young Chelsea side for whom Tammy Abraham netted twice. Crystal Palace scored a stoppage-time 2-1 winner at Manchester United who missed a penalty while Southampton were 2-0 winners at 10-man Brighton and Sebastien Haller scored twice for West Ham who won 3-1 at Watford. Leicester City picked up a 2-1 win at Sheffield United while on Sunday Tottenham lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle and Wolves scored a 97^th minute penalty to draw 1-1 at home to Burnley. Sergio Aguero scored twice in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth.

Week 4 – Arsenal came from 2 down to draw with Tottenham at the Emirates while Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City sent Brighton packing 4-0 and Liverpool were 3-0 winners at Burnley. Manchester United drew 1-1 at 10-man Southampton while Sheffield United fought back from 2 Tammy Abraham goals to draw at Chelsea and a double from Jamie Vardy helped Leicester City to a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth. Norwich City lost 2-0 at West Ham while 10 men from Aston Villa fell to a single goal at Crystal Palace and Watford drew 1-1 at Newcastle. Wolverhampton Wanderers ended the match with 10 players as they lost 3-2 at Everton.

Week 5 – Norwich City celebrated a 3-2 victory over reigning champions Manchester City and Carrow Road while Liverpool extended their lead at the top as they came from behind to beat Newcastle 3-1 at Anfield with Sadio Mane netting a double and Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick for Chelsea who tore Wolves apart 5-2 at Molineux. Heung-Min Son scored twice in front of his home crowd as Tottenham swept Crystal Palace aside with 4 goals in the first half while Arsenal let their 2 goal advantage from a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace slip away as they drew 2-2 at Watford and a Manchester United penalty conversion was the difference between them and Leicester City at Old Trafford. Everton lost 3-1 at Bournemouth with Callum Wilson scoring twice for the seasiders while Burnley scored in stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Brighton and Southampton were 1-0 winners at Sheffield United who finished the match with 10 men. On Monday evening ten men from West Ham played out a goalless match at Aston Villa.

Week 6 – Manchester City blew Watford away with 5 goals in the opening 18 minutes and went on to annihilate their visitors 8-0 with a hat-trick from Bernardo Silva while league leaders Liverpool won 2-1 at Chelsea and 10-man Arsenal twice came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Emirates. Tottenham took the lead but lost 2-1 at Leicester and Manchester United lost 2-0 at West Ham while Sheffield United were 2-0 winners at Everton. Ten men from Wolverhampton scored late in stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Newcastle while Chris Wood scored 2 early goals for Burnley to send Norwich back with nothing to show for. The weekend had begun on Friday evening with a 3-1 win for Bournemouth at Southampton.

Week 7 – Jamie Vardy netted a brace as 10-man Newcastle United were brushed aside 5-0 at Leicester City who are in 3^rd place behind Liverpool who picked up 3 points with a single goal at Sheffield United, and Manchester City who were 3-1 winners at Everton. Chelsea won 2-0 at home to Brighton and Crystal Palace enjoyed the same result as they entertained Norwich with Wolves also picking up the same result at home to Watford. Southampton lost 2-1 at 10-man Tottenham while West Ham drew 2-2 at Bournemouth and Burnley twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Aston Villa. On Monday evening Arsenal drew 1-1 at Manchester United.  

Week 8 – Reining champions, Manchester City, were beaten 2-0 at home to Wolves with Adama Traore striking twice for the visitors while Liverpool scored a stoppage-time penalty to win 2-1 at home to Leicester and a single goal at the Emirates against Bournemouth gave Arsenal 3 points, moving them into 3^rd place. Tottenham were beaten 3-0 at Brighton with Aaron Connolly bagging a brace while Wesley Moares scored twice and missed a penalty at Norwich as Aston Villa battered the Canaries 5-1 and Chelsea swept Southampton aside 4-1 at St Mary’s. Manchester United lost 1-0 at Newcastle and 10-man Everton lost by the same scoreline at Burnley while Crystal Palace came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham with a late goal awarded by VAR and Watford hosted Sheffield United in a goalless match.

 Week 9 – Liverpool’s winning streak came to an end as they drew 1-1 at Manchester United while Manchester City closed the gap at the top with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace and Leicester City came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Burnley. A late equalizer gave Tottenham a 1-1 draw at home to Watford while Chelsea defeated Newcastle with a single goal at Stamford Bridge and West Ham lost 2-0 at Everton. After taking the lead, Brighton were reduced to 10 men and lost 2-1 to a stoppage-time goal at Aston Villa while Southampton drew 1-1 at Wolves and Norwich drew 0-0 at Bournemouth. On Monday evening, Arsenal lost 1-0 at Sheffield United.

Week 10 – The weekend began on Friday evening at St Mary’s where it rained goals as 10-man Southampton were annihilated 9-0 by a rampant Leicester City for whom Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy each scored a hat-trick. Liverpool came back from an early setback to beat Tottenham 2-1 at Anfield while Manchester City, who finished the match with 10 men, were 3-0 winners at home to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace bounced back from 2 early goals to draw 2-2 at Arsenal who had a late goal chalked off by VAR. Burnley scored 2 late goals but lost 4-2 to Chelsea with Christian Pulisic grabbing a hat-trick for the visitors while Tim Krul saved 2 penalties but saw his Norwich side lose 3-1 at home to Manchester United and Everton scored an own-goal in stoppage time to lose 3-2 at Brighton. Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 1-1 at Newcastle who suffered a late dismissal and Sheffield United drew 1-1 at West Ham while Watford played a goalless match at Bournemouth.   

Over the Blue Moon

Liverpool stretched Manchester City until the last day of the season but could not topple the champions.

Week 31 – With the quarterfinals of the FA Cup being played, there were only 5 matches in the Premier League. On Sunday Liverpool took advantage of Manchester City’s involvement in the cup to go top with a 2-1 win at Fulham while Chelsea lost 2-0 at Everton. On Saturday Huddersfield Town took a 3-1 lead at West Ham with a double from Karlan Grant, but a late brace from Javier Hernandez helped the hots to a 4-3 victory while a goal in stoppage time gave Newcastle Untitled a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth for whom Joshua King had netted twice and Leicester City scored in the last minute to win 2-1 at Burnley despite playing most of the match with 10 players.  

Week 32 – Huddersfield Town were the first team to be relegated to the Championship after going down 2-0 at Crystal Palace while Burnley were 2-0 winners at home to Wolves and a single goal gave Southampton a vital win at Brighton. Manchester City won 2-0 at troubled Fulham and Everton achieved the same result at West Ham United while Tottenham lost 2-1 to a last-minute goal at Liverpool and were overtaken on Monday night by Arsenal who were 2-0 winners at home to Newcastle United. Chelsea came from a goal down to win with 2 late goals at Cardiff City while Manchester United defeated Watford 2-1 at Old Trafford and Leicester City put 2 past their visitors from Bournemouth.

Week 33 – In midweek matches Fulham were relegated after losing 4-1 at Watford while Manchester United, who were reduced to 10 players, lost 2-1 at Wolves and Manchester City picked up another win with 2 goals at home to Cardiff. Tottenham baptised their new stadium with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace and Chelsea put 3 past Brighton at Stamford Bridge while on Friday evening Liverpool left it late to come from behind and win 3-1 at Southampton. At the weekend, while Manchester City and Watford were beating Brighton and Wolves respectively to reach the final of the FA Cup, Jamie Vardy scored twice as Leicester humbled their hosts Huddersfield Town 4-1 and Burnley bounced back from an early setback to win 3-1 at Bournemouth. A penalty conversion gave Crystal Palace a win at Newcastle and Arsenal fell to an early goal at Everton while on Monday evening Eden Hazard scored both goals for Chelsea at home to West Ham.

Week 34 - The week’s fixtures began on Friday evening with a 1-0 Newcastle win at Leicester City while on Saturday Tottenham hammered Huddersfield 4-0 at home aided by a Lucas Moura hat-trick and 10-man Brighton hit rock bottom as they were battered 5-0 by Bournemouth. Wolves were beaten 3-1 away from home as Nathan Redmond struck twice for Southampton while Chris Wood scored both goals in Burnley’s home win over Cardiff and Fulham enjoyed the same result against Everton. Two Paul Pogba penalties at Old Trafford helped Manchester United to a 2-1 win over West Ham while on Sunday Chelsea fell 2-0 at Liverpool and Manchester City were 3-1 winners at Crystal Palace with Raheem Sterling netting a brace. On Monday evening Arsenal laboured to a 1-0 win at 10-man Watford while on Tuesday Brighton suffered another home defeat, going down 2-0 to Cardiff.

Week 35 – Manchester City earned another 3 points with an early goal at home to Tottenham and 2 goals at Cardiff gave Liverpool a win the two-horse race at the top while Manchester United were humiliated 4-0 at Everton and Arsenal were punished 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace. Southampton fell 3-1 to an Ayoze Perez hat-trick at Newcastle and a goal in stoppage time gave Leicester a 2-2 draw at West Ham while Watford were 2-1 winners at Huddersfield Town and Fulham netted from the spot to win at Bournemouth. Wolves were held to a goalless draw at home to struggling Brighton while on Monday evening 4 early goals were shared between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge. In rearranged matches played in midweek, Manchester City took a big step towards the Premier League title with a 2-0 win at Manchester United and Tottenham scored late in London to break the deadlock at Brighton hearts while Arsenal were torn apart 3-1 at Wolves and Watford scored a last minute leveller after Southampton had scored the quickest goal in Premier League history.  

Week 36 – West Ham United became the first team to score, in their 1-0 win, at Tottenham’s new stadium while on Friday evening Liverpool brushed Huddersfield Town aside 5-0 at Anfield with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah scoring 2 apiece and one goal at Burnley was enough to give Manchester City 3 more points in their quest for the league title. Ten-man Arsenal fell apart 3-0 at Leicester with Jamie Vardy scoring 2 late goals for the Foxes and Wolves were 2-1 winners at Watford. Callum Wilson scored twice as Bournemouth earned a 3-3 draw at Southampton and Cardiff lost 1-0 at relegated Fulham while Brighton drew 1-1 at home to Newcastle United. Everton played out a goalless draw at Crystal Palace.

Week 37 – On Friday evening Everton put 2 early goals past their visitors from Burnley without reply. At the weekend, Manchester United’s hopes of finishing in the top 4 was extinguished when they drew 1-1 at Huddersfield while 9-man Tottenham lost to a stoppage-time goal at Bournemouth and Arsenal were held to a 1-1 home draw by lowly Brighton. Marko Arnautovic scored twice in front of his home crowd as West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 while a late goal gave Liverpool a hard-earned 3-2 win at Newcastle and Crystal Palace won by the same scoreline at Cardiff who were consequently relegated. Chelsea were 3-0 winners at home to Watford while Fulham fell 1-0 at Wolves and on Monday evening a wonder strike gave Manchester City a vital 1-0 win at home to Leicester City.

Week 38 – Sadio Mane scored both goals as Liverpool defeated Wolves at Anfield, but Manchester City came from behind to win 4-1 at Brighton and retain the Premier League title while Chelsea drew 0-0 at Leicester City to finish third. Tottenham drew 2-2 at home to Everton to secure a top 4 finish while 2 goals from Pierre Emerick Aubameyang earned him the Golden Boot jointly with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as Arsenal ended the season with a 3-1 win at Burnley and Fulham bid farewell to the Premier League with a humiliating 4-0 defeat at home to Newcastle. Manchester United lost 2-0 at home to relegated Cardiff and Huddersfield Town drew 1-1 at Southampton while a brace for Mark Noble helped West Ham to a 4-1 victory at 10-man Watford and, in a thoroughly entertaining match,  Michy Batshuayi netted twice as Crystal Place ran out 5-3 winners at home to Bournemouth.

The final Premier League table for 2018-2019

Pos	Team	Points	GD
1	Manchester City	98	+72
2	Liverpool	97	+67
3	Chelsea	72	+24
4	Tottenham	71	+28
5	Arsenal	70	+22
6	Manchester United	66	+11
7	Wolves	57	+1
8	Everton	54	+8
9	Leicester City	52	+3
10	West Ham United	52	-3
11	Watford	50	-7
12	Crystal Palace	49	-2
13	Newcastle United	45	-6
14	Bournemouth	45	-14
15	Burnley	40	-23
16	Southampton	39	-20
17	Brighton	36	-25
18	Cardiff	34	-35
19	Fulham	26	-47
20	Huddersfield Town	16	-54