This past weekend was supposed to be all about blowing the title race wide open. Arsenal were to beat West Ham easily and Man City, with their returning swagger, were to beat Liverpool at home. Football, eh?
It’s not that people wanted Liverpool to lose because they dislike them. Teams generally don’t lose the title from this far ahead at this stage however and we all like a bit of drama.
As it was, it was Liverpool who had the swagger in beating Man City while an average West Ham team was good enough to put Arsenal away. That has to be worrying for Arteta.
Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, both going for a top four place, played out a belter of their own on a great Sunday of action. What does it all mean now for European qualification?
Salah and Liverpool Sauntering to Title
Somewhat belatedly some would say, Mo Salah is producing the kind of form that has people talking about Ballon d’Or prizes. He was instrumental in Liverpool’s 2-0 win at the Etihad, a success that most sensible people believe has essentially landed them the title.
In the blink of an eye, Salah has now scored 241 goals for Liverpool. It’ll be rather fitting if he lands them the Premier League and perhaps the Champions League this term before saying his goodbyes.
For their part, Manchester City were below par again. They won via a shocking Newcastle performance the week before, a game that came between defeats to Real Madrid and was followed by Sunday’s result. They have not returned to their best.
What this all means is that Liverpool now sit 11 points clear at the top having played a game more than Arsenal. That’s still a net 8-point lead if Arsenal win their game in hand. With eleven games to go, that’s more than likely enough now. The Merseysiders are now a best-priced 1/12 to win the league.
For Man City, they remain fourth but only just. Pep’s side are level on points with Newcastle who beat Forest and still remain three points behind the City Ground side. Bournemouth and Chelsea are one point back, with Aston Villa a further point away.
Man City are a 4/9 shot to make the top four which is fair. They have enough to stay where they are without threatening to get to Arsenal’s level. That level of course is dipping by the minute.
Toon Chasing Forest Down
At St James’ Park, Newcastle’s entertaining if inconsistent season continued. After going 1-0 down early, the Toon blasted four goals in 11 minutes to essentially put Forest away in the first half.
There were plenty of shaky moments though. Forest hit back twice in the second half to leave a nervous Newcastle waiting on the final whistle for an ultimate 4-3 win.
The win puts Newcastle three behind Nottingham Forest who remain third, with their eyes firmly on a top four place.
Despite their woes, Man City are probably destined for a Champions League spot, while Arsenal and Liverpool are our other “guarantees”. That would leave only one place to be fought out by Newcastle, Forest, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Aston Villa.
They have a tricky run coming up but usually bring their A-game when facing the big sides. Forest on the other hand, despite having had a great season, may just be running out of puff.
Team News Gave Clues
The result on the day at St James’ Park was no big surprise. Forest were six points ahead of Newcastle going in, but we don’t who is best until the season is completed. There was a very obvious clue, however.
It is so often the case that when players are up against their former clubs, it goes one of two ways. Either they left to further themselves and come back to haunt their old employers, or they show why they were let go.
| Newcastle United | Nottingham Forest |
|---|---|
| Pope | Sels* |
| Hall | Williams |
| Burn | Murillo |
| Schär | Milenković |
| Livramento | Aina |
| Willock | Anderson* |
| Guimarães | Domínguez |
| Miley | Hudson-Odoi |
| Gordon | Gibbs-White |
| Isak | Elanga |
| Murphy | Wood* |
*Denotes former Newcastle United players.
It’s a rather simplistic view, but when you consider that Forest had three players in the team Newcastle let go, only one result is incoming.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels was not good enough for Newcastle back in the day, Elliott Anderson was sacrificed for PSR reasons and Chris Wood was replaced up front. Why would they suddenly be good enough as a group to beat their former club?
Newcastle have gone to Forest’s ground three times in all competitions since they were promoted and have yet to lose. Over 38 games, they’d back themselves to finish on top.