Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk step up for Liverpool in Merseyside derby, Aston Villa arrange good run-in – Premier League hits and misses

Salah and Van Dijk step up for Reds

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have gained the lot at Liverpool so you may detect a sure reluctance from them to overstate the importance of their 2-1 win within the first ever Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Nevertheless it was notable who stepped up.

Credit score to Cody Gakpo for his superb help for the opener and to Dominik Szoboszlai for establishing the winner. Curtis Jones impressed out of place at right-back. However Salah and Van Dijk scored the objectives, the latter’s successful header coming within the one hundredth minute.

The pair have been a lot maligned this season and understandably so with Salah’s stage, particularly, dipping alarmingly. However on derby day these Liverpool legends delivered two extra large moments. Who will produce for this workforce when they’re gone?

It was not a day to be persuaded that Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz are prepared for that mantle. Isak, clearly nowhere close to again to full health and fluency, was quiet all through. Wirtz had much less of an excuse as he struggled to deal with the calls for.

Each males value in extra of £100m every final summer season and there will probably be endurance on the high of the membership, a belief that there’s far more to come back from the pair. Nevertheless it was Salah and Van Dijk, even previous their greatest, who confirmed what it takes to be Liverpool heroes.
Adam Bate

Man Metropolis are the right opportunists

Manchester Metropolis might solely have dreamed of being on this place just a few months again. Every little thing about this title cost, now wanting extra possible than not, is opportunistic. It is landed of their lap.

Who might have imagined circumstances would fall this kindly? A Carabao Cup ultimate at Wembley to wrestle the momentum from Arsenal’s grasp on the good juncture. Subsequent comes a 2-1 beating on the Etihad; one other blow delivered at a vital time. And now the chase actually is on.

April is Man Metropolis’s greatest month beneath Pep Guardiola by way of points-per-game and win price – why ought to this 12 months be any totally different? In the meantime, it is proved to be Arsenal’s worst beneath Mikel Arteta. In a recreation of slim margins and superb traces, it was subsequently no shock to see Metropolis come out on the correct facet of stability.

As a result of this, in spite of everything, is what the Metropolis machine was constructed for. It is all they know beneath Pep, winners in six of the final 9 Premier League editions. No inhibitions from right here, simply freestyle till the tip of the season by taking part in as if strain is out of date.

“City are definitely favourites now,” mentioned Gary Neville on his podcast, in an entire break with all earlier predictions. Opta places Metropolis’s title probabilities at 27 per cent however historical past will inform you that may be a modest studying of a state of affairs that realistically feels much more 50/50.

Arteta put a courageous face on it by asserting “game on” afterwards. Metropolis absolutely want no additional encouragement.
Laura Hunter

How do Arsenal recuperate from Man Metropolis loss?

“Panic on the streets of London,” learn the Manchester Metropolis banner at full-time. Together with his hair down, Erling Haaland was singing Flo Rida’s: “Oh, sometimes, I get a good feeling.”. We have all heard these songs earlier than.

Regardless of being Premier League leaders for 201 consecutive days, Arsenal might lose their spot on the summit on Wednesday evening to a Metropolis facet chasing simply their seventh day on the high of the pile this season.

It was the identical story three seasons in the past, when Mikel Arteta’s facet led the 2022/23 desk for 247 days, solely to lose it to Metropolis within the ultimate weeks of the season. In that marketing campaign, a long-locked Haaland pulled his hair down and despatched Metropolis to an vital win over Arsenal in April. The title race wasn’t carried out, however ominous from there.

Historical past is repeating itself, as a well-known however unusual feeling falls upon Arsenal. There may be disappointment at not getting the outcome, however not like three seasons in the past the place Arsenal had been pulled aside to a 4-1 loss, this efficiency was a optimistic one. It went in opposition to all of the pre-match type and predictions.

Each title rivals have strengths, each groups have weaknesses. Come Wednesday evening, each groups might sit on 70 factors with the identical variety of video games left.

Metropolis’s win and Arsenal’s defeat will appear like a standout second however Guardiola’s facet have solely earned the correct to make the title race neck-and-neck. The race, or the shoot-out as many are placing it, is on.
Sam Blitz

Villa arrange for good end – however no extra blood-pressure elevating please

Aston Villa are doing it the exhausting approach, however are quietly setting themselves up for a historic finish to the season.

Regardless of taking simply 5 factors from six matches with final weekend’s draw at Nottm Forest, seven days later the Villans are all-but residence and hosed within the race for the Champions League and emphatically into the semi-finals of the Europa League.

They’ve not made issues simple for themselves this season, failing to win a recreation and even rating a aim till late September and their usually dependable high scorer Ollie Watkins netting solely as soon as between the beginning of February and Sunday’s win over Sunderland.

However after a double from the England ahead and the newest of late wins to maneuver 10 factors clear inside the highest 5, issues are wanting as rosy as they’ve carried out all 12 months.

Conceivably, by the point of Villa’s Europa League semi-final first leg with Forest per week on Thursday, they are often mathematically assured of a Champions League spot – or close to sufficient – whereas Vitor Pereira’s facet are unlikely to be out of the woods of Premier League survival.

There is a motive Unai Emery is such a grasp of the match. But once more, every little thing is falling into place on the proper time.
Ron Walker

Everton’s defeat means there’s every little thing to play for in race for Europe

Everton have not performed in Europe since 2017/18, however had they gained the Merseyside derby, they might have stormed as much as sixth and into pole place for a spot in subsequent season’s Europa League.

The very fact they didn’t win means the battle to complete in sixth and seventh within the ultimate month of the season needs to be gripping.

Proper now, Chelsea sit sixth, with Brentford in seventh. Each groups have collected 48 factors, together with Bournemouth, who’re eighth, owing to an inferior aim distinction.

Then come Brighton and Everton in ninth and tenth – each on 47 factors – Sunderland in eleventh on 46 factors and Fulham in twelfth on 45 factors.

Count on loads of motion within the ultimate 5 matchweeks. This race is much from run.
Dan Lengthy

Gibbs-White leads from the entrance in Forest fightback

Morgan Gibbs-White was the undisputed star of the present as Nottingham Forest, main from the entrance as a real captain.

Forest knew {that a} win would tremendously increase their probabilities of avoiding relegation, however they had been made to work for it after a flat first half.

In these moments, you want your senior gamers to step up, maintain themselves and their workforce accountable and provides every little thing for the trigger – Gibbs-White epitomised that and extra. His equaliser opened the floodgates to an outstanding half an hour of soccer from Forest.

He had probably the most pictures within the recreation (5) and the very best particular person xG (0.73) – a quantity he wildly exceeded. His three pictures on the right track had been all objectives, and he gained each of his tackles, the joint-second highest amongst his team-mates.

All of his finishes had been very good for his first profession hat-trick, though Burnley need to ask why he was allowed a lot area for all three objectives.

Forest will not thoughts in any respect although, with Vitor Pereira saying of his captain: “He’s a top player with a character, even when the first half was not his best… He showed what a captain must do in a difficult situation.”

The Forest hierarchy have made some poor selections this season, however convincing Gibbs-White to remain in the summertime was their greatest enterprise of all.
Charlotte Marsh

Inconsistency prices Burnley but once more

Nottingham Forest had not gained at residence within the Premier League since December 14 heading into this weekend, and Burnley would have smelt a chance.

This might have been enforced additional with the final word psychological sucker punch in a relegation showdown as they went forward simply earlier than the break.

And for 60-odd minutes, Burnley stored their form nicely, didn’t concede any pictures on the right track and took benefit of a Forest’s European exertions on Thursday.

However as Scott Parker admitted himself, as soon as Morgan Gibbs-White’s equaliser went in, the floodgates opened within the flawed path.

Burnley seemingly forgot the Forest captain was on the pitch, such was the shortage of marking for his objectives. Gibbs-White wants little encouragement to shoot, however in a recreation like this, it was deadly for the Clarets’ survival hopes.

There have been nonetheless glimpses of their very own attacking prowess, however it was not sufficient.

Burnley haven’t produced a constant efficiency for a complete 90 minutes this season, and have not been robust sufficient to maintain from collapsing in these dangerous moments.

They’re closing in on one more return to the Championship and in doing so, can be solely second membership in Premier League period to be promoted or relegated in 5 successive seasons.
Charlotte Marsh