As we head into the final stretch of the Premier League title race, teams are now having to navigate through a month of jam-packed fixtures. April fools’ day was no joke, and with another full complement of games coming up in midweek, Saturday saw just 15 goals scored by the 16 teams in action across 8 fixtures.
Pep Guardiola, Guus Hiddink, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti – What do all these men have in common? Craig Shakespeare joined this illustrious list on Saturday as he became the first British manager to win his first four games in charge when Leicester City got the better of Mark Hughes’ Stoke City at the King Power Stadium. A Wilfried Ndidi thunderbolt from all of 25 yards and a Jamie Vardy strike in the second half secured all three points for the defending champions. They had not scored a goal in 2017 but have now scored 11 goals in the four games since Shakespeare took charge. They currently sit in 13th place, six points clear of the relegation zone as they continue their build-up to a Champions League quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid.
Swansea City’s 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough on Sunday was the third stalemate of the weekend following goalless draws on Saturday in which the South-Coast derby failed to really live up to any expectations and in another frustrating afternoon at Old Trafford, United couldn’t find a way past a West Brom side who themselves managed just one shot on target the entire game. A joint highest 11th draw of the season (level with Middlesbrough) sees their struggles to secure a top four finish continue – they remain five points behind Man City in fourth, albeit with a game in hand over their noisy neighbours. Sunderland’s survival hopes were slashed again as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Watford, now seven points from safety. Elsewhere on Saturday, West Ham are now six without a win, losing their fourth game in a row. They were beaten 2-1 by fellow strugglers Hull City.
Tottenham have Harry Kane back in training, but had to make do without him once again for their trip to Burnley. Eric Dier and Heung Min Son scored in 2-0 win for the North London side who keep pressure on leaders Chelsea who were stunned 2-1 at Stamford Bridge by Crystal Palace in Saturday’s London derby. After taking the lead through Cesc Fabregas in as early as the 8th minute, they were behind in just the 11th minute after great linkup and superb finishes involving Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke. Defensively under Sam Allardyce, Palace have looked solid and they showed real resilience once again to hold on to their lead for the rest of the game. Their lead at the top has been cut to seven points and with fixtures against both Manchester clubs looming on the horizon it may not be a straight-forward runaway victory that many have been expecting for much of the season.
Man City have won just once in their last five visits to the Emirates, while Arsenal were on a poor run of their own having won just once in their previous five league games. Neither side could improve on this record on Sunday. A monstrous clash of the titans saw City have their lead twice erased through Theo Walcott and then Shkodran Mustafi following goals of their own from Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero. A thrilling encounter on the day saw the spoils shared – The Gunners remain 6th while the Citizens keep hold of the final Champions League spot… for now at least.