The Premier League was back in action after the international break for Matchweek 30 of the 2020-21 season. We saw exceptional performances from West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United while Manchester United broke away from the chasing pack for the top 4 race.
Arsenal lost their opportunity to make a late unlikely dash for the top four while Liverpool threw their hat back in ring again.
Let us take a look at the 5 takeaways from the weekend action of Matchweek 30 in the Premier League.
Chelsea crucified by West Brom
What was overlooked by pundits in the lead up to be a potentially routine affair turned out to be the talking point of the weekend.
Chelsea’s 14-match unbeaten start under Thomas Tuchel came to an emphatic end against Big Sam’s men. The match was totally under Chelsea’s control until Thiago Silva got foolishly sent off. From there onwards, it was a shocking downward spiral for the Blues as the team collapsed completely. The lack of leadership was glaring and we could well have seen the last of Thiago Silva in a Chelsea shirt.
Matheus Pereira played one of the best games of his career, keeping his calm throughout the match and deserved a hattrick which did not materialise ultimately. The result threw open the top-four race and now Chelsea are under tremendous pressure from West Ham, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City march towards the title
The match against Leicester City was considered as one of the few remaining challenges City had to face domestically on their way to another title. But the Foxes failed to turn up and the Sky Blues had a comfortable outing running out 0-2 winners.
The match was a far cry from the early season swashbuckling encounter where Manchester City had lost 5-2. The win marked a strong start to a decisive month for the team where they will be involved in all four competitions they are a part of.
Liverpool back in Top-4 fight
Things panned out perfectly for Liverpool this weekend as Chelsea and Tottenham dropped points while Klopp’s men notched up a convincing win over a listless Arsenal side.
The in-form Diogo Jota came on in the second half and turned things around and will surely be a starter for the important games in the remainder of the season.
The centre-back pairing also gained some much-needed confidence ahead of the Champions League clash against Real Madrid. After losing six of their previous eight games, Jurgen Klopp’s side seem to have arrested their slump, winning their third consecutive match in all competitions. As far as the points table is concerned, it is going to be a four-way fight for the fourth spot in the table and the Reds should be feeling quietly confident of leapfrogging the rest.
Arsenal in danger of dropping out of the top half
This was a massive game for the Gunners in their quest to partake in any European competition next season. But they simply failed to turn up on the night. Arteta employed an ultra-defensive set-up against a jittery Liverpool side who have been poor this season.
It took some time for the Reds to grab a foothold but once Klopp worked the Gunners out, Diogo Jota was unleashed to wrap up the game. It was an easy win for Liverpool and now Arsenal face the possibility of even finishing in the bottom half of the table.
Newcastle United get massive survival boost
Newcastle’s hopes of surviving the drop got a boost with a well-deserved stalemate against Tottenham Hotspur. They did not show too much respect towards Spurs and were in the game to win it. Joelinton scored the opener in the 28th minute but, they suffered immediate setbacks conceding 2 goals in 6 minutes.
Spurs had the game more or less under control but were guilty of not applying pressure to add to their slender 1-goal lead. And Jose’s team had to pay the penalty when the Arsenal loanee Joe Willock arrived late into the box to snatch a draw in the closing stages of the game. The Magpies would have been happy to see both Brighton and Fulham drop points as well.
