Here’s what happened in the Barclays Premier League over the weekend, in case you missed it…
Watch match highlights: Manchester United 4, Aston Villa 1 | Crystal Palace 1, Chelsea 0 | Southampton 4, Newcastle United 0 | Stoke City 1, Hull City 0 | Swansea City 3, Norwich City 0 | West Bromwich Albion 3, Cardiff City 3 | Arsenal 1, Manchester City 1 | Fulham 1, Everton 3 | Liverpool 4, Tottenham 0
The weekend’s main talking points
Liverpool goes top of the table: Crystal Palace stunned Chelsea 1-0 at Selhurst Park and Manchester City had to settle for a point away to Arsenal on Saturday, setting the stage for Liverpool on Sunday. All the Reds needed was a point at Anfield, and they would climb into first place. They ended up crushing a limp Tottenham side 4-0, with Luis Suarez netting his league-leading 29th goal of the campaign. Surely now, nobody can doubt Liverpool’s title credentials. Winners of eight in a row and unbeaten in 13 (their last loss came on Dec. 29), the Reds have shown they are for real, overcoming defensive frailties thanks in large part to the scoring exploits of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge (49 goals between them). Man City is only four points back and have a game in hand on Liverpool. But City and Chelsea still have to go to Anfield, and Liverpool’s other games are very winnable (West Ham, Palace, Norwich and Newcastle). It’s going to take a special team to wrestle top spot away from the Reds the way Brendan Rodgers’ side is playing right now, and Chelsea and Man City look vulnerable. It’s going to go right down to the wire with six games left, and don’t be surprised if Liverpool ends its title drought.
Mind games or the truth from Jose? After that stunning loss to Palace, Jose Mourinho (not for the first time) wrote off his Chelsea’s chances and ceded the title to Manchester City. It’s always been transparent whenever Mourinho has used this ploy in the past, seeking to take the pressure off his club and shift it to his rivals. But maybe this time he was speaking the truth. It’s hard to see how Chelsea, two points adrift of Liverpool but with Man City right on their tail, will regain the lead at the top of the table. The Blues have skated by for the majority of this season without a number one striker, and it cost them Saturday at Selhurst Park. With the in-form Samuel Eto’o injured, Fernando Torres was tasked with leading the line and the Spaniard did what he does best: Come up short. Despite his six shots (none on target) over 90 minutes, Torres was invisible out there, as Chelsea’s attack sputtered. They may have tossed away their hopes of winning the Premier League with this loss to lowly Palace.
Fans stand behind Manchester United
Monday programming alert: Watch Sunderland vs. West Ham United on Sportsnet World. Live coverage begins at 3:00 pm ET/noon PT. | Sportsnet World Online | TV schedule
Stat of the weekend
171 – @WayneRooney is now the 4th highest scorer in @premierleague history (Shearer – 260, Cole – 187, Henry – 175). Deadly.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 29, 2014
Best match
Without question it has to be the 3-3 draw between West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff City at the Hawthorns. Down 2-1 at half, Cardiff levelled things up in the 73rd minute, only to see Thievy Bifouma score deep into injury time for the Baggies. But Cardiff wouldn’t be denied as Mats Daehli struck in the fourth minute of added time to seal a vital point for the visitors. Two goals in injury time—Beat that!
Best goal
There’s debate over whether or not Morgan Amalfitano meant to thump a long-distance strike from the wing at an acute angle over the head of Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall in the second minute. Was he really just trying to deliver a hopeful cross into the box? Nah. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt on this goal of the season contender.
Best save
Luis Suarez beat Hugo Lloris in the 25th minute to give Liverpool a 2-0 advantage over Tottenham. But the French goalkeeper exacted revenge just before half time, tipping Suarez’s powerful header from close range onto the bar to deny the Uruguayan forward of a second goal.
Forrest and Dichio: How to fix Manchester United
Best tweet
Always said that a champion isn’t measured by how well you do against top teams, it’s how you do against the bottom. #cfc
— Steven Sandor (@the11ca) March 29, 2014
Burning questions
–How many goals will Luis Suarez score this season?
–Is there any way Tim Sherwood will be back as Tottenham manager next season?
–Will Everton overtake Arsenal for fourth place by season’s end?
3 stars
1) Jonathan De Guzman: The Canadian-born, Dutch international bagged a brace for Swansea in a victory over Norwich, giving the Swans a bit of breathing space above the relegation zone.
2) David Silva: The Spaniard was at the heart of a dynamic Manchester City attack, and scored the goal that gave the Blues the lead away to Arsenal.
3) Julian Speroni: The Argentine made a number of highlight reel saves to help Crystal Palace upset Chelsea at Selhurst Park.
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