Matchday 29 of the Premier League delivered results that impacted both the title race and the battle for European spots. Arsenal secured a narrow win over Chelsea, while Manchester United climbed the table with a strong performance against Leicester. Manchester City was held to draws, and Tottenham’s European hopes took a hit with a defeat to Fulham. Here’s a breakdown of the key matches, standout performances, and league implications.
Key Match Summaries
The biggest clash of the weekend saw Arsenal hosting Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. This close encounter was bagged by Arsenal with a 1-0 scoreline. Arsenal scored in the 20th minute and managed to maintain the lead throughout the match, while stopping Chelsea who had 59% of ball possession.
Nottingham Forest registered an easy 4-2 win over Ipswich Town, whose relegation looks imminent now. While both teams had the same number of shots and almost the same in possession, it was the Forest side who managed to win. Forest also commanded the match, leading by 3 goals before halftime.
Manchester United defeated Leicester, climbing up a place in the league table. Even though Leicester had slightly more ball possession, it was United who managed to score three times for crucial three points. Their European hopes are still alive.
Manchester City had another bad day. They drew their fixture with Brighton with a 2-2 score. While many saw this as a chance for the hosts to gain 3 points, Brighton wasn’t ready to budge. City, despite leading by the end of first half with 2-1, they couldn’t keep the lead till the end.
Tottenham’s chances for a European spot now hang by a thread, after a 2-0 defeat to Fulham. Fulham showed their resilience, dominating in shots, possession and even in goals saved. They scored twice in final 12 minutes of the game and remained firmly in European spots contention.
Everton drew against West Ham in injury time, ending with a goal each at the whistle.
Wolves managed to secure a win against Southampton. Despite having just five shots on goal against the hosts’ 10, Wolves scored in both the halves.
Brentford clinched victory with a subtle 2-1 score over Bournemouth. Bournemouth recorded better possession and more shots in the match. But a determined Brentford team managed to sneak 2 goals and restrict Bournemouth with great defense.
Liverpool and Newcastle played an EFL Cup final match so they didn’t played in Premier League this weekend. Liverpool played a match against Aston Villa in February (it was a 2-2 draw between them), while a match between Newcastle and Crystal Palace was postponed to April 16th
Standout Players & Performances
Matchday 29 witnessed 26 different players score 28 goals. Jørgen Strand Larsen of Wolves and Anthony Elanga were the only players to score a brace in their respective matches. While Larsen was player of the match with 8.4 Sofascore Rating, Elanga’s rating just second to his teammate Nicola Milenkovic. Milenković had a goal, an assist along with 9 clearances, making him the highest rated defender of the week, with the Sofascore Rating of 8.8.
Highest rated player of the weekend was Man United’s Bruno Fernandes with a well deserved 9.7 against Leicester. Mohamed Salah managed to score against Aston Villa, taking his goal tally to 27, six more than Haaland in second place.
Carlos Alcaraz of Everton bagged the Player of the Match with a Sofascore rating of 7.8, without direct contribution to the goal against West Ham. Omar Marmoush (8.4 Sofascore Rating) from Man City, Christian Nørgaard (8.2 Sofascore Rating) of Brentford, Mikel Merino of Arsenal (7.4 Sofascore Rating) and Andreas Pereira (8.0 Sofascore Rating) of Fulham were other outfield players with stand-out performances this week.
League Table & Impact
Liverpool maintain their lead in the standings, now with a 12 point lead. Arsenal is in second place with 58 points, with Forest following them with 54 points. Chelsea and Man City take up the 4th and 5th places respectively, but with just one point separating them. With Newcastle and Brighton with 47 points along with Fulham and Aston Villa with 45 points, the battle for a European spot is far from over.
Manchester United managed to climb to the 13th place, with Spurs dropping to the 14th after losing to Fulham. Everton, West Ham and Wolves currently occupy the 15th, 16th and 17th spots, with the first two teams scoring the same number of points as Tottenham. Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton still round off the last three places in the Premier League.
Looking Ahead
With national teams in full focus, next matchday takes place in April. Chelsea welcomes Tottenham, while Forest hosts Man United. Arsenal and Liverpool take on Fulham and Everton respectively. The upcoming fixtures could prove decisive for teams fighting for European qualification.