Premier League 2019/20 Game Week 22 Roundup

A full roundup of game week 22 of the Premier League, including the team of the week.

Sheffield United 1-0 West Ham United

Following two successive defeats (at the hands of the league’s top two sides) The Blades got back to winning ways on the weekend with a controversial victory over West Ham. Oli McBurnie opened the scoring for Chris Wilder’s men in the second half. However, the Hammers had seemingly equalised through Robert Snodgrass at the death, only for VAR to rule that there had been a handball in the build-up and disallow the goal, leaving the Londoners as the latest side to be left fuming by the new refereeing technology.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal suffered a major blow in their draw at Selhurst Park following the dismissal of leading goal scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for an ankle crunching tackle on Max Meyer. The Gabonese hitman gave the Gunners an early lead, but the visitors were unable to extend their advantage and were pegged back in the second half through Jordan Ayew. A straight red for Aubameyang means he will now miss his team’s next three games, with clashes against Sheffield United, Chelsea and Burnley looming.

Everton 1-0 Brighton and Hove Albion

After being embarrassed by Liverpool’s youngsters in the FA Cup, Carlo Ancelotti got his Everton career back on track over the weekend, taking his league record as Toffees boss to nine points from a possible 12. Richarlison’s first half strike was enough to see off an impressive Brighton side, who have exceeded many people’s expectations this season and are seemingly en-route to Premier League survival.

Leicester City 1-2 Southampton

Southampton had a lot to prove in their visit to the King Power Stadium, following their 9-0 defeat at the hands of the Foxes earlier in the season. Unfortunately for Brendan Rodgers’ men, the Saints came back with a vengeance, potentially derailing their title challenge once and for all. Dennis Praet opened the scoring for the hosts on the prior to the 15-minute mark before Stuart Armstrong levelled the scoring shortly after. A late strike from an in-form Danny Ings handed Ralf Hasenhuttl’s men an unexpected victory and saw them surge into 12th having won four of their last five games.

Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City

Despite a disappointing defeat at the hands of their local rivals in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final mid-week, Manchester United got back to winning ways at the weekend, overcoming the leagues bottom side in convincing fashion. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood sealed a four-goal victory and ensured the Canaries wouldn’t be moving off the fott of the table any time soon.

Chelsea 3-0 Burnley

After finding themselves in a bit of a rut throughout the festive period, Chelsea have seemingly recovered and continued in their contest to secure a position in the top four of the league, and a convincing win over Burnley has only aided them in their quest. First half goals from Jorginho and Tammy Abraham helped the Blues to a commanding lead, before Callum Hodson-Odoi netted his first Premier League goal in order to secure all three points against a defensively hardened Burnley side.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Newcastle United

A game that looked as though it could have been an absolute barnstormer ended up quite tame in the end, as both of the game’s goals came inside the opening quarter of an hour. The Magpie’s Paraguayan star Miguel Almiron opened the scoring, before Leander Dendoncker equalised just seven minutes later. Despite Wolves’ continued dominance throughout much of the match, they were unable to break Newcastle down and ended up disappointed, with Nuno Espírito Santo and Steven Burce’s men each coming away from the match with a point a piece.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool were once again unstoppable at the weekend, setting the record for the highest ever points after 21 games in any of Europe’s top five leagues. And due to Leicester’s slip up against Southampton, the Reds were able to distance themselves even further from the chasing pack with a victory against Spurs, which they won in a hard-fought affair. Following a dominant first half, in which Roberto Firmino scored the game’s only goal, Liverpool were made to cling on to their lead for dear life, with Spurs repeatedly testing the visitors resolve. They managed to hold out though, and moved 14 points clear of second placed Manchester City, with a game in hand.

 Bournemouth 0-3 Watford

Prior to Nigel Pearson’s appointment, Watford looked doomed to be relegated. With only one win to their name they brought the former Leicester boss in to save them from the drop, and he has since worked wonders. Barring a defeat at Anfield in his very first game, Pearson has been undefeated taking 13 points from a possible 18. The Hornet’s visit to Bournemouth also yielded three points and condemned the Cherries to the relegation zone, with goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Troy Deeney and Roberto Pereyra taking Watford out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.

Aston Villa 1-6 Manchester City

Title contenders Manchester City put on a dominant display at Villa Park, helping themselves to a handful of goals as they beat the Villains in comfortable fashion. A goal from Gabriel Jesus, a brace from Riyad Mahrez and a hat-trick from Sergio Aguero saw Dean Smith’s men beaten convincingly and also saw Aguero overtake Thierry Henry as the Premier League’s highest scoring foreign player of all time.

Sunrise Radio’s Team of the Week:

Alisson; James, Holgate, Van Dijk; De Bruyne, Doucoure, Mahrez, Fleck; Rashford Aguero, Firmino