EPL roundup: Chelsea, Arsenal win, City struggle again as United frustrate Liverpool

English Premier League Gameweek 17 seems to have passed by quickly, packed with all of the regular action and excitement that EPL fans are spoiled with. The most anticipated match heading into the round was Manchester United’s trip to Liverpool, but there was also a lot of drama elsewhere.

Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 to reclaim the top spot in the league, Chelsea got back on track with a 2-0 win over the Blades, and Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham both saw red cards in separate games. Meanwhile, Manchester City gave up a two-goal lead to Crystal Palace. Most importantly though, following his health scare for Luton Town, Tom Lockyer seems to be doing well.

Arsenal 2 vs Brighton 0

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defeated Brighton & Hove Albion to get back to to top of the league table. Gabriel Jesus headed home a corner to give the hosts the lead just eight minutes after half-time. With three minutes remaining in normal time, Kai Havertz scored his fourth goal of the season, guaranteeing the Gunners a well-earned three-point victory.

After a frustrating draw with the Red Devils on Premier League matchday 17, Arsenal has now moved up to a point ahead of second-place Liverpool.

Liverpool 0 vs Manchester United 0

From top to bottom, Liverpool is a better team than Manchester United based on current form, as evidenced by the fact that they were overwhelming favourites going into their match at Anfield. Nobody gave United much of a chance to win at Anfield, but the Red Devils were solid in the key areas on Sunday when it came to chasing a point away from home against a stronger team. Despite the two teams’ divergent recent results, the Red Devils prevailed thanks to a tenacious defensive effort. Despite having the majority of the play and 28 more shots on goal than their bitter rivals, Liverpool was unable to get past Andre Onana.

Raphael Varane’s leadership at the centre of United’s defence allowed them to maintain an unlikely clean sheet at Anfield. Despite his recent absence from the team, the four-time Champions League winner was incredible as his team gained a point. Onana deserves praise as well for his performance in light of recent criticism.

Chelsea 2 vs Sheffield United 0

Although Chelsea was a deserving winner of this match, they actually had a difficult first half as neither the Blues nor the Blades were able to muster any excitement. As a matter of fact, Sheffield United had more opportunities than the Blues at the half.

The breakthrough came for Mauricio Pochettino’s team 54 minutes into the game when Cole Palmer finished from close range following some excellent work by Raheem Sterling. Nicholas Jackson made it 2-0 for the home team  just seven minutes later.

Manchester City 2 vs Crystal Palace 2

Manchester City have dropped points in five of their last six Premier League games. They blew a two-goal lead against Crystal Palace. Pep Guadiola’s team was in control thanks to goals from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis before they appeared to lose focus. Similar to their most recent draws with Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool, Man City dominated those matches for extended periods of time and appeared to have done more than enough to win. However, during the closing moments of games, there is always a lack of focus, concentration, and cutting edge that continues to haunt the treble winners.

In the final seconds of the match, Phil Foden gave away a penalty, giving Michael Olise the opportunity to equalise from the spot after Jean-Philippe Mateta had first pulled one back. It could have been worse for City, with Ederson lucky to escape punishment for his last-man foul in the first half. He did enough to earn a point for the Eagles.

Man City would have been long gone before Palace could have begun mounting a comeback, if it weren’t for Dean Henderson. There was one particular save against Bernardo Silva that is noteworthy. In all, he made seven saves.

See also: No win in last 4 EPL games… What’s wrong with Man City?