The race for the second spot in the Premier League busted wide open at the weekend. Sean Dyche’s Burnley caused one of the biggest upsets of the week by defeating the reigning champions, Manchester City. If Pellegrini’s men don’t improve their form, they can fall to the seventh spot with a blink of an eye.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are now only a point behind the Citizens after picking up an impressive 3 – 0 victory over Sam Allardyce’s West Ham on Saturday. Giroud, Ramsey and Flamini netted one each at the Emirates to grab their 17th win of the season. The North Londoners have a great chance of finishing in top two if they maintain their form until the end of this campaign.
Just a point behind the Gunners, Louis van Gaal’s men registered one of their best performance of the season so far. It could be labeled as their perfect reaction to the FA Cup exit at the hands of Arsenal. Mauricio Pochettino’s were the victims to Manchester United’s great attacking play. United didn’t concede a goal, while scoring three. The boxing celebration of Wayne Rooney made more headlines than the goals itself. This could be the start of something very special for the 20 time champions and this win at Old Trafford would give a great deal of confidence to the players for their visit to Anfield this week.
After the loss against United, Spurs have slipped six points behind the fourth position. Same has been the case for Ronald Koeman’s Southampton. The Saints held the league leaders, Chelsea to a draw at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho’s men are still six points ahead of City with a game in hand. Despite the lead, the Portuguese manager has claimed that his side needs to win nine games to be crowned champions of England.
Roberto Martinez’s Everton won 3 – 0 at Goodison Park on Sunday. The top half of the table is still eight points far from the Merseyside based club. Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace won 3 – 1 at home against Queens Park Rangers. Troubles are mounting for Rangers as they have only Leicester City below them on the league table. Leicester are in serious danger of returning to the Championship after they were involved in a stalemate at home against Hull City. They are currently at the foot of the table with 19 points.
Stoke City lost to West Brom 1 – 0 and have give Swansea the chance to climb above them. Garry Monk’s Swansea City face the Merseyside giants, Liverpool on Monday. Brendan Rodgers’ team needs to keep up the momentum as Manchester United have extended the lead to five points. All the pressure is now on the five-time European champions and they simply can’t afford to drop points at this crucial time of the season.