Open Goal: Premier League Report

Welcome to Open Goal, a report on the Premier League brought to you by the team at Open Zambia.

Gameweek 24:

In what was thought to be a challenging game for Slot’s side, Liverpool calmly finished Bournemouth’s 11-game unbeaten run last weekend.

Salah notched the first of his brace from the spot at the half-hour mark, and blunders by Kuivert and Tavernier were punished by Salah (75’) on the right with a trademark finish across goal, which left Kepa rooted. 

Slot’s shot at history in the quadruple (the Holy Grail of three domestic trophies plus the Champions League) was blocked this weekend, however, as Liverpool’s FA Cup prospects went down in flames against Plymouth, a team flailing at the bottom of the Championship.

Klopp once famously sent his assistant manager to Shrewsbury for a cup tie while he went to the beach. In a confused repeat of this blunder, Slot turned up, but his team didn’t. 

Slot traded a potential record-breaking unbeaten run for a new record, becoming the fourth-ever Premier League leader to be knocked out of the FA Cup by a side outside the top flight. 

At Old Trafford, United were jeered off as the full-time whistle blew. Glasner’s Palace side extended to a club-record eight matches unbeaten away from home. 

Amorim’s Kobbie Mainoo false 9 experiment was a surprising move that ended in a predictable defeat for United. 

The United manager has now lost more home matches in his first full season than Mourinho or Van Gaal did during their entire tenures. 

A crushing brace from Mateta (64’, 89’) may motivate Amorim to keep the £110m pair of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee off the bench next week. 

United decided to bring the magic of the FA Cup last week in a not-so-cheap trick that halved Leicester City’s Allocation by charging nearly $70 a ticket for Leicester fans to watch their team lose again to a drab-looking United. 

In another riches-to-rags story, City’s 5-1 loss to Arsenal showed on Saturday that if Liverpool does win the league, it won’t be without a fight. 

An emphatic victory against Guadiola’s out-of-form outfit revealed a swagger about Arteta’s young team, which seemed to say quite explicitly, ‘We’re not going quietly.’

Arteta’s 4-4-2 was typically tough to break but unusually explosive on the attack. An early sign of City’s passing issues gifted Odegaard a goal in the first two minutes. 

After a flurry of goals from Partey (59’), Lewis-Skelly (62’) and Havertz (76’), you would be forgiven for thinking that Haaland’s 55th-minute effort might be forgotten. However, the Arsenal’s celebrations that followed made it clear just how much Erling Haaland has been living in their heads.

There was something distinctly Southampton-like about City's passing and overall decision-making last weekend; this season, there is no greater insult. 

Six points does not seem like such a deficit now for a revitalised second-place Arsenal and a Liverpool, whom Plymouth have shown are not infallible. 

In London, Chelsea came from behind to beat former manager Graham Potter’s West Ham on Monday night, taking full advantage of City and Newcastle’s defeats and returning to the top 4. 

Maresca brought on Neto and Marc Guiu early in the second half to turn things around, and the former helped his side find a way back in the 64th. 

After their early FA Cup knockout, Maresca told reporters, "If there is something positive, " they could now focus on the Conference League, which is a little bit like telling a newly relegated team about the positives of not playing in the Premier League.

Tottenham ended a barren run of four straight Premier League defeats with a disciplined defensive performance in West London. 

Postecoglou has come under some criticism this season, mainly around his rigid tactics. Here was evidence that they can mix it up as Angeball took a turn for the scrappy. 

As rumours swirl around Postecoglou’s sacking, last week’s match might have been enough to keep him on. 

People like Postecoglou, his post-match interviews are always entertaining whether it’s a big win or, more likely, another harrowing defeat. The problem for Ange is that it is only really entertaining if you don’t actually support Spurs.

Gameweek 24 Results:

Saturday 1 February

Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

Nott’m Forest 7-0 Brighton

Everton 4-0 Leicester

Ipswich 1-2 Southampton

Newcastle 1-2 Fulham

Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

Sunday 2 February

Brentford 0-2 Tottenham

Man Utd 0-2 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 5-1 Man City

Monday 3 February

Chelsea 2-1 West Ham