Clubs at the bottom of the table are battling against relegation, but Burnley have proved in the past that descent to the Championship need not be the end of the worldThe splendid job Roy Hodgson has done at Crystal Palace was emphasised by the five-goal rout of demoralised Leicester at the weekend, though it was merely the culmination of an impressive sequence of six games in which the only defeat came at the hands of Liverpool and Palace managed to either beat or share points with four of their relegation rivals.In the process Palace have climbed above Brighton, Bournemouth and Watford, all clubs who were considered to be having decent seasons, and probably made themselves safe. Hodgson has said he...
Harry Kane is out of sorts, Joe Hart soars before being floored, and Stoke must choose between youth and experience up frontWhile Southampton will take something from getting this far in the world’s most celebrated domestic cup competition there are other, more pressing priorities, such as making a late dash for safety in the Premier League. Can they take any hope from their performance? Not from the first half. Olivier Giroud’s goal at the beginning of the second period forced Mark Hughes to change things, however, and it was to his team’s benefit. A 3-5-2 became a 3-4-3 and suddenly Charlie Austin was getting service. Southampton will feel they could and should have had an equaliser before Chelsea settled the...
José Mourinho needs to make drastic changes, Rafael Benítez is getting best out of his players and Jordan Ayew is on a missionHaving so meekly allowed Manchester City to claim the Premier League title, a process of rebuilding Manchester United into future champions starts now. The non-inclusion of Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Luke Shaw in José Mourinho’s match‑day 18 for this game at Old Trafford indicated where a long-awaited clear-out of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal recruits is likely to begin. But it will take more than that to revitalise United. The shapeless sludge of this performance against West Brom was no anomaly. Chief among the reasons United have been left in City’s wake is Mourinho’s...
Danny Welbeck remains an enigma, Marko Arnautovic goes it alone and Rafael Benítez delivers a lesson to his bossDanny Welbeck stayed true to form by mixing the sublime with the ridiculous during Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Southampton, producing a contender for miss of the season moments before nodding in the winner. The striker’s header was his second goal of the afternoon and proof, perhaps, that he is getting back to his best after an injury‑ravaged season. “Danny Welbeck is getting sharper,” Arsène Wenger said. “I am pleased for him. I have seen him behave when it was really hard. He had every reason to feel sorry for himself and feel the mountain was too big to climb – right knee,...
Arsène Wenger is given a striking decision, Hugo Lloris climbs the wrong table and Christian Benteke’s woes rumble onAlexandre Lacazette heard one of the loudest cheers when he came on for Danny Welbeck against Stoke City. Arsène Wenger said Welbeck had hurt his back and so Lacazette’s return from a knee injury seemed even more timely – given Arsenal play CSKA Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday, for which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied. Wenger loved the gesture Aubameyang made towards the end, passing up a possible hat-trick by allowing the Frenchman to take their second penalty – from which he scored. The manager said it showed the strikers had a good understanding. But can they prosper together in the...