News

Premier League and FA Cup Review: The winners, losers, and winning losers

Share

We’re at that stage of the season now. For many teams, every single match has the potential to be pivotal. There’s still no obvious destination for the Premier League title, two clubs are battling it out for the final Champions League spot, a handful of teams are still in with a chance of claiming a Europa Conference League place while only one side looks nailed on for relegation at this moment. We also found out which two teams would be competing in the FA Cup final. Here is your weekend review.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

The Bees find their sting 

For most of the season, Brentford have been greatly underperforming their underlying numbers. It is one of the reasons they have found themselves in a surprise relegation battle. Thomas Frank’s men have been creating opportunities but they haven’t been able to convert them. 

They cashed in on that bad luck at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, romping to a 5-1 win over Luton Town to all but guarantee their place in the English top flight. 

Brentford are now 10 points clear of the drop zone with just 12 points up for grabs. They aren’t yet mathematically safe but barring a complete capitulation, they will be playing Premier League football next term. Luton, however, probably won’t be. 

Rob Edwards’ side, in front of a home crowd, were well beaten. They conceded 21 shots and allowed the visitors to rack up an Expected Goals haul of 3.14 in the defeat. For the second successive game, Luton lost 5-1. The injuries are mounting up and the Hatters are struggling at the worst possible time. This was a game they really couldn’t lose. They weren’t just beaten, they were dismantled. 

Burnley run riot 

Burnley have found their form at an interesting stage of the season. The Clarets looked certain for the drop a couple of weeks back after a torrid run of results but Vincent Kompany’s men have been resurgent over the past month and have taken 10 points from their last seven outings. This run includes the emphatic 4-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday. 

It now means Burnley have a 9-1 aggregate scoreline over the Blades this term and these six points could prove to be pivotal in their bid for Premier League survival. 

The Clarets are now just two points off of Luton and three behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest. Sheffield United, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and it is a case of when and not if they drop back down into the Championship. The Blades are well off the pace with 16 points from 33 games and they conceded two or more goals for the seventh successive game. They may have finished with a higher Expected Goals haul but their problem this season has been defensively and Chris Wilder doesn’t appear to have a solution. It is now too late to come up with something. 

Manchester City return to winning ways 

City were knocked out of the Champions League in mid-week and people wondered how they would react to the blow. The double-treble was no longer on. 

There’s still a double to be won though with the reigning FA Cup champions reaching the final after beating Chelsea 1-0 in a fairly balanced game at Wembley. In fact, Pep Guardiola’s side are fortunate to have beaten the Blues. 

For starters, Chelsea created better opportunities on the day, finishing the day with a higher Expected Goals total (1.14 to 0.93). Mauricio Pochettino’s men have now beaten City on two occasions this term when looking at xG alone. Winning the xG counts for nothing if you don’t win the game but it does perhaps point to the fact the Argentine tactician has a plan for City and his side have perhaps been a little unlucky not to pick up a victory. 

They can count themselves unlucky in this game too having seen a penalty shout waved away despite Cole Palmer’s free-kick blatantly hitting the outstretched hand of Jack Grealish at 0-0. Had that been given, it would’ve been interesting to see how City reacted to the situation because Palmer does not miss penalties. 

Guardiola won’t care how they won, he’ll just be thrilled that after a tough week, that included mid-week extra-time, his side are once again in the FA Cup final. 

The Gunners aren’t giving up

Another team that needed a win was Arsenal. The Gunners lost consecutive matches – losing 2-0 against Aston Villa to relinquish top spot in the Premier League last weekend before a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich ended their Champions League dreams. 

They needed a reaction against Wolves but a trip to Molinuex, despite the hosts being in poor form, was never going to be easy. 

That proved to be the case for most of the first-half as Arsenal struggled to find a way past a resolute Wolves backline. It took a moment of genius, or luck depending on how you look at it, to break the deadlock with Leandro Trossard’s sliced effort finding the back of the net just before half-time. 

The hosts didn’t respond in the second half and mustered just two efforts on goal while Arsenal looked for a decisive second goal. It did arrive but not until stoppage time when skipper Martin Odegaard found the back of the net from a difficult angle. The win returned Mikel Arteta’s men to the top of the table, though they have played a game more than City. 

It remains a three-way title race

Liverpool haven’t looked convincing over recent weeks. At one stage they had a two point lead at the top of the table, they went into the game against Fulham on Sunday afternoon knowing anything but a win would make it incredibly difficult for them to prolong their pursuit of this title. 

The Reds looked tepid in the first half against Marco Silva’s men but did, for a while, hold a lead. Trent Alexander-Arnold scored an unbelievable free-kick to give the visitors one up only for Fulham to hit back in stoppage time through Timothy Castagne. 

Eventually, Liverpool kicked into gear with goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota to record a 3-1 win. The three points means Jürgen Klopp’s side are level on points with Arsenal ahead of their clash with Everton on Wednesday evening. In the process of winning, the Reds scored their first open-play goal in four matches. 

An all-Manchester FA Cup final 

For the second successive season, Manchester United will meet Manchester City in the FA Cup final. 

The Red Devils played Coventry City at Wembley on Sunday afternoon and at one stage Erik Ten Hag’s men had total control. With just 58 minutes on the clock, the Premier League side had a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. 

But the FA Cup is undefeated for moments. And this game had a number of them. In the space of eight minutes, Coventry had clawed back two goals with Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare finding the back of the net to make it an interesting final 10 at Wembley. Then, in stoppage time, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and Haji Wright stepped up to convert from the spot to send the game into extra-time. 

Coventry thought they’d won it in the last minute of extra-time only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Despite Casemiro missing the first spot-kick of the shootout, the Red Devils claimed victory to set up an all-Manchester affair. 

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Premier League and FA Cup Review: The winners, losers, and winning losers

We’re at that stage of the season now. For many teams, every single match has the potential to be pivotal. There’s still no obvious destination for the Premier League title, two clubs are battling it out for the final Champions League spot, a handful of teams are still in with a chance of claiming a Europa Conference League place while only one side looks nailed on for relegation at this moment. We also found out which two teams would be competing in the FA Cup final. Here is your weekend review.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

The Bees find their sting 

For most of the season, Brentford have been greatly underperforming their underlying numbers. It is one of the reasons they have found themselves in a surprise relegation battle. Thomas Frank’s men have been creating opportunities but they haven’t been able to convert them. 

They cashed in on that bad luck at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, romping to a 5-1 win over Luton Town to all but guarantee their place in the English top flight. 

Brentford are now 10 points clear of the drop zone with just 12 points up for grabs. They aren’t yet mathematically safe but barring a complete capitulation, they will be playing Premier League football next term. Luton, however, probably won’t be. 

Rob Edwards’ side, in front of a home crowd, were well beaten. They conceded 21 shots and allowed the visitors to rack up an Expected Goals haul of 3.14 in the defeat. For the second successive game, Luton lost 5-1. The injuries are mounting up and the Hatters are struggling at the worst possible time. This was a game they really couldn’t lose. They weren’t just beaten, they were dismantled. 

Burnley run riot 

Burnley have found their form at an interesting stage of the season. The Clarets looked certain for the drop a couple of weeks back after a torrid run of results but Vincent Kompany’s men have been resurgent over the past month and have taken 10 points from their last seven outings. This run includes the emphatic 4-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday. 

It now means Burnley have a 9-1 aggregate scoreline over the Blades this term and these six points could prove to be pivotal in their bid for Premier League survival. 

The Clarets are now just two points off of Luton and three behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest. Sheffield United, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and it is a case of when and not if they drop back down into the Championship. The Blades are well off the pace with 16 points from 33 games and they conceded two or more goals for the seventh successive game. They may have finished with a higher Expected Goals haul but their problem this season has been defensively and Chris Wilder doesn’t appear to have a solution. It is now too late to come up with something. 

Manchester City return to winning ways 

City were knocked out of the Champions League in mid-week and people wondered how they would react to the blow. The double-treble was no longer on. 

There’s still a double to be won though with the reigning FA Cup champions reaching the final after beating Chelsea 1-0 in a fairly balanced game at Wembley. In fact, Pep Guardiola’s side are fortunate to have beaten the Blues. 

For starters, Chelsea created better opportunities on the day, finishing the day with a higher Expected Goals total (1.14 to 0.93). Mauricio Pochettino’s men have now beaten City on two occasions this term when looking at xG alone. Winning the xG counts for nothing if you don’t win the game but it does perhaps point to the fact the Argentine tactician has a plan for City and his side have perhaps been a little unlucky not to pick up a victory. 

They can count themselves unlucky in this game too having seen a penalty shout waved away despite Cole Palmer’s free-kick blatantly hitting the outstretched hand of Jack Grealish at 0-0. Had that been given, it would’ve been interesting to see how City reacted to the situation because Palmer does not miss penalties. 

Guardiola won’t care how they won, he’ll just be thrilled that after a tough week, that included mid-week extra-time, his side are once again in the FA Cup final. 

The Gunners aren’t giving up

Another team that needed a win was Arsenal. The Gunners lost consecutive matches – losing 2-0 against Aston Villa to relinquish top spot in the Premier League last weekend before a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich ended their Champions League dreams. 

They needed a reaction against Wolves but a trip to Molinuex, despite the hosts being in poor form, was never going to be easy. 

That proved to be the case for most of the first-half as Arsenal struggled to find a way past a resolute Wolves backline. It took a moment of genius, or luck depending on how you look at it, to break the deadlock with Leandro Trossard’s sliced effort finding the back of the net just before half-time. 

The hosts didn’t respond in the second half and mustered just two efforts on goal while Arsenal looked for a decisive second goal. It did arrive but not until stoppage time when skipper Martin Odegaard found the back of the net from a difficult angle. The win returned Mikel Arteta’s men to the top of the table, though they have played a game more than City. 

It remains a three-way title race

Liverpool haven’t looked convincing over recent weeks. At one stage they had a two point lead at the top of the table, they went into the game against Fulham on Sunday afternoon knowing anything but a win would make it incredibly difficult for them to prolong their pursuit of this title. 

The Reds looked tepid in the first half against Marco Silva’s men but did, for a while, hold a lead. Trent Alexander-Arnold scored an unbelievable free-kick to give the visitors one up only for Fulham to hit back in stoppage time through Timothy Castagne. 

Eventually, Liverpool kicked into gear with goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota to record a 3-1 win. The three points means Jürgen Klopp’s side are level on points with Arsenal ahead of their clash with Everton on Wednesday evening. In the process of winning, the Reds scored their first open-play goal in four matches. 

An all-Manchester FA Cup final 

For the second successive season, Manchester United will meet Manchester City in the FA Cup final. 

The Red Devils played Coventry City at Wembley on Sunday afternoon and at one stage Erik Ten Hag’s men had total control. With just 58 minutes on the clock, the Premier League side had a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. 

But the FA Cup is undefeated for moments. And this game had a number of them. In the space of eight minutes, Coventry had clawed back two goals with Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare finding the back of the net to make it an interesting final 10 at Wembley. Then, in stoppage time, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and Haji Wright stepped up to convert from the spot to send the game into extra-time. 

Coventry thought they’d won it in the last minute of extra-time only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Despite Casemiro missing the first spot-kick of the shootout, the Red Devils claimed victory to set up an all-Manchester affair. 

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.