Premier League roundup: Manchester United move closer to top four as Villa down Liverpool
Bournemouth 0 Manchester United 1
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United all-but confirmed qualification for the UEFA Champions League with their seventh H2H win in eight matches against an uninspired Bournemouth side.
Winless in their previous four away matches, the United faithful would’ve been forgiven for thinking it might’ve been a tough afternoon against already safe Bournemouth.
That didn’t appear to be the case, as a spectacular Casemiro bicycle kick broke the deadlock early in the first half. Connecting to a looping ball inside the penalty area, the Brazilian’s first Premier League goal since netting against the Cherries earlier in the season arrived in acrobatic fashion, much to the delight of the travelling United fans.
In cruise control up until the break, the visitors started the second period in similar fashion, controlling possession and creating the odd chance. While the threat at the opposite end was close to non-existent, United boss Ten Hag continued to cut a frustrated figure on the touchline, as his side struggled to find the all-important second goal.
Bruno Fernandes came closest for the Red Devils, but the Portuguese international’s volleyed effort was comfortably saved by Neto in the Bournemouth goal.
With the game heading into its dying embers, Bournemouth began to break free from their own shackles, pushing forward with a flurry of late attacks. Breaking in behind the United backline, Kieffer Moore lacked the composure needed to beat David De Gea, with the Spaniard parrying away the substitute’s effort.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter much for Bournemouth, as the south coast-outfit were already confirmed of their spot in next season’s Premier League, with Gary O’Neil now able to enjoy the final weekend of the campaign without any stress.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Casemiro (Manchester United)
Fulham 2 Crystal Palace 2
Aleksandar Mitrovic returned to the Fulham starting line-up and notched a goal either side of half-time to further underline his importance to Marco Silva’s side, but Joel Ward’s 83rd-minute equaliser meant the Cottagers had to make do with a 2-2 draw, while the result also extended Roy Hodgson’s remarkable record of never having lost to his former employers.
Fulham were buoyed by the return of their talisman Mitrovic as they bid to secure a third-straight Premier League win in their final game of the season at Craven Cottage.
However, it was Crystal Palace who took the lead in the 34th minute, executing a textbook box-to-box counterattack. Eberechi Eze surged upfield before feeding a perfect through ball into the path of Odsonne Edouard, who confidently rifled in a near-post finish.
Mitrovic, though, would have the final say of what had been a closely contested opening half deep into stoppage time, emphatically thumping home a penalty after Tyrick Mitchell had collided with Harry Wilson.
Only an uncharacteristically-poor finish from Mitrovic prevented Fulham from racing into an early second-half lead. Just seconds after the restart, a sweeping attack saw the Serbia international, Wilson and Harrison Reed combine before the centre-forward dragged his attempt wide with the whole goal to aim at.
However, the hosts would soon complete their comeback when Mitrovic met Willian’s free-kick and powered a header into the back of the net.
Although the Eagles initially struggled to make any inroads as they went in search of an equaliser, they levelled things up with less than 10 minutes remaining. Issa Diop had made a vital interception to prevent the ball finding its way to Jordan Ayew but, moments later, Joel Ward stabbed a probing free-kick home at the second attempt.
The point all-but-guarantees Fulham a top-half finish on their return to the Premier League following promotion last season. Meanwhile, Palace continued their good form under Hodgson, having lost just two of their last nine.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 1
Liverpool were held at Anfield by a resolute Aston Villa for a draw which dents their hopes of UEFA Champions League football next season and ends their seven-game winning Premier League streak.
A significant day in the Jurgen Klopp era saw Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bid farewell to Anfield amidst a disappointing campaign.
A recent upturn in results alongside a systematic change, with Trent Alexander-Arnold operating in midfield, has seen the fire return to Klopp's side but with their German manager serving a touchline ban, the Reds looked uncertain despite dominating the ball.
A Villa side in search of a first European finish since 2009/10 soon put the defensive deficiencies that have haunted Liverpool’s campaign on display once again.
After a cutting counter-attack, Ibrahima Konate’s clumsy challenge on Ollie Watkins saw the Villans awarded a penalty kick, although the forward subsequently squandered the chance from the spot.
They wouldn't have to wait long for the opener, however, as Jacob Ramsey slotted home Douglas Luiz’s whipped cross to give his side a deserved lead before the half-hour mark.
The hosts eventually shook off that blow and started to threaten, although they still required the heroics of goalkeeper Alisson Becker before the interval.
In the knowledge that their top-four hopes were hanging by a thread, Liverpool emerged from the tunnel full of energy and belief, but they were denied a leveller within 10 minutes of the restart when VAR stepped in to disallow Cody Gakpo’s goal. The pressure continued to build on Villa’s defence with Álex Moreno injuring himself when superbly denying what would have surely been a Liverpool goal.
With time running out, the Reds turned to Firmino to make the difference as he so often has over the years. That turned out to be an inspired change, as the Brazilian turned home Mohamed Salah’s cross in the 90th minute to cap off his final Anfield appearance in style.
Despite the emotional pull of that strike, a draw does little for Liverpool’s hopes of a top-four finish whilst Unai Emery remains on course to provide Villa fans with European football next season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa)
Wolves 1 Everton 1
A 100th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers gave Everton a lifeline in their survival hopes. The point extends the Toffees’ unbeaten away run to four matches and gives them a chance of securing Premier League survival on the final day.
After shaking off an injury issue to take his place in the Everton lineup, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was immediately thrust into the action at Molineux.
The Englishman latched onto Yerry Mina’s knockdown, but he could only fire his effort into the side netting. Everton continued to carry the greater threat in the opening stages, and Calvert-Lewin was once again involved when he headed over from Alex Iwobi’s lofted cross.
Ultimately, Everton were unable to take advantage of their early pressure, and they were subsequently punished by their hosts just after the half-hour mark.
After collecting the ball deep inside his own half, Adama Traore embarked on a purposeful run towards the Everton box where his low strike was parried by Jordan Pickford into the path of Hwang Hee-Chan, who calmly swept home his third league goal of the season.
The visitors’ afternoon took another turn for the worse for the Toffees when Calvert-Lewin suffered a recurrence of the injury issues that have hampered his season, cutting the striker’s afternoon short in first-half stoppage time.
Dyche would have been challenging his side to start the second period on the front foot, but the Everton boss could only watch on, as Wolves launched attack after attack.
The saving grace for the visitors was that Pablo Sarabia, Nelson Semedo and Daniel Podence all failed to hit the target when presented with promising opportunities.
Demarai Gray attempted to capitalise on Wolves’ failure to double their advantage, producing a fierce strike that stung the palms of Dan Bentley.
The afternoon looked destined to end in disappointment for the visitors until Yerry Mina tapped home from close range in the 10th-minute of stoppage time to spark wild scenes of jubilation among the travelling support.
The dramatic equaliser edges the Toffees two points clear of the drop zone, with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Leicester City all still to play on Matchday 37.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yerry Mina (Everton)
