MX23RW : Sunday, May 12 16:06:50| >> :600:790659:790659:

5 things we learned from the Premier League this weekend

5 things we learned from the Premier League this weekend
© Reuters
Liverpool's title hopes took a dent at Goodison Park.

After failing to find the net against Manchester United last weekend, Liverpool drew another blank away from home as Merseyside rivals Everton put a further dent in the Reds' title hopes.

The result leaves Jurgen Klopp's team a point behind Manchester City with nine matches remaining.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at what we learned from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.

Liverpool held again

Although it was another game without a goal for Liverpool, this was not Old Trafford all over again. Klopp's team created four clear-cut chances – they were just wasteful with them. They mainly fell to the right man, but Mohamed Salah's afternoon was poor. Will his misses prove costly at the end of the season? Four draws in the last six Premier League games have seen Liverpool surrender top spot and the title is now out of their hands.

Arrizabalaga saga behind Blues now

Arsenal v Chelsea – Premier League – Emirates Stadium
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga performed well against Fulham (Nick Potts/PA)

Dropped against Tottenham following those extraordinary scenes at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final last week, Kepa Arrizabalaga was back in goal at Craven Cottage on Sunday. After almost presenting Fulham with a goal by dropping a straightforward cross, the Spaniard went on to justify his selection by making a string of fine saves to help Chelsea to a 2-1 victory over their neighbours and keep the Blues in the hunt for a top-four finish.

Rodgers stung by Hornets

New Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers received an early reminder of how competitive the Premier League can be when his first match at the helm ended in defeat at Watford. Rodgers, who left Celtic in pole position to claim an eighth successive Scottish League title last week – much to the consternation of many of a green and white persuasion – saw Andre Gray snatch a 2-1 win for the home side in stoppage time to leave the 2016 champions significantly closer to the bottom three than the top six.

The trapdoor is ajar

It's starting to look bleak at the foot of the table with the bottom three in danger of being cast adrift. Huddersfield appear to be all but down as they face the prospect of having to close a 13-point gap with just nine games remaining and Fulham are not much better off, while Cardiff have lost three on the trot since giving themselves hope with back-to-back victories over Bournemouth and Southampton.

Saints alive?

A cruel end after a great effort at Old Trafford... 😔

Posted by Southampton FC on Saturday, March 2, 2019

Southampton may only be two points better off than Cardiff heading into the run-in, but if they continue to play as they did in defeat at Manchester United on Saturday, they will be confident of avoiding the drop. They took the lead courtesy of Yan Valery's stunning strike and, despite seeing a couple of penalty decisions go against them, responded to goals from Andreas Pereira and Romelu Lukaku to level through James Ward-Prowse's fine free-kick before Lukaku dashed their hopes at the death.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport Staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '584ea06c-9047-40cb-9178-7c562636dec0');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': '5 things we learned from the Premier League this weekend'});

ID:352205: cacheID:352205:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9417:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Neil Warnock watches on during Cardiff City's defeat to Wolves on March 2, 2019
Read Next:
Warnock demands courage from Cardiff as 'glass is half empty'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!