The Premier League is starting to take shape as we charge towards Christmas, with Chelsea seemingly Liverpool's main challengers at the top.
After the Reds drew against Fulham at home, Chelsea took advantage by beating Brentford and moving to within two points of the leaders.
Enzo Maresca insists his team are not in a title race, but if Chelsea were to beat Everton on Sunday they would move above Liverpool – at least temporarily – who then face Tottenham.
Spurs were one of the big winners of the weekend's action as their 5-0 win over Southampton saw Russell Martin lose his job along with former Wolves boss Gary O'Neil on Sunday.
Arsenal made a mistake with a 0-0 draw at home to Everton, while Amad Diallo made headlines in the Manchester derby as Manchester United came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 at the death, leading to more introspection for the struggling Pep. Guardiola.
22y 157d – Amad Diallo is the second-youngest player to score the 90th-minute winner against the reigning Premier League champions, after Neil Mellor against Arsenal in 2004 (22y 24d). Showstoppers. pic.twitter.com/DcuAM6iO6u
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 15, 2024
But which teams in the weekend's matches were perhaps lucky to get a positive result, and which were unlucky?
Lucky winners: Everton
An unexpected point away from a title challenge can always feel like a victory, especially for a team at the bottom, and the Everton fans were quite celebrating at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday after their side held on in a goalless draw.
Jordan Pickford was excellent for the Toffees, making five saves to keep Arsenal at bay.
The Gunners finished with 1.22 expected goals (xG), with that figure rising to 1.8 xG on target (xGoT). Pickford proved his quality there.
It was a stubborn defensive backline from Sean Dyche's team and they deserve a lot of credit for that. For Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski scored seven goals each, and Arsenal created just one big chance.
Going forward, however, Everton posed no danger whatsoever, apart from one early opening for Abdoulaye Doucoure, whose effort was blocked by Gabriel Magalhaes.
Everton finished with just 0.09 xG from two attempts, neither of which was on target. There have been five instances of a side failing to get a shot on target in a Premier League match this season, with Arsenal being the opponents twice.
Had the Gunners found the breakthrough, it is unlikely Everton would have tested them much in response.
Unlucky Losers: Wolves
Time was up for O'Neil, whose Wolves team again showed their indiscipline as tempers boiled over at full-time following the loss to Ipswich Town.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was sent off and Matheus Cunha could face a ban after grabbing the glasses from the face of a member of the Tractor Boys' backroom staff.
Cunha had scored the equalizer for Wolves at Molineux after Matt Doherty's own goal had opened the scoring. But right at the end Jack Taylor hit a winner for Ipswich.
O'Neil was sacked on Sunday, but looking back on his last game in charge he may feel he was unlucky.
Wolves finished with 1.27 xG to Ipswich's 1.2, so a draw would probably have been a fair result.
The hosts also had sixteen shots to Ipswich's ten. But it's only one statistic that counts, and Wolves are now looking for a new boss.
Unlucky losers: Liverpool
Liverpool did not lose, but dropped more points in the 2-2 draw against Fulham, while Andrew Robertson was also sent off.
If the Reds can claim a point against an in-form side with just ten men left, Arne Slot will be pleased, but even if they still have a game in hand, Liverpool's huge lead at the top taken away.
Despite their numerical disadvantage at Anfield, the hosts still created chances worthy of a combined 2.13 xG, which was higher than Fulham's 1.22 and also the highest total of any team not to win in the Premier League this weekend.
Only Newcastle United, Chelsea and Arsenal scored more touches than Liverpool (35) during the weekend's matches.
Comments