Author – Amrit Santlani
Manchester United overtook Nottingham Forest thanks to a goal and an assist from Antony to move into third place in the Premier League standings, after Newcastle United suffered an upset at the hands of Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Arsenal saw their lead at the top fall to just four points after the league leaders drew 2-2 with West Ham United. Manchester City already have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s men and are now breathing down the Londoners’ necks.
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester United
Manchester United started the game strongly, and just 45 seconds after kick-off, the visitors tested Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Keylor Navas after a brilliant pass from Antony to Bruno Fernandes, who fed Jadon Sancho, but the ball was saved.
United put their noses in front just after the half-hour mark. The hosts had a glorious chance to equalize, but Taiwo Awoniyi fired over the goal from Diogo Dalot’s pass. In the second half, Antony almost scored again in a good move.
Fernandes continued to dictate play, the midfielder unleashing a shot that Navas deflected onto the crossbar. The Brazilian provided a brilliant assist for Dalot’s first Premier League goal.
West Ham United 2-2 Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus scored his third goal since returning from injury when he struck from close range to give Arsenal the lead after a perfect cross from Ben White. With just 10 minutes on the clock, the Premier League leaders doubled their lead, Gabriel Martinelli sending a teasing cross to Martin Odegaard and the latter finishing strongly.
On the other side of the pitch, West Ham halved the deficit shortly afterwards when Lucas Paquetá fell in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Arsenal even missed a penalty, before West Ham equalized.
In the other matches, Aston Villa beat Newcastle 3-0 to kick off a weekend of surprises that saw plenty of surprise results, Crystal Palace beat Southampton 2-0, Fulham beat Everton 3-1 and Wolves beat Brentford 2-0. Chelsea were beaten once again by Brighton, Spurs were beaten 3-2 by Bournemouth, while Manchester City continued their impressive run to beat Leicester City 3-1. In the final match of the 31st Premier League season, Liverpool take on Leeds United on Tuesday.