As Easter weekends go, there was no doubting who was the main winner in the Premier League during 36 hours of potentially pivotal permutations.
That title-chasing Liverpool won their game – 2-1 at home to Brighton – and then saw their nearest rivals take points off each other in a goalless draw, meant they finished the weekend with a two point advantage at the summit with nine games remaining.
As for Arsenal, their disciplined display at champions Manchester City showed how they have improved from last term and it could yet prove vital in the final standings.
Mikel Arteta’s side showed steel and, on occasion, even a streak of ruthless cynicism to come away with a point.
Focusing on City, their failure to break down the Gunners could prove costly as they aim to become the first ever side to win four successive English top flight titles.
This was also the weekend in which Spurs and Aston Villa earned home victories as the race for the fourth and final guaranteed Champions League spot (although fifth place may yet be enough) remains on a knife edge.
I said ahead of the weekend that Premier League points were at a premium at both ends of the table and that was true in so many ways.
In North London, only four minutes were remaining when Son Heung-Min wrote his name into the Spurs record books, kept his team’s top four desire in their own hands and also pushed Luton back into the bottom three.
This was not quite as straightforward as some expected against the plucky Hatters, who continue to earn much respect in their first campaign in the top flight for more than 30 years (the season before the inaugural Premier League) since when they have even dropped out of the league such has been their fall and subsequent rise.
Despite being patched-up due to a spate of injuries, they took the lead through Tahith Chong’s smart finish in the third minute which prompted their lively fans to gleefully bellow “Conference champions, you’ll never sing that”.
An own goal at the start of the second half and Son’s strike four minutes from time ultimately broke their hearts as the South Korean moved ahead of Tottenham legend Cliff Jones into fifth place in the club’s all-time goalscoring list.
While Spurs were thrilled, Luton were deflated as they were overtaken, albeit on goal difference, by Nottingham Forest.
In their first game since a four-point deduction was imposed for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules – an independent commission found Forest’s losses to 2022-23 breached the threshold of £61 million by £34.5m – they needed an inspiring display to lift spirits and improve on a run which has yielded just a single league victory in 2024 so far.
Chris Wood equalised just after the hour mark, nodding Morgan Gibbs-White’s floated pass over oncoming Palace keeper Dean Henderson for his 10th goal of the season, but that only earned a point.
That result, coupled with Luton’s defeat, has given Burnley a glimmer of hope too and the Clarets’ 2-2 draw at Chelsea not only turned the Sbotop Premier League betting odds on their head, but moved them within four points of safety.
Vincent Kompany’s men have had few Premier League highlights to shout about this term and that seemed set to continue due to Cole Palmer’s double.
Yet a late equaliser from Dara O’Shea earned them a point which was even more impressive given they played for more than an hour a man down.
With the game still goaalless, Lorenz Assignon was shown his second yellow card five minutes before the break with Kompany then sent off for his reaction to the dismissal.
Assignon is the sixth Burnley player to be sent off in the Premier League this season, more than any other team in the competition.
To their credit, Burnley came out fighting in the second period and earned a fine point from which they will take great confidence before they host Wolves on Tuesday.
Win that, and the gap could be down to one point from safety.
I have to conclude with mention of one of the most dramatic finishes to a match this season.
With 13 minutes remaining on Tyneside, West Ham United were 3-1 up on Newcastle and set to move within one point of sixth placed Manchester Unted.
What duly followed was an inspiring for the hosts as it was calamitous for the Hammers.
Alekander Isak scored his second penalty of the game before Harvey Barnes netted twice in the final seven minutes to send the home fans into raptures.
His manager Eddie Howe described the winger’s return from a thigh injury as ‘incredible’ and left his opposite number David Moyes bemoaning his team’s lack of toughness.
West Ham have now conceded 54 league with only the bottom three, Luton (60), Burnley (63) and Sheffield United (74) shipping more.
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