Review

Man Utd and Newcastle boost top-four hopes

5 Apr 2023

Marcus Rashford goal helps Red Devils beat Brentford while Magpies hit five in win at West Ham

Manchester United and Newcastle United both strengthened their claims for a top-four finish with victories on Wednesday, the Red Devils beating Brentford 1-0 while Eddie Howe’s side thrashed West Ham United 5-1.

Man Utd moved back up to fourth thanks to Marcus Rashford’s 27th-minute strike.

Rashford lashed the ball into the roof of the net from Marcel Sabitzer’s knockdown to score his first goal in four matches.

Brentford’s best chance fell to substitute Kevin Schade on 67 minutes, but he was denied by an excellent save from David De Gea.

Man Utd substitute Fred blazed over as the home side pressed for a second, but Rashford’s first-half goal proved to be enough.

A first victory in four matches puts Man Utd on 53 points, three clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth and with a match in hand.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
3	Manchester United MUN	38	+15	75
4	Newcastle United NEW	38	+35	71
5	Liverpool LIV	38	+28	67
6	Brighton & Hove Albion BHA	38	+19	62
7	Aston Villa AVL	38	+5	61

Callum Wilson and Joelinton both scored twice as Newcastle won 5-1 at West Ham.

The striker, returning to the starting line-up, headed in from Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross to open the scoring after six minutes.

Seven minutes later, Joelinton, also recalled to the side, showed excellent composure to latch on to a Fabian Schar pass before rounding Lukasz Fabianski and then slotting into an empty net. Initially ruled out for offside, the goal was overturned following a VAR review, making it 2-0.

The hosts did get themselves back into the match five minutes before half-time when Nick Pope failed to clear Jarrod Bowen’s corner, allowing Kurt Zouma to head in to an empty net.

However, hopes of a second-half comeback were dashed within 30 seconds of the restart when Nayef Aguerd was dispossessed by Jacob Murphy, who squared for Wilson to score his second.

Wilson has now scored 12 Premier League goals against West Ham in just 13 appearances, more than any other side.

Substitute Alexander Isak added a fourth, lobbing in to an empty net from 25 yards out before Joelinton scored his second in the 90th minute.

A fourth consecutive victory takes third-placed Newcastle on to 53 points.

West Ham stay in 15th on 27 points, only clear of the relegation zone on goal difference. The Hammers do have a match in hand on all eight of the sides around them in the table, though.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL	38	-27	41
14	West Ham United WHU	38	-13	40
15	Bournemouth BOU	38	-34	39
16	Nottingham Forest NFO	38	-30	38
17	Everton EVE	38	-23	36
18	Leicester City LEI	38	-17	34
19	Leeds United LEE	38	-30	31
20	Southampton SOU	38	-37	25

Bumper Saturday in store

There are eight fixtures on Saturday with huge matches at both the top and bottom of the table.

Leicester City meet AFC Bournemouth in a massive relegation affair at King Power Stadium.

Manchester City will also be looking to put the pressure on leaders Arsenal by reducing the gap to five points as they travel to St Mary's to face Southampton.

Elsewhere, top-four chasing sides Man Utd and Newcastle are back in action as they take on Everton and Brentford respectively, while two of their rivals, Spurs and Brighton & Hove Albion, face off in north London.