Review

Alvarez wonder strike puts Man City back on top

30 Apr 2023

Julian Alvarez celebrates his goal v Fulham v2

Champions go above Arsenal for the first time since 17 February after battling 2-1 win over Fulham

Manchester City went top of the Premier League for the first time in 10 weeks after they battled past Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage thanks to a record goal from Erling Haaland and wonder strike from Julian Alvarez.

FUL

1-2

MCI

Man City went ahead in the third minute through Haaland’s penalty after a foul on Alvarez, a replacement for the injured Kevin De Bruyne.

It was Haaland’s 34th Premier League goal of the season, equalling the overall record set by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole, and his 50th in all competitions.

But Fulham fought back, thanks to Carlos Vinicius’s fierce strike from a Harry Wilson knockdown.

Alvarez restored City’s first-half lead with a superb shot from outside the area.

Fulham battled hard in the second half but were unable to seriously test Ederson in the City goal as the champions closed out an eighth straight league victory that takes them to 76 points, one above Arsenal, having played a match fewer.

Not since 5 November have the champions led the table by a point or more. But Arsenal can go back on top if they beat Chelsea on Tuesday.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
1	Manchester City MCI	38	+61	89
2	Arsenal ARS	38	+45	84

Newcastle and Man Utd strengthen claims

Newcastle United and Manchester United strengthened their positions in the top four with home victories.

Half-time substitute Callum Wilson was the hero for Newcastle, as they came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at St James’ Park.

Saints stunned the home crowd four minutes before half-time when they broke and Stuart Armstrong scored from Kamaldeen Sulemana’s cross.

Newcastle hit back shortly after the break through Wilson, converting Alexander Isak’s centre.

Newcastle went ahead when Theo Walcott diverted a corner into his own net and it was 3-1 two minutes later through Wilson, who has eight goals in April and 15 goals in the league this season.

A third win in a row takes Newcastle to 65 points, while a fifth defeat in six leaves Southampton rooted at the bottom with 24 points, six from safety.

Man Utd’s makeshift defence became the first to stop Aston Villa under Unai Emery from scoring in a Premier League match and it proved crucial as Bruno Fernandes’s first-half goal was enough to secure victory at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese finished from a tight angle after Marcus Rashford’s shot had been parried on 39 minutes.

Douglas Luiz had two chances to equalise but his first shot was blocked and second was cleared off the line by Victor Lindelof.

Man Utd stay fourth on 63 points, two behind Newcastle with a match in hand. A first defeat in 11 matches for Villa leaves them seventh on 54 points.

Liverpool edge seven-goal thriller

Liverpool kept their European ambitions on course, climbing above Tottenham Hotspur into fifth in a dramatic 4-3 win at Anfield.

For the second Sunday in a row, Spurs suffered a horrendous away start. After going 5-0 down at Newcastle in 21 minutes a week ago ended Cristian Stellini’s time as interim boss, his replacement Ryan Mason saw his team concede three unanswered goals inside the opening quarter of an hour.

Curtis Jones started it in the third minute with his first league goal of the season. Two minutes later Luis Diaz made it 2-0 in his first start in 203 days after injury. Mohamed Salah scored the third from the penalty spot after Cristian Romero had fouled Cody Gakpo.

As at Newcastle, Harry Kane pulled a goal back for Spurs, brilliantly volleying in Ivan Perisic’s cross on 39 minutes. It was his 25th Premier League goal of the season, the fourth time he has reached this mark, a feat only Alan Shearer can also claim. It was also his 208th in the competition overall, moving him level in second with Wayne Rooney in the all-time scoring charts.

See: How Kane compares with Rooney

Spurs hit the post twice inside 60 seconds in a much more even second half and got the second goal they deserved when Son Heung-min finished well from Romero’s ball over the top.

Substitute Richarlison's first league goal for Spurs in the third minute of added time looked to have claimed a point, but late Spurs substitute Lucas Moura misplaced a backpass from a Liverpool long ball to let in Diogo Jota to score the winner.

A third defeat in four matches drops Spurs to sixth on 54 points, two behind Liverpool, having played a match more.

See: Who can qualify for Europe

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
8	Tottenham Hotspur TOT	38	+7	60

Cherries on a roll

AFC Bournemouth look all but safe after a fifth win in seven matches, beating Leeds United 4-1 in a relegation six-pointer.

BOU

4-1

LEE

The home side raced into a two-goal lead courtesy of a brace from Jefferson Lerma. But Leeds hit back when an unmarked Patrick Bamford nodded in Wilfried Gnonto’s cross.

Dominic Solanke restored AFC Bournemouth’s two-goal lead in the 63rd minute, converting Dango Ouattara’s centre.

Substitute Antoine Semenyo added gloss to the score with his first goal for the club, shooting through Illan Meslier, who has conceded 23 times in April, the most in a month by a Premier League team.

AFC Bournemouth climb to 13th with 39 points, 10 clear of the relegation zone.

Leeds, who have claimed one point from the last five matches, remain 16th with 30 points, only one above the bottom three.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
12	Chelsea CHE	38	-9	44
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

Battle at the bottom

Leicester City host Everton on Monday evening in a relegation six-pointer, where one of the two teams will end the match having escaped from the bottom three.

LEI

2-2

EVE