Matchweek 24 of the 2022/23 Premier League saw a slew of interesting results with another shift on the top of the table. Not only that, but things are boiling at the bottom of the table as well. When the season continued after the World Cup break, things were already simmering.
Tensions are already hot now and we are witnessing probably one of the most unpredictable EPL seasons compared to some previous ones. The road is still long. There are many decisive fixtures up ahead. But the previous match week gave us a lot of things to think about.
Three Contenders for the Title
After Pep Guardiola schooled Mikel Arteta in their first encounter of the season, everyone thought that City would be running away with the title yet again. Things started badly for Arsenal. They trailed two times against Aston Villa at Birmingham.
Luckily, it seems that Arteta was able to learn something from his matchup against Guardiola. He introduced the correct pair of legs in the second half to earn a massive win. Gabriel Martinelli and Fabio Vieria gave the Gunners the boost they needed for a final 4:2 score.
As far as Man City goes, they did the unthinkable and dropped points at Nottingham. The Tricky Trees prove to be trickier than the Citizens thought. They managed to chip away a point from the Citizens. Chris Wood found the back of the net to continue Nottingham’s favourable run of games and stave them off relegation.
Finally, ten Hag’s Manchester United is a team on fire. With a third win in the last four games, they firmly hold the third spot in the league. They are just three points away from their rivals from Manchester and five from long-time rivals Arsenal.
Can Liverpool Rise from Mid-Table Obscurity?
After earning only a single point out of three games, we all thought that Jurgen Klopp should start packing up and leaving Merseyside. He proved us all wrong by getting two important wins. These lifted his club to the 8th spot of the table.
The positioning is not as glamorous as you would think. But the performances were really impressive, especially the one against Newcastle. The Magpies haven’t tasted defeat in 17 games in a row. The blunderous error of Nick Pope opened up the doors for their first defeat since August.
Which was surprisingly also against the Reds from Liverpool. Cody Gakpo has scored in both of those games. He showed that he is adapting to life in England and the Premier League.
The Battle at the Bottom
Only six points separate seven teams at the very bottom of the league, and the battle is still being waged. The bottom-ranked Southampton managed to get a much-needed win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea by 1:0.
There were also two direct relegation-battle matchups. They saw Bournemouth defeating Wolves away, and Everton getting the better of Leeds at home. Both Leicester and West Ham expectedly lost their games, given their rivals.
The wins obtained by the Toffees and the Cherries place them above the relegation zone for at least a week. Due to their losses, West Ham and Leeds slide into their place at 19 and 18, respectively. But this shouldn’t spell end for those teams. A whole lot of football still needs to be played.
