United States
United KingdomAs expected Saturday’s gameweek 30 fixtures produced some great entertainment and big results at both ends of the table. Here is what happened in Saturday’s fixtures:
United win the big north west derby
Manchester United and Liverpool went into Saturday’s north west derby both looking to get the edge in securing second place in the Premier League this season. The home side came out on top, though, recording a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
The game started at the good pace and United took the lead on 14 minutes. Marcus Rashford picked-up the ball on the far side of the area, produced a sublime touch to take out full-back Alexander Trent-Arnold and curled a superb effort past Loris Karius in the visitor’s goal.
The youngster also grabbed the Red Devils second goal on 24 minutes. Romelu Lukaku was too strong for Dejan Lovren and laid the ball off to Juan Mata in the area. Virgil van Dijk blocked the Spaniard’s effort on goal, only for the ball to run to Rashford whose shot took a deflection before making its way into the far corner of Karius’ net.
Liverpool produced a far better performance in the second half and had United on the back foot for much of the second period. The Reds did finally breakthrough the United rare guard on 66 minutes. Winger Sadio Mane produced a dangerous cross into the area and United defender Eric Bailly got his clearance all wrong shanking the ball past David de Gea at his near post.
The visitors also saw two penalty appeals waved away in the second period. However, United hung on for a potential big win in the fight for Champions League place. Jose Mourinho’s side are now five points clear of second place Liverpool and the favourites after league leaders Manchester City to claim a top-four spot. The visitors are four points clear of fifth-place Chelsea and fourth-place Tottenham could leapfrog them in the table with a win over Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.
Magpies claim a massive win over the Saints
Newcastle and Southampton both start this game in the relegation fight. However, the home side lifted their relegation worries slightly with a convincing 3-0 win at St James Park.
The Magpies enjoyed a dream start to the game, taking the lead after just two minutes. Chelsea-loanee Kenedy chested down a pass from Jonjo Shelvey before finishing past Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy with a side-footed effort.
The Magpies doubled their lead just before the hour mark with a good counter-attacking goal. Ayoze Perez found Dwight Gayle and the striker found Kenedy at the far post for a tap-in.
Rafa Benitez’s side made it three on 57 minutes. Shelvey laid the ball off to winger Matt Ritchie and the Scotland international fired home into the bottom corner of McCarthy’s goal. The visitors did finally threaten the home goal in the second half, but Newcastle ‘keeper Martin Dubravka was equal to efforts from Guido Carrillo and Josh Sims.
The win moves the side from the north east up to 13th place in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone. The visitors meanwhile are just a point clear of the drop zone. Mauricio Pellegrino’s side could drop into the bottom three if Stoke pulls off a shock win over Manchester City on Monday night.
Saturday’s other Premier League results:
Everton 2-0 Brighton
Huddersfield 0-0 Swansea
West Brom 1-4 Leicester
West Ham 0-3 Burnley
Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
Who recorded the biggest win of gameweek 30 in the Premier League?
