ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE 2019/20 MATCHWEEK 23 ROUND-UP & HIGHLIGHTS

Liverpool beat Manchester United, more VAR drama, epic comebacks, and the funniest Premier League moment of 2020 so far? Here are the highlights of matchweek 23.

Liverpool 2 – 0 Manchester United

Liverpool continue their march towards their first title in 30 years with a hard-fought victory over Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday night; a win that extended their lead at the top of the table to 16 points – with a game in hand.

It was a weird match; we can’t say that either team was exceptional but there was a lot of high tempo, grit, VAR drama, and determination. Virgil van Dijk gave the hosts the lead in minute 14, followed by the brilliant (but disallowed) goal by Roberto Firmino ten minutes later. 

Manchester United had some good chances that they wasted one by one until Mo Salah sealed the final score in the last minute of the match.

Southampton 2 – 3 Wolves

Wolves came back from two goals down to triumph over in-form Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

The magnificent comeback was thanks to Mexican striker Raul Jimenez, who scored twice to crush Southampton’s hearts just when it hurts the most. 

The Saints looked set for a sixth win in seven games when they were leading by two goals, but everything changed at half-time. Pedro Neto made it one for Wolves in minute 53 and Jimenez completed the fightback with 14 minutes to spare. 

Wolves boss, Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased with his men, “I said a lot of things. They did the job. We realized the first half was not good. I’m very proud of the players – even proud of the first half.”

Manchester City 2 – 2 Crystal Palace

Resolute Crystal Palace held-off Man City at the Etihad Stadium and Pep Guardiola’s chance of securing a Champions League spot next season is seeming fainter and fainter. The Citizens are now 13 points behind Premier League leaders, Liverpool, who have one game in hand.

Man City were unfortunate this Saturday as they were hit by a Fernandinho own goal to let Palace grab a draw. Cenk Tosun gave the Eagles the lead just before half-time and Roy Hodgson’s men thought they had it in the bag until Sergio Aguero’s double in minutes 82 and 89.

Then frustration spread over the pitch and a 90th-minute own goal by Fernandinho finalized the score. How awesome was Wilfred Zaha though? Birthday boy Guardiola admitted, “I told them to keep going, put more balls into the box and try to control Zaha on the counter-attack.”

Newcastle 1 – 0 Chelsea

Newcastle earned their first Premier League victory of the year thanks to Isaac Hayden’s dramatic injury-time header against a strong Chelsea.

Frank Lampard’s side were dominating the match but were constantly being challenged by the hosts. In the end, Hayden’s crucial header gifted Steve Bruce’s men with a home win.

Newcastle’s victory lifts them up a place to 12th, while Chelsea remain in fourth with a five-point lead over Man United (who lost to Liverpool on Sunday).

And for your weekly dose of football wisdom, here is what Lampard said after the game: “the brutal reality of football is if you don’t score, teams stay in the game and something like that happens at the end.” Profound.

Norwich City 1 – 0 Bournemouth

The battle for survival continues as bottom sides Norwich City and Bournemouth clashed in a dramatic fixture featuring two red cards and the funniest moment of 2020 so far. 

Norwich’s Steve Cook was sent off half an hour in because he saved a strike – with – his – hand. Teemu Pukki scored the game’s only goal from the awarded penalty, earning Norwich’s first Premier League win since November.

Eddie Howe’s side are three points away from safety and only three points above last-place, Norwich City.

That’s it from the 23rd matchweek of the Premier League season! See you next week!

Make sure to bet on Premier League 2019/20 with 22Bet!