Manchester United move four points above fifth-placed Liverpool with just three games to play with Anthony Martial scoring in the first half before Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to seal the points in stoppage time with Wolves having no shots on target. In another match, Nottingham Forest restored their three-point gap above the relegation zone after an amazing display to draw 2-2 at Chelsea. Meanwhile, in the early kick-off on Saturday, Eddie Howe was confronted by a fan during Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Leeds at Elland Road with Howe admitting his personal space was violated.
Subscribe to Switch TV for more exciting content
EPL week 36 saw different clubs battle for three points with Southampton confirming relegation as we take a look at the results of the Saturday action and reactions from managers and players.
Man Utd move four points above fifth-placed Liverpool; “We had to bounce back” says Ten Hag
Manchester United moved four points above fifth-placed Liverpool in the Premier League with just three games remaining following a comfortable 2-0 home win against Wolves thanks to all-important goals from Martial and Garnacho.
The result means Erik ten Hag’s side are closing on a Champions League spot and only trail third-placed Newcastle, who drew 2-2 at Leeds earlier on Saturday, on goal difference.
United’s clinch on a top-four place had been loosened by back-to-back 1-0 defeats against Brighton and West Ham.
Raphael Varane started for Man Utd after a month out injured but Marcus Rashford was absent from the squad.
Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho also came in for the hosts, with Tyrell Malacia and Wout Weghorst dropping to the bench
Wolves made just one change, with Daniel Bentley replacing Jose Sa in goal for his Premier League debut
Read Also: Mashemeji Derby: Gor Mahia, A.F.C Leopard fans are all set for this Sunday
Ten Hag admitted it was “vital” that United responded to their losses at Brighton and West Ham with a win, adding:
“We had to bounce back from two defeats and individual mistakes when we had no energy and played slow. “Today we had to win and we did it.” “We are very good at making the opponents’ goalkeeper man of the match! “We have to be more clinical.”
Chelsea faces a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge
Taiwo Awoniyi heads in twice to secure a vital point for Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge while Raheem Sterling double put Chelsea 2-1 up for four minutes until Awoniyi equalised with his second making Forest remain 16th, three points above the relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest restored their three-point gap above the relegation zone after producing a spirited display to draw 2-2 at Chelsea.
Awoniyi had put Forest ahead at the break with a header (13) after an error by returning Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy before the hosts came out firing in the second half and Raheem Sterling scored twice (51, 58) to give his side the lead.
Read also: Can Inter Milan reach the UCL finals after 13 years out?
Chelsea’s advantage only lasted four minutes, however, as Awoniyi scored his second header of the game (62) and restore parity after some slack defending by Frank Lampard’s side from a long throw-in.
Chelsea made five changes as goalkeeper Edouard Mendy replaced Kepa Arrizabalaga and Lewis Hall came in as left-back for the injured Ben Chilwell.
On starting Mendy over Kepa Arrizabalaga, Lampard said: “We’ve got two good goalkeepers. Kepa has been playing really well but in this situation, it was no problem to give Mendy a chance.”
N’Golo Kante was missing after he suffered a groin injury in training and could be out for a few weeks.
Nottingham Forest’s only change saw Brennan Jonshon drop the bench with Joe Worrall making his first start since March in a back five.
Forest boss Steve Cooper said:
“I wouldn’t say it was a cracking result. There’s a mix of some disappointed guys in the dressing room and I like that because although we worked hard for what we got it could have been more.
“It was a mixed feeling because although we know we gave everything, stuck to the plan and showed good resilience when going 2-1 down.
“The game had been going exactly as we wanted it to go, so to turn it quickly to 2-1 and then get something out of the game is a positive.
Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard said:
“We did struggle at set pieces. The long loopy throw is a difficult one to defend against. We’ve seen them score goals from that in recent games when it’s been important for them. “They’re a bigger team than us, and then it was always going to be a threat. But we have to deal with it.”
Newcastle’s Howe confronted by a fan
Eddie Howe was confronted by a fan during Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Leeds at Elland Road with Howe admitting his personal space was violated.
Read Also: Transfers: We Take a Look at Osimhen, Gundogan, Mac Allister and Aubameyang
The incident happened in injury time in the second half when the man was able to enter the Newcastle technical area and push Howe before being escorted away by security.
“That was a real surprise,” Howe told BT Sport. “I was concentrating on the game. It was the last thing you think could happen.”
“It was personal to me. I can’t remember if he pushed me or not, it was such a strange thing to happen. Moments like that make you think. We need to be mindful of security.
“Nobody should have to feel their personal safety is violated when trying to entertain the country.
Leeds manager Sam Allardyce, who celebrated his first point in charge, had contrasting opinions on his team’s performance in the game.
Read Also: Man City UCL 1-1 draw at Madrid, kept their treble on track
Sam Allardyce told BT Sport:
“Very, very satisfied with what they’ve done and how they applied themselves. There are lots of areas where we say room for improvement, but we didn’t get dispirited even though we made life extremely difficult for ourselves.
We missed a penalty then conceded two but scored to save 2-2.
“Our defending was magnificent today. When you consider where Newcastle are and we played Manchester City last week, we are moving in the right direction now. We pleased the crowd, they helped us in the game and kept going with us. It’s a shame we weren’t more professional at the right time as that would have been a win for us otherwise.”
EPL week 36 results
- Leeds 2-2 Newcastle
- Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham
- Chelsea 2-2 Nottingham Forest
- Crystal Palace 2-0 Bournemouth
- Manchester United 2-0 Wolves
- Southampton 0-2 Fulham
Subscribe to Switch TV for more exciting content
Super Sunday EPL fixtures
- Brentford vs West Ham 4:00 pm
- Everton vs Manchester City 4:00 pm
- Arsenal vs Brighton 6:30 pm
