Premier League Matchweek 29
Premier League match week 29 is shorter than usual due to the FA cup quarter finals with 7 Premier League teams winning their Round of 16 game. The remaining 6 matches are yet to be confirmed.
Burnley vs Brentford
The condensed Premier League match week kicked off at Turf Moor with Burnley hosting Brentford. The Bees got off to a dreadful start when loanee Sergio Reguilon kicked the back of Vitinho’s legs inside the box. After a VAR check, referee Darren Bond made the call to send off the Spaniard and award Burley a penalty. Jacob Bruun Larsen stepped up to take it and scored to put the hosts ahead. Burnley had a huge chance to double their advantage when David Datro Fofana missed an absolute sitter. Lorenz Assignon crossed it to Fofana only for him to mis-hit the ball and watch it bobble past the far post. The half ended 1-0 with Vincent Kompany hopeful his team wouldn’t throw away another half time lead. The Clarets found their second, 14 minutes into the second period. Wilson Odobert slipped it through to Fofana on the right side of the area who wasn’t going to miss another. He let the ball roll and lifted it over outcoming Brentford keeper, Mark Flekken. The away side did give Kompany’s side something to think about in the 83rd minute when Kristoffer Ajer headed in a spectacular cross from Shandon Baptiste. Burnley defended well though and held out for a huge three points. It still leaves them in 19th, but the gap between them and 17th is getting tighter with 9 games left to play. Bretford are sitting in 15th, but only 4 points away from the drop zone.
Luton Town vs Nottingham Forest
The second game of the match week was a huge game at the bottom of the table with 18th placed Luton hosting 17th placed Nottingham Forest at Kenilworth Road. Luton opened the opening 20 minutes strongly with midfielder Ross Barkley unlucky not to see one of his long attempts hit the back of the net. Despite this, Forest scored first. After being denied a goal on the half hour mark when Lunton centre half Reece Burke sprinted back towards the goal to stop Divock Origi’s shot, they found their opener. Morgan Gibbs-White chipped the ball into the Luton 6 yard box from the right side of the area. The man in the middle, Chris Wood, lunged in and made strong contact to send it past Luton keeper, Thomas Kaminski. The Hatters then thought they had drawn level just before the interval when Tenden Mengi volleyed in a corner from Alfie Doughty but a VAR review ruled it out for handball on Mengi. The half ended 0-1 with Rob Edward’s side left with a lot to do in the second period. Forest almost wrapped up the win 6 minutes in if not for the crucial intervention from Mengi, sprinting back to clear Anthony Elnaga’s shot off the line. The hosts left it late, but they did find an equaliser. Barley crossed it to the back post for Burke to head to 2nd half substitute Luke Berry. Berry, who had only been on the pitch for 3 minutes, volleyed the ball on the turn and watched it hit the back of the net. With that goal, Berry became the first ever player to score a goal in every division in the EFL for the same club. The game finished 1-1 with Luton missing out on a huge chance to climb out of the bottom 3. Luton remain in 18th and Forest also stay in 17th with 3 points still separating the two.
Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur
The last game on Saturday was staged at Craven Cottage with Fulham hosting Tottenham. After dominating the opening exchanges, Fulham finally found a deserved opener in the 42nd minute through the ever prolific Rodrigo Muniz. Antonee Robinson played an intelligent ball over the Spurs defence from the left wing which Muniz controlled and buried into the bottom left corner. The half ended 1-0 with Ange Postecoglu’s men giving the away end nothing to get excited about. Fulham made the perfect start to the second period when Sasa Lukic brilliantly kneed Fulham into a 2 goal lead. It came from a Timothy Castagne cross which Lukic got a slight touch on to spin the ball past Spurs keeper Vicario and into the far corner. Fulham found a 3rd 15 minutes later, this one not as pretty as the others. A Calvin Bassey shot was fired against the post and fell back out to Muniz who was fouled but still managed to get a touch on the ball, just enough to creep it over the line. Fulham thought they had made it 4 a few minutes later when Joao Palhinha smashed in a volley from a Tosin Adarabioyo cross but it was chalked off as Raul Jimenez was blocking the keeper’s view from an offside position. Fulham continued to dominate the final 25 minutes but failed to find a 4th goal. It was still a brilliant win for the Cottagers leaving them in 3rd, but closing the gap between them and teams in the top half of the league. Tottenham missed out on a huge chance to jump over Villa and into the top 4, leaving them in 5th.
West Ham United vs Aston Villa
The last game of the shortened Premier League weekend was played at the London Stadium with West Ham taking on Aston Villa. Both teams were in a buoyant mood, both thrashing their round of 16 teams in their respective Europe competitions. West Ham; Frieberg 5-0, Villa; Ajax 4-0. West Ham were by far the strongest team in the first half, pressuring the Villa goal with every chance they got. The Hammers finally made one count in the 29th minute when Vladimir Coufal crossed a ball into the box from the right wing. Inside the area was Michail Antonio who headed the ball past Villa keeper Emi Martinez, scoring his first goal since August in the process. The half ended 1-0, but could have been 2 when Mohammed Kudus saw his goal chalked out as Antonio fouled Martinez just before the break. The home side thought they had doubled their advantage again when a corner seemed to go all the way through from Jarrod Bowen, but once again, it was ruled out as it hit Antonio’s arm on its way. Villa slowly found their way into the game and eventually levelled it when the two substitutes, Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby combined to score. The Frenchman cut the ball back from the right side of the box for loanee Zaniolo to come onto and smash the ball past West Ham keeper, Alphonse Areola. Yet again, West Ham were denied a winner when a goal from Tomas Soucek was controversially ruled out by VAR. The free kick in from James Ward-Prowse was flicked in by Konstantinos Mavropanos and eventually tapped in by Soucek but for the third time in this game, it was chalked off. There was no conclusive evidence but VAR thought it hit the hand of Bowen when Soucek struck the ball. The late goal was cancelled and the points were shared. Both teams stay where they are, West Ham in 7th, Villa in 4th, but both teams miss out on an opportunity to strengthen their European qualification place in the Premier League table.
Note: Nottingham Forest were deducted a total of 4 points on the 18th of March for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. This leaves them in 18th on 21 points.
Picture credit: Getty Images
Written by Ollie Wade