Winners & losers as Man City suffer shock defeat and Arsenal strikers continue impressive record

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We may look back on this round of midweek fixtures as the matchday that decided this season’s Premier League title race.

Manchester City fell to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United, handing the initiative back to Liverpool and adding more potential drama to what has already been a thrilling campaign at the top of the table.

The events at St James’ Park were undeniably the headline of the night, but the evening was full of twists and turns throughout the top-flight.

Here are five winners and three losers from another enthralling round of Premier League fixtures.

Winner: Liverpool

Liverpool are by far the biggest winners of the night, and they didn’t even play.

Manchester City suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season, losing 2-1 at Newcastle and giving Liverpool the chance to extend their lead at the top by seven points on Wednesday.

City appeared to be over the blip they suffered over the festive period. Following defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester, they beat Liverpool and appeared to be completely back on track. But the title race has just taken another huge twist – the advantage is absolutely back with the Merseysiders.

All eyes will be now be on Anfield tomorrow when Liverpool take on Leicester.

Loser: Manchester City

Pep Guardiola’s side got off to the best possible start when Sergio Aguero opened the scoring after just 24 seconds, City’s quickest Premier League goal since a Jesus Navas strike against Tottenham in November 2013.

However, they simply couldn’t get going after that. Newcastle equalised midway through the second half and won it from the spot with 10 minutes to go. City pushed for an equaliser but struggled to even come close.

The visitors looked sluggish and lacked their usual attacking rhythm. Full credit must go to Newcastle for executing their game plan to perfection – they had just two shots on target and scored from both – but Guardiola will be hugely unimpressed by the performance of his players.

Winner: Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez will be the toast of Liverpool tonight, as he has been in the past for very different reasons.

Three points saw Newcastle jump above Crystal Palace and Southampton into 15th place in the Premier League. Results like this will give them a huge amount of confidence going into a crucial stage of the campaign.

What’s more, reports claim the Magpies are about to break their record transfer fee by signing Atlanta United playmaker Miguel Almiron. Three points against the champions and a crucial signing in the space of a few hours? Benitez must be in dreamland.

Loser: Tim Ream

Fulham have now conceded 53 Premier League goals this term, more than any other team – and it’s been that way for some time.

Defender Tim Ream has played in 14 of Fulham’s 24 league matches, but his game time may be reduced as he was part of a defence that conceded two goals in the opening stages against Brighton. The centre-back was subsequently hooked by Ranieri after just 24 minutes.

In fairness to Ream, Ranieri was clearly making a tactical change – switching from three at the back to four – rather than picking out the American for personal criticism. Still, that Ream was substituted instead of Fulham’s other centre-backs doesn’t bode well for his future inclusion in the team.

Ranieri’s change worked wonders and the Italian might be keen to stick with a back four in their next match. If this result is anything to go by, Ream isn’t likely to be selected.

Winners: Murray and Mitrovic

Not many footballers hit their peak at 35 years of age, but that’s exactly what is happening with Glenn Murray.

The veteran striker scored twice in the opening 17 minutes for Brighton at Fulham, making it four goals against the Cottagers for the season. Murray has scored the first goal in six Premier League games this season; only Mohamed Salah (9) has opened the scoring on more occasions.

He is now in double figures for the season, as is his counterpart Aleksandar Mitrovic who also played a key role in a thrilling contest at Craven Cottage. Mitrovic’s 10th league goal of the campaign completed Fulham’s comeback, which Claudio Ranieri will hope to be the start of a survival push.

Mitrovic will be key to any hopes Fulham have of staying up, while Brighton will be praying Murray can stay fit to boost their own chances of survival.

Loser: Jan Siewert

New Huddersfield Town manager Jan Siewert couldn’t have imagined a worst start to life in the Premier League.

Richarlison opened the scoring for Everton after just 129 seconds, giving the hosts an uphill ask from the off. Huddersfield have desperately struggled for goals this season and that showed no signs of changing immediately under new management.

The Terriers have scored just one goal in their last six games across all competitions and haven’t found the net twice in a home match since bagging four against Bournemouth in February last year – they couldn’t even manage one here.

Some Huddersfield fans might already be accepting their fate. One reason to be hopeful is Aaron Mooy’s return from injury. The Australian, who came off the bench in the second half, will improve the side to no end – but is it too late?

Winners: Marco Silva and Richarlison

There was a feeling Marco Silva needed a win at Huddersfield with the pressure building after the weekend defeat against Millwall in the FA Cup.

The Portuguese coach will be a relieved man after his side hung on for all three points despite playing the final half an hour with 10 men after Lucas Digne’s red card. Silva’s future will be boosted further by the fact Richarlison, the summer signing he pushed for, netted the winning goal.

Richarlison has now scored 10 Premier League goals this season; Neymar (13) is the only Brazilian playing in one of Europe’s top five divisions with more league goals in 2018/19.

Winners: Aubameyang and Lacazette

Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang and Alexandre Lacazette were on hand to help Arsenal avoid a potentially disappointing result against Cardiff City on an emotional night at the Emirates.

The strike partners have scored five goals each against newly-promoted sides this season, more than any other player in the Premier League. It took a penalty to make the breakthrough as Cardiff looked as if they might leave the Emirates with something.

Neil Warnock’s men pulled a goal back late on but it wasn’t to be. Meanwhile, Unai Emery’s side kept Chelsea on their toes in the race for a top four finish. The Blues will be looking to respond at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

The post Winners & losers from Tuesday’s Premier League midweek games appeared first on Squawka News.



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