Controversy of the week
If a player scores three goals, they walk away with the match ball. What do they get if they give away three penalties? The referee’s whistle?
Ashley Young was close to finding out. In Everton’s crucial 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, the Everton full-back could – maybe should – have conceded three penalties, the first for nicking Gio Reyna’s heel in the box; the second, for a handball, sat firmly in the ‘seen them given’ bracket; and the third for another ill-timed tackle in the box.
The second was the cleanest decision – an obvious handball with Young’s arm flung out away from his body and Forest’s Chris Wood waiting behind his hand for a tap-in. But the third was the most peculiar: Anthony Taylor, the on-field official, indicated Young caught the ball before colliding with the attacking player. Video evidence showed otherwise. What is VAR for if not a failsafe for when a referee believes they’ve seen one thing in real-time but a closer inspection shows they’re wrong?
Forest responded with their typical blend of bluster and conspiracy. “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept,” Forest said on their official X account. “We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
Simmer down, Mark Clattenburg. Frustration is understandable. Forest – like Wolves and Liverpool – have been on the raw end of tough decisions this season. But what is the end goal? Asking to overhaul the VAR process is one thing, something that the clubs themselves have a hand in dictating. Aiming your ire at an individual, though, serves only to curb the sport’s ability to recruit new officials.
Improving the standards of officiating in any league takes time. It requires a pipeline. You cannot magic a fresh batch of officials overnight. The constant drone from clubs, the accusations of bias and conspiracy, will only slow PGMOL’s ability to recruit the talent that will ultimately improve standards. The FA has already opened an investigation into the Forest statement on grounds that it brought the game’s integrity into dispute. At least Clattenburg will earn his salary this week.
Goal of the week
Sometimes the goal of the week is a slick passing move. Other times it’s a 40-yard screamer. And sometimes it’s a well-executed shank from the edge of the box.
Behold: Leandro Trossard’s did-he-mean-it effort against Wolves:
LEANDRO TROSSARD gives ARSENAL the lead, despite shanking his shot. 😮💨
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) April 20, 2024
When you duff a drive and it rolls out to 260. 😉 pic.twitter.com/Wx8aznatEV
“I just hit it with my toe,” Trossard said post-match, which is one way of saying he somehow scooped the ball with the outside of his foot and placed it into the top corner.
The title race is in Manchester City’s hands. All Arsenal can do is keep stringing together wins. Between now and the end of the season, they cannot afford to drop any points. Their performance in a 2-0 win at Molineux was understandably labored after their exertions in Munich last week. At this stage, though, points matter more than performances. And Trossard’s strike was enough to keep Arsenal in the race.
Quote of the week
“When we were under, there were a few players that wanted to get out of the place. That can’t be the case. I won’t name names, but I think there were a few players out there that wanted to get out of there pretty quickly after the fourth went in, which you can’t have, you just can’t have.” – Chris Wilder on Sheffield United’s second-half performance in their 4-1 defeat to Burnley.
Wilder’s quote sums up the most dismal performance from a side this week. Let’s hope no one was indulging in a snack at full-time.
Return of the week
Welcome back, Trent Alexander-Arnold. In his first start since 10 February, Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning free-kick to put Liverpool ahead in their 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday.
GOLAZO LIVERPOOL 💥💥💥
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) April 21, 2024
Trent Arnold-Alexander keeping Liverpool's title race hopes alive. Picture perfect free kick. 🔴⚪pic.twitter.com/AeLUmRqlAx
It was Alexander-Arnold’s sixth goal for Liverpool from a direct free-kick, putting him one behind Steven Gerrard and two behind Jamie Redknapp at the top of the club’s all-time standings.
Alexander-Arnold was Liverpool’s best player in another choppy performance at Craven Cottage. Throughout the first half, it was much the same as it has been for a month for Jürgen Klopp’s side: Unable to craft much in open play and relying on last ditch defending to keep Fulham at bay. Goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Joto helped seal the win in the second-half, drawing Liverpool level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table. But there are still problems for Klopp team to figure out.
When Liverpool are humming, they work more into five seconds than any team in the league. But over the past month they’ve become stodgy, relying on individual moments of brilliance. Alexander-Arnold delivered his moment on Sunday, but unless they click into gear – right away – Liverpool won’t keep pace with Arsenal and City.
Player of the week
Bryan Mbeumo has morphed into a wonderful all-around player, and he was at the center of Brentford’s 5-1 hammering of Luton on Saturday.
Brentford were electric on the counterattack. They could have been six or seven up an hour into the match if not for some sloppy finishing or Thomas Kaminski in Luton’s goal. “They were too quick and too good for us,” Rob Edwards, Luton’s manager, said after the match. “That can’t happen in the Premier League.”
Luton have conceded by far the most chances in the league this season, and were consistently punished on the break against Brentford thanks to tidy combination play between Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Keane Lewis-Potter. Wissa finished with two goals and an assist and Lewis-Potter scored Brentford’s fourth to put the game well beyond reach. But it was Mbeumo who leapt off the screen for those watching at home. His movement, intellect, vision and motor create anxiety. Anxiety distracts – and leads to defensive breakdowns.
Mbeumo never stops moving. Against Luton, he finished with two assists, created three key chances, registered three successful dribbles and led the team’s press from the front, notching eight ball recoveries – seven of them in the Luton’s half, the highest figure from a Brentford player this season.
Mbeumo has been one of the league’s most consistent creators when healthy this year, even when Brenford’s attacking output has taken a hit with Ivan Toney out of the lineup. Across the season, he’s engineered as many high-value chances as the likes of Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and Bruno Fernandes. You best believe the data dorks working in transfer committees across the league will be running to place a binder of Mbuemo’s best work in front of their bosses.
Relegation subplot of the week
The best Luton and Burnley could have hoped for at the turn of the year was to enter the final handful of games with a shot at staying up. Job done. With four games left, Luton are a point behind Nottingham Forest despite their 5-1 hammering at the hands of Brentford. Burnley blitzed Sheffield United 4-1 to lift them to within three of Forest in 17th – pending Forest’s appeal for their points deduction.
But keep an eye on the goal difference column. The points deductions levied at Everton and Forest have skewed the relegation race. If not for those deductions, Luton and Burnley would already be cut adrift. But while points have been scrubbed off the board, the goals Everton and Forest have scored (and conceded) have not.
Luton (-28) were running Forest (-18) close until the last week. They’ve shipped 10 goals in seven days to Man City and Brentford, leaving them 10 behind Forest in the goal difference charts; Burnley (-32) are 14 behind. That’s a steep disadvantage to overturn. Everton (-14) are already five points clear of the drop, but have a significant goal difference lead over Luton and Burnley.
Burnley have lost just one of their last seven. But their run of form may have come too late in the season. If Forest’s deduction remains in place, though, it sets up the tantalizing prospect of Vincent Kompany and Co hosting Forest on the final day of the season, needing to win to claw back points and having to put on a goalfest to catch up in the goal-difference standings.
