What we learned from Matchweek 26

Old feeling of invincibility may return for Man City

For Manchester City what matters even more than the result is the swaggering ease of the performance; is the way they simply swept Fulham aside in the first half and cantered to victory in the second.

This was Man City the well-oiled machine, the ruthless Pep Guardiola team. As they look to apply pressure to Arsenal and look to build on the morale-boosting late win at Liverpool, it is precisely what they needed.

A lot has been made of Arsenal’s main obstacle being Arsenal themselves, with pundits suggesting that if the league-leaders can handle the pressure they will lift the title.

But the same can be said for a Man City side that seemed strangely foggy through January, and who – if they can just recapture that old feeling of superiority and invincibility – could accelerate away with one of their classic spring winning streaks.

Antoine Semenyo’s classy performance and Erling Haaland’s first non-penalty goal in eight Premier League matches helped Man City play like the bionic footballers we were so used to seeing at the peak of their powers.

Twelve of this squad have never won a Premier League title under Guardiola. For them, this is the first time they are experiencing that sense of strength, entitlement, destiny. A few more games like this one and the stuttering performances might give way to a typical Guardiola run-in.

Forest’s attacking issues sum up why Dyche has departed

Sean Dyche has been sacked following Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening. It is likely that the decision was not entirely about results.

Forest have won 22 points from 18 Premier League matches under Dyche, the same number as Leeds United in that time frame and just two more than West Ham United, suggesting Forest were not recovering enough to guarantee survival this May.

And it is fair to say the style of football did not appeal to the club, nor did it prove to be an effective way of securing points. Dyche’s side scored just 20 goals in 18 Premier League games, amassing the sixth-worst Expected Goals (21.3) during his four months in the dugout.

His final game was a perfect example of the problem. Forest managed 35 shots but could not score, the most by a Premier League team without finding the net since Manchester United against Burnley in October 2016.

Considering how much money was spent on forwards over the summer, Forest clearly expected more. Just two goals (and two points) from a run of games against Crystal Palace, Leeds, and Wolves was evidence that Dyche’s defence-first tactics did not maximize the talents at his disposal.

Spurs consider the possibility of relegation as Frank departs

An excellent away win for Newcastle United was most impressive for its clear-sightedness. It was a classic Eddie Howe performance, as represented by the performance of match-winner Jacob Ramsey, an explosive and box-crashing No 8 whose qualities characterise the best of Howe’s football.

Here was clear evidence the squad remains together and optimistic despite a difficult 2025/26, suggesting, with the club still in the FA Cup and Uefa Champions League and just six points off Liverpool in sixth, that they can rescue this season.

Tottenham Hotspur face a considerably tougher outlook. Their eight-game winless run in the Premier League is their longest in a single season and under a single manager since David Pleat’s side in 2004 and after Leeds and West Ham won points Spurs are now only five points above the dotted line.

Spurs have four fewer points than at the same stage last season, when they finished on 39, a number that may not be enough to finish 17th or higher in 2025/26.

Tuesday evening was the moment Spurs’ relegation fears became real. The decision to sack Thomas Frank on Wednesday morning probably had something to do with that.

Van Dijk’s winner seals the top six – and sets up a titanic battle for UCL spots

Virgil van Dijk became Liverpool’s highest-scoring centre-back in their Premier League history, overtaking Sami Hyppia with his 23rd goal for the club.

But far more important to him and Liverpool was the three points that ended Sunderland’s unbeaten home record in the league this season. The goal, which, assisted by Mohamed Salah, made Salah Liverpool’s top assister in Premier League history with 92, closed the gap to Chelsea to just two points.

Coupled with results elsewhere, there is now daylight between Liverpool and the rest of the chasing pack. Brentford are the only side within six points of Arne Slot’s team, suggesting that the current top six is now sealed in place.

With that, we can fire the starting gun on what looks set to be a fascinating battle for Champions League football.

English clubs’ performances in Europe this season suggest there will be five places up for grabs, meaning one of Aston Villa, Man Utd, Chelsea, and Liverpool will miss out. With 12 games remaining, it is too close to call.

Bournemouth are now on for a record-high Premier League finish

Since Amine Adli’s 94th-minute winner against Liverpool four Matchweeks ago, every single Bournemouth goal has been scored or assisted by either Adli or Rayan, the two new stars of Andoni Iraola’s team.

Both have come to the fore just in time to turn the campaign around. Bournemouth had been on an 11-game winless run in the Premier League but are now unbeaten in six, winning 14 points, almost three time as many as they won in the previous 11 (5).

It has radically altered the outlook for Iraola. Bournemouth have never finished higher than ninth, their current position but with just five points separating them from Liverpool in sixth, this could become officially the best league season in the club’s history.

With Adli and Rayan in form, there is every reason to believe it will be. Rayan has become just the third teenager in Premier League history to score or assist a goal in each of his first three appearances, after Robbie Keane and Anthony Martial.

Chaotic six minutes reveal Chelsea’s familiar flaws will take a while to fix

“Six minutes of switching off,” was Liam Rosenior’s explanation for how Chelsea let a comfortable 2-0 lead fall apart on Tuesday. “We have to make sure we are switched on for 90 minutes. As simple as that. We should come away with three points. We haven’t because of two moments.”

Unfortunately for Rosenior, this was a relatively familiar sight to Chelsea fans, and, after Rosenior’s perfect start, the first time we have seen that old habits will die hard; that the problems Enzo Maresca faced could take a while to fix.

Chelsea have dropped 17 points from winning positions this season, the fourth most in the Premier League.

A needless foul by Moises Caicedo gave Leeds a penalty for the first goal, then a catalogue of errors allowed Noah Okafor to score the equaliser, summing up a long-standing issue for Chelsea: youthful naivety in the defensive third.

Squad rotation and a young team was an ongoing issue for Maresca and, on this evidence, it will be for Rosenior too.

He will have known the new-manager bounce would wear off eventually. For Chelsea and Rosenior, the hard work starts now.

Carrick hits his first hurdle – but West Ham are the ones left feeling low

Like Rosenior, Michael Carrick’s perfect start finally came unstuck in midweek and it should not have come as too much of a surprise. Man Utd have historically struggled against low blocks and so it proved, West Ham’s resilience slowing down a team at their best when allowed to counter-attack.

But Benjamin Sesko’s dramatic late equaliser put a positive spin on the result – and there is no doubt West Ham are the ones feeling lowest after they came so close to a famous and important victory.

Even more crushing, something similar happened just 10 days earlier at Stamford Bridge, where West Ham threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Chelsea, fitting a theme: the Hammers have dropped more points from winning positions (20) than any other side in the division.

Had they hung on for just a point there, and for all three on Tuesday, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side would be level on points with Forest in 17th.

How West Ham respond to this setback is vital. Nuno needs to help his players take the positives from the performance and ensure they carry their form – ten points from five games – into the home game against Bournemouth next weekend.

Their survival depends on it.

Burnley’s incredible comeback is proof they are stronger than the 24/25 intake

After new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen’s first-half brace put Palace 2-0 up the chances of a Burnley comeback looked almost zero. Their stunning victory must go down as one of the results of the season.

Scott Parker will of course hope this sparks a revival and Burnley, nine points from safety, are not necessarily out of it yet. However, Burnley will need to at least double their current points tally to even be in with a chance, and could require as many as 22 points from their last 12 games (that’s Champions League qualification form) to stay up.

But the win at Selhurst Park tells us is Burnley are not going down without a fight and nor are they at the same level as the promoted clubs in 2023/24 and 2024/25, all of whom dropped out with a whimper.

Burnley need nine more points to top what any of those six clubs managed in the last two seasons and having lost just four of their last ten in the Premier League, Parker’s side can absolutely set that as a target.

Late own goal is an enormous boost for faltering Villa

The 86th-minute own goal that won Aston Villa this match could prove to be one of the biggest moments of their season.

A 0-0 draw, extending the run to one win in six Premier League matches, would have failed to capitalise on dropped points by Chelsea and Man Utd – and brought sixth-placed Liverpool two points closer.

In other words, it would have increased the sense Villa’s season is petering out and that the reviving ‘Big Six’ clubs are on their way to dragging Unai Emery’s side out of the top five.

In victory, the mood shifts entirely. Villa now face Leeds (H) and Wolves (A) with renewed confidence - and a renewed sense that they belong in third.

Arsenal must hold their nerve as Man City close in

Arsenal supporters are tensing up. The nerves are setting in. They can sense Man City’s presence – and they have a horrible feeling they know what will happen next.

But that does not mean the players on the pitch are letting it get to them and indeed a 1-1 draw at Brentford is not necessarily a bad result, especially when Igor Thiago could have won it for the Bees in stoppage time.

Mikel Arteta insisted that Arsenal’s dropped points at the Gtech Community Stadium, which leaves Man City within four points of top spot, was nothing to do with pressure, suggesting instead that his team “lacked certain things” and needed to “defend those situations (long throws) better”.

Over the last 11 Premier League matches, only Arsenal (24) and Man City (22) have won more points than Brentford (21).

Facing Keith Andrews’ side in their own ground is one of the toughest fixtures of the season. It's as much a tactical challenge as it is psychological.

Nevertheless fans can be forgiven for seeing it differently. Arsenal have taken the lead in 17 Premier League games this season and only failed to win twice: Thursday night’s match and the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in January.

The stoic and consistent version of Arsenal might be beginning to falter.

But Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are on their way back to full fitness and William Saliba, who was such a big miss on Thursday, is set to return from illness for the next Premier League fixture away at Wolves.

This might be a blip, nothing more.

Still, a nagging sense of dread is rising among sections of the fan base. They know that we are entering a pivotal moment in the season and that the last five years has built to this: an epochal test of resolve.

If Arsenal allow Man City any closer over the next five Matchweeks, then Guardiola’s side will have the opportunity to beat them at the Etihad and move into first.

Arsenal have Spurs (A) and Chelsea (H) in that period.

The entire Arteta project could be defined by how his team handle the pressure of the next few weeks.

Arsenal must hold their nerve and block out the weight of history. It’s only going to get harder from here.