Premier League: Seven things we learnt this weekend, including Chelsea are the champions and clash with FA Cup was a complete farce

Manchester United should be a force to be reckoned with, Liverpool endure a weekend to forget, Leicester on the up while Newcastle on the down and Pulis strikes Palace

Jack de Menezes
Monday 20 April 2015 18:33 BST
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Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring a second for Arsenal against Reading
Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring a second for Arsenal against Reading

FIXTURE CLASH WAS A FARCE

Reading came within a whisker of pulling off a major upset as they took Arsenal all the way to extra-time in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday evening. Luckily, the additional 30 minutes at Wembley allowed those who would rather watch the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United to flick over and catch the final few minutes of the Cup-tie.

Unfortunately for Reading, those fans will have seen Adam Federici’s howler gift Alexis Sanchez a second and Arsenal a path to the FA Cup final, but the question that needs answering is why on earth were both games scheduled at the same time. With just four Premier League games at 3pm and no 12.45pm kick-off, either match could have been brought forward to stagger the biggest matches of the day. The journey from Reading to London is not a difficult one – it’s certainly easier than from Manchester - and with Arsenal’s fan-base hub located just a few miles away, the showcase at Wembley could easily have fulfilled a lunchtime kick-off, giving those at Wembley to head home or the nearest pub and watch the rest of the action unfold.

Given the ever-rising TV fees the average viewer pays, we earn the right to watch both games were available.

MANCHESTER UNITED SHOULD BE IN THE MIX NEXT SEASON

Despite the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea showing Manchester United are not quite where they want to be, their resurgent form of late suggests that they’re going in the right direction. United had the better of the closing stages of the Blues, and if they had the likes of Michael Carrick, Marcus Rojo and Phil Jones available – plus a striker somewhere near the calibre that we thought Radamel Falcao was – then it could have been a different story.

However, United have shown that they should be a force to consider next season, and given a few tweaks here and there – the moves for Memphis Depay and Mats Hummels look a certainty while Gareth Bale remains a blockbuster option – then they could certainly push the Blues all the way in 2015/16.

Chelsea celebrate after Hazard scores the winner against United

CHELSEA CAN START THE CELEBRATIONS

That brings us to the Blues, and unfortunately for the rest of the league, it’s time to roll out the open-top bus and give the Premier League trophy one last shine before sending it to Stamford Bridge. While mathematics suggest the title race is still on, a victory for Arsenal this weekend against Chelsea would still leave a seven-point gap at the top, and Jose Mourinho sides simply don’t crumble from this position.

Their European failure will put a slight dampener on the success, but to be blunt the title has looked Chelsea’s for some time and they can rightly enjoy the celebrations, which could come as early as against Leicester next week.

BAD WEEKEND FOR LIVERPOOL ON MORE THAN ONE FRONT

The shock FA Cup semi-final defeat will be felt in Merseyside for some time, given that it robbed Steven Gerrard of his glorious Liverpool farewell that would of come in his final match on his 35th birthday before leaving for LA Galaxy.

Gerrard reacts to defeat to Aston Villa

But things got much worse for the Reds than the initial picture suggests. They’ll return to Premier League action this weekend with a trip to West Brom, having seen the gap to fourth place widened to seven points after Manchester City’s victory over West Ham on Sunday. Furthermore, Tottenham have drawn level with the Reds thanks to the 3-1 win over Newcastle, with Southampton just a point further behind having spurned the opportunity to leapfrog both teams. Next Tuesday’s encounter with Hull will be crucial in determining their finishing position.

LEICESTER LOOK LIKE FAVOURITES TO STAY UP – THEY HAVE THE GAMES TO DO SO

Three victories on the spin for Leicester sees the Foxes in the relegation zone only on goal difference, and for the first time this season, the fans are starting to believe. And rightly so, given that those wins have come against West Ham, West Brom and Swansea.

Leonardo Ulloa celebrates after scoring to put Leicester ahead

Furthermore, manager Nigel Pearson will be optimistic of taking a fair handful of points in their remaining six games, with fixtures against Burnley, Newcastle, Southampton, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers all offering his side a realistic chance of getting a result. Only the match against Chelsea looks to be a troublesome encounter, and given the difficult run-ins of their relegation rivals, don’t be surprised to see Leicester in the top flight next season.

NEWCASTLE NEED CHANGE – AND NOT JUST AT THE TOP

The fans have clamoured once more for Mike Ashley to sell up and leave Newcastle, but the immediate problem lies elsewhere. While Ashley can be accused of changing the landscape at St James’ Park, John Carver can’t, and their dismal form since taking over from Alan Pardew suggests he doesn’t have the managerial skills to cut it at such a cut-throat club. His current deal expires at the end of the season and their form – seven defeats in their last eight matches and six on the bounce – suggests that he won’t be Magpies boss next term.

Newcastle head coach John Carver

The big question after that is whether Ashley will follow him out of the door?

PARDEW’S SUCCESS PAVES WAY FOR PULIS’ TRIUMPHANT RETURN

Alan Pardew has come in to Crystal Palace and done exactly what was needed, securing their Premier League status for another year and bringing an attractive style of football, well more attractive than his predecessor, to Selhurst Park. But it’s because of this that his predecessor’s predecessor, Tony Pulis, returned to his former home with West Brom and left with an easy three points in the bag.

Tony Pulis

Palace have little to play for this season, given that you’d suggest they’re home and dry with 42 points and five games remaining, but that could let an unwelcome patch of poor form creep in to their play in the coming weeks.

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