By going to crush West Ham (5-1) and dominating Brentford (1-0), in a late Premier League match on Wednesday, Newcastle and Manchester United regained the upper hand in the race for the Champions League. The two teams, which were tied on points (50) with Tottenham before these matches, now occupy 3rd and 4th places with three lengths ahead of Spurs who also have one more game.
The victory was particularly crucial for the Red Devils, driven out of the top 4 on goal difference on Monday after Tottenham’s draw at Everton (1-1), at the end of the 29th day. Erik Ten Hag’s men, who remained on two defeats – a 7-0 against Liverpool and a listless 2-0 at Newcastle – and a draw in the league, were imperative to revive. They did so thanks to Marcus Rashford’s 15th league goal this season, his 28th in all competitions, from a close half-volley after a header from Marcel Sabitzer (1-0, 27th).
Faced with an unusually inoffensive Brentford, with a first shot on target by Kevin Schade repelled by David de Gea in the 67th, United controlled the game, despite a lack of precision in the last gesture, framing only 3 attempts out of 15. But in a very full calendar, with an English Cup semi-final and a Europa League quarter-final in addition to the 10 remaining league days, these three points are extremely welcome. The evening was much simpler for Newcastle at a West Ham which multiplied the gifts.
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The opener, even if it also came from a magnificent feint of body by Allan Saint-Maximin which mystified Saïd Benrahma, owes a lot to the total absence of marking on Callum Wilson who only had to deflect the caviar of the Frenchman (0-1, 6th). Wilson also took advantage of a huge blunder from Nayef Aguerd after 21 seconds in the second half, giving the ball to Jacob Murphy who only had to slide his center forward in front of the empty goal for the 3-1. It was Wilson’s 12th goal in 13 appearances against the Hammers.
The Brazilian Joelinton also went there with his double. Thanks to a catastrophic alignment of the opposing defense, even if it took the VAR for his goal to be well validated, he went to win his duel against Lukasz Fabianski (0-2, 13th). At the very end of the match, he closed the scoring after a backlash (1-5, 90th). A few minutes earlier, a failed clearance from Lukasz Fabianski, out of his area, had allowed Alexander Isak to score from afar in the deserted goal (1-4, 82nd).
On the Hammers side, Kurt Zouma had benefited from a too short exit from Nick Pope on a corner to reduce the score with a header at the far post 1-2, 40th). Fifteenth in the standings, West Ham has the same number of points (27) as the first relegation player, Bournemouth and one match in months as all its pursuers. But after such a calamitous performance from his players, David Moyes’ fate seems most fragile in a Premier League where 12 coaches have already lost their jobs.