Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue ..read more

From the Bryan Mbeumo Show to penalty shouts at Goodison, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekend 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 ..read more

They still have the final stretch in front of them, but it feels like Luton are running out of runway. Yoane Wissa’s double, headers from Ethan Pinnock and Keane Lewis-Potter, and a late strike from Kevin Schade left their hosts a point from safety with four games to play. While Rob Edwards, the Luton manager, refused to be drawn into talk of must-win games before the match, nor did he seek to downplay the significance of this fixture. His players knew that, with Everton hosting Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a win would lift them out of the relegation zone and ratchet up the pressure on their n ..read more

High prices, rescheduled kick-offs, glaring inequality, PSR confusion – all are riling supporters, yet their loyalty abides It is about an hour before kick-off at Stamford Bridge and Everton fans are milling outside the gate that leads to the away end. It’s a Monday night and people look tired, having just been dispatched from their coaches at the end of a five-hour journey. Some are waiting for friends, clasping cups of coffee, others are looking for spare tickets. The consistent topic of conversation, meanwhile, is the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules. “As a ..read more

Two big Wembley meetings await in the Cup, while a desperation derby looks to be in store at Goodison Park There was a distinct end-of-season vibe at the Gtech Community Stadium after Brentford’s win over Sheffield United, with Thomas Frank and his players performing what amounted to a lap of honour as they took plaudits from fans relieved that the spectre of relegation had finally been banished. Of course only time will tell if the Bees become the first Premier League team to decamp to the metaphorical beach and Saturday’s match at Luton will provide a fair indication. Ravaged by injury with ..read more

Adam Wharton shines on Merseyside, Mateo Kovacic displays City’s depth and Erik ten Hag gets tetchy Joachim Andersen was named Sky’s man of the match at Anfield and with good reason. But while the Danish centre-back won header after header and made clearance after clearance, and while the front three of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise caused repeated problems on the break, there was one figure who stood out in midfield for his calmness: Adam Wharton, perhaps the brightest of the hugely promising generation brought through by Tony Mowbray at Blackburn. The 20-year-old moved ..read more

Something had to give. Between them, Brentford and Sheffield United had played out a collective 16 winless matches. For Brentford the drought did not extend to 10 games, and they ended the day seven points clear of relegation with five to play. For the Blades, Oliver Arblaster’s unfortunate deflection of Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross before Frank Onyeka’s injury-time strike made it eight without a victory. The relegation trapdoor, and with it the prospect of starting a Championship season on minus two points, opens ever-wider. Where Sheffield United’s fate has looked sealed from early season, Brent ..read more

Welcome returns at Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa juggle ambitions and Guimarães’s discipline under scrutiny Should Bruno Guimarães be booked against Tottenham at St James’ Park the Newcastle and Brazil midfielder faces a dilemma. Given that Guimarães is on nine yellow cards, a 10th would trigger an automatic two-game suspension, depriving Eddie Howe of a key player for forthcoming games at Crystal Palace and at home to Sheffield United. Alternatively, Guimarães could make sure he collected a second yellow card, ideally late in stoppage time, and be sent off. In such a red card scenario, the san ..read more

Kai Havertz inspires Arsenal again, Jarrad Branthwaite stands tall and Manchester City prioritise fresh legs If emotion is carrying Liverpool towards a glorious farewell to Jürgen Klopp, then Old Trafford required cooler heads. Harvey Elliott’s point-rescuing contribution as substitute stood out because, for all his energy, he played with intelligence, seeking to progress the ball and tempting Aaron Wan-Bissaka into conceding a penalty. The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and even usual pass-master Alexis Mac Allister had allowed a red mist to consume them. Luis Díaz, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñe ..read more

From Kevin De Bruyne’s match-winning performance to VAR controversies, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekend Bruno Fernandes’s 40-yard screamer summed up Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool. United were terrible for large chunks of the game, with two world-class moments enough to secure a point. Liverpool were sloppy in phases, missing a mountain of opportunities in front of goal and failing to take advantage of a rudderless United team ..read more