Premier League's Matchday 18 is nearly over after eight more games on Saturday. Manchester City was stunned at home against Crystal Palace, Arsenal regained its form against struggling Burnley, Manchester United won its first game since Jose Mourinho's departure and Chelsea was upset at home. In Saturday's eight games, 24 goals were scored. Here are the scores and the day's winners and losers:
Scoreboard
- Liverpool 2, Wolves 0 (Friday)
- Arsenal 3, Burnley 1
- Southampton 3, Huddersfield 1
- Bournemouth 2, Brighton 0
- Crystal Palace 3, Manchester City 2
- Fulham 0, Newcastle 0
- Leicester City 1, Chelsea 0
- Watford 2, West Ham 0
- Manchester United 5, Cardiff City 1
- Tottenham vs. Everton, Sunday at 11 a.m. on NBCSN and fuboTV (Try for free)
Winner: Spectators of Townsend's goal
In City's stunning home loss to Crystal Palace, Andros Townsend scored an outrageous goal for the visitors. He volleyed home from about 25 yards with a crazy amount of power to beat Ederson and stun the home crowd. Take a look at this:
What a goal. That's a hit that you can give the world's best players 100 tries at recreating, and they probably can't do it. Skill, luck and everything else combined, he won't score a better goal.
Loser: Manchester City's momentum
Well, well, well. Manchester City looked unstoppable just a couple weeks ago, but two losses in their last three Premier League games have them now four points back of first place. The 3-2 loss to Palace was one few probably saw coming.
City was down 3-1 by the 51st minute, and again, it was just one of those days. City had 19 shots but just five on frame, while Palace scored on all three of its shots on goal in this one, winning despite having only 21 percent possession. It's one of those games where everything goes wrong. But that Townsend goal, there's just no stopping that.
Winner: Ole Gunnar Solsjkjaer
No Jose, no problem. Manchester United blew away Cardiff City with a lovely performance. The team looked like it had an identity and confidence, something that has been lacking for quite a while. If you want to know just how in sync this team was, look at the passing on Anthony Martial's goal. That's world class:
United fans should remain cautious though, as it is just one game against a struggling team. It's a good sign and a step in the right direction, but it's hard to imagine things being fixed this quickly. But don't look now, because United has quite the opportunity ahead with Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle next.
Losers: Fulham's survival chances
No team in the Premier League spent more money this summer on signings than Fulham, and no team has played worse. The club is dead last at 2-4-12, with 42 goals conceded in 18 games. The 16 goals scored won't help either, but goodness this team is in serious danger. Ten shots on goal in their last three games and two goals in their last five won't cut it. Claudio Ranieri was brought in to right the ship, and so far the team has shown no improvement.
Winner: Liverpool's title chances
Liverpool's win over Wolves on Friday put a little pressure on City to stay right behind them, so the Palace win will be music to the ears of the Anfield faithful.
A four-point gap isn't much, but it's something, and it's one that Liverpool will have the chance to increase soon. Newcastle is next, and then Arsenal. But after that, on Jan. 3, Liverpool goes to City. There could be a chance there to potentially go seven points clear, or maybe it could be the other way around where City could pull within a point or so of the Reds.
Things are starting to heat up.
Loser: Chelsea's accuracy
Chelsea was another club that got upset, as a Jamie Vardy goal handed Leicester a momentum-producing 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. For the Blues, the team had over twice as many shots as Leicester (17-8) and two more shots on goal, yet couldn't find the net. Eden Hazard hit the crossbar in the first half, and then Marcos Alonso did this in the final moments.
