Around the Premier League: Matchweek 27
This past weekend was another action-packed affair for the Premier League.
Bournemouth stunning Liverpool, Haaland’s late penalty leading Manchester City over Crystal Palace and Manchester United announcing a United States tour were some of the top storylines from this past weekend.
Let’s dive into these top storylines from soccer’s top league.
Bournemouth Stuns Liverpool
After defeating Manchester United by a stunning score of 7-0, Liverpool looked to parlay that momentum into another three points against bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth.
Liverpool had some excellent chances early, but it would be Bournemouth who would strike first.
In the 28th minute, Dango Ouattara received a ball over the top before beating his defender and sending a low cross to Philip Billing, who slotted it in.
The Reds would push for an equalizer, and in the 67th minute, they got a golden opportunity. James Milner chipped a cross across the box that Diogo Jota headed toward goal. Jota’s attempt, however, hit Adam Smith’s arm resulting in a penalty.
Mohamed Salah stepped to the spot and missed the penalty for the first time in his Premier League career.
Following Salah’s missed penalty kick, Liverpool looked deflated, and despite an excellent chance from Cody Gakpo, the Reds would be shut out for the second time in their last four games.
Bournemouth will look to exit the relegation zone when they square off against Aston Villa on Saturday. While Liverpool will have to wait a while to bounce back as, they won’t play another Premier League fixture until April 1 against Manchester City.
Haaland’s Late Penalty Leads Manchester City over Crystal Palace
Manchester City looked to remain within striking distance of first-place Arsenal when the blue and white faced off against Crystal Palace.
Manchester City nearly scored just two minutes in when Rodri struck a volley from inside the box that Vicente Guaita managed to get an outstretched hand on.
The blue and white would keep up the offensive pressure but could not find the back of the net.
The game seemed destined to finish scoreless as Crystal Palace struggled to do anything offensively while Manchester City struggled to break Crystal Palace’s backline. Then in the 75th minute, the Eagles made a mistake.
Ilkay Gündogan received a short corner just inside the box and made a quick pass, but right after the pass, Michael Olise took down Gündogan, and the referee called a penalty.
VAR confirmed the call, and the Premier Leagues' leading scorer, Erling Haaland, stepped to the spot. Haaland confidently placed it into the bottom left corner to give Manchester City the lead.
Crystal Palace did their best to equalize but could not even muster a shot on target.
Manchester City will not play another Premier League fixture until April 1 against Liverpool. While Crystal Palace will have a tall task on Sunday when they take on Arsenal.
Manchester United Announce a United States Tour
For the first time in five years, Manchester United will be playing in the United States, the club announced Wednesday.
One known match is a date with Wrexham in San Diego in July. The exact date and time of the rest of the matches are expected to be announced in the upcoming weeks.
The club also announced the games would be used as a preseason to prepare the first team squad for the 2023-24 campaign.
Ben Palillo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.
