As the outside pressures of Covid-19 build on English football, the Premier League continued this week despite increasing cases amongst players and staff.
Manchester City and Everton were due to play on Monday, but their game was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the City squad.
The same happened for Fulham and Spurs, with their match getting called off after an outbreak in the Fulham camp.
In the matches that were played, goals were hard to come by as just 12 were scored across eight fixtures.
Liverpool drew 0-0 with Newcastle, leaving them just three points ahead of second and without a win in consecutive games.
One silver lining was the return of Thiago, who injected some class into the game when he came on in the second half.
A late goal from Marcus Rashford saw Manchester United win 1-0 against a strong Wolves side.
The Englishman scored in the 93rd minute as United moved into second and just three points behind Liverpool.
Chelsea missed the chance to move back into the top four, drawing 1-1 with an impressive Aston Villa.
Olivier Giroud put the Blues ahead, but they were pinned back by Anwar El Ghazi who scored his fifth goal in five games
The point saw Villa retain fifth place, with games in hand on the rest of the top half.
A 1-1 draw between Leicester City and Crystal Palace saw the Foxes drop points for the second time in as many games.
Kelechi Iheanacho missed a penalty, before Wilfred Zaha put Palace ahead, yet a second goal in two days for Harvey Barnes earned a point for the title contenders.
In a generally low scoring week, Leeds broke the trend as they thrashed West Brom 5-0 away from home.
A comical own goal by Romain Sawyers put Marcelo Bielsa’s side ahead, which was added to with a series of fine strikes from Ezgjan Alioski, Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Raphinha.
The win saw Leeds move into 11th, becoming the first team to score five goals both at home and away from home this season.
Arsenal picked up their second win of the week following a run of seven in the league without victory.
The only goal of the game was scored by Alexandre Lacazette, as the Gunners defeated Brighton 1-0.
Likewise, Burnley continued their good from with a 1-0 win against bottom side Sheffield United.
Defender Ben Mee scored for the Clarets, as they moved further away from the relegation zone whilst Sheffield United were defeated yet again.
Finally, a 0-0 draw between Southampton and West Ham saw both clubs squander their chance to move into the top six.
Premier League week 16 review:
As the outside pressures of Covid-19 build on English football, the Premier League continued this week despite increasing cases amongst players and staff.
Manchester City and Everton were due to play on Monday, but their game was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the City squad.
The same happened for Fulham and Spurs, with their match getting called off after an outbreak in the Fulham camp.
In the matches that were played, goals were hard to come by as just 12 were scored across eight fixtures.
Liverpool drew 0-0 with Newcastle, leaving them just three points ahead of second and without a win in consecutive games.
One silver lining was the return of Thiago, who injected some class into the game when he came on in the second half.
A late goal from Marcus Rashford saw Manchester United win 1-0 against a strong Wolves side.
The Englishman scored in the 93rd minute as United moved into second and just three points behind Liverpool.
Chelsea missed the chance to move back into the top four, drawing 1-1 with an impressive Aston Villa.
Olivier Giroud put the Blues ahead, but they were pinned back by Anwar El Ghazi who scored his fifth goal in five games
The point saw Villa retain fifth place, with games in hand on the rest of the top half.
A 1-1 draw between Leicester City and Crystal Palace saw the Foxes drop points for the second time in as many games.
Kelechi Iheanacho missed a penalty, before Wilfred Zaha put Palace ahead, yet a second goal in two days for Harvey Barnes earned a point for the title contenders.
In a generally low scoring week, Leeds broke the trend as they thrashed West Brom 5-0 away from home.
A comical own goal by Romain Sawyers put Marcelo Bielsa’s side ahead, which was added to with a series of fine strikes from Ezgjan Alioski, Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Raphinha.
The win saw Leeds move into 11th, becoming the first team to score five goals both at home and away from home this season.
Arsenal picked up their second win of the week following a run of seven in the league without victory.
The only goal of the game was scored by Alexandre Lacazette, as the Gunners defeated Brighton 1-0.
Likewise, Burnley continued their good from with a 1-0 win against bottom side Sheffield United.
Defender Ben Mee scored for the Clarets, as they moved further away from the relegation zone whilst Sheffield United were defeated yet again.
Finally, a 0-0 draw between Southampton and West Ham saw both clubs squander their chance to move into the top six.
By Ali Pollock
