The Champions League race is alive with possibility, including Arsenal failing to qualify and Brentford reaching Europe after shaming Manchester United.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bournemouth No team has accrued more points nor scored more goals against the top seven than Bournemouth \u2013 and that includes those sides within it. Their return from games against the teams directly below them have ultimately undermined any Champions League push; both Brentford and Brighton doing the double over them was sub-optimal. But European qualification<\/strong><\/a> has been made possible by how effective they have become against the division\u2019s best.<\/p>\n That is pertinent because of a run-in which features the visit of Aston Villa and a trip to Manchester City, neither of which should hold any trepidation for a group which has already won\u00a0at the Emirates, Old Trafford at St James\u2019 Park this season.<\/p>\n Bournemouth have already broken club records for points and wins in a Premier League campaign, with the bars for goals scored and conceded both almost certain to be beaten. Combine all that by securing their highest-ever finish of eighth and potentially, Europe awaits.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Andoni Iraola The feeling persists that Iraola might not be able to replicate this success on the shakier foundations which come higher up the ladder with less time and patience, but it remains an entirely tantalising prospect we must one day witness.<\/p>\n It is impressive how the Spaniard seems able to contort himself into fitting numerous different job specifications. When the Spurs links started to formalise<\/strong><\/a> he wisely embarked on a winless run which included exiting a cup competition to show his suitability, before undoing Arsenal with set-piece mastery to plant some possible post-Arteta seeds. Neat trick, that.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chelsea Their previous Premier League victory over any of Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City was so long ago that Thomas Tuchel was the manager, Romelu Lukaku the opening scorer and Roman Abramovich the owner. It was fair to doubt whether Enzo Maresca and his players had the minerals for this Champions League race but three wins on the bounce is a fair riposte.<\/p>\n MORE ON CHELSEA\u2019S VICTORY OVER LIVERPOOL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n Michael Kayode After an inevitably slow integration, the Italy youth international has found his stride. Three Premier League starts have coincided with Brentford\u2019s first run of three consecutive Premier League wins of the season and his stated aim of \u201chelping them reach European competitions next season\u201d is alive.<\/p>\n It was Kayode ugly for Manchester United but beautiful to watch a 20-year-old acclimatise so seamlessly to the league, setting up Yoane Wissa\u2019s goal, misplacing one pass and completing more than twice as many dribbles as any other player at the Gtech.<\/p>\n Brentford have muddled through without a proper right-back for long enough. From this brief sample, Kayode has been entirely worth the wait.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Aston Villa<\/strong> Their slump across December, January and February could yet prove catastrophic to those hopes, and it will require a slip or two from some of those above, but Villa are in as good form as anyone and primed to capitalise if an opening presents itself.<\/p>\n If only Ollie Watkins started to turn up<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Manchester City\u2019s old guard Kevin de Bruyne bowing out from the club with a fine impression of his former unparalleled self<\/strong><\/a> should not shake the foundations of what is the fair decision to allow his contract to expire. This form and fitness might be sustainable and a post-Etihad career flourish could make Manchester City look foolish. But it is not a gamble even the impossibly rich should overthink if there is to be any sort of emphasis on building for the future.<\/p>\n His final gift has been to hold Manchester City\u2019s hand into the Champions League after this campaign\u2019s substantial scare, simultaneously displaying himself in the shop window for those interested in parting with a ludicrous signing-on fee and wage.<\/p>\n Bernardo Silva said that \u201ca\u00a0little bit of the soul of this team is going\u201d with De Bruyne and it reinforces the belief that despite the Portuguese\u2019s own personal struggles, he should be persuaded to stay for yet another year before his own deal expires in 2026<\/strong><\/a>. Pep Guardiola would surely prefer not to lose the two most-used players in his entire managerial career over the course of one summer, with decisions to come soon enough on Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic too.<\/p>\n The manager recently admitted his reluctance to use the club\u2019s inexperienced academy graduates in this season\u2019s more difficult moments was a mistake. A happy medium can be found, like Nico O\u2019Reilly further embedding himself in a side anchored by that spine containing four 30-something midfield pass masters who have helped Manchester City rediscover their identity before they make necessary moves to update and improve it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Julio Enciso Almost 300 players have played 1,000 minutes in the Premier League this season and Enciso ranks first of those for shots per 90 (4.12). Those numbers are skewed only slightly by a productive first half of the season at Brighton; the Paraguayan\u2019s shots per 90 for Ipswich sandwich him between Mo Salah and Alexander Isak as an outlier among the league\u2019s biggest strugglers.<\/p>\n It would be no surprise to see Ipswich and McKenna learn from this season\u2019s harsh lessons to return to this level soon; far more shocking would be if Enciso isn\u2019t back immediately, shooting from ridiculous positions and earning weirdly respectful handshakes from a beaten Jordan Pickford.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Newcastle<\/strong> Newcastle had made a decent fist of that balance by simply winning 20 of their last 26 matches and losing the rest. That all-or-nothing approach ended their trophy drought and made Champions League qualification a live possibility.<\/p>\n Only 11 teams in Premier League history had ever gone longer without a draw than Newcastle, who finally made sure they followed their manager\u2019s advice and didn\u2019t lose on one of the increasingly rare occasions when victory was not possible.<\/p>\n A first draw for five months in any competition could be crucial<\/strong><\/a>, keeping the Magpies above Chelsea and Nottingham Forest regardless of their results in this tireless race. Avoiding a ruinous seasonal hat-trick of losses in the Yankuba Minteh\/Dan Burn\/James Milner\/Chris Wood\/Aaron Hughes\/Tim Krul\/Dan Ashworth derby was just a welcome bonus.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n West Ham \u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson Odobert \u00a0<\/p>\n Wolves The good news is that Vitor Pereira and Wolves are on track to win the actual title by 2030.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dean Gaffney \u00a0<\/p>\n Ruud van Nistelrooy \u00a0<\/p>\n Mats Wieffer \u00a0<\/p>\n Premier League losers<\/strong><\/p>\n Arsenal The idea was sound enough, going basically full-strength to build momentum, rhythm and confidence. The potentially season-shattering risk of an avoidable, belief-shattering defeat to an excellent side was the trade-off and while PSG themselves were beaten at the weekend by Strasbourg, they made ten changes to the starting XI which conquered the Emirates and will be fresh at the Parc des Princes.<\/p>\n Arteta can only try to harness this and it might be that the \u201crage, anger, frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy\u201d is actually what Arsenal need to pull them through and into the Champions League final.<\/p>\n Yet the Gunners have not looked so vulnerable in as many different areas in some time, from set-piece defending to lead-squandering<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The very real and very funny prospect of Arsenal failing to qualify for the Champions League while Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and one of Manchester United or Spurs all win a trophy and reach the European Promised Land is on, and it starts with Nottingham Forest beating Crystal Palace on Monday night.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/strong>:\u00a0Arteta sack inevitable if Arsenal implosion finishes with humbling Champions League exit<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n Fulham It is a perfect summary of the fine margins Silva relies on that Fulham have had 18 games decided either way by a single goal in the Premier League this season, and they have won nine and lost nine of them. While it guarantees safety \u2013 which is an achievement a recently promoted club should not take for granted \u2013 it also places a ceiling on what Fulham can do. It inhibits them as much as it enhances them.<\/p>\n That is why Fulham\u2019s longest winning run matches their worst losing streak of two games, why they have had consecutive Premier League victories only once since November, why they can beat the distant champions and by far worst team in the division in between four defeats to clubs in the Premier League\u2019s hard-boiled centre.<\/p>\n It is also quite weird that Fulham have now ended two games this season with ten men despite not having someone sent off, with an injury suffered after all their substitutes were made. Not sure Emi Martinez can be blamed for that.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Manchester United
<\/strong>Andoni Iraola has frequently mentioned results and performances against the biggest teams as one key area for improvement at Bournemouth. The ease with which he and they have risen to that challenge this season is remarkable.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Never before has a manager been so irrevocably destined for not necessarily bigger or better things, but undeniably more expensive and pressured ones.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>A laughably poor version of the champions it may have been, but a team can only beat whatever is put out in front of them and Chelsea did so with uncharacteristic ease.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a016 Conclusions on Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool: Brilliant Cole Palmer exploits half-hearted Liverpool<\/strong><\/a>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0\u2018Well done Liverpool\u2019; you handed \u2018new Spurs\u2019 a Champions League place<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
<\/strong>An immensely fun player in a ludicrously effective team<\/a><\/strong>. Brentford brought Kayode in on loan from Fiorentina in January and have a \u00a314m option to make the deal permanent, which they would be foolish not to execute. It is already difficult to think of many better signings this season.<\/p>\n
The spiral has been stabilised and what once promised to be a generational season could yet deliver a return to the Champions League stage they suited so perfectly.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>It has been difficult to separate baby from bathwater when examining what should be thrown out at Manchester City this season, but this surge to their longest winning run of the campaign to cap what might be an outwardly respectable second-placed Premier League finish with an FA Cup winner\u2019s medal does suggest that an element of restraint is necessary.<\/p>\n
The Liam Delap auction will be biblical<\/a><\/strong> but a temporary teammate might have used a short-term loan to attract as much attention. Kieran McKenna \u201cwould have loved to have had him a little bit earlier\u201d and Brighton will be prepared to field intense interest in Enciso.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a team that\u2019s set up to try to win, so you\u2019ve got to be careful what you wish for,\u201d said Eddie Howe, weirdly echoing a Sky Sports pundit warning a mid-table fanbase about wanting to replace a British manager. \u201cWe want to win games and we\u2019ll attack and try to do that. But, if you can\u2019t, you\u2019ve got to make sure you don\u2019t lose the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/strong>It is important to appreciate the small steps, such as West Ham outshooting their opponent for only the second time in 16 games under Graham Potter, and neither the manager nor one of their players feeling compelling to explain at painstaking length how much they hate the club post match.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>The scorer of a Premier League goal for Spurs, and the possessor of two legendarily Spurs middle names in Serge and Eric.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Defund the Celebration Police by tying them in knots over whether applauding the fans after a 2-2 home draw with West Brom which leaves you in 9th<\/strong><\/a> is better or worse than toasting a hard-fought 1-0 defeat at Manchester City which nevertheless consolidates 13th place.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>In a season with otherwise almost nothing whatsoever from which to elicit any form of Leicester positivity, there is at least a fitting final scene for the long-awaited Jamie Vardy biopic.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>The Dutchman has now overseen two clean sheets in 23 games as a Premier League manager. That was his first for Leicester, the other having come against them as Manchester United caretaker in November. What an appointment.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Not, it seems, a right-back.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>It was, in some ways, ideal preparation. Bournemouth are as similar a Premier League team to PSG as Arsenal could wish to play, uber-aggressive in the press with numerous different ways of hurting an opponent. But equally Mikel Arteta might have preferred to face any other side in between those semi-final legs.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>Marco Silva seethed at Aston Villa\u2019s time-wasting and an apparent refereeing conspiracy to undermine Fulham\u2019s excellence by booking both himself and five of his players. But the fizzling out of what was almost an incredible season has been down to the fundamental flaws in his approach more than anything.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Ruben Amorim cannot specifically be faulted for honouring the established trope of Premier League teams chucking out the kids to prepare for big European games<\/a><\/strong>.
<\/strong><\/p>\n