On April 15, Beijing time, the 33rd round of the English Premier League ended with three matches, Aston Villa defeated Arsenal by two goals, Crystal Palace overturned Liverpool away and broke the biggest upset in this round of the Premier League, and Fulham defeated West Ham United away to score 3 points. Manchester City took advantage of the loss of Arsenal and Liverpool to secure the top position in the standings, and Arsenal and Liverpool each dropped one place to second and third respectively, and the Premier League title pattern changed dramatically again. Aston Villa's battle for fourth place with Tottenham Hotspur is also particularly intense. There is only a two-point gap between Newcastle, Manchester United and West Ham United. The relegation battle is even more severe, with only two points separating Everton, Nottingham Forest and Luton Town, with all three teams struggling to score points to avoid the relegation play-offs.
West Ham United-Fulham: Andreas Pereira scored twice as the Hammers lost at home
Mavropanos made a mistake at the back to provide an own goal, and Pereira stole the ball in the box and fired past the goalkeeper less than 10 minutes into the game. West Ham dominated possession but lacked penetration in attack and failed to effectively threaten the opposition goal. Paqueta's header and Kudus' long-range shot from outside the box were both out of the net. On the other hand, Fulham, after taking the lead, can still continue to create a threat attack, Palhinha's corner kick opportunity to meet the volley is slightly wide, Iwobi instigated a counterattack in the 72nd minute and crossed the middle to tear the defense, Pereira flashed again in front of the goal to grab a point and sweep the near corner to score a brace, the end of the game, West Ham United lost 0-2 to Fulham.
Arsenal-Aston Villa: The second half collapsed, and the Gunners lost the initiative in the title race
In this game, Arsenal dominated possession (51%) and shots on goal (18), but their ability to grasp opportunities in front of goal was poor and they missed many good chances. Havertz was blocked in succession of shots from the edge of the box, Saka's powerful shot from inside the box was deflected wide and then cut inside and went wide, Trossard's close-range shot in front of goal was saved, Rice met the ball on the line of the box and volleyed away, and Gabriel Jesus' curling shot was blocked. Aston Villa, on the other hand, had only 11 shots on goal, but they were all high-quality chances, Watkins and Tielemans hit the woodwork twice in succession, and in the final stage, Aston Villa quickly broke the deadlock and sealed the victory through defensive counter-attacking tactics, using the speed and superb shooting skills of Pele and Watkins. Arsenal lost their mentality completely after conceding the goal, failed to organize an effective counterattack, and finally lost 0-2, conceding three points and failing to reach the top again.
Liverpool-Crystal Palace: The Reds have lost two in a row at home
In another key match, Liverpool faced a difficult Crystal Palace. Although Liverpool had possession of the ball, Crystal Palace's counter-attack was particularly sharp and efficient, and the Liverpool defence leaked through the middle in the 14th minute, and Eze was unmarked in front of the six-yard box to receive a cross from a team-mate and easily push the goal. However, four minutes later, Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk made a mistake at the back and Robertson cleared Mateta's must-score goal on the goal line to avoid conceding two goals in a row. Liverpool, who were behind, attacked again and again, but the quality of the attack was not ideal, McAllister had two long-range shots saved, Endo Hang's powerful shot bounced off the woodwork, and Jones made a superb one-on-one shot in the second half but the shot was wide. Liverpool had 21 shots on goal but just couldn't find the back of the net. Crystal Palace's defence withstood the pressure to keep a clean sheet against the favourites and won 1-0 away with Eze's winner. Liverpool suffered two consecutive home defeats, dropping from second place before this round to third place.