On May 16, Beijing time, the Premier League played two make-up matches, and Chelsea narrowly defeated Brighton 2-1 away, which will undoubtedly change the fate of three Premier League teams including Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United.
Prior to that, Chelsea had won three in a row and the Premier League giants were finally back in form late in the season. Chelsea didn't give face to their opponents at all, attacking from the start and taking the lead very quickly.
In the 34th minute, Cucurella won the ball on the left and then sent in a cross that Palmer stepped forward to head the ball into the net to break the deadlock for the visitors. With this goal, Palmer has now scored 22 goals in the league this season, setting a new personal record for goals scored in a single season. If it weren't for Haaland, Palmer would have had a chance to win the league's Golden Boot this season. It would be a shame for Manchester City to let go of such a talent.
In the 64th minute of the second half, the score was rewritten again, Gusto took the ball on the right side and cut inside, and when he hit the bottom line, he swept to the goal, just found Nkunku, and finally he pushed the goal to expand the score to 2-0, and this goal basically killed the suspense of the game. Although Chelsea were chased back by one goal before the end of the game, they still managed to get the three points 2-1.
This 2-1 game has a good chance of changing the fate of Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United:
1. After Chelsea wins, it is 3 points ahead of Newcastle behind it, and in the last round at home against Bournemouth, as long as it remains unbeaten, Chelsea will definitely be able to lock the top six and qualify for Europe;
2, although Manchester United defeated Newcastle 3-2 at home, but they are not only 3 points behind Chelsea, but also 16 less goal difference, basically determined to miss the top six, Manchester United wants to qualify for Europe, can only beat Manchester City in the FA Cup to win the championship, only have a chance;
3, Newcastle lost to Manchester United away, causing them to be 3 points behind Chelsea, even if Newcastle can beat Brentford away in the last round, there is a high probability that they will miss the top six and lose the qualification for Europe;
4, in fact, Chelsea are now only three points behind Tottenham, but have three more goal difference. In the final round, if Chelsea win at home to Bournemouth, while a slump Hotspur (1-5 in the last six rounds) loses away to Sheffield United, then Chelsea will overtake Tottenham and move up to fifth place.
Next, with just one more win, Chelsea will sit on the back of six. At the start of the season, Chelsea continued to be in turmoil, and Pochettino was frustrated for a while, but what he didn't expect was that they were still above Newcastle and Manchester United, which was really unexpected by many. Manchester United, in particular, finished in the top four last season and saw that the team's momentum was rising, but they didn't expect it to be so sluggish this season, and now they are not even as good as Chelsea. I have to say that the competition in the Premier League is too fierce, Manchester United and Newcastle, which ranked in the top four last season, also increased their investment in the summer window last year, and now they can't even qualify for the European Cup.