(Reuters) – Talking points from the Premier League weekend:
RASHFORD AGAIN THE HERO FOR MAN UNITED
A weary-looking Manchester United appeared to have run out of ideas at Leeds United on Sunday, struggling to break down the hosts at Elland Road as the match approached its climax.
Not for the first time this season, however, Marcus Rashford stepped in to save the day, bulleting a header home in the 80th minute before Alejandro Garnacho sealed a 2-0 victory.
Rashford has now netted 21 goals in all competitions this season, only scoring more goals during the 2019-20 campaign when he mustered 22. There are still 15 league games of the season to come.
“He’s definitely one of them (best strikers in Europe),” coach Ten Hag said. “From the first moment, I was really excited to work with him. I thought I could get more out of him and he has so many skills.”
VAR IN THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system was introduced to eradicate human error on major decisions made by on-field referees, but three incidents this weekend highlighted mistakes made by the VAR officials themselves.
Leaders Arsenal drew 1-1 after VAR allowed Brentford’s equaliser to stand despite an offside in the build-up.
Brighton & Hove Albion were also held to a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace after Pervis Estupinan’s goal was wrongly chalked off for offside.
Referees body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), said both incidents were down to “human error”.
Chelsea were also aggrieved when West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek blocked Conor Gallagher’s shot with his arm. But claims for a penalty were ignored, with Chelsea manager Graham Potter saying it was a “good save”.
ARSENAL NEED JESUS BACK SOON
Arsenal have coped admirably with the loss of injured forward Gabriel Jesus but there are signs they need the Brazilian back as soon as possible if they are to stay ahead in the title race.
In consecutive weeks, Everton and Brentford comfortably thwarted Arsenal’s attacking supply lines to loosen the north London club’s hold on top spot.
Jesus, a veteran of title races with Manchester City, offers creativity, goals and work rate and has the ability to unlock the tightest of defences.
He is making steady progress from knee surgery and while no return date has been set, Mikel Arteta and fans will know that Arsenal’s title chances will be enhanced considerably if he is available soon.
FELIX OFFERS HOPE TO GOAL-SHY CHELSEA
Graham Potter may have found a partial answer to Chelsea’s lack of goals in the form of Portuguese winger Joao Felix who put the Blues ahead in their 1-1 draw against West Ham in only his second appearance for the Londoners.
Felix, on loan from Atletico Madrid, shone on his debut for Chelsea last month against Fulham before he was sent off and had to serve a three-match suspension.
He showed more flashes of brilliance on his return at the London Stadium where he was denied a goal by the offside flag before scoring in the 16th minute from Enzo Fernandez’s pass.
But Potter told reporters that his side, who have scored only 23 goals in 22 league games this season, just half the total of league leaders Arsenal, were still a work in progress, despite signs of improvement against West Ham.
STUTTERING NEWCASTLE NEED TO REDISCOVER WINNING FEELING
Newcastle United have lost only once all season but draws will not be sufficient to realise their top-four dream.
Saturday’s 1-1 stalemate at Bournemouth made it five draws in six and they are in danger of being caught by a cluster of clubs moving into contention for fourth spot.
Eddie Howe’s side were all at sea at Bournemouth, conceding the simplest of goals against a team who had only registered one since the World Cup final in December.
They also needed a late Kieran Trippier goalline clearance to ensure they earned a point after Miguel Almiron’s equaliser and while the mood is still optimistic on Tyneside, Newcastle needed to rediscover their spark soon.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair, Philip O’Connor, Pete Hall, Bill Schomberg and Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
