🔬 The Debrief as Chelsea stumble and Arsenal fight back against Liverpool | OneFootball

Sunday's Premier League matches saw plenty of drama as the race for Champions League football heats up.

Here's what we made of it all...

What happened? 📝

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In a rare Sunday lunchtime kick-off, Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League suffered a blow with a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, compounded by Nicolas Jackson's first-half red card.

After qualifying for the Europa League final midweek, both Tottenham and Manchester United fell to 2-0 defeats against Crystal Palace and West Ham respectively.

Despite taking the lead early in the second half against Leicester City, Nottingham Forest were held to a 2-2 draw by a late Facundo Buonanotte equaliser for the Foxes.

Liverpool stormed to a two-goal lead in the first half against Arsenal courtesy of goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz, but Mikel Arteta's side produced a second half comeback to make it 2-2, despite being reduced to 10 men late on.

Player of the day 🔥

📸 Julian Finney - 2025 Getty Images

Eberechi Eze's brace helped Crystal Palace to a 2-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur.

The winger very nearly set up an opener for Ismaïla Sarr early doors, but the goal was ruled out for offside following VAR intervention.

That didn't matter, though, as Eze then scored twice in the space of a few minutes to give his side the lead before half time.

Stat of the Day 📊

What this means 🤔

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With 36 games played, six points separate Arsenal in second and Nottingham Forest in seventh.

Chelsea's defeat at St James' Park means Aston Villa are now level on points, with the London club marginally ahead on goal difference.

Manchester City, Newcastle and Arsenal are the clear favourites to qualify for the Champions League, while Nottingham Forest will view their draw at Leicester as an opportunity missed.

But, the race is not over yet with two games left to play.

What they said 🗣️

📸 ANDY BUCHANAN - AFP or licensors

Enzo Maresca showed little sympathy for Nicholas Jackson after the striker was sent off in the first half against Newcastle: "If the ref thinks red card, it's a red card. I haven't spoken to Nico, it's not the time. But I will speak to him in the next days. His season for us is finished."

By contrast, after Newcastle picked up a much-needed win, Eddie Howe urged his players to keep pushing and secure Champions League football: “We still have two games to go and lots of twists and turns that could be around the corner. We can’t sit back and look at it that way."

After Nottingham Forest's 2-2 draw against rivals Leicester City, Nuno Espirito Santo revealed what the club owner said to him after storming on the pitch at the full time whistle: "That was due to confusion with the situation of T [Awoniyi], that frustration to play ten minutes with a player that we have so much confidence and being positive that he's going to score immediately after we made the sub."

Following Manchester United's latest Premier League defeat, Ruben Amorim has vowed to quit the club if they are unable to turn things around next season: "We need to change that and we need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave. Because we cannot have a season like this next year. If the feeling is still here, we should give the space to different persons."

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson addressed the boos aimed at teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold after the announcement this week he will be leaving the club at the end of the season: "There’s a lot of emotion around it. It’s crucial I don’t tell you how to feel about it and you don’t tell me how to feel about it."

What's next? 👀

📸 PETER POWELL - AFP or licensors

Next Friday, the race for Champions League football could take a new twist as Aston Villa host Tottenham and Chelsea welcome Manchester United.

Nottingham Forest will need to make amends when they travel to face West Ham on Saturday, while a huge clash will take place between Arsenal and Newcastle.

In the following days, Liverpool will continue their title-winning party with a trip to Brighton while Manchester City face a tricky test against Bournemouth.

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