Premier League Roundup | Arsenal stay in top-four race; Spurs overcome Palace challenge

04/27/2017

Arsenal kept alive their chances of entering the top-four as a Robert Huth own goal provided them with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City. Tottenham, meanwhile, piled more pressure on table toppers Chelsea, as Christian Eriksen's superb long-range strike secured a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Leicester City

Nacho Monreal, who scored in Arsenal's FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City, continued his fine form in front of the goal as his strike in the 86th minute deflected in wickedly off Leicester's German defender Huth.

In Arsene Wenger's 20-year tenure, Arsenal have never missed out on a Champions League qualification spot but it appeared to happen yesterday when Leicester held on brilliantly until Huth's misfortune sealed the points for the hosts.

The victory moved Arsenal up into sixth place, three points behind Manchester United and four adrift of fourth-placed City, with the Manchester rivals facing each other on Thursday.

“Every win gives you a little more momentum. I don't have a preference for the Manchester derby, we don't have to look much at the others. We just have to look after ourselves. The target is clear for us,” Arsenal manager Wenger said after the match.

Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs, appearing as an eminent threat for Antonio Conte’s side, had struggled to break down a disciplined Palace for maximum time in the game and it seemed like they would have to settle with a stalemate.

But with five minutes remaining in the game, Eriksen fired into the bottom corner from 30 yards to keep Spurs within four points of Chelsea.

Spurs moved to 74 points, surpassing their previous best Premier League total of 72 achieved in 2012-13 when they finished fifth. Palace remain at 12th place - seven points above relegation zone.

Middlesbrough 1 - 0 Sunderland

Sunderland are staring at relegation after losing the Tees-Wear derby to Middlesbrough, who registered their first victory in 2017.

Marten de Roon made the most of some lacklustre defending by Sunderland to score a goal in the eighth minute of the game. It was the 59th goal that Sunderland have conceded this season that left the Black Cats 12 points adrift of safety with only five games remaining.

Sunderland will play Bournemouth at the weekend and could be relegated if they fail to win and other results go against them. The Black Cats are now at the bottom of the league table, having spent 236 days in the relegation zone.

Middlesbrough cannot be relegated this weekend but they are slated to face tough contests against Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool.

Sunderland manager David Moyes said, "I've never been in this position before so it's new to me. It's something I'm not enjoying. We didn't get a good result but I thought we played well. It was a poor goal that we gave away but I can't fault the players or their efforts. We tried to build play up, make opportunities, but I wasn't disappointed with the performance."

Premier League Roundup | Arsenal stay in top-four race; Spurs overcome Palace challenge

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