Premier League Round-up: City, United, Liverpool & Chelsea saved by the spot as Rafa enters the sack race

Ryan Baldi
13 December 2021
3:00 min read

The Premier League's main title contenders were bailed out by penalties this weekend, writes Ryan Baldi

Join

View market

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

The Premier League's main title contenders all required penalties to avoid slip-ups, while Rafael Benitez is falling short at Everton, writes Ryan Baldi...

"The 11-point gap to rivals City means a 21st title is highly unlikely this term, but United have now won three in a row and sit fifth, just a point behind fourth-placed West Ham."

It could hardly be tighter at the top of the Premier League after 16 rounds of fixtures, with just two points separating the top three sides.

And each of this season's main title contenders - Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea - required spot-kick assistance to keep up their blistering pace this past weekend.

Reigning champions City stayed top of the pile thanks to Raheem Sterling converting from 12 yards in a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad on Saturday, their dominant display enough only for the narrowest of victories.

Wolves' star striker Raul Jimenez earned an utterly avoidable red card at the end of the first half, picking up two bookings seconds apart. The Mexican can feel hard done by for the first caution, having made minimal contact with a sliding challenge on Rodri. But he can have no complaints about the second, which he earned for deliberately blocking the resultant free kick.

The 10-man Midlanders battled on, pitted against a City barrage that saw the home side register 24 shots to Wolves' two, and they were undone only by a harsh hand-ball call for the penalty Sterling tucked away.

The win maintained City's single-point advantage at the top of the table. They are available to back at 1.674/6 on the Betfair Exchange in the Premier League Winner market.

It was a similar story at Anfield, where returning hero Steven Gerrard and his Aston Villa team aimed to frustrate the home side.

Liverpool as good as matched City's dominance in the fixture, rattling off 20 shots to Villa's four, and in the 67th minute the Reds finally made the breakthrough, with Mohamed Salah rifling home from the spot after Andrew Robertson was felled in the box.

Jurgen Klopp's men remain second. The Reds can be backed at 4.1 to win the title this season.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea required not one but two penalties to overcome Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United.

Indeed, it was Leeds who first benefitted from a spot kick, with impressive Brazilian forward Raphinha opening the scoring.

Mason Mount, Chelsea's top scorer for the season so far, levelled before half-time, then Jorginho scored penalties either side of a first Premier League goal for 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt. It looked as though the youngster had secured a point for Leeds, only for the award of the second of the Blues' spot kicks in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The last-gasp win keeps Chelsea third, a point shy of Liverpool and two behind City. They are available to back at 7.06/1 in the Premier League Winner market.

Manchester United's rocky start to the 2021-22 season might leave them only distant contenders for the title, but they too were among the Premier League giants to have won by virtue of a penalty this weekend.

Theirs came against relegation-threatened Norwich at Carrow Road, in a game in which Ralf Rangnick's side struggled, requiring a string of fine saves from David de Gea to preserve a clean sheet.

In the 75th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was brought down inside the penalty area. Inevitably, the Portuguese stepped up to strike from 12 yards. And, equally inevitably, the United No.7 scored.

The 11-point gap to rivals City means a 21st title is highly unlikely this term, but United have now won three in a row and sit fifth, just a point behind fourth-placed West Ham. Rangnick's rejuvenated Red Devils can be backed at 1.768/11 on the Exchange in the Top 4 Finish market.

Rafa on the ropes

On Sunday, Everton were beaten 3-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, a defeat that saw manager Rafa Benitez incur jeers from the travelling support.

The former Liverpool manager was never the easiest fit at Goodison Park, given his history on the red side of the city. Now, the Spaniard has overseen losses in exactly half of Everton's Premier League games so far this term, leaving them 14th in the table.

Benitez has been renowned throughout his career for the defensive organisation he is able to instil in his teams, but only four teams have conceded more goals than Everton so far this season. He is now available to back at 1.834/5 on the Exchange to be the next Premier League manager to leave his position.

Black and white nightmare

In another of Sunday's fixtures, Newcastle United were thumped 4-0 by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

The fact Norwich also lost this weekend means the Magpies aren't quite rock bottom, with Norwich clinging to that unwanted distinction by virtue of goal difference.

But, with just one win in nine games since the club's long-awaited takeover, Newcastle's new regime face an uphill battle to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Funds will almost certainly be made available to manager Eddie Howe for new signings when the transfer market reopens next month. Newcastle can be backed at 1.774/5 on the Exchange to be relegated this season.

Get a £5 Free Bet on Multiples - Every Day!

Place £20 worth of Multiples or Bet Builders over the course of a day, and, after the bets have settled, you'll get a free £5 bet to use on Multiples or Bet Builders. Bets must settle before 23:59 on the day they're placed. No opt-in required, T&Cs apply.