Gameweek 22 of the Premier League produced some fitting tales to add to the drama of the season, as we look at five key stories from the weekend.
Gameweek 22 had that familiar Premier League mix of drama and irritation: the kind of round where the table shifts not through one dominant statement, but through a series of near-misses, mood swings, and squandered openings.
The headline came from Old Trafford, where Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-0 in the derby. That was an upset that did not just hand Manchester City a setback, but also changed the emotional temperature of the title chase in one afternoon.
Manchester City arrived needing rhythm and control, yet left with neither, while Manchester United walked away with something more valuable than points: a performance that looked like it belonged to a team turning a corner rather than simply surviving a season.
Arsenal, though, will feel their own frustration most sharply, because a chance to stretch the lead to nine points ended in a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest, one of those games where domination can feel strangely hollow when it does not produce the one thing that matters.
Still, the weekend’s bigger picture favoured them: even without a win, Arsenal’s cushion grew to seven points at the top, a reminder that title races are as much about timing as they are about flair. Aston Villa were then offered a rare invitation to push their way into the conversation, especially with Manchester City dropping points. However, they failed to take it, losing 1-0 at home to Everton and watching a potential leap up the table turn into a lingering “what if?”.
Liverpool’s story stayed stubbornly familiar as well: a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley at Anfield extended their unbeaten run, yet did little to quiet the growing noise around performances under Arne Slot, with boos ringing out at full-time. And if Liverpool’s frustration felt like a slow simmer, Tottenham’s felt like a sudden burn.
Another damaging home defeat, this time 2-1 against a struggling West Ham side, deepened the sense of drift and sharpened the pressure on Thomas Frank. Put together, it was a weekend that left the Premier League leaders annoyed but comfortable, the chasing pack bruised and uncertain, and several big clubs staring at the same question in different forms: is this a blip, or is this what they are right now?
Manchester Derby: A Statement
Manchester United did not just beat Manchester City; they rattled the title picture, with Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu sealing a 2-0 win that stalled Manchester City’s momentum and turned the weekend on its head.
What made it land harder was the context: Michael Carrick’s first match in charge carried uncertainty, yet Manchester United played with a clarity that has been missing. They were quicker to second balls, cleaner in their distances, and far more committed to doing the uncomfortable work without the ball.
Manchester City, for all their control habits, never truly looked comfortable when the spaces they normally pass through were blocked and the tempo of the game was forced out of their hands. This was not flawless, it was convincing; one of those performances that changes what a dressing room believes about itself.
The pressing looked connected, the transitions looked purposeful, and the defensive work looked like it belonged to a team with a plan rather than a team surviving moments. That is why the derby win felt like more than three points: it hinted at a direction, and at standards that can travel into the next run of fixtures. Can Manchester United now help Manchester City by taking something off Arsenal at the Emirates next weekend?
Arsenal: Chance missed, lead atop Premier League grows
Arsenal missed a glorious opportunity to go nine points clear as they were held to a goalless draw by Nottingham Forest. It was a game that became a test of patience rather than a showcase of attacking rhythm.
Forest’s organisation did what it set out to do: protect the midfield, force Arsenal wide, and make every final pass feel like it had to be perfect. Arsenal had territory and control, but control without incision is a trap; possession can start to feel like progress when it is really just repetition.
The clearest moment still arrived, and it summed up the night: Matz Sels produced an outstanding save to deny Bukayo Saka and keep Forest alive in the game. Arsenal’s best spells came when the tempo lifted and the ball moved quicker through the lines. But too, often the final action lacked the bite that turns good positions into goals.
It was a draw that should sting because the chance was there, but it did not become damaging in the Premier League table. Arsenal still extended their lead at the top to seven points thanks to Manchester City’s defeat. In a title race, that is the thin line between frustration and comfort: the performance can disappoint, but the week can still end as a win.
Aston Villa: Golden opening wasted
Aston Villa could not take advantage of Arsenal and Manchester City dropping points, and the missed opportunity will feel even louder because the path was so clear.
Win at home, climb into second, and suddenly the conversation changes. Villa would not just be the side “doing well”, they would be the side applying pressure. Instead, Everton left Villa Park with a 1-0 victory, and Unai Emery’s men were left staring at what might have been.
The decisive moment was brutally simple: a Pau Torres error opened the door and Thierno Barry punished it, ending Villa Park’s long winning streak and turning the match into a chase. Aston Villa had enough of the ball to respond, but the game never quite became the sustained siege that home crowds expect when a top side goes behind.
Everton’s shape forced Aston Villa to go around rather than through, and when the rhythm slowed, the final third started to look crowded and predictable. It is the kind of fixture that title challengers learn to win even on a day when they are not sparkling, because the table rewards ruthlessness, not intent. Aston Villa may not get another weekend where rivals slip and the chance to announce themselves is served up quite so neatly.
Liverpool: Noise at Anfield
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Burnley continued a theme: unbeaten, yes, but far from convincing, and increasingly unable to turn control into closure.
The numbers were wild, as Liverpool attempted 32 shots. Yet the score sheet refused to move with them, which is usually a sign of either poor finishing, outstanding goalkeeping, or a lack of high-quality chances despite volume. Florian Wirtz gave Liverpool the lead after Dominik Szoboszlai missed a penalty, but the game never felt safe enough to relax.
Burnley hung in, and Marcus Edwards’s late equaliser turned Anfield’s frustration into anger. The boos at full-time were telling, not because they were “fair” or “unfair”, but because they revealed the mood: supporters are no longer treating dropped points as an accident, they are starting to treat them as a pattern.
Arne Slot acknowledged that reaction afterwards, and that matters because pressure does not always arrive through media noise, it often starts as a feeling in the stadium. Liverpool’s unbeaten run buys time, but it does not buy certainty, and that is the uncomfortable space Slot is now working in: results that are not disastrous, performances that are not persuasive, and a crowd that wants clearer answers.
Tottenham Hotspur: Pressure boiling over
Tottenham’s misery continued at home as West Ham United claimed a 2-1 win that felt like a tipping point rather than just another bad night.
Crysencio Summerville put West Ham ahead, Cristian Romero pulled Spurs level, and then Callum Wilson struck in stoppage time to finish the job. West Ham ended a ten-match winless run in the Premier League, while Tottenham were left with the kind of defeat that does not just hurt their season, but corrodes belief.
Tottenham looked like a side playing with tension. They produced moments of effort, flashes of threat, but there was an underlying fear that the next mistake would be punished. When that is the emotional baseline, games stop being about patterns and start being about nerves, about who stays calm longer, who makes the first bad decision, who loses a duel that should not be lost.
That is why this result could be the final nail in the coffin for Thomas Frank: not because of one late goal, but because the bigger trend keeps pointing the same way. The next Premier League game now carries a brutal label (must-win), because another slip could turn pressure into something far more terminal.