The Sky Sports writers reflect on a dramatic Sunday in the Premier League which had big implications at both ends of the table...
Sunday 21 May 2023 21:39, UK
It was a strange situation with Chelsea giving a guard of honour to Manchester City's reserves. Kalvin Phillips was starting his first Premier League game for City. Sergio Gomez and Cole Palmer were making their first Premier League start for anyone.
But maybe it was appropriate given what followed. City still won. They still outplayed Chelsea. It was not the sublime stuff served up in dismantling Real Madrid in midweek but the patterns were recognisable. That is a testament to Pep Guardiola.
There are those who will claim that City's vast wealth has made this inevitable. This was just a little clue why that is incorrect. A talented team was inevitable. Not this. Not five titles in six years, all done playing a brand of football that nobody is able to match.
There have been 15 instances of a team winning 12 consecutive games in English top-flight history. Guardiola's City now account for five of them. This particular run came with pressure, the responsibility of chasing down Arsenal to retain their title.
With the pressure off and the superstars relegated to the bench, a starting line-up with three academy graduates stepped up and kept the sequence going. The guard of honour may have felt odd. But the occasion highlighted what Guardiola has helped to build.
Adam Bate
In 1997 Brighton almost fell out of the football league - and almost out of existence. They stayed up on goals scored after a 1-1 draw with Hereford. By the skin of their teeth.
How times have changed.
When the full-time whistle went at the Amex with European football secured, it felt like a historic moment for a football club that set the blueprint on how to run a sustainable model that can also mix it with the elite.
That is all down to Tony Bloom. An owner that doesn't revel in the limelight - he stayed in the stands as the playing staff did a lap of honour to celebrate with the fans - but one whose data-led model has provided the backbone of what has been a phenomenal period of recruitment both on and off the pitch.
Bloom - who made his fortune beating the bookmakers by building algorithms that outsmarted the market - is now outsmarting Premier League football clubs with the way he runs the show. What a story. What a football club.
Lewis Jones
Lucas Paqueta's first season at West Ham has not always been straightforward but a player who initially struggled to adapt to the Premier League now looks right at home.
The Brazilian has been excellent in recent months but his performance against Leeds at the London Stadium was surely his best yet. "Unplayable," said Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp afterwards.
Leeds would agree with that description and West Ham's third goal shows why. Paqueta, surrounded by white shirts near the right-hand byline, somehow wriggled free and then kept going, dribbling into the box and teeing up Manuel Lanzini to score.
The footwork was breathtaking and there were plenty of other moments to wow the home supporters. In fact, the 24-year-old finished the game having made six successful dribbles, which was more than the rest of his team-mates combined.
There were also four shots and another three chances created, but it is not just attacking flair and creativity that Paqueta brings. He has also embraced the physical side of Premier League football.
On Sunday, he constantly hounded Leeds players out of possession, making four tackles to add to the 34 already made since the start of April. In that timeframe, only Fulham's Joao Palhinha has made more. In and out of possession, Paqueta's brilliance is shining through.
Nick Wright
Leeds' fight for survival will go to the final day with their fate out of their hands, but Sam Allardyce didn't pull any punches as he reflected on Sunday's chastening loss at his former club West Ham.
"It doesn't take you long to work out [what needs to change] when you've managed 1,155 games," Allardyce said. "I sorted this club [West Ham] out when I came and they're still here [in the PL] 10 years, 14 years on. I sorted it out in one season and I've sorted a few other clubs out."
No side has lost more points from leading positions in the Premier League this season than Leeds (25, level with Nottingham Forest). Indeed, the Whites have won just two of the last nine league matches in which they have opened the scoring.
It is why Allardyce knew his side would need to score twice to stand a chance of winning. He acknowledged the difficulty of preserving a clean sheet. Leeds have now conceded 153 Premier League goals since the start of last season.
But of equal concern were the injuries to Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford, with the latter withdrawn with a hamstring strain. Rodrigo battled on and risked aggravating his own knock - but it was needs must for Leeds and for Allardyce.
Given how ineffectual his substitutes were, a busy week lies ahead in coming up with a strategy to defeat Tottenham.
Allardyce added: "The impact from the subs wasn't there. That gives me an even bigger look at the situation and the squad as a whole because the subs didn't make a difference when we needed them.
"It now depends on the injuries. If both Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford miss out, it is a big ask. We may have to play a completely different system. From a defensive point of view, we need to work on keeping Harry Kane and Son quiet. We had to keep Rodrigo on as we were in the game.
"Whether it's the pressure or a lack of confidence, I'm not sure. The bigger failure in the second half was the quality of the final ball. As a manager, your subs are your impact on your team to get better and sadly that's something that didn't work today."
Ben Grounds
