To the wire

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Head Start

To the wire

Manchester City are stubborn. A bit like that coat zipper that gets stuck, no matter how smoothly you pull on it.

Their 5 - 1 win over Wolves was a message to Mikel Arteta’s men and…

… Erling Haaland’s four goals were a message to Roy Keane’s comments that his overall play is that of a “League Two player”.

(Which didn’t make much difference because the former United skipper still thinks Haaland is a “spoilt brat”). 

Moving on… 

Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth was also a message to Pep’s men that there’s no room for error. 

So, to sum up, there are lots of messages being sent.

We predicted how this weekend would play out. Let’s be honest, it didn’t take a genius.

And it’s the remaining fixtures where the excitement is. And Arteta’s men rely on Spurs and West Ham to take points from City…

… that’s like relying on an ex-girlfriend’s reference for your dream job. Not ideal.

But, we’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: Spurs are City’s bogey team… 

• City have lost four of their last four league trips to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium…

• … and - you won’t believe this one - they’ve failed to score in all those fixtures.

That’s right. Spurs have a +6 goal difference at home in the league over the past four games against City.

Picture this: Arsenal win the league because of Tottenham. 

Plus…

Nottingham Forest are suing Sky Sports following Gary Neville’s ‘mafia gang’ slur (More) 

Everton’s prospective owners 777 Partners have been accused of $600 million fraud in the US (More) 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe calls the untidiness of Manchester United facilities “a disgrace” in an email to club staff (More)

Matchday 36 Stats Zone

Liverpool 4 - 2 Tottenham

→ Mo Salah is the first player in Premier League history to score 10+ goals and provide 10+ assists in three consecutive seasons.

→ Spurs have lost each of their last four games in the Premier League, their longest losing run since November 2004.

Chelsea 5 - 0 West Ham

→ Cole Palmer is only the third player in Premier League history to reach 30+ goal involvements in a single season while aged 21 or younger.

 → West Ham have conceded 70 Premier League goals this season; the most a David Moyes side has ever shipped in a single campaign.

Sheffield United 1 - 3 Nottingham Forest

→ Sheffield United have become the first side to concede 100 goals in a 38-game English top-flight campaign since Leicester City in 1908-09 (102). 

Full results…

Friday: Luton 1 - 1 Everton

Saturday: Arsenal 3 - 0 Bournemouth | Brentford 0 - 0 Fulham | Burnley 1 - 4 Newcastle | Sheffield United 1 - 3 Nottingham Forest | Manchester City 5 - 1 Wolves

Sunday: Brighton 1 - 0 Aston Villa | Chelsea 5 - 0 West Ham | Liverpool 4 - 2 Spurs

Route One End-Of-Season Awards

Can you smell what we’re cooking up?

Actually, if you’re reading this on the train or any other form of public transport, it’s best you probably don’t sniff too much.

Anyway, it’s time to reveal the Route One end-of-season award categories… 

(Huge thank you to those who sent in their suggestions).

Without further ado...

• Routers Player of the Season.

• Moan-ager of the Season.

• VAR-y Bad Decision.

• Transfer-mational Signing.

• Rouskas Award (for the best goal… you know… Puskas award).

Throughout the week, look out for the polls and exercise your democratic football right. Every. Vote. Counts.

At the end of the season, we’ll reveal the results and recap the season’s best moments.

US Investment

Lights. Camera. Leeds. 

There’s no better storyline than the Championship Play-Offs… 

• Even if you finish 6th place in the league, you can secure promotion.

• The winner gets anywhere between £135m and £265m - ca-ching! 

… it’s the closest thing English football has to its very own Hollywood movie.

I mean, that Troy Deeny volley in the Playoff semi-final still sends shivers down most backs. Not even Christopher Nolan could write a twist like that. 

(Well, he probably could. But you get the gist). 

So… as Hollywood runs out of ideas for their next big movie, it’s no wonder that its biggest stars are flocking to the English league to get in the action.

The latest addition? Will Ferrell. 

Yup. The Anchorman and Elf actor has joined Leeds United - not as a prolific striker - but as an investor. 

Ferrell is using part of his £127 million fortune to join Russell Crowe, golfer Jordan Speith and Olympian Michael Phelps as investors in 49ers Enterprises - the owners of Leeds.

49ers Enterprises.

It sounds so… not Leeds-like. But - heck - we like it.

Anyway, with Leeds missing out on automatic promotion to the Premier League, they face Norwich on May 12 in the first leg of the semi-final.

Let’s see if Ferrell’s Hollywood pazzazz rubs off well on Daniel Farke’s side.

Off The Pitch

😳 1.6 million people attended Madonna’s free concert at Brazil’s Copacabana beach (More)

🪦 Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill has died aged 79 (More)

🏠 George Michael’s home is to be bulldozed and transformed into a ‘Grand Designs’-style mansion (More)

💂 Sadiq Khan secured just over 1,088,000 votes to be re-elected London Mayor (More)

🤔 Britain’s heaviest man who weighed 317kg dies days before 34th birthday (More)

🤖 The world’s first AI diplomat ‘Victoriya Shi’ has been revealed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (More)

🦧 An orangutan has been observed treating its wounds with a medicinal plant in world first (More)

Around The Football World

🇪🇸 Real Madrid were crowned La Liga champions on Saturday after beating relegation candidates Cadiz 3-0 before watching Barcelona lose 4-2 at Girona (More)

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen continued their 48-game unbeaten run - now one game away from beating Benfica’s all-time record from 1963 to 1965 - with a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt as Bayern Munich lost 3-1 to Stuttgart (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ipswich join Leicester City in being promoted to the Premier League as Huddersfield and Birmingham are relegated to League One (More) 

🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven have secured their 25th Dutch league title with a 4-2 victory over Sparta Rotterdam, ending a six-year wait for the trophy (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bromley beat Solihill 4-3 on penalties to secure promotion to the English Football League for the first time in the club’s 132-year history. 

Extra Time

The MLS has introduced VAR stadium announcements and it’s not what we’re used to.

After Birmingham’s relegation to League One, a fan scored a screamer during the pitch invasion.

Getafe players took their mothers on the pitch to celebrate Mother’s Day in Spain.

Lionel Messi breaks two more records after 5 assists and 1 goal vs New York Red Bulls.

Should Liverpool cash in on Mohamed Salah?

Ed Sheeran celebrates Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League.

Game Face On

Question: Which club has made it to the Premier League the most number of times via the play-offs?

Hint: Clinton Morrison is their all-time top goalscorer.

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Manchester United (20:00 BST, Sky Sports)

Ligue 1: Lille vs Lyon (20:00 BST, TNT Sports 2) 

Serie A: Udinese vs Napoli (19:45 BST, TNT Sports 1)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer: Crystal Palace (4 times)

“We didn’t underestimate them. They were just a lot better than we thought.”

-Bobby Robson