Liverpool lost the top spot in the table to Arsenal right before the big battle in the next round.
After a surprising Saturday evening in which Man City was held to a draw by Crystal Palace despite leading by 2 goals, attention was focused on the race for the top of the table when the top 3 were all in battle. And after the key match of the round ended, there was a change in the leading position.
MU kept 1 point at Anfield and caused Liverpool to lose first place
Liverpool – MU is the highlight match of round 17 and before the match there were predictions that Liverpool would win easily. But after 34 shots, Liverpool could not win against MU's solid defense and the 0-0 draw caused "The Kop" to lose the number 1 position because before their match Arsenal had the necessary victory.
Although Brighton somewhat caused many difficulties for the "Gunners", two goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havevert - the second goal coming at the end of the match - guaranteed Arsenal 3 points before visiting Liverpool themselves next week.
Arsenal has risen to the top with 39 points, 1 point ahead of Liverpool and the match in round 18 between the two teams will definitely determine the top spot in the Premier League at Christmas.
Arsenal defeated Brighton to take first place before the big battle at Anfield round 18
But it is unlikely that the top team on that occasion will be one of the two clubs with a lot of debt to this championship race in English football history, because Aston Villa has risen to equal points with Liverpool. Having taken the lead at Brentford's field, Villa took full advantage of their advantage from the 71st minute to score 2 goals from Alex Moreno and Ollie Watkins in the 77th & 85th minutes to come back upstream.
Although Boubacar Kamara received a red card in injury time, Aston Villa retained 3 points and now has the same 38 points as Liverpool, but is 5 units behind in difference. "The Villans'" schedule is relatively light in the next 3 rounds when they meet two relegation racing teams Sheffield United and Burnley, but in between is MU's visit to Old Trafford.
That's still lighter than their two opponents because Liverpool, after meeting Arsenal, also plays Burnley and Newcastle, while Arsenal stays in London to play West Ham and Fulham.
Kudus (left - 2 goals) and Paqueta (3 assists) helped West Ham win big against Wolverhampton. In the next 3 rounds, they will meet 2 direct opponents in the group race for the European Cup (MU & Brighton).
Speaking of West Ham, they won Sunday's remaining match by defeating Wolverhampton 3-0 at home thanks to a hat-trick of assists from Lucas Paqueta. The 3 points help the Brazilian punter and his teammates only 1 point behind MU in the European Cup group. They surpassed Brighton, who just lost to Arsenal, but the difference between the two teams is only 1 point.
Although a draw is a positive result for MU this round, they still fell to 7th and let Newcastle advance. But when it comes to 1 point, the gap between 6th and 9th place is very close when the team behind is only 1 point behind the team in front, and in the next 3 rounds West Ham will meet 2 competitors MU and Brighton. (both at home).
These two matches promise to have a significant impact on the position of the group of 4 teams and their chances of racing for the top 4.