Premier League Round 30 review
This weekend, Premier League teams played Round 30 of the season, after which they will only have eight games before the end of the season. We give you a breakdown of the matches Nigerian players and those of Nigerian descent played in.
Bottom of the table Huddersfield welcomed Bournemouth who finally won in the last round after five games without a victory. Philip Billing was in the starting line-up for the Terriers.
The home side defended well the first 20 minutes of the game before Callum Wilson scored to give the visitors a 1:0 lead. Billing was substituted at halftime. Dominic Solanke came in off the bench for the Cherries in the 65th minute. Just a minute later, Ryan Fraser doubled the lead for Bournemouth and set the final score.
Leicester City needed a win against Fulham at the King Power Stadium to give them confidence for the last eight matches. Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi started the match and played the full 90 minutes for the Foxes.
The hosts got the only goal in the first half when Youri Tielemans scored in the 21st minute. At the break, Floyd Ayité came off the bench to play in the second half. Six minutes into the restart he scored to give his team a fighting chance.
But it was Leicester who finished the game stronger. Jamie Vardy scored twice, once in the 78th minute and then in the 86th minute, to secure an important win for Leicester. Kelechi Iheanacho watched the game from the Foxes bench.
Kelechi Iheanacho (Vlad1988 / Shutterstock.com)
Fans at the St James’s Park watched an exciting encounter between Newcastle United and Everton. Everton took the lead in the 18th minute through Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The referee then awarded a penalty to the Magpies which was missed by Matt Richie in the 31st minute.
The punishment came only a minute later when Richarlison scored to give the Toffees a 2:0 lead going into the break. Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez made one change at halftime, bringing in Paul Dummett off the bench.
In the 65th minute, Salomón Rondón pulled one back for the home team to give them hope of at least a point. But then Ayoze Pérez stepped on the scene and turned the score around with two quick goals. The first one came in the 81st minute and the second one only three minutes later. Ademola Lookman subbed in for Everton in the meantime but couldn’t help his team save a point.
Watford travelled up north for a tough match-up against the current Premiership leaders Manchester City. Isaac Success Ajayi started the match for the Hornets.
After a goalless first half, Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock by scoring a minute into the second half. He scored again four minutes later and got his hat trick with a goal in the 59th minute.
Success was then substituted by Gerard Deulofeu in the 66th minute who, with his first touch of the game, managed to beat Ederson and give Watford at least a consolation goal.
In the derby of the round, Arsenal hosted Manchester United at the Emirates. It was Granit Xhaka who opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 12th minute. The score at halftime stayed 1:0.
In the second half, Arsenal were again the better team and were awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute. Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang stepped up to the spot and put the ball in the net to double the lead for the home team.
Alex Iwobi came off the bench in the 77th minute and had a few good touches before the game ended. With this win, Arsenal go fourth and go five games unbeaten in the league.