CHELSEA DEFEATS WEST HAM 5-0

Wanjala Derrick

With victories over West Ham, 5-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Noni Madueke, and Nicolas Jackson (who scored two goals) all contributed to Chelsea’s increased chances of playing in Europe the following season.

Chelsea is now within striking distance of qualifying for the Europa League and has risen to eighth in the rankings, above Manchester United, who play on Monday.

After a Madueke cross in the fifteenth minute, the 21-year-old Palmer grabbed hold of a loose ball and sent a shot past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola into the far corner. In his debut season with the team, it was his 21st league goal.
On the half-hour mark, with West Ham’s defenders in disarray, Captain Gallagher also capitalized on a loose ball in the area after a tackle on Madueke.

Before halftime, Madueke switched roles from provider to scorer and back again.
Six minutes after Gallagher’s goal, 39-year-old Thiago Silva of Brazil nodded a Mudryk corner straight to his feet, and he finished home from close range.

Three minutes after the half, he squared Benoit Badiashile’s superbly weighted upfield pass to Jackson, who scored past Areola, who was unguarded.

After a VAR assessment revealed that Jackson had kept slightly onside when he latched onto another long pass upfield in the 80th minute, this time from Moises Caicedo of Equador, and finished expertly, Jackson was given his second.
After defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in a different derby just three days prior, Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea won two league games in a row for the first time since January.

“It’s great to return after a few days, especially after the victory against Tottenham,” Pochettino said to Sky Sports. “It was an incredible game; it was very clever. They replied in the appropriate way. We have excellent players who can create opportunities and score goals, which is why I was thrilled with how we played on Thursday.”
After a challenging first half of the season in which they missed opportunities and hardly appeared to be in sync with one another, the southwest London team defeated Everton 6-0 last month.

Pochettino said, “We need to maintain this momentum and belief.”
A flimsy defense let West Ham down in an exciting contest when they had their chances.

With just Djordje Petrovic to beat, Emerson blasted over the bar early in the second half after the industrious Jarrod Bowen struck the woodwork three times.
In the 55th minute, Petrovic then deflected a beautiful free kick awarded to James Ward-Prowse.
However, David Moyes’s team has now lost six straight games across all competitions, and they looked obviously out of sorts as rumors about their coach’s impending dismissal circulated.

AFTER DEFEATING SPURS 4-2, LIVERPOOL GETS BACK ON TRACK.

In beloved manager Juergen Klopp’s penultimate game at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in the Premier League, regaining some of their lost glory.
Harvey Elliott, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah all scored goals to give Klopp’s team the much-needed win. Prior to this, they had only won one of their previous five league games and had watched their hopes of winning the championship fade.

They are four points behind leaders Manchester City, who have a game in hand over both, and five points behind leaders Arsenal in the standings with two games left, but they are still mathematically in with a chance to win the championship.
According to Gakpo, “it was a disappointing few weeks where the results were not what we wanted,” Sky Sports reported. “Over the last few weeks, everyone tried their hardest, but it wasn’t enough. We played for goals, enjoyed the day, and united in defense, and the outcome was favorable.”

The 18th league goal of the season was headed home by Liverpool’s star player Salah in the 16th minute as he raced onto Gakpo’s diagonal cross to the far post. Last week, Salah and Klopp got into a physical altercation on the touchline during the 2-2 draw with West Ham United.
Just before halftime, Robertson extended their lead with a tap-in after goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had saved Salah’s original effort.
In the 50th, Elliott’s cross was headed in by Gakpo, who later dedicated the goal to his newborn son. Elliott then scored a goal of his own, curling into the top corner from 20 yards out.

“I would say three points is enough and the boys thought that,” Klopp stated. “Today, Anfield was a unique location. Mo had a great game; he was quite impressive. Mo demonstrated his abilities.”
Although Richarlison and Son Heung-min pulled two back to provide an exciting finale, Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs, who are currently fifth in the standings, were not going to mount a recovery.
With 13 shots on goal compared to Spurs’ six, Liverpool may have had an even greater advantage in the score.

After coming off the bench the previous week, Salah returned to the starting lineup and squandered two clear opportunities in the first and 77th minutes, pulling his shirt over his face in despair. Deep into stoppage time, he saw his goal disallowed because Darwin Nunez was not onside during the build-up.
Just a few weeks ago, after winning the League Cup and being close to winning the league, there was talk of Liverpool lifting several trophies in Klopp’s final season.
However, they were knocked out of the FA Cup and Europa League, leaving the Premier League as the last championship to contend with before the German manager, who has nine years left with the team, departs.

Everybody is aware of the situation (Klopp’s leaving),” Gakpo said. “We wanted to show it for the fans but also for the manager and that’s what we did today.”

Klopp did his traditional post-victory fist pumps with the festive Anfield crowd after the final whistle.

“I have said it before, I love absolutely everything about this club,” he said. “We will see how this game (their season finale on May 19th at Anfield v Wolverhampton Wanderers) will be. Maybe it’s pouring down and we cannot stay outside for long. There’s a good chance it’ll be raining, by the way.”

Tottenham have lost their last four league games, their longest losing run since November of 2004.

“Look the lads, they care, they are frustrated, they are not happy with the current situation,” Postecoglou said.