“Hat Trick” is a column by Marco Haynes about the English Premier League in which he breaks down the week’s three most consequential results.
Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
A fiercely contested encounter ended with Chelsea withstanding the Manchester City pressure and sharing a surprising point at Etihad Stadium.
Before halftime, Chelsea’s counterattack sent a low cross into the penalty box to winger Raheem Sterling and cut inside of defender Kyle Walker to curl a shot in the bottom right corner against his former team for a 1-0 lead.
Both sides created opportunities during the second half, especially Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who tallied nine shots but couldn’t find the back of the net. Defensive midfielder Rodri rescued a point for the home team by popping up at the edge of the penalty box and striking a volley that deflected off defender Trevor Chalobah, leveling the teams at 1-1.
The defending Premier League champions, Manchester City still sit within four points of first place in third after a few unexpectedly poor performances. The tie kept the Citizens unbeaten at home in their last 23 matches, and they haven’t lost in their last nine league games, but still haven’t caught up with Liverpool. Haaland’s wasteful shooting marked the most shots he has missed in a single game for Man City in all competitions since he joined the club in 2022.
Manager Pep Guardiola will be focused on his team winning Tuesday’s match against Brentford at Etihad Stadium. If they win, they will move into second, just one point behind first-place Liverpool and level in games played.
Chelsea was excellent in all areas around the pitch and will be happy with a point against a team they haven’t defeated since the 2021 Champions League final. A draw keeps them in 10th place in the league and undefeated in their last three, winning the other two against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. The side will now be focused on Sunday, as they take on Liverpool in the EFL Cup final for a chance to win a trophy amid a turbulent season.
Luton 1, Manchester United 2
Manchester United striker Rasmis Hojlund’s two goals helped his team scrape together a 2-1 win over relegation candidates Luton Town at the latter’s home ground, Kenilworth Road.
Almost seconds into the first half after kickoff, Hojlund intercepted Luton defender Amari’i Bell’s pass back at the halfway line, where the Dane then raced toward the goal and slotted it past goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to go up 1-0. Minutes later, Hojlund earned his brace after the ball rebounded off his chest to the far right post from inside the 6-yard box off winger Alejandro Garnacho’s volley.
The home side didn’t give up its fight and was able to respond in the 14th minute with striker Carlton Morris’ diving header in the penalty box off a fortunate deflection to pull one back
In the second half, United could’ve put the game to bed, but both Garnacho and Hojilund missed great chances inside the 18-yard box. Luton kept pushing and came mere inches from tying the match, as a corner fell to the head of midfielder Ross Barkley, whose effort hit the crossbar.
The win makes it four in four games for United, who sits in sixth position – five points from a Champions League spot — are unbeaten in 2024. Hojlund now has seven goals in six games and became the youngest Premier League player to score in six straight matches. This is the club’s seventh win on the road and second most in the league behind Manchester City and Arsenal (who both have eight). United will return to Old Trafford to face Fulham over the weekend and look to extend their run of wins to five.
Luton Town sits 18th in the league separated by a worse goal difference than Everton at 17th. This marks back-to-back losses for the Hatters, making it their ninth defeat by a one-goal margin this season. Morris bagged his seventh goal of the season, but couldn’t find an equalizer during the game. Luton travels to Anfield to take on title-contender Liverpool Wednesday before returning home for a fifth-round FA Cup matchup against Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur 1, Wolverhampton 2
Wolves stunned Tottenham in the latter’s top four pursuit of, falling 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
It wasn’t until minutes before halftime that Wolves found the opener from Pablo Sarabia’s corner kick curling to the head of midfielder Joao Gomes from about eight yards out.
Less than a minute into the second half, Spurs winger Dejan Kulusevski dribbled down the right sideline past defender Craig Dawson, nutmegging goalkeeper Jose Sa to tie it at 1-1. Wolves’ winner came in the 63rd minute on a counter-attack, with winger Pedro Neto pulling back a pass at the byline toward the penalty spot and finding Gomes to score again on a side-foot shot.
This season, Wolverhampton has beaten the Spurs both times they’ve faced each other, winning at the Molineux Stadium 2-1 and staying in 11th position. They’re now three points away from the seventh spot and have potential European qualification in the club’s sights. In their last four games, Wolves have won twice and lost twice and Gomes has scored two goals, both coming against Spurs in the same match. Wolves will return to the Molineux Stadium against bottom-of-the-league Sheffield United.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou will be agonizing over not picking up three points to step back into the top four, instead falling to fifth place. In the match, Spurs dominated possession with 71%, but failed to achieve much with the ball, as their opponents had higher expected goals and big chances created. Tottenham went into the game in good form, winning seven points from their last nine matches and not losing in the league since a 4-2 loss to Brighton on December 28. Spurs will get a week off until they return again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a London Derby matchup against Crystal Palace.
“Hat Trick” runs every Tuesday.