The Week in EPL: Race for Champions League spots hots up

Liverpool's late victory over Spurs on Tuesday has opened up a riveting race for the Champions League spots.

Mario Balotelli finally got off the mark with his first Premier League goal in Liverpool colours. (Source: Reuters)

Liverpool’s late victory over Spurs on Tuesday night has opened up a riveting race for the coveted Champions League spots. With Chelsea and Manchester City seemingly likely to finish in the top-2; there are two places up for grabs with five teams vying for the spots.

Gaining Champions League qualification will not only be beneficial to teams in terms of financial solidity but will also entice top-class players to sign for the club to bolster their squads during the summer. It has been well documented that quality players turn down clubs, even with a large pedigree, who cannot offer Champions League football.

Manchester United and Southampton currently occupy third and fourth spot respectively. The Red Devils eclipsed the team from the northwest with victory over Burnley on Wednesday night. A rare brace from cetntre-back Chris Smalling and a Robin Van Persie penalty was enough to see Louis Van Gaal’s team upend the Clarets 3-1 at Old Trafford. Despite United’s unconvincing performances off late, they are managing to grind out important results and maintain pressure for those Champions League spots.

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Southampton failed to take advantage against 10-man West Ham after goalkeeper Adrian was shown a straight red card for picking up the ball outside the box when no foul had been called midway through the second half. With thirty minutes left to play, the Saints squandered numerous opportunities and only have themselves to blame for not claiming all 3-points. West Ham were a wounded team with Andy Carroll forced to continue the game even though he was injured and defender James Tomkins playing with a broken nose.

Arsenal scraped through a 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott. Alexis Sanchez returned from a 2-week injury layoff but failed to wow the Emirates faithful. Instead, it was Mesüt Özil who has been in fine form since returning from a long-term injury. It seems that the injury has done the German a world of good as he has returned stronger than ever and is once again starting to look the player Wenger paid over 40 million for.

The current in-form teams of the league were pit against each other at Anfield as Liverpool and Tottenham battled it out in a pulsating match that ended with Liverpool nicking the tie 3-2. The game was evenly poised at 2-2 until Mario Balotelli scored from close range to finally claim his first Premier League goal of his Anfield career in the closing minutes of the game. A draw would have been a fair result, however; victory for Brendan Rodgers’ charges has made for a compelling finish to the season.

The gap between 3rd and 7th place is only five points and it seems that any of them are in with a shot at qualification and with 12 fixtures remaining, teams are sure to drop points along the way. It is certainly going to be another enthralling end to another exciting season of Premier League football.