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Premier League Table: 2016 Standings, Week 9 Fixtures After Week 8 Results
- Updated: October 17, 2016
Liverpool couldn’t go top of the Premier League after being held to a 0-0 draw by bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Monday night. The stalemate has left Liverpool fourth, while United are now five points off the pace in seventh.
Manchester City are still top despite failing to win in two matches after being held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the Etihad Stadium. City’s slip wasn’t the only one among the top contenders, though.
Tottenham Hotspur put the Citizens to the sword last week but couldn’t win at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion. Spurs’ slip allowed in-form Arsenal to move into the thick of the title race after a fifth league win in a row.
The Gunners are playing some superb football going forward, and found three goals to narrowly see off Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium. A 3-2 defeat marred Bob Bradley’s debut as Swans manager and also put the 2013 League Cup winners into the bottom two, just a couple of points ahead of David Moyes’ winless Sunderland.
Here are the full results from the season’s eighth week:
Here’s what those results mean for the updated standings:
The Week 9 fixtures:
Liverpool and United Play Out Bore Draw
After all the hype, Liverpool and United engaged in an arduous battle of attrition that made for painful viewing at times. The visitors were content to slow things to a crawl and pack numbers into defensive areas.
BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty noted how the tight affair suited away manager Jose Mourinho perfectly:
Liverpool 0 Man Utd 0 at HT – a mess but just the sort of mess Jose Mourinho might approve of at this stage. Barely a chance created.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) October 17, 2016
Things were barely any more progressive after the break, although Liverpool’s Brazilian maestro Philippe Coutinho did at least force Red Devils stopper David De Gea into a highlight-worthy save.
Ultimately though, the Guardian’s Jamie Jackson witheringly summed this one up best:
The Anfield New Stand is the winner…
— jamie jackson (@JamieJackson___) October 17, 2016
United played for the point and got it, but Liverpool will rue not finding their forward fluency to punish the negative tactics. It has to count as an opportunity missed for the one side that tried to win the match.
Anfield chief Jurgen Klopp will hope for more vibrancy against West Brom, another defensively stubborn team, next week. Meanwhile, Mourinho will focus on his return to old stomping ground Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
The Blues look suddenly on-form after thrashing champions Leicester City. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte finally reverted to the three-at-the-back …
