SPL

5 things we learned from the cinch Premiership this weekend

By Sports Desk October 29, 2023

A late goal by substitute Danilo gave Rangers a dramatic 2-1 win over Hearts at Ibrox and breathed life into the title race.

Celtic drew 0-0 at Hibernian on Saturday and are now five points ahead of the Light Blues at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen lost 2-0 at Kilmarnock, Motherwell came back to draw 3-3 at home to Ross County and there were wins for Dundee and St Mirren, the latter victory having huge implications for St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend.

Rangers battle back to clinch crucial victory

Philippe Clement was taking charge of Rangers for only the third time and saw their resilience tested to the limit against Hearts. Captain Lawrence Shankland gave the Jambos the lead after just five minutes and Gers supporters’ disgruntlement slowly increased as their side huffed and puffed, with skipper James Tavernier hitting a post with a penalty just before the break. The Light Blues kept going in the second half without any joy initially, but just when it looked like Hearts would escape with a famous victory, Tavernier was handed a second chance from the spot and made no mistake before substitute Danilo headed in a winner to close the gap behind league leaders Celtic to five points. If nothing else, Clement knows his players will keep going to the end.

Brendan Rodgers wary of wholesale changes

The Celtic manager picked the same team at Easter Road that played the bulk of Wednesday’s Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid. But the champions lacked tempo and a spark until showing more urgency when the likes of James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and David Turnbull came on. The goalless draw maintained Celtic’s unbeaten league record but they may have to rotate their team for the visit of in-form St Mirren.

Mika is Motherwell’s saviour

Mika Biereth sparked an unlikely Motherwell comeback as they twice came from two goals down to force a 3-3 draw with Ross County. The on-loan Arsenal striker won and scored a penalty and set up Conor Wilkinson to net before teenager Luca Ross grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser. Well have missed Biereth during a knee injury lay-off and his Premiership record is attention-grabbing: in 50 minutes of action he has provided two goals and two assists.

Steven MacLean departs St Johnstone

There was no real surprise when it emerged on Sunday that the Perth side had parted company with manager MacLean. Saints remain bottom of the league without a win following their 4-0 defeat by St Mirren on Saturday. MacLean claimed some players “chucked it” during the defeat in Paisley but in the end it was the former Perth striker and first-team coach Liam Craig who paid the price for a poor start to the season.

Aberdeen continue their league struggle

The Dons put up a good fight against Greek outfit PAOK in their Europa Conference League game on Thursday night before losing 3-2 at Pittodrie. However, they were well off the mark when they travelled to Rugby Park on league duty on Sunday. Goals from Killie skipper Kyle Vassell and fellow forward Marley Watkins gave Derek McInnes’ side a deserved 2-0 win and took them into fourth place in the table. Aberdeen are 10th with just nine points from nine fixtures and have only won two league games.

Related items

  • Mark Clattenburg leaves consultancy role with Nottingham Forest Mark Clattenburg leaves consultancy role with Nottingham Forest

    Mark Clattenburg has resigned from his role as a refereeing consultant with Nottingham Forest, saying his presence had become a "hindrance" to the club.

    Retired Premier League referee Clattenburg – who oversaw the 2016 Champions League final and the showpiece game at Euro 2016 – began the role in February.

    The appointment was roundly criticised but Forest – who have seen a number of debatable decisions go against them this season – said it would aid their understanding of the decision-making process and improve dialogue with refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

    However, Clattenburg has continued to attract criticism for taking on the role, which intensified when Forest reacted to a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton by accusing Stuart Attwell – who was on VAR duty – of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.

    That came after Forest had seen three penalty appeals knocked back at Goodison Park, and Clattenburg avoided condemning Forest's statement in the aftermath of the controversy.

    On Friday, Forest released a statement from Clattenburg, who defended his decision to take the job but acknowledged it had created unforeseen difficulties.

    Clattenburg said: "It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between Nottingham Forest and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help.

    "It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.

    "Such reactions and outcomes were not expected and are regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game."

  • Marco Reus to leave Dortmund after 12-year-spell with boyhood club Marco Reus to leave Dortmund after 12-year-spell with boyhood club

    Marco Reus will leave Borussia Dortmund when his contract expires at the end of the season, the club have announced. 

    Reus, a Dortmund native, first joined the club in 1995 and spent 10 years in their youth ranks before joining Rot Weiss Ahlen, who he left for Borussia Monchengladbach in 2009.

    After three impressive seasons with Gladbach, Reus returned to Dortmund in a €17million deal in 2012 and has made 424 appearances for the club across all competitions.

    That puts him fourth in BVB's all-time charts behind Michael Zorc (561), Mats Hummels (504) and Roman Weidenfeller (445), while his 168 goals in black and yellow have only been bettered by Alfred Preissler, who scored 177 in two spells between 1945 and 1959, before the Bundesliga was founded.

    Reus, who has won the DFB-Pokal on two occasions with Dortmund and helped them reach the Champions League final in his first season upon returning in 2012-13, was also club captain between 2018 and 2023.

    As news of his impending departure was made public, he said his full focus is on ensuring his final game with the club is June's Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

    "I'm incredibly grateful for and proud of this special time at my club Borussia Dortmund," the 34-year-old said.

    "I have spent more than half of my life at this club and enjoyed every day, even though there have of course been difficult moments too. 

    "I already know now that I will find it difficult to say goodbye at the end of the season, and yet I'm happy that there is now clarity and that we can focus fully on the very important final games that we still have to play. 

    "We have a big objective in our sights that we all want to achieve together. To do so, we will need every single one of our unbelievable fans, to whom I would like to express my sincere thanks for their unbelievable support over the years."

    Reus came on as a late substitute as Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Wednesday, with Niclas Fullkrug scoring the only goal of the game.

  • Kompany wants to write names into the Burnley history books Kompany wants to write names into the Burnley history books

    Vincent Kompany challenges his players to ‘remain in the club’s history’ as they continue their fight for Premier League safety.

    The Clarets are welcoming Newcastle United to Turf Moor on Saturday following an impressive run of form that has seen them lose just one of their last eight matches.

    Burnley remain two points from safety with three games remaining, though that could change if Luton Town beat Everton on Friday.

    Kompany was full of praise for the work his team has done to keep them within reach of the teams above them, highlighting the opportunity the next three games pose.

    "It’s so rare in life that you get opportunities to have a significant moment like this, but these guys will have the opportunity in the next three games," Kompany said.

    "It’s as big an opportunity as you get. Getting to the wire and having something to play for, that’s one of the most powerful things you can do in this game.

    "Every season I feel needs to matter and you can make it matter by doing something special in the next three games. I want every player in the team to believe, individually, they can have a moment."

    Newcastle head into Saturday’s match following an impressive 5-1 win over Sheffield United that ultimately relegated the Blades.

    Eddie Howe’s team are still in the hunt for a top-seven finish but have struggled to get results away from home this season.

    He said: "For me I always tried to focus on the game and not where it is played.

    "I urge my players to do the same. In the last few games we have shown flashes of being back to our very best. I want to see that for 90 minutes if we can."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Burnley – Zeki Amoundi

    Amdouni is Burnley’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season, along with Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lyle Foster with five goals each. The Clarets have the lowest scoring top scorers of any side in the competition this term.

    Newcastle – Anthony Gordon

    Gordon has 10 goals and nine assists in the Premier League this season – the only Newcastle players to reach double figures for both in a single campaign are Andrew Cole in 1993-94 (34G 13A) and Ruel Fox in 1994-95 (10G 11A).

    MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN

    Following their five consecutive Premier League wins over Burnley, Newcastle United will be looking to win six in a row against an opponent for just a second time, also registering six wins against Spurs between 2006 and 2008.

    However, Newcastle have lost eight of their last 11 Premier League away games; since the first match of this spell in November (v Bournemouth), only Brentford (10) and Sheffield United (nine) have lost more times on their travels in the competition.

    Meanwhile, Burnley have won just two of their 13 Premier League matches against Newcastle United (D4 L7), losing the last five in a row. They have never lost six in a row against the Magpies in their league history.

    Burnley, though, have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games (W2 D5), picking up more points in this run (11) than their previous 20 league matches prior (nine – W2 D3 L15).

    Newcastle have scored 74 Premier League goals this season, only netting more in 1993-94 (82). Their record of 2.2 goals-per-game is their most in a top-flight season since 1951-52, when they scored 98 in 42 matches (2.3 per game).

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Burnley – 25.2%

    Draw – 27.9%

    Newcastle – 46.9%

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.