Leeds climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with a big win on Saturday, while Tottenham’s grip on the top four loosened as it took a 3-1 lead at last-placed Southampton.
A 3–0 lead over Leeds at Wolverhampton was in danger of being squandered as the hosts pulled two goals back before going down to 10 men, and Rodrigo put the game away with a fourth goal in injury time. It is just the second win in 13 league games for Leeds and moves the team from 19th to 14th, in the extremely tight bottom half of the table.
While the title race has long been a two-way battle between Arsenal and Manchester City, the relegation battle involves no less than nine teams that are in real danger of finishing in the bottom three.
Only four points now separate 12th-placed Crystal Palace and last-placed Southampton, who drew 3-3 at home against Tottenham after being awarded a controversial penalty in injury time.
James Ward-Prowse pushed that spot kick into the net for a point, helping to give Southampton some hope of avoiding the drop, even though it has played at least one more game than most teams.
It could be a costly downfall for Tottenham, though, as Antonio Conte’s side had a chance to temporarily climb above Manchester United into third place. Instead, Spurs are now just two points ahead of fifth-placed Newcastle, having played two fewer games.
Leicester remains firmly in the relegation battle despite stopping a five-game losing streak in all competitions with a 1-1 draw at Brentford, which keeps them just one point above the drop zone – and two ahead of Southampton – While midtable Aston Villa made it three wins in four matches with a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
Chelsea hosted Everton afterward looking for a fourth consecutive league win, while Manchester City played Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Arsenal can extend their lead over City to eight points if they beat Palace on Sunday.