Burnley 1 – Leicester City 1
One of the Premier League games from Wednesday evening that kicked off at 6pm was between Burnley and Leicester, where it ended 1-1 after a competitive game.
The first goal in this Premier League fixture was from the Burnley in the 4th minute after Matej Vydra took advantage of a poor back pass from Hamza Choudhury.
Choudhury’s loose back pass inside his own half was cut out by Vydra, who skipped around Daniel Amartey before smashing it top right corner from 12 yards out.
Leicester equalised in the 34th minute thanks to a fantastic first-time volley from striker Kelechi Iheanacho.
Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi’s long ball from near half-way found Iheanacho inside the Burnley box, where he volleyed it superbly past keeper Nick Pope.
Kasper Schmeichel to the rescue
Despite Leicester having 60% possession in this Premier League game as well as more shots, it was Burnley who had the better chances to score throughout. Luckily for Leicester, keeper Kasper Schmeichel was in fine form.
The Danish number 1 made some incredible saves, including fingertip saves from a close-range Chris Wood header as well as a deflected strike from the New Zealand forward moments later.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche even admitted in his post-match interview “their keeper was arguably man of the match” – which Schmeichel was awarded in the end – showing just how crucial he was for the Foxes tonight in a tough Premier League match at Turf Moor.
🗣"He is one of the top keepers at this level"
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers applauded the performance of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel after 2 unreal saves against Burnley in their 1-1 draw pic.twitter.com/HJt5APmEk9
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 3, 2021
Sheffield United 1 – Aston Villa 0
The other Wednesday evening Premier League fixture that kicked off at 6pm was between Sheffield United and Aston Villa, where Sheffield held on to defeat Villa 1-0 despite having 10 men for most of the second half.
The only goal of the game came from Sheffield United striker David McGoldrick in the 30th minute.
After George Baldock’s shot was heading wide, McGoldrick intercepted it at the back post, cushioning it off the bar and in from close-range.
Sheffield United’s red card came in the 57th minute, after Phil Jagielka’s challenge on Anwar El Ghazi, originally a yellow card, was later deemed by VAR to be a denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Vintage (last season) performance by Sheffield United
It wasn’t the prettiest of performances by Sheffield United in this Premier League fixture, but it was one that resembled their grit from last season’s campaign.
Sheffield United have arguably been the club most affected by the lack of home support this season, especially when you look at the club’s league position now compared to last season.
Regardless, the way Sheffield defended and hung on for dear life for the majority of the game shows that they still have some fire left in them from the previous campaign.
Goal scorer McGoldrick said in his post-match interview how the result showed “how much we’re fighting for this club” – evident by their determined performance in this Wednesday night Premier League match.
"All the beers the players might have had tonight, I'll do that in place of them!" 🍻😂
A win, a clean sheet and excellent spirit from Chris Wilder's 10-men 💪
The Sheffield United boss reacts with @TheQuirkmeister… pic.twitter.com/pStyejOJYJ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 3, 2021
Crystal Palace 0 – Manchester United 0
The final Premier League match of Wednesday evening came at Selhurst Park, where Palace and United played out a rather drab fixture.
Neither side had an abundance of good opportunities to score, with Manchester United’s best chance coming in the 16th minute, when Marcus Rashford fizzed his shot just wide of the left post from inside the box.
Crystal Palace’s best chance could’ve snatched them the 3 points right at the end in the 90th minute, when Patrick Van Aanholt’s close-range effort was saved by Dean Henderson – but he arguably should have scored.
A poor Manchester United performance
For a club that’s second place in the Premier League, this display by The Red Devils was below sub-par.
Commentator of the match and former United player Gary Neville mentioned during the game how if Palace “had a finisher, they’d be in front” – showcasing how fragile United looked at the back, despite Palace not having their star man, Wilfried Zaha, due to injury.
It wasn’t just their defence that looked shaky either, with Neville also describing the performance of United’s attackers as “so bad”.
And when you look at the stats, you have to agree with Neville, with United managing just one shot on target the entire game – which is simply not good enough for a team of United’s calibre.
🗣️ "Chelsea and Liverpool will be watching that thinking they have a real chance"@GNev2 fears Manchester United may be sleepwalking into a real fight to stay in the top four this season pic.twitter.com/3gyXs47QDN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 3, 2021
Tuesday’s Premier League result: Gabriel Jesus brace helps City beat Wolves 4-1
Monday’s Premier League result: Richarlison goal gets Everton the win against Southampton
Monday’s Premier League round-up: a review of the weekend’s best action