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Gameweek 34 as it happened in the Premier League

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The FA have today charged Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso with violent conduct following his stamp on Shane Long.
The FA have today charged Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso with violent conduct following his stamp on Shane Long.

Saturday Lunch time kick off

Shane Long made the news as the victim of a clumsy/vicious tackle (depending on who you ask) from Marcos Alonso just before half-time but the Irishman deserved plaudits for his all-round performance against the Blues.

Long tirelessly pursued the Chelsea back-three forcing Gary Cahill in particular into mistakes and in the process won seven duels and four fouls at St Mary’s.

But it was Dusan Tadic who scored the opening goal of Gameweek 34 after Ryan Bertrand burned Cesar Azpilicueta down the Saints’ left-flank before pulling the ball back for the Serbian midfielder.

Marcos Alonso left a foot in on Long which should have seen him earn red, but referee Mike Dean did not even reward the Saints with a foul. Alonso owners were relieved to say the least.

Southampton got another on the hour mark through debutant Jan Bednarek and it came as a surprise to few who were watching the game.

But Antonio Conte made a double change immediately with Alvaro Morata and Davide Zappacosta making way for Olivier Giroud and Pedro.

And it took just 10 minutes for Giroud to make an impact, scoring with his head from an Alonso cross.

He completed his brace eight minutes later but not before Eden Hazard’s pulled it back to 2-2.

Southampton have five games left to save their season, and currently sit five points behind Swansea in 17th place.

Saturday 3pm kick offs

Burnley took an early two-goal lead at Turf Moor to Leicester through goals from Chris Wood and Kevin Long. Ashley Barnes missed out on an assist because Wood needed two attempts to get the ball past Kasper Schmeichel.

Meanwhile down in London, Wilfried Zaha scored twice in the opening 25 minutes to give Crystal Palace a 3-1 lead.

Jamie Vardy continued his hot-streak with a belter into the top corner. That’s four in four and eight in 10 games for the England striker now. Should he start upfront alongside Kane for England?

Vardy is hated by many for his antics both on and off the field, none more so than fantasy managers who don’t have him in their teams.

Saturday evening kicks off

Mohamed Salah, the highest scoring player in the Premier League this season was sold by a lot of fantasy players in the last few weeks, the same people who were hiding behind their sofas when the goal notifications for Liverpool rolled in.

But the Egyptian only managed one on the day so sellers got off lucky.

Roberto Firmino has scored just once in his previous four starts but he returned to goalscoring ways against the Cherries.

Saturday late-late kick off

Gabriel Jesus is one of the most clinical strikers in the league, scoring with his first shot against Spurs, a feat he achieved against last game against Liverpool in the Champions League too.

A cheap midfielder who’s on penalties…Just need him to be nailed on now.

Heung-Min Son had started every game in the Premier League bar one since Decemeber so he was due a rest.

Spurs disappointed at Wembley as only Eriksen returned any points for the Lillywhites.

Sunday lunchtime kick off

Arsenal have not won away from home in 2018 and Newcastle have not lost at home in the Premier League in 2018. An upset was on the cards from the start.

Ayoze Perez has now scored in three games in a row and assisted Newcastle’s other two goals during this three-game period, meaning he has been involved in 100% of Newcastle’s goals recently. Worth a punt on a free-hit?

After securing safety, is it now time for Newcastle to hit the beach?

Sunday afternoon kick off

Pep Guardiola is criticised by angry fantasy managers for his rotation policies but Jose Mourinho has rotated his central defenders and midfielders more often than Pep recently.

Romelu Lukaku was trusted with the armband by plenty of managers for the Gameweek 34 deadline. It’s still too early to say if that move was a complete failure or not.

West Brom frustrated Manchester United at Old Trafford before taking the lead form a corner (no surprises there).

Optimism for United’s attacking assets dwindled through the game, although Lukaku could have had a goal if not for Ben Foster’s De-Gea-eqsue save.

United’s defence and attack disappointed in equal measures in Gameweek 34.

2017-18 is the season of rotation and frustration, thankfully there are only four more weeks left to endure.