Gameweek 35: The Headlines

35 weeks down, three to go!

This week, we learned a couple different things.

1. North London is (and will always be) red.

2. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Likewise, you can lead Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood to the goal, but that doesn't mean he'll score.

3. Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag's delusion reaches new and unprecedented heights.

4. Klopp's farewell season is turning into a nightmare.

And lots more!

Liverpool's emotional detonation

"April is the cruelest month," T.S. Eliot once wrote — and it turns out he was talking about Liverpool. The unraveling of the Reds' title challenge began with an unfortunate tie to Manchester United on April 7. Since then, Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace and Everton, and most recently, tied West Ham 2-2.

At this juncture, it would take an epic slip-up from both Arsenal and Manchester City for Liverpool to win the league. Lady Luck can be fickle, but she's not that fickle.

Beyond Liverpool's rapidly evaporating title hopes, pundits have been zeroing in on whatever manager Jurgen Klopp and Mo Salah said to each other on the touchline.

Mo warmed the bench for the first ~80 minutes of the match. By the time Jurgen decided to bring him on, Mo was furious. Cameras caught the whole contentious conversation, punctuated with angry hand gestures.

At one point in the above exchange, Salah is restrained by his teammate Darwin Nunez. Darwin was red carded in his debut game last season for headbutting Crystal Palace's Joachim Andersen — which tells you how problematic it is that he's suddenly become the voice of reason.

Mo declined to speak to media after the final whistle, obliquely saying, "There's going to be fire today if I speak."

Does this mean Jurgen is going to roast Mo for giving his POV on the game? Does this mean Mo's take is fiery? Did a fan get overzealous in holding a barbecue? The interpretations are endless.

When asked about the spat, Jurgen was curt. He said that he and Mo had cleared the air in the dressing room. For him, the matter was "done."

But pundits seemed to think it wasn't quite so open and shut. Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher theorized that Jurgen may have been upset because Mo "took too long to come onto the pitch." And TNT Sports' Peter Crouch felt the whole thing wasn't a good look for the club. "Mo Salah is a player who has started the majority of games for Liverpool and he will be fuming to be on the bench. Players like that, who expect to start, are never happy. ... No one likes to see this between a manager and a key player," he said.

With just one year left on his contract, talk is already turning to whether Mo will stay at Liverpool after Jurgen leaves.

Something tells me Saudi will come calling.

The battle at the bottom

As the title race solidifies, we also have a clearer picture of our potential bottom three. Sheffield United were officially relegated on Saturday after losing 5-1 to Newcastle.

This came as a surprise to no one. Sheffield have conceded the most goals in the history of the Premier League (97+). They've repeatedly been the butt of jokes, with even middle-aged pundits claiming they could still get into the squad ahead of the current starting XI. There was never a question mark around them going down; it was just a matter of time.

On a brighter note, Everton mathematically clinched safety with a win over Brentford. The Toffees can thank manager Sean Dyche's tracksuit for their recent run of form.

That leaves Nottingham Forest, Luton, and Burnley in a three-way fight as to who will stay up and who will go down.

And Burnley appears to be everyone's dark horse favorite for staying up. Just one point behind Luton and two behind Nottingham Forest, they're playing with the fire and conviction we used to see from the Hatters.

Case in point: Burnley tied Manchester United this week, despite United manager Erik Ten Hag insisting that his team are one of the most entertaining and dynamic sides in the league.

Exciting? Sure. You never know when Man U is going to score, when they'll concede, or when Onana will dust off his boxing gloves and start knocking out members of the opposing team.

A derby day to remember

Derby day at the "toilet bowl" is always hyped, but the noise this year threatened to reach ear-splitting decibels.

When it comes to the North London derby, home field advantage is the X factor. History tells us that Arsenal tends to win at the Emirates, while Tottenham often wins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This year, Arsenal needed a win to continue their title charge and Spurs needed a win to challenge for a top four finish and Champion's League qualification. Many felt this would be the Gunners' downfall. A hostile away environment, a packed schedule, fatigue, and the pressure to be perfect against the relentless Manchester City machine all contrived against them.

This time around, Arsenal coasted to a 3-0 lead at halftime. However, a costly mistake by 'keeper David Raya and a penalty slotted home by Heung-Min Son almost saw Spurs get back in it.

Nervy finish notwithstanding, the Gunners prevailed 3-2 against their bitter rivals to hold the table's top spot.

The Arsenal of last season would have wilted under the strain, but this season's team is stronger, resilient, and unafraid of Richarlison's neck tattoo. Most importantly, they've learned from last season's title collapse. COYG!

Chelsea show some backbone (at last)

Remember when Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates? It was just last week.

Chelsea had to do something after such an ignominious performance, and ideally it'd be more dramatic than Cole "Cold" Palmer scoring another penalty.

Chelsea appeared to go into the match against Aston Villa with high hopes and low expectations, and the 2-0 scoreline reflected that at the half. But something motivated them in the dressing room.

Nicolas Jackson's new 'do? Thiago Silva's tears? Emi Martinez's injury?

Whatever the case, the team finally showed some fire in the second half. Cue Aston Villa folding like a house of cards. Goals by Noni Madueke and Connor Gallagher saw the Blues back in it, and their would-be winner was only called back thanks to a foul.

Referencing the controversial call, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said that he did not want to speak badly of the ref, and then proceeded to speak badly of the ref.

"It's unbelievable. It's ridiculous," he said. "It's difficult to accept this type of thing. It's really painful because this is damaging the image of English football. Even Aston Villa's players, even the fans, didn't understand why the goal was disallowed."

Look on the bright side, Poch. Isn't it good to see Noni Madueke acting like he cares, for once?

Next up: Spurs head to Stamford Bridge while Chelsea aim to dent Spurs' Champions League hopes still further.