After 100 days since the last English Premier League game back in March, the English soccer league returned Wednesday with two games. Aston Villa took on Sheffield United, and Manchester City squared off against Arsenal played later Wednesday afternoon.

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s matches, all of the EPL’s teams will have nine games remaining on their schedule. Liverpool is at the top of the league’s standings with 82 points. At this point, it is teams fighting for a spot in the Champions League and avoiding relegation.

For the Champions League fight, the top four teams in the Premier League standings make the Champions League. Liverpool has locked up their spot. Manchester City is in second with 57 points and Leicester City is in third with 53 points. It is the fight for the fourth and final spot as although Chelsea currently holds that spot with 48 points on the year, but there are seven teams within nine points of Chelsea, meaning there is still a lot left to fight for.

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Speaking of a lot left to fight for, the bottom three teams in the standings will be relegated. Currently, AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City hold the bottom three spots, but there are a few teams within striking distance where if one of those bottom three teams goes on a little run in this final stretch of the season, they can skyrocket up the standings. 

RESULTS:

First of all players on all four teams, instead of having their names on the back of their jerseys, had ‘Black Lives Matter’ in that spot, showing support for the movements around the world. This will be something that all players will be doing for their first week back. There were also no fans at Wednesday’s game and that will be the case for the immediate future in the EPL.

Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United: This game finished as a 0-0 draw, but that does not mean that there were not some memorable moments. To start, players took a knee when the whistle was blown to start the game. Just before halftime, it looked like Sheffield United drew first blood, as the Aston Villa goalkeeper appeared to cross the goal line with the ball in his hand. Neither goal line technology or VAR overturned this no goal call, which led the game to go into halftime ties at zero. Sheffield United’s manager Chris Wilder commented postgame on the no goal call. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he said. “The feeling at the time by everybody, both sets of players and staff, was that of a goal.”

Manchester City vs. Arsenal: This game saw a tale of two different clubs. One (Manchester City) came out ready to play and used the hiatus to the best of their advantage. The other (Arsenal) came out flat and have some concerns for the remainder of the season. Man City ended up coming out victorious, winning 3-0. Raheem Sterling got the party started right before halftime. This came as a result of Arsenal defender David Luiz failing to clear the ball out of his club’s box. It was not a good day for Luiz as a whole, as shortly after play resumed following halftime, Luiz got beat by Riyad Mahrez, which forced Luiz to put his hands on Mahrez to slow him down. The referee said that Luiz pushed Mahrez down, rewarded Manchester City with a penalty kick and sent Luiz off the pitch with a red card. Kevin De Bruyne put in the penalty kick to make the match 2-0. Phil Foden put the final nail in the coffin, scoring Manchester City’s third goal in the 90th minute. 

The remainder of the EPL’s teams will resume their season sometime Friday, Saturday or Sunday with matches. Each team now has nine fixtures remaining on their schedule.

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