Controversy of the week If a player scores three goals, they walk away with the match ball. What do they get if they give away three penalties? The referee’s whistle? Ashley Young was close to finding out. In Everton’s crucial 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, the Everton full-back could – maybe should – have conceded three penalties, the first for nicking Gio Reyna’s heel in the box; the second, for a handball, sat firmly in the ‘seen them given’ bracket; and the third for another ill-timed tackle in the box. The second was the cleanest decision – an obvious handball with Young’s arm flung out away from his body and Forest’s Chris Wood waiting behind his hand for a tap-in. But the third was the most peculiar: Anthony Taylor, the on-field official, indicated Young caught the ball before colliding with the attacking player. Video evidence showed otherwise. What is VAR for if not a failsafe for when a referee believes they’ve seen one thing in real-time but a closer inspection shows they’re wrong? “I just hit it with my toe,” Trossard said post-match, which is one way of saying he somehow scooped the ball with the outside of his foot and placed it into the top corner. The title race is in Manchester City’s hands. All Arsenal can do is keep stringing together wins. Between now and the end of the season, they cannot afford to drop any points. Their performance in a 2-0 win at Molineux was understandably labored after their exertions in Munich last week. At this stage, though, points matter more than performances. And Trossard’s strike was enough to keep Arsenal in the race. Quote of the week “When we were under, there were a few players that wanted to get out of the place. That can’t be the case. I won’t name names, but I think there were a few players out there that wanted to get out of there pretty quickly after the fourth went in, which you can’t have, you just can’t have.” – Chris Wilder on Sheffield United’s second-half performance in their 4-1 defeat to Burnley. Wilder’s quote sums up the most dismal performance from a side this week. Let’s hope no one was indulging in a snack at full-time. Return of the week Welcome back, Trent Alexander-Arnold. In his first start since 10 February, Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning free-kick to put Liverpool ahead in their 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday. It was Alexander-Arnold’s sixth goal for Liverpool from a direct free-kick, putting him one behind Steven Gerrard and two behind Jamie Redknapp at the top of the club’s all-time standings. Alexander-Arnold was Liverpool’s best player in another choppy performance at Craven Cottage. Throughout the first half, it was much the same as it has been for a month for Jürgen Klopp’s side: Unable to craft much in open play and relying on last ditch defending to keep Fulham at bay. Goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Joto helped seal the win in the second-half, drawing Liverpool level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table. But there are still problems for Klopp team to figure out. When Liverpool are humming, they work more into five seconds than any team in the league. But over the past month they’ve become stodgy, relying on individual moments of brilliance. Alexander-Arnold delivered his moment on Sunday, but unless they click into gear – right away – Liverpool won’t keep pace with Arsenal and City. Player of the week Bryan Mbeumo has morphed into a wonderful all-around player, and he was at the center of Brentford’s 5-1 hammering of Luton on Saturday. Brentford were electric on the counterattack. They could have been six or seven up an hour into the match if not for some sloppy finishing or Thomas Kaminski in Luton’s goal. “They were too quick and too good for us,” Rob Edwards, Luton’s manager, said after the match. “That can’t happen in the Premier League.” Luton have conceded by far the most chances in the league this season, and were consistently punished on the break against Brentford thanks to tidy combination play between Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Keane Lewis-Potter. Wissa finished with two goals and an assist and Lewis-Potter scored Brentford’s fourth to put the game well beyond reach. But it was Mbeumo who leapt off the screen for those watching at home. His movement, intellect, vision and motor create anxiety. Anxiety distracts – and leads to defensive breakdowns. Mbeumo never stops moving. Against Luton, he finished with two assists, created three key chances, registered three successful dribbles and led the team’s press from the front, notching eight ball recoveries – seven of them in the Luton’s half, the highest figure from a Brentford player this season.