By: Jake Geiger, Staff Writer

The Premier League is heating up as teams are looking to move up on the table in the season’s second half.

Here’s a recap of last week’s noteworthy games that shifted standings in the league: 

This past Tuesday, Manchester United (MU) maintained second place in the league by defeating Southampton 9-0. 

In the 25th minute, forward Marcus Rashford scored giving MU a 2-0 lead. . Fourteen minutes later, Edinson Cavani hit a header into the bottom left corner to make it 4-0. MU then outscored Southampton 5-0 in the second half to win the game 9-0. 

MU also had a game yesterday this past Sunday against sixth placed Everton. The match resulted in a 3-3 draw. 

Cavani scored in the 24th minute to take a quick 1-0 lead. Then, midfielder Bruno Fernandes scored right before the half to make it 2-0. Everton responded in the second half with goals from midfielders Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez to even the score. 

Each team scored one goal apiece in the final 30 minutes leaving the match in a draw. MU has amassed 45 points total, positioning them behind Manchester City (MC) in the league. 

Top-seeded MC solidified their first place this past week by defeating two top-tier teams. Burnley Liverpool 4-1. 

On Tuesday, MC took down Burnley 2-0. Forwards Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling connected on goals in the first intermission, scoring two goals and never looking back. 

On Sunday, MC controlled the entire game against Liverpool. Liverpool’s lone goal was scored in the 63rd minute on a penalty kick by star Mohamed Salah. MC’s midfielder Ilkay Gundogan scored in the 49th and 73rd minute, while Sterling and Phil Foden each added a goal to make the final score 4-1.

Other top teams looking to make a move in the league are  Leicester City, Liverpool and West Ham United. 

Liverpool lost to MC 4-1 and also lost to 15th seeded Brighton 1-0 on Tuesday. With the two losses, Leicester City jumped Liverpool after they defeated Fulham 2-0 and drew with Wolves. 

Meanwhile, West Ham lie a mere one point behind Liverpool because of their draw with Fulham and their 3-1 win against Aston Villa. 

The usual powerhouses Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal are also all in the top ten. 

Tottenham is only three points behind sixth-placed West Ham, so there is plenty of time for them to find themselves in the top five. Contrastingly, Arsenal is eight points behind fifth-placed Chelsea, but still has some work to do before they can be considered a top five team. They are playing better futbol recently as they are 2-1-2 in their last five. Weeks prior, Arsenal was ranked 14th in the table and was leaning towards relegation. 

Impactful games this upcoming weekend include Leicester City and Liverpool on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. The winner of this game will solidify third place on the table. The other notable game on Saturday begins at 12:30 p.m. as top-seeded MC squares off against Tottenham. This will be Tottenham’s opportunity to make a statement and move up in the league.