Sunday wrap: Man Utd profit as Champions League rivals stumble

Football writer Tom Hancock analyses the key moments from Sunday's Premier League matches after impactful results at both ends of the table.

Manchester United took advantage of their rivals' slip-ups to seize the initiative in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification with a comfortable win over Aston Villa.

Both teams had disappointing defeats last time out, but they were given a chance to strengthen their claim on third place after Chelsea missed the chance to move level with them on 51 points by losing at home to Newcastle United on Saturday.

Goals from Casemiro, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko ensured it was Man Utd who moved three points clear in third and their position was further boosted by Liverpool's draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur afterwards.

Casemiro broke the deadlock when he headed in Bruno Fernandes’ corner, taking him to seven Premier League goals for the season – the best league return of the 34-year-old’s career. Six of his goals have come from set-pieces, the most by any player in the top flight this campaign.

Fernandes has set up Casemiro five times in 2025/26, the most assists provided by one player to a single team-mate in the Premier League this season.

Watch: All FIVE of Fernandes’ assists for Casemiro

Ross Barkley, on his first Premier League start in 14 months, drew Villa level, but Man Utd hit back to retake the lead through Cunha, with Fernandes the provider once again.

The Man Utd captain’s 16th assist of the season took him past David Beckham for the most assists by a Man Utd player in a single Premier League campaign (15 in 1999/2000) – and puts him only four off Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s competition record of 20 (set in 2002/03 and 2019/20 respectively).

Speaking about his achievement at full-time, Fernandes reminisced about trying to imitate Beckham when he was growing up. He said: "Like everyone in their own garden, I tried to do it like Beckham and was doing it, even if you’re just swinging your arm, not as much the ball! I’m obviously very happy to do that [beat his record]."

Sesko made sure of the three points, scoring off the bench for the fourth time in his debut Premier League season – and for the seventh occasion overall in 2026.

Man Utd now have a five-point cushion over Liverpool in fifth, who missed the chance to leapfrog Villa into the top four as the familiar sight of a late concession meant that they drew with Spurs.

Richarlison’s last-minute equaliser salvaged a crucial point for Spurs in the relegation battle – and secured Igor Tudor’s first point in charge.

It also meant Richarlison became just the third Brazilian to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements, after Roberto Firmino (132) and Gabriel Jesus (118).

Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool in front with his fourth direct free-kick goal of the season, setting a club record for a single Premier League campaign.

Watch: All of Szoboszlai's goals from free-kicks this season

Adding to efforts against Arsenal, AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City, the Reds’ dead-ball dangerman now accounts for 25 per cent of goals scored directly from free-kicks in the Premier League this season.

But Richarlison struck at the death as Liverpool’s late woes continued, the Reds having conceded eight Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later this season, dropping 11 points in the process.

"That is a huge disappointment," Szoboszlai told Sky Sports. "I don't know what happened, I have nothing to say. In the last minute, again, I don't know how many times this season already. We have to wake up.

"We have to wake up because if we carry on like this, we should be happy with the [UEFA] Conference League."

The Anfield draw brought an end to Spurs' club-record six-match losing streak in all competitions – and gives them a one-point advantage over Forest ahead of next Sunday’s huge home match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Tudor's side will hope to secure their first Premier League victory of 2026.

Heading into that crunch six-pointer against Spurs, Vitor Pereira’s wait for a first Premier League win as Nottingham Forest head coach goes on, after his side were held to a goalless draw by Fulham.

In a game which had only two shots on target – both of them for Forest – Dan Ndoye had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside, as the hosts failed to score for the third time in four Premier League home matches. The closest they came was when Ola Aina, playing against his former team, hit the crossbar with a thunderous shot.

Watch: Aina goes agonisingly close for Forest

Fulham have now drawn a blank in three straight matches in all competitions, this result doing them no great favours in their quest for European qualification.

Meanwhile in London, Leeds United squandered the chance to move further away from the relegation zone, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing a penalty in a stalemate with Crystal Palace.

However, the visitors might look back at this as a good point, given they had to play the entire second half with 10 men after Gabriel Gudmundsson was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Leeds have never previously been relegated the season after winning promotion to any level, but a run of one Premier League win in eight is cause for concern as they find themselves just three points and three places above the bottom three.

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