Only three Premier League matches were on tap Saturday due to postponements, and although that didn't lead to a ton of movement in the standings, there were certainly some interesting developments in the goalscoring race. Manchester City's Sergio Aguero had an opportunity to gain some ground on EPL leading scorer Jamie Vardy of Leicester City Saturday, as the table-topping Foxes were not in action. Elsewhere, a few players further down the list attempted to make a run at cracking the prestigious top 10. On the heels of Saturday's Premier League action, here is a full rundown of the scores, standings and scoring leaders with the season's stretch run quickly approaching. PremierLeague.com PremierLeague.com WhoScored.com Saturday represented a day of missed opportunities for both Aguero and Manchester City as a whole, as they were forced to settle for a scoreless draw against Norwich City. The Citizens entered the day 10 points behind Leicester City for first place in the standings and five points behind Tottenham Hotspur for second. A win could have gone a long way toward making things interesting, but City had no scoring touch, despite winning the shots battle 15-5. Expectations were particularly high for Aguero, since he entered the match with an impressive goalscoring history against the Canaries, according to OptaJoe: 5 - Sergio Aguero has scored 5 goals in 5 Premier League apps vs Norwich and also netted in the FA Cup meeting back in January. Chirpy. Also, the Argentinian star had been on a scoring tear prior to Saturday's match, per the Premier League's official Twitter account: Sergio Aguero's last 14 #BPL[2] appearances... 27 shots on target Even so, there was a bit of negativity regarding the 27-year-old due to comments he recently made about his future with the Sky Blues. According to James Robson[5] of the Manchester Evening News, Aguero told Argentinian radio station Independient en la Uno that he intends to leave Manchester City when his contract expires in 2019: "In the last few months a lot of things have been said about a new contract, but I didn't pay any attention. It's clear to me that when my contract ends, after the World Cup, I'm going to Independiente." Aguero could have eased tensions by scoring Saturday and lifting the club to victory, but questions about his future will likely continue to linger until the next time he breaks through. He remains three goals off Vardy's league-leading pace, and while there is still time to chase him down, he may need some help in the form of a Vardy goalscoring drought down the stretch. Although Stoke City fell to Southampton at home Saturday and squandered a chance to move past Liverpool in the standings, the Potters' leading goalscorer did his part to give the club a chance to win. As seen in this video courtesy of NBS Sports Soccer, Marko Arnautovic scored a gorgeous goal from a ball into the box in the 52nd minute to cut the Saints' lead in half: Marko Arnautovic breathes life into Stoke. #scfc #BPLonNBC https://t.co/idRPZZrftB[6][7][8] According to OptaJoe, it represented the continuation of a recent trend for Arnautovic, who has performed spectacularly on his home pitch as of late: 7 - Marko Arnautovic has scored seven goals & assisted one more in his last 10 Premier League appearances at the Britannia Stadium. Homely. Per Squawka Football, his overall form over the course of the season has been excellent as well: Marko Arnautovic has now been directly involved in 14 goals in 27 Premier League matches this season (10G, 4A). pic.twitter.com/zQDhPXwMOS[11] The goal represented Arnautovic's 10th of the season, and while chasing down Vardy for the lead would take a miraculous effort, he did manage to find his way into the top 10. The 26-year-old Austrian was previously tied with Newcastle United's Georginio Wijnaldum on nine goals, but he now holds sole possession of 10th spot. That likely isn't much consolation for Stoke fans, since the loss allowed Southampton to leapfrog them in the standings, but Arnautovic's great play bodes well for the club in the latter stages of the campaign. Follow @MikeChiari[13] on Twitter.
Saturday Scores
Home Score Away Norwich City 0-0 Manchester City AFC Bournemouth 3-2 Swansea City Stoke City 1-2 Southampton EPL Standings
Position Club Played Won Drawn Lost Goal Difference Points 1 Leicester City 29 17 9 3 21 60 2 Tottenham Hotspur 29 15 10 4 27 55 3 Arsenal 29 15 7 7 16 52 4 Manchester City 29 15 6 8 21 51 5 West Ham United 29 13 10 6 12 49 6 Manchester United 29 13 8 8 10 47 7 Southampton 30 12 8 10 8 41 8 Liverpool 28 12 8 8 6 44 9 Stoke City 30 12 7 11 -4 43 10 Chelsea 29 10 10 9 4 40 11 West Bromwich Albion 29 10 9 10 -6 39 12 Everton 28 9 11 8 12 38 13 Bournemouth 30 10 8 12 -9 38 14 Watford 29 10 7 12 -1 37 15 Crystal Palace 29 9 6 14 -7 33 16 Swansea City 30 8 9 13 -10 33 17 Sunderland 29 6 7 16 -19 25 18 Norwich City 30 6 7 17 -23 25 19 Newcastle United 28 6 6 16 -25 24 20 Aston Villa 29 3 7 19 -33 16 EPL Scoring Leaders
Position Player Club Goals 1 Jamie Vardy Leicester City 19 2 Romelu Lukaku Everton 18 3 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur 17 4 Sergio Aguero Manchester City 16 5 Riyad Mahrez Leicester City 15 6 Odion Ighalo Watford 14 7 Olivier Giroud Arsenal 12 8 Diego Costa Chelsea 11 9 Jermain Defoe Sunderland 11 10 Marko Arnautovic Stoke City 10 Sergio Aguero: 16 Goals
15 goals pic.twitter.com/xQ7vyaHvGG[3]Marko Arnautovic: 10 Goals
References
- ^ March 12, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ #BPL (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/xQ7vyaHvGG (t.co)
- ^ March 12, 2 016 (twitter.com)
- ^ James Robson (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ #scfc (twitter.com)
- ^ #BPLonNBC (twitter.com)
- ^ https://t.co/idRPZZrftB (t.co)
- ^ March 12, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ March 12, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/zQDhPXwMOS (t.co)
- ^ March 12, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ @MikeChiari (twitter.com)
