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Premier League week 29 review

Liverpool’s first Premier League loss to Watford last weekend was surely the shock of the season. And even though matchday 29 didn’t have that level of upset, this weekend of Premier League action still produced some important results.

Relegation picture with nine games left

The gap between 15th and 20th in the Premier League is just eight points. Brighton, West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are the six teams currently fighting to retain their Premier League status. So let’s go over how each of those teams did this matchday to see where they stand with just nine games remaining.

Brighton

The Seagulls had a daunting test as they travelled to Wolves on Saturday for their match. Wolves entered the game just three points behind fourth place Chelsea and an Champions League qualifying spot. However, Brighton did an excellent job stopping Wolves’s attack. The only downside to this is that Brighton didn’t threaten Wolves with their attack either. Both teams finished with just one shot on target a peice. This lack of cutting edge meant that the game ended 0-0 with Birgton and Wolves sharing the points. Earning a point isn’t bad for Brighton, but it only separates them from the relegation zone by just two points.  

West Ham

For their 29th match of the season the Hammers made the short trip from East to North London to play an inconsistent Arsenal. It would turn out to be a frustrating day for West Ham too. The Hammers defended well, giving Arsenal 69% possession, but only allowing the Gunners to get two shots on target for the entire game. However, one of those two shots turned out to be the only goal of the game when Alexander Lacazette scored for Arsenal in the 78th minute. West Ham have now lost three of their last five Premier League games and are only out of the relegation zone due to goal difference. And their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they plave Wolves, Tottenham and Chelsea in their next three games.

Watford

Coming off the high of being the first Premier League team to beat Liverpool, Watford had the opportunity to build even more momentum as they travelled to South London to play Crystal Palace. But that momentum came to a halt in South London. Crystal Palace have the sixth best defense in the league and stifled any and all of Watford’s attacks. All it took for Palace to get the win was a Jordan Ayew goal in the 28th minute. Watford have 27 points, and are only ahead of 18th place Bournemouth and the relegation zone due to goal difference.

Bournemouth

Manager Eddie Howe and the Cherries had the unsavory task of trying to get points off of league-leaders Liverpool a week after they had lost their first Premier League match of the season. And it looked as if Bournemouth was up to that task to start the game. Striker Callum Wilson scored the opening goal of the game in the ninth minute after a lightning-quick counter attack. However, this meant that Bournemouth had to hold out for 80-plus minutes against one of the best attacks in the league. It also didn’t help that the Cherries had to substitute centerback Steve Cook off in the 19th minute due to an injury. And his replacement, 23 year old Jack Simpson, made a mistake that would lead to Liverpool’s equalizing goal. With the scores tied, Liverpool increased the pressure and found their second goal in the 33rd minute. Bournemouth had just one clear opportunity to try and tie the game, but in the 62nd minute Liverpool’s James Milner made a goal-saving clearance after Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser lobbed Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian. The game would finish 2-1 in favor of Liverpool and Bournemouth now find themself in 18th place and in the relegation zone.  

Aston Villa

The Villans had the advantage of playing in the last match of the weekend and knowing all of their fellow strugglers results when they travelled to the KP Stadium on Monday to face third place Leicester City. And that was the only advantage they got as Leicester City pulverized Villa 4-0. Nothing went right for Villa during the game. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina made an idiodic mistake for the first goal, Tyrone Mings decided to throw a hand at the ball in the box and concede a penalty for the second, and the third and fourth goals Leicester practically walked them in. Things are looking bleak for Aston Villa. And if west Ham have a tough upcoming schedule, Villa’s is even worse. Aston Villa have to play Chelsea, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United in their next four Premier League games.    

Norwich City

The Canaries made the long trip from Suffolk to Sheffield as they played the surprise of the season Sheffield United. And much like Watford last week, Norwich had an improbable win over Leicester City and had the opportunity to win two Premier League games in a row for the first time this season. And unfortunately much like Watford, Norwich couldn’t build off their previous win. Sheffield scored in the 36th minute and held on for the rest of the game to earn the 1-0 victory. Norwich’s best chance to equalize came in the 78th minute off of a corner kick. But Sheffield goalkeeper Dean Henderson made a fantastic double save to stop Ben Godfrey and Josip Drmic from scoring. The Canaries remain rock bottom of the Premier League and are six points from safety with nine games remaining.

So after all that, here’s how the bottom six teams stand after matchday 29:

15. Brighton - 29 points

16. West Ham - 27 points (minus-15 goal difference)

17. Watford - 27 points (minus-17 goal difference)

*18. Bournemouth - 27 points (minus-18 goal difference)  

*19. Aston Villa - 25 points

*20. Norwich City - 21 points

*Relegation zone

Manchester United do the double over Manchester City

The 182nd Manchester Derby took place at Old Trafford on Sunday as Man United hosted Man City on Sunday. With a win, Man United would keep pace with Chelsea, who had won earlier in the day, for fourth place. Meanwhile, Man City, who are pretty much out of the title race, were trying to avoid a second defeat against Man United in the league this season.

The match followed a similar pattern that the first meeting had laid out between these two rivals. Man City controlled possession while Man United were happy to sit back, defend, and break on the counterattack. The game could have ended in a draw or even in favor of Man City had it not been for two goalkeeping errors by Man City’s Ederson.

The first came in the 30th minute when Man City’s defense switched off during a Man United free kick. Man United’s Bruno Fernandes took the free kick early, surprising Man City, and chipped a pass over the top towards Anthony Martial. Tracking the ball in the air and over his right shoulder, Martial hit a volley towards Ederson’s near post. The ball wasn’t hit with too much power and Ederson did well to get down low to stop the attempt. However, the ball squirted underneath Ederson’t hands and into the net.

Ederson’s second mistake sealed the three points for Man United. It came in the 95th minute when Man City were trying everything to score and Man United were trying everything not to concede. Man United’s Fred tried to play Daniel James in onto goal, but the pass was overhit and Ederson calmly scooped up the pass in his own box. Then, almost in a rush, the Brazilian flung an ill-advised pass towards Benjamin Mendy. The pass was too far in front of Mendy and instead found Man United’s Scott McTominey. Ederson was off his line, and McTominey took advantage by lobbing the ball into the net from about 40 yards out.  

Man United have now won three of their last four Premier League matches, and have kept the pace with Chelsea for fourth place. The Red Devils look the likeliest to challenge for that last Champions League spot, being just three points behind Chelsea. Man United have another massive game against Tottenham next weekend with even more Champions League implications. On the other side of the coin, Man City have made Liverpool’s job even easier. After the loss, Liverpool now just need six points to win their first league title in 30 years.

Goal of the week: Scott McTominey vs. Manchester City

Even though Ederson was off his line for the goal, McTominey still had to score from 40 yards out. That’s no easy skill to pull off. Add in the fact that Benjamin Mendy was closing him down, and McTominey hit the strike first time makes it even more impressive. It was a great goal to complete a great derby day for Man United.  

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Premier League Week 28 Review

Matchday 28 had some massive surprises and repercussions at both ends of the table. There’s no way to talk about them without spoiling them in the introduction, so let’s get straight into it.

Norwich win, and their climb begins

The first game of matchday 28 was on Friday night when bottom club Norwich City hosted third place Leicester City. And the result was almost a sign of things to come for the rest of the weekend as Norwich beat Leicester 1-0, claiming their first league win since Jan. 18.

As previously mentioned, Norwich were bottom of the table with just 18 points and a league-worst 17 losses. And many of those losses have followed a similar pattern. Norwich would attack well in the opening stages, but somehow wouldn’t find a way to score. Then their leaky defense, which has conceded 51 goals this season, would finally break.

The first half almost completely followed that blueprint. The Canaries had an excellent first 20 minutes, but were unable to capitalize on their pressure. So after weathering the storm, Leicester was able to exert a little pressure of their own. The rest of the first half was exclusively dominated by Leiceister, but Norwich was able to stop the Foxes from scoring.    

Norwich even had a little luck too. In the 49th minute Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho scored a great goal, curling a long range effort low into the corner. However, after a review, VAR called the goal back because the ball hit Iheanacho’s arm in the build-up to the goal.

After all of that, Norwich would finally be rewarded in the 70th minute with the only goal of the game. A poor cross from Max Aarons managed to find its way all the way to his fullback partner Jamal Lewis. Positioned just inside the 18-yard box and with an unfavorable angle, Lewis let loose a BB-bullet of a shot that curved in to out and into the bottom corner of the net.

Even after the win Norwich are still at the bottom of the table with 21 points, but beating third place Leicester will greatly improve Norwich’s confidence. This could be the result that the Canaries need to fight their way out of relegation. In their next three games Norwich travel to play Sheffield United, and then host Southampton and Everton. The Sheffield United game will be difficult, but the two home games are winnable for Norwich.  

Liverpool are no longer unbeaten in the Premier League

Rejoice Premier League fans, and even more so Arsenal fans. League leaders Liverpool, 22 points clear of second place, 44 Premier League games unbeaten, 18 Premier League wins in a row, and unbeaten in the 2019/20 Premier League season heading into Saturday’s game against Watford, have finally lost. Watford’s 3-0 home victory over Liverpool ended all of these streaks, and also gave the Hornets a huge boost in their relegation battle.

And as surprising as this result might seem, Watford earned it. Liverpool’s attack was toothless for the entire match (aside from Adam Lallana hitting the woodwork), their midfield was constantly being outworked by Watford’s and their defense made too many mistakes. Watford’s gameplan in attack was simple: take advantage of Liverpools’ fullbacks high starting position and pressure Dejan Lovren.

Liverpool might have an excellent attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, but the real thrust of their attack comes out wide from their fullbacks. Left-back Andrew Robertson and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold have combined for 19 assists this season.

The reason why the Liverpool fullbacks are so effective is because their starting position is so high up the field. Robertson and Alexander-Arnold play more like wingers when Liverpool have possession. This creates two-on-one attacking scenarios for Liverpool which in turn allows the fullbacks to pepper the opposition box with crosses.

However, if there is one weakness to this attacking strategy it is that Liverpool leave a lot of vacant space in behind the attacking fullbacks. If an organized defense were able to regain possession and spring a counter-attack, there would be plenty of space in behind Robertson and Alexander-Arnold to exploit. On Saturday, that’s exactly what Watford was able to do.

The Hornets dropped deep, creating a six man defensive line in an effort to combat the two-on-ones that Liverpool create with their fullbacks. With the extra two defenders Watford stopped any potential crosses and fought hard to regain possession. When they did, Watford had two wingers exploit the space out wide. For the early stages of the first half it was Gerard Deulofeu on the left and Ismaila Sarr on the right. Unfortunately for Watford, Deulofeu was subbed off in the 37th minute due to what could be a serious knee injury. Along with that, Liverpool were able to survive the first half as both teams entered the break without scoring.

The second half brought out Watford’s second aspect of their attacking gameplay. Starting alongside the usually impenetrable Virgil Van Dijk in the center of Liverpool’s defense was Dejan Lovren. This was the Croatians first Premier League start since December, and he was only called upon because Van Dijk’s usually defensive partner, Joe Gomez, had sustained minor injury during training.

Lovren’s time with Liverpool has had it ups and downs. Of the four centebacks that Liverpool have, he is likely considered the weakest. He’s often caught out of position, bullied by bigger strikers and gives up unnecessary fouls from time to time. The second part of that statement is key because Watford striker and captain Troy Deeney is considered a bit of a bully himself. Deeney isn’t bashful when it comes to throwing his size around to try and unnerve opposing defenders.

Any time there was a ball played to Deeney, it would be played toward Lovren as well. There were times this strategy didn’t work for Watford, but when it did they either kept possession to start and attack or won a free kick from a Lovren foul. Combine this with the first strategy and Watford were able to effectively pressure the Liverpool defense. Van Dijk couldn’t make up for Lovren’s mistakes and cover all the space left by the fullbacks at the same time. And in the 54th minute, Watford finally broke through. The Hornets extended their lead in the 60th minute, and then finally scored for a third time in the 72nd minute.

Watford became the first team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League using a tactic that many teams have tried and failed at. Did it help that Liverpool were also poor for the entire 90 minutes? Yes, but take nothing away from Watford’s effort. They deserved this win and they deserve to be out of the relegation zone, even if it is just for now. Watford’s work for the weekend might be done, but they now have to replicate this result for the remainder of the season if they want to retain their Premier League status.

Wolves beat Tottenham, and gain the edge in the Champions League race

Manchester City’s possible UEFA competition ban has been mentioned and covered to death. But the idea that one of England’s best teams won’t be able to qualify for any European competitions for the next two years cannot be understated. So if the Citizens finish in the top five of the Premier League, their Champions League or Europa League spot would go to the team that finished just outside of qualifying for those competitions.

If the season were to end today then that means fifth place Manchester UNited would actually qualify for the Champions League, and sixth place Wolves would qualify for the Europa league. Thankfully the season still has plenty of games left, and that means there will likely be more games like the one Tottenham and Wolves played on Sunday.

Tottenham took the lead in the 13th minute after Steven Bergwijn stabbed in his second goal for Tottenham since joining the club in January. However, Wolves responded in the 27th minute through a similarly scrappy goal. Wing-back Matt Doherty on the right end of a  bouncing ball and equalized for the visitors.

However, the first half would have one more goal. In the 45th minute Dele Alli found wing-back Serge Aurier in an advanced position and from there the Tottenham defender did the rest. Aurier cut the ball inside on his weaker left foot and curled a lovely finish into the far corner. Tottenham would head into halftime with a one goal lead in what had been an entertaining 45 minutes.

The second half would have two more goals, and both of them were scored by the visitors. Wolves’s second goal was started when Doherty found himself in an advanced position again. The Irishman fired a low cross into the box that was tapped in by Diogo Jota after a slight deflection from Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

Jota would then turn provider in the 73rd minute. His pass sent striker Raul Jimenez on goal with a Tottenham defender to his left and just Gazzaniga to beat. Using a similar move that Aurier employed in the first half, Jimenez cut the ball onto his left foot, dropped the defender and curled a lovely finish into the net. Wolves took a 3-2 lead and held on for the last 20 minutes.

After the win Wolves are now level on points with fifth place Manchester United and have a two point buffer over Tottenham and Sheffield United directly below them. And with Chelsea drawing with Bournemouth on Saturday, Wolves are now just three points back of fourth place. The Champions League is within touching distance for a team that returned to the Premier League last season. Meanwhile, Tottenham have lost two Premier League games in a row to Champions League challengers and fall even further behind in their European pursuit.    

Blunder of the week: David De Gea vs. Everton

There were some good goals scored this matchday but none of them were as astounding as the mistake that David De Gea made against Everton. In the third minute De Gea decided to thump a clearance off the back of Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The ball deflected off Calvert-Lewin and into the back of the net for the opening goal. It was a goal that could have been avoided too. De Gea dawdled on the ball for too long and invited unnecessary pressure from Calvert-Lewin. And even after being put under pressure, De Gea could have cleared the ball out of play, or even kicked the ball to his right. Instead De Gea opted to clear the ball in the direction that Calvert-Lewin was coming from.

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Premier League Week 27 Review

After a two week winter break in which half the teams played one weekend and the other half played the next, the Premier League returned to its regular schedule for matchday 27. Every team played their 27th game whether it was on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. And even though it was a boring week in terms of exciting results, there are still talking points to discuss.

More red card drama in Chelsea vs. Tottenham

Stamford Bridge was the setting for the first game of matchday 27 as fourth place Chelsea hosted fifth place Tottenham in a huge battle for the Champions League. This is the second of a back-to-back for Chelsea in which they hosted a “Big Six” opponent. Last matchday Chelsea controversially lost 2-0 to Manchester United.

Fast forward a week and Chelsea are once again on the receiving end of a possible red card. This time the incident was between Tottenham’s Gionani Lo Celso and Chelsea captain David Azpilicueta. In the 51st minute, with Chelsea leading 2-0 Azpilicueta and Lo Celso both went for a loose ball in front of the Tottenham bench. Azpilicueta went sliding in low for the ball while Lo Celso went over the ball and stamped on Azpilicueta’s shin.

VAR would take a look at the incident and deem that Lo Celso’s tackle was not worthy of a red card. However, the discussion of the incident would continue during the rest of the match. TV pundit Jake Humphrey, who was covering the game, tweeted that after a discussion with Stockley Park, the location where all video reviews take place for the Premier League, the referee got the decision wrong.

This announcement almost took precedence over the game that was currently in its latter stages. With a little over half an hour remaining, both sides had to regroup and continue to fight for a result. If either team were to win they would be in fourth place and a Champions League qualification position.

Being down two goals, Tottenham began to press for a way back into the game. They would receive a lifeline in the 89th minute when Chelsea canterback Antonio Rüdiger scored on his own goal, but it was too late for Tottenham. With just four minutes of additional time Spurs were unable to find an equalizing goal. Chelsea would hold on for the 2-1 victory.

However, the talk about the possible red card did not stop when the final whistle blew. After the game the Players Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) revealed that a human error was made during the review of Lo Celso’s challenge on Azpilicueta. For the second consecutive week all the talk was about how VAR missed another red card, and another chance to prove to fans, players, coaches and pundits that it belongs in the Premier League. What makes this instance even worse is the admission from Stockley Park and PGMOL that VAR got it wrong.  

Manchester United take advantage of Tottenham’s loss

With Tottenham losing to Chelsea on Saturday, Manchester United had the opportunity to vault over Spurs into fifth place with a win at home against Watford. Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must have known this and selected an attacking lineup for his team. Anthony Martial, David James, Mason Greenwood and January signing Bruno Fernandes all started in attack for the Red Devils.  

Solskjaer’s selection paid off too as Man United dispatched Watford 3-0. A first half penalty from Fernandes, his first for Man United, gave the hosts a deserved lead going into the break. All of Man United’s attacking threat came from their left side. It was a mixture of James and Martial that caused Watford the most problems. Right-back Craig Dawson was often isolated against the two Man United attackers and was one of the main contributors to conceding the penalty in the first place.

Man United exploited the same weakness in the second half too. In the 57th minute Martial scored a brilliant goal. The Frenchman, who is the Red Devil’s starting striker in the absence of Marcus Rashford, was played in behind by Fernandes only to have his initial shot saved by Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster. However, Foster didn’t do enough to clear the ball on the save and the ball fell back to the feet of Martial. After some wonderful footwork from Martial and a delicate chip over Foster, Man United had doubled their lead. Greenwood would extend the lead to three in the 75th minute and confirm Man United’s win.  

As said before, with the win Man United now move into fifth place with 41 points, just three behind Chelsea in fourth. In any other year this means that Man United would qualify for the Europa league. However, due to Manchester City’s ban from European competition, fifth place would be good enough for Man United to qualify for the Champions League if Man City finish in one of the top four positions. So if Man United is able to catch Chelsea in fourth, great, but if they can’t, then fifth place might be good enough to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.

Goalkeeping errors cost West Ham points against Liverpool

Last week Aston Villa had their heartbroken after a defensive mistake allowed Tottenham to beat the relegation strugglers 3-2. This week, two errors from usually reliable goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski cost West Ham at least one point as they lost 3-2 to Liverpool.

Fabianski’s first error came in the ninth minute for the opening goal of the game. Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold served a cross into the box which was met by Georginio Wijnaldum. Wijnaldum’s header wasn’t a venomous strike, but it still forced a diving effort from Fabianski. The Polish goalkeeper timed his dive well enough to meet the ball with an outstretched hand, except Fabianski couldn’t make strong enough contact and the ball deflected off his hand and into the net.

If the first incident could be argued in defense of Fabianski, the second could not. At the time of the mistake, West Ham had fought back to shockingly take a 2-1 lead over league-leaders Liverpool. This was only the second time Liverpool had conceded two goals at home in the Premier League all season, and the hosts were trying everything to try and turn the game around. In the 68th minute, Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson worked his way into an excellent crossing position inside the West Ham box and delivered a low cross toward Mohamed Salah. Salah’s shot was low, toward the center of the goal and lacked any pace. When Fabianski knelt down to make a routine save, the ball slipped between his arms, and dribbled between his legs into the net for the equalizing goal.

It was a horrendous error that undid everything West Ham had worked hard to build up until that point. With the team completely deflated, it felt inevitable that Liverpool would find the winning goal. In the 81st minute, Liverpool did exactly that when Sadio Mane tapped in the winning goal.

Liverpool continue to march towards their inevitable title and now need just four wins to claim their crown. But the bigger headline has to be West Ham. This is the second time that they’ve faced Liverpool in a month, and prior to this the Hammers had blown a lead in a 3-3 draw against Brighton, and lost 2-0 to Manchester City. In their upcoming schedule West Ham have to play relegation strugglers Southampton, and top teams Arsenal, Wolves, Tottenham and Chelsea. It’s hard to see where West Ham are going to pick up points in a fixture list like that. And with their opportunity to earn points off of Liverpool blown, it almost confirms that West Ham will be in a relegation struggle for the remainder of the season.  

Goal of the week: Marcos Alonso vs. Tottenham

Before any of the red card drama between Chelsea and Tottenham, there was an excellent team goal scored by the hosts. The attacking move started with a long throw in down the line from David Azpilicueta to striker Oliver Giroud. The burly French striker nodded the ball back towards Mason Mount who then cut the ball infield towards his left and passed to Ross Barkley. Barkley then made the extra pass to his left where Marcos Alonso met it first time and unleashed an unstoppable daisy-cutter into the bottom corner.

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Premier League Week 26 Review (Part Two)

The second half of matchday 26 certainly didn’t disappoint in producing thrilling games. Aside from the boring 0-0 draw between Leicester City and Wolves on Friday, every other game played this past weekend was entertaining. Outside of the games being played there was also the news that Manchester City were fined and banned from all European competitions for the next two years due to breaking UEFA’s financial fair play rules. This alone has huge implications on the race for the Champions and Europa League places.

Thoughts on Manchester City’s ban

Manchester City have not played their 26th game yet. The Citizen’s game against West Ham was postponed to this Wednesday due to last week’s Storm Ciara. However, Man City still managed to find themselves in the headlines this weekend. On Friday, UEFA announced that the defending Premier League champions would be suspended from all European competitions for two years, and be fined €30 million (roughly $32.5 million).

This suspension comes in the wake of an investigation by UEFA’s Adjudicatory Chamber finding Man City guilty of “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.”

UEFA’s financial fair play rules state that clubs are only allowed to spend as much money as they make. It is a rule that makes sure that clubs have actually paid what they owe. So, however much Man City spent on transfer fees and player and manager wages must somehow be balanced by an equal amount of income.

To put it simply, Man City didn’t. They falsely reported the amount of sponsorship money they earned, and also falsely reported who they got the sponsorship money from. This type of financial behaviour was enough for UEFA to ban Man City. Now City have the opportunity to appeal the ban, but if the ban is upheld, there will be some interesting repercussions in the Premier League.

Man City are currently second in the Premier League, and will likely finish in the top four by the end of this season. However, a potential ban from European competitions means that their Champions League qualification place will go to the team that finished fifth place in the Premier League.

Currently, the Premier League’s fifth place team is Tottenham Hotspur with 40 points. But below Tottenham are six teams that are separated by six points or less. Sheffield United, Manchester United, Wolves, Everton and Arsenal have all been given new life in their pursuit for European soccer.

Aston Villa suffer a heartbreaking loss against Tottenham

In soccer you are awarded a point for drawing a game. For a team challenging for the title a draw is seen as two points dropped, but for a team fighting off relegation it’s seen a one point earned.

Aston Villa are in the latter category. Entering their game against Tottenham, the Villans were in 17th place with 25 points, just one point above the relegation zone. After a brutal 3-2 loss, Villa remain dangerously close to the drop with a third of the season remaining.

What makes this loss for Villa even worse is that they had fought back to earn what they thought would be a crucial point. After Toby Alderweireld scored an own-goal in the ninth minute, Tottenham turned around the one goal deficit to a 2-1 lead. It was Alderweireld who scored in the correct goal in the 27th minute and then Son Heung-Min in the 47th minute that gave Tottenham a first half lead.

Villa’s equalizing goal would come in 53rd minute when centerback Björn Engels finished a Jack Grealish cross. However, the game had one more twist. Engels, who scored the vital second goal, was involved in Villa’s collapse. A simple lapse of concentration and poor touch from Engels gave Son a clean path on goal in the 96th minute. The South Korean finished the chance and Tottenham stole all three points.  

Meanwhile, Tottenham find themselves in a great run of form. Spurs have won three Premier League games in a row. January signing Steven Bergwijn has added another dimension to Tottenham’s attack. And Son has done an excellent job replacing the injured Harry Kane as Tottenham’s main striker. The South Korean is naturally a winger, but he has scored four goals during Tottenham’s winning streak.

Arsenal put it all together against Newcastle

Mikel Arteta hasn’t had the glamourous results that fans might have expected since becoming Arsenal manager. His largest margin of victory was two after a 2-0 victory over Manchester United back on New Year’s Day.

In fact Arteta hasn’t won much as Arsenal manager. In his seven Premier League games Arteta has won one (the Man United game), drawn five and lost one. However, Arteta and the Gunners put it all together against Newcastle on Sunday after they comprehensively beat the Magpies 4-0.

But that scoreline didn’t look likely after the first 45 minutes. Heading into halftime, the game was still scoreless. Newcastle did little to threaten Arsenal’s goal, aside from a few corner kicks early in the half. Meanwhile, Arsenal spurned the few scoring chances that they did create.

However, the second half was completely different for Arsenal. The hosts took just nine minutes after the restart to score their first goal when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed in a lazy Nicolas Pepe cross. After that it took just three minutes for Arsenal to double their lead. This time it was Pepe who got on the end of a Bakary Saka cross after the young Englishman skillfully beat two Newcastle defenders.

With a two-goal lead, Arsenal went into cruise control for the remainder of the game. There was just enough time for two more goals, the third by Mesut Özil in the 90th minute, and the fourth by Alexander Lacazette in the 95th. It was an impressive win for Arsenal who still sit in 10th place with 34 points. Up next for Arsenal is another home game, this time against Everton, who are directly above the Gunners in the table.

Chelsea vs. Manchester United was a mess

The headliner at the end of this matchday took place at Stamford Bridge as fourth place Chelsea hosted ninth place Manchester United. Both teams have had rough recent games in the Premier League. Chelsea’s last win came on Jan. 11 against Burnley, but since then the Blues had drawn twice and lost once. Meanwhile, Man United had been held scoreless in their last three games, leading to two losses and one draw.

Also, with both teams still fighting to earn Champions League qualification for next season, this should have been an excellent game. However it devolved into another discussion on VAR and how inconsistent it has been thanks to two instances that went against Chelsea.

The first was in the 21st minute when there was a coming together between Man United defender Harry Maguire and Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. Both players challenged for a loose ball in front of the Chelsea bench, and their momentum carried them off the field with Maguire sliding on his back. While on the ground, Maguire kicked out at Batshuayi and struck him in the groin.

The immediate reaction from the Chelsea bench and Batshuayi was that Maguire should be given a red card for his transgression. After a video review, referee Anthony Taylor was told that there wasn’t enough in the coming together to send Maguire off. What makes this VAR decision even more confusing is that there was already a precedent established earlier in the season.

On Dec. 22 in a game between Tottenham and Chelsea, Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min employed a similar maneuver on Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger. In that instance Son was given a straight red card after a video review. So with that established, Maguire should have been sent off.

The second incident came in the 56th minute with Man United already leading 1-0. Kurt Zouma smashed in a close range-effort after Man United failed to clear a corner. With a little over half an hour remaining, we were heading for a grandstand finish at Stamford Bridge. But once again VAR was summoned. The goal was ruled out due to what seemed like a push from Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta on Man United’s Luke Shaw. This push stopped Shaw from attempting to clear the ball which allowed Zouma to connect with the unimpeded flight of the ball and score.

But upon reviewing it further, it seemed that Azpilicueta was actually shoved by Man United’s Fred. From that shove, Azilicueta’s momentum carried him into the back of Shaw. That explanation might be a stretch, but if Azpilicueta didn’t have control of himself when he was sent forward into Shaw, then it wasn’t a foul. It should be viewed as two players coming together with no intention to foul from Azpiicueta. These are all things that VAR can see and take the time to figure out.  

Chelsea will obviously feel hard done by due to the decisions not going their way. But the Blues still had plenty of other opportunities to score throughout the game. Batshuayi had two golden chances in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize. Mason Mount hit the post in the second half, and Pedro had multiple shots on target that were blocked by Man United defenders. At the other end of the field Chelse even failed to keep Man United from scoring a second time when Maguire towered over everyone to score from a corner in the 66th minute.

However, credit should be given to Man United for going on the road and getting all three points. It’s something that they haven't done too often this year. Aside from this game, Man United have only taken four points on the road off of teams currently above them in the table.

Goal of the (half) week: TIE Sadio Mane vs. Norwich City or Matej Vydra vs. Southampton

Two similar goals for the goal of the (half) week. Both winning goals, both showed excellent ball-control and both were on the respective players’ weak foot. Sadio Mane’s goal came in the 78th minute after Jordan Henderson lofted a ball in towards the Senegalese winger. After an acrobatic first touch with his right foot, Mane fired the ball past Norwich keeper Tim Krul at his near post with the second. It was the only goal of the game, and Liverpool left Carrow Road with all three points.

Meanwhile, Matej Vydra’s goal was a little less acrobatic, but equally as impressive. Burnley’s Jef Hendrick served a deep cross toward Vydra in the 60th minute, and from there Czech striker did the rest. Vydra chested the ball down towards his right, took another touch over a Southampton defender’s leg and rifled a venomous half-volley into the roof of the net.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 26 Review (Part One)

Matchday 26 in the Premier League is different from all the rest. Only eight teams will play this weekend because of the first ever Premier League winter break. However, that number went from eight to six after Manchester City vs. West Ham was postponed due to Storm Ciara. The remaining 12 teams will play next weekend to finish off matchday 26, with the Man City vs. West Ham game yet to be rescheduled. But just because there were just four games this weekend doesn’t mean there weren’t any interesting headlines to come out of the Premier League. So here is part one of the matchday 26 review.

Everton continue to climb

Carlo Ancelotti has been Everton manager for a little over a month now. And in the eight Premier League matches that he’s been on the sideline, Everton have won five, drawn two and lost one, including their most recent 3-1 win at home over Crystal Palace. Prior to Ancelotti arriving the Toffees had won just five out of a possible 18 in the league.

This current run of form means that Everton now sit in seventh place with 36 points, and have to feel confident at making a late season push for the Europa League. In fact after this weekends’ games, Everton are just three points off of fifth place and Europa League qualification.

Perhaps the two players who have been most positively impacted by Ancelotti’s appointment has been strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison. Calvert-Lewin has scored six of his 11 Premier League goals in the eight games that Ancelotti has managed. While Richarlison has managed three of his nine league goals under Ancelotti.

When healthy, the two strikers have been deployed alongside each other at the top of a 4-4-2 formation. The two strikers have two different styles of play that compliment each other. Richarlison, the faster of the two, stretches defence by running in behind and out wide into attacking channels, often taking and dragging opposing centerbacks out of position. Meanwhile, Calvert-Lewin tries to post-up with his back to goal and hold up the ball for his teammates. He then uses his physical presence and positioning to hassle and harry defenders.

Having two reliable strikers is vital for Everton. It gives the Toffees a point of attack to build on and lean on when the rest of the team isn’t performing. And Everton will certainly need their two strikers to perform for their next stretch of matches. For their next four Premier League games Everton travel to play Arsenal, only to have that followed by a home game against Manchester United, a trip to Chelsea and the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool.

Brighton and Watford play to a stalemate

Prior to this weekend Watford have dropped 15 points from winning positions this season. This is the second most points dropped from a winning position. West Ham have the most with 19 points dropped. This worrying stat is probably a large reason why they have been in the relegation zone for most of the season. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Watford dropped another two points they drew with Brighton 1-1 on Saturday.

What makes this draw even worse for Watford is that they had scored early on. Abdoulaye Doucoure opened the scoring in the 19th minute after a direct and powerful run. Watford would keep this lead for nearly 60 minutes before conceding. And it was their own defensive mistake that would throw away the lead.

Brighton managed an attack down the right-wing through Alireza Jahanbakhsh who fizzed a low cross into the box only to have it finished by Watford defender Adrian Mariappa for an own goal. What makes this even worse is that there was no Brighton attacker behind Mariappa to tap the ball in when he went to clear the ball. If Mariappa just let the ball run then it would have rolled out of the box, away from the Watford goal.

However, that’s not what happened. Mariappa poked the ball into his own net and the game was tied. And after that moment, Brighton looked more likely to go on and win the game. Luckily for Watford, that didn't happen. But it was still another lead blown and an opportunity to earn three points squandered. If Watford’s defense held resolute then they would have 26 points and be out of the relegation zone in 17th place. However, they have 24 points and remain in 19th place.

Sheffield United’s European push continues

Perhaps the surprise of the season has been the rise of newly promoted club Sheffield United. The Blades have taken the Premier League by storm. And after their 2-1 win over Bournemouth they now find themselves sitting in fifth place with 39 points. If the season were to end today, fifth place would be good enough to qualify for the Europa League. It’s remarkable considering that they were playing in the third tier of English soccer just three years ago.

Sheffield might not play the flashiest soccer, but they are effective. What they lack in goalscoring, they make up for in defending. The Blades have scored just 28 goals in the Premier League this season. That is joint third-worst in the league. But they have conceded just 24 goals this season which gives them the second-best defense in the league.

The Blades have also been incredibly consistent at home and on the road. In their 13 games at home at Bramall Lane, Sheffield have won six games, drawn two and lost five. Meanwhile, in the same amount of games on the road they have produced four wins, seven draws and two defeats. Sheffield have won enough games at home along with collecting enough points on the road to warrant their position at the top of the table.  

There is plenty of competition for the last few European places left, with the likes of Tottenham, Manchester United and Wolves all vying for Champions League and Europa League qualification. However, Sheffield has an excellent opportunity to cement their European ambitions due to their upcoming games. The Blades play Brighton, Aston Villa and Norwich City in their next three Premier League games. All three of those opponents currently sit in the bottom six of the league.

Goal of the (half) week: Richarlison vs. Crystal Palace

There weren't a lot of goals to choose from this weekend, with there being only four games scheduled and three games played, but Everton still managed to score a well-worked goal against Crystal Palace. The attack started in their own box when left-back Lucas Digne heaved a pass towards the halfway line. Calvert-Lewin was the first to reach it, nodding the ball on to his striker partner Richarlison. From there Richarlison did the rest. The Brazilian dribbled forward, driving the Crystal Palace defense back and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.  

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 25 Review

The Premier League served up another intriguing match day this past weekend. There were plenty of red cards, VAR decisions and comebacks across the league. Here are some of the more interesting and important headlines to come from matchweek 25. 

Leicester City and Chelsea produce an electric second half

The first game of the weekend was a lively way to start matchday 25 in the Premier League. Third place Leicester City (49 points) hosted fourth place Chelsea (41 points) in an important game for both teams. If Leicester won they could move level on points with Manchester City in second place. Meanwhile, Chelsea could increase their stranglehold on the last Champions League place to nine points over Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolves. But by the end of the game Leicester and Chelsea were forced to split the points after a 2-2 draw.

However, based on the first half performance of both teams, a 2-2 draw seemed impossible. Leicester City had played poorly and didn’t have too many clear scoring chances. Because of this Chelsea were the stronger of the two teams in the first half, but for all their good play and dominance they couldn’t produce a goal.  

It didn’t take long for the first goal to come after the restart. Chelsea Centerback Antonio Rüdiger got on the end of Mason Mount’s free kick delivery to give the visitors a one-goal lead. Chelsea finally had a lead to match their first half dominance.

It would take Leicester just eight minutes to respond. Winger Harvey Barnes cut in from the left side and fired his shot on goal. Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero could do nothing as Barnes’s shot deflected off one of his defenders and looped over his head into the net.

Leicester would ride their momentum to take the lead just 10 minutes later. Chelsea goalkeeper Caballero was caught out of position and Leicester left-back Ben Chillwell had the simple job of passing the ball into the back of the net for the third goal in the game. With a one-goal lead, and the home fans spurring them on, Leicester chased after a third. But the Foxes couldn’t manage to extend their lead.

Instead Chelsea clawed their way back. And it was a familiar connection that brought the Blues back on level terms. Once again Rüdiger latched on to the end of a Mount delivery. This time the German defender towered over everyone in the box and superbly headed the ball into the back of the net for his and Chelsea’s second of the game. The last golden opportunity to score came to Leicester in the 77th minute. Jonny Evans had a free header from six yards out after a well worked Leicester corner, but the defender skied his header.

The superb second half was a showing of why the Premier League is one of the top leagues in the world. Even with Leicester’s dominance, Chelsea was just two set pieces away from being on level terms. A draw isn’t really what either team needed, but it certainly doesn’t hurt their Champions League qualification. Up next Leicester will travel to Wolves while Chelsea host Manchester United.

Saturday was great for teams with 10-men

There were two games on Saturday in which a team was reduced to 10 men. Bournemouth had midfielder Jefferson Lerma sent off in the 51st minute in their game against Aston Villa after the Colombian had accumulated two yellow cards. Meanwhile, Everton’s Fabian Delph was given his marching orders in the 71st minute for his second yellow card as well. However, even after losing a player, both Bournemouth and Everton won their respective games.

In Bournemouth’s game it was more of an instance of retaining their lead. The Cherries scored twice in the first half. The first in the 37th minute by Philip Billing and the second in the 44th minute by Nathan Aké. It would have likely been an easy second half for Bournemouth had Lerma not been sent off in the 51st minute. Aston Villa did score a goal in the 70th minute to make for a nervy last 20 minutes, but Bournemouth held on. After the win Bournemouth are now one point clear of the relegation zone in 17th place.

Everton’s ten-men match was played under different circumstances. Watford jumped to an early lead after a goal in the 10th minute, and then doubled their lead in the 42nd minute. Everton responded with two quickfire goals of their own in first half stoppage time. Both by centerback Yerry Mina, and both from corner kicks. Everton’s hopes of completing the comeback were put in jeopardy in the 71st minute when Delph received his second yellow card. But Theo Walcott completed the comeback after he finished an excellent counterattack in the 90th minute.

Sunday not so much

The biggest game of the weekend between Tottenham and Manchester City also saw one of the teams reduced to 10-men. The visitors Man City had left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko sent off after he received his second yellow card in the 60th minute. After that Tottenham did what teams with a man-advantage are supposed to do: take control of the game and score goals.

Up until that moment the game had been intense with plenty of controversial moments scattered throughout the first half. The first of which was in the 13th minute when VAR reviewed a possible red card tackle from Man City’s Raheem Sterling. The English winger appeared to stamp down above the ankle of Tottenham’s Dele Alli, but after the review Sterling was allowed to stay on the field.

The next flashpoint in the first half came in the 36th minute. Tottenham fullback Serge Aurier made what looked to be a clean tackle on Man City striker Sergio Agüero inside the penalty box. Despite Man City players protesting to referee Mike Dean for a penalty, play was allowed to resume. It wasn’t until two minutes later when the ball finally went out of bounds before the VAR was allowed to review the incident. When the review finally finished, Man City was awarded a penalty, and a chance to score the first goal of the game and take the lead.

İlkay Gündoğan stepped up to take the penalty, but the German had his effort stopped by Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris. However, Lloris couldn’t properly clear the ball, as the shot deflected off to his left. Man City’s Sterling rushed into the box, trying to capitalize on the loose ball. At the same time of Sterling’s advance, Lloris darted to try and smother the ball before anyone could get another effort off on goal. In the moment it looked as if Sterling had just beaten Lloris to the ball and managed to get a touch before the French goalkeeper.

There were immediate appeals from Sterling and his teammates for another penalty, while Tottenham and Lloris vehemently argued against the decision. Players on both teams were yellow carded for arguing in the immediate aftermath. Once again VAR was called into action. Except this time, after review, there would be no penalty.

After four extra minutes the first half finally ended with the game somehow still scoreless. Once again VAR dominated the headlines. However, there was an entire second half to play with the possibility of even more controversy.

The second half kicked off, and Man City continued to dominate the ball. They had nearly 78% possession to start the second half and looked like the likelier side to score. But in the 60th minute, Man City’s dominance would end. Zinchenko, who was previously booked in the scrap after Sterling’s penalty appeal, fouled Harry Winks and stopped a Tottenham counterattack. Mike Dean had no choice but the brandish Zinchenko’s second yellow card and send off the Ukranian.

Unlike Aston Villa and Watford on the previous day, Tottenham were able to capitalize on their man-advantage. Steven Bergwijn, who was making his Tottenham debut after being bought in the January transfer window from PSV Eindhoven, scored his first Premier League goal in the 63rd minute. Tottenham doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Son Heung-Min scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season.

After the win Tottenham are now four points behind Chelsea for fourth place and the last Champions League spot. Man City still remain in second place, but the gap between them and leaders Liverpool is now an astounding 22 points.  

West Ham flounder against Brighton

This might be the season low for West Ham. The Hammers last two league defeats were to Leicester City and Liverpool, which is nothing to be surprised about based on the position of each opponent. However, West Ham did crash out of the FA Cup after they lost 1-0 at home against second division West Brom on Jan. 25. Then on Saturday, the Hammers squandered a two-goal advantage at home to Brighton. This means that West Ham has not won a game at home in all competitions in a month and are now in the relegation zone with 24 points.  

David Moyes has not managed to turn around the season since his appointment on Dec. 29 2019. In his six games in charge, Moyes has won just one game, and now West Ham have fallen into the bottom three. And this game against Brighton was a great chance to earn all three points. After this West Ham have a brutal stretch of games against Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Wolves, Tottenham and Chelsea. Their next feasible opportunity to earn three points in a game is against Southampton which is sandwiched between Liverpool and Arsenal.  

Blunder of the week: Vicente Guaita vs. Sheffield United

There were two goalkeeping errors on Saturday. The first was when West Ham’s net-minder Lukas Fabianski punched the ball only to see his attempted clearance deflect off the back of his teammate Angelo Ogbonna and careen into the back of his own net. However, the second, by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita was even worse. The Spanish goalkeeper was un-impeded when a corner was swung into his box by Sheffield United in the 58th minute. All Guaita had to do was catch the ball and assess his options for a counter attack. The only issue, he forgot the ball. Guaita tried to hide his mistake, but goal line technology wasn’t needed to make this decision. It was a goal. There was a mixture of guilt and shock on Guaita’s face, and to make it worse, that was to only goal scored in the game.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 24 Review

It was another quick turnaround for the Premier League as it returned midweek for its 24th matchday. With the FA Cup upcoming this weekend teams didn’t have more than a few days to prepare for their next game. Here are some of the more important results and headlines to come from matchday 24. 

Chelsea can’t capitalize on a man-advantage vs. Arsenal

Chelsea hosted Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The hosts entered the game with a  five-point gap over fifth place Manchester United for the last Champions League spot. Meanwhile, Arsenal sat level in 11th place with a meager 29 points. However, even with a large gap between the two teams, the prospect of a one-sided game was far from likely.

But that statement was almost proven ridiculous after just 29 minutes. A horrid back-pass from Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi endangered the integrity of his defense and forced fellow centerback David Luiz to clumsily bring down Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham in the box. A penalty was rewarded and Luiz was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

A minute later and Chelsea’s Jorginho hopped, skipped and coolly slotted the penalty past Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno. The Blues now had a man-advantage and a little over 70 minutes to add to their lead and claim all three points. Chelsea’s job of breaking down an already poor Arsenal defense was just made easier.        

So for obvious reasons, the Gunners spent a majority of this game defending. And because of this they didn’t have too many opportunities to threaten Chelsea’s defense. As a result, Arsenal had two shots on target for the entire match. But it’s what they did with those shots that really counted.  

Arsenal’s first goal actually started on the other end of the field, defending a Chelsea corner in the 63rd minute. After a kind bounce, and a slip from Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, 18 year-old Gabriel Martinelli ran three-quarters of the field and calmly slotted the ball in the net to level the score at one. It was Martinelli’s third goal in the Premier League.  

Even after Martinelli’s equalizing goal, the game was far from over. Chelsea substituted on attacking midfielders Mason Mount and Ross Barkley, and striker Michy Batshuayi to try and find the winner. And in the 84th minute, Chelsea thought they had it. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta stabbed home a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross after a quick short-corner was taken.    

However, there was one more twist in this entertaining game. And afterall I did say that Arsenal had two shots on target. So it was only fitting that a little over a year after Hector Bellerin suffered his ACL injury against Chelsea, the fill-in Arsenal captain steered in the equalizing goal from just outside the box in the 87th minute.

Chelsea have to feel frustrated with what looks like another missed opportunity. Not only were they unable to take advantage of having the extra man, but they also couldn't keep a lead. Even though it was a gutsy effort from Arsenal, a draw likely wasn’t what they were looking for. Sure this season has been a massive disappointment for Arsenal, but even under new manager Mikel Arteta, the Gunners have still struggled to gain any momentum in the league.

Bournemouth and Aston Villa get results

The Premier League also had two stereotypical “six-pointers” at the bottom of the table. Two teams fighting in a relegation battle where a win would not only give them a better chance at surviving, but also condemn their opponents even more. Bournemouth hosted south coast neighbors Brighton at the Vitality Stadium and Aston Villa hosted Watford at Villa Park on Tuesday.

And in both instances, it was the hosts who emerged victorious. Bournemouth beat Brighton 3-1 behind an outstanding attacking display and goalkeeper heroics, while Aston Villa left it late to squeeze past Watford.

Let’s start with Bournemouth. As mentioned in the previous blog, the Cherries were on a four game losing streak before this encounter with Brighton. With problems at both ends of the field, it was safe to say that manager Eddie Howe was under some intense pressure. Bournemouth’s leading goalscorer Harry Wilson has just six in the Premier League, and Bournemouth’s defense had conceded 36 goals.

But their stuttering attack wasn’t the issue on Tuesday. Harry Wilson opened the scoring in the 36th minute, and just five minutes later, a Pascal Groß own goal doubled the hosts’ lead. The second half gave Bournemouth fans even more reason to celebrate when injury-plagued striker Callum Wilson extended the Cherries’ lead to three.

Even with the win Bournemouth’s defense should still cause some concern. They were unable to keep a clean sheet when Aaron Mooy scored in the 81st minute. Brighton also had 66% possession and eight shots on target. Now one of those was their goal, but if it weren’t for Bournemouth’s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale making some fantastic saves, then the scoreline could have been much closer.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa took the more difficult path to three points on Tuesday. Villa fell behind to a Watford team that had won three of their last four league games in the 38th minute when Troy Deeney headed in a Gerard Deulofeu cross.

After falling behind Villa scraped together a few chances, but were unable to make anything clear-cut and trouble Watford’s defense. Villa had more than 60% possession, but nothing to show for it. As a result, Villa were the first team to make a change in the second half. Midfielder Danny Drinkwater was brought off for Douglas Luiz in the 56th minute. Twelve minutes later the impact substitution paid off as Luiz fired a loose ball into the roof of the net for the equalizing goal.

Villa’s winning goal would come with the last play of the match. The attack started deep into stoppage time when goalkeeper Pepe Reina lofted a ball into the Watford penalty box. Centerback Tyrone Mings latched onto the initial pass and then saw his weak effort blocked by Watford. However, the deflection took it into the path of fellow defender Ezri Konsa who let loose with a venomous first-time hit. The shot took the slightest deflection off Mings, but in the end it didn’t matter who scored the goal. The Holte End at Villa Park erupted and the hosts had battled their way to three points.    

Now both teams are still not out of the clear. Bournemouth are still stuck in the relegation zone in 18th place and Aston Villa are marginally ahead in 16th place. Although this is a positive result for both teams that could be the start of a mid-season surge.  

Goal of the week: Jay Rodriguez vs. Manchester United

Shoutout to Burnley. Their 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Home fans stormed out of the stands after Rodriguez’s thunderbolt goal. The Burnley striker played a one-two with Chris Wood just outside the box on the left flank, took a touch of separation and let loose with an unstoppable effort. The angle was tight, but Rodriguez placed the ball in the one spot Manchester United keeper David De Gea couldn’t get to it. A bar-down beauty from Rodriguez.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 23 Review

The Premier League’s 23rd matchday was not a kind one to the teams at the top of the table not named Liverpool. It also had impactful games at the bottom of the table as the relegation battle rages on. Here are some of the more important results and headlines to come out of another interesting week of action. 

Wolves comeback against Southampton

The headliner of matchweek 23 might have been on Sunday between Liverpool and Manchester United, but the likely game of the weekend played out at Molineux Stadium on Saturday. After Southampton scored two goals in the first half, Wolves answered with three unanswered in the second half to steal all three points.

Southampton have been in great form over the past four weeks. The Saints have won four of their last five games prior to facing Wolves. And this red-hot form has helped Southampton climb out from the relegation zone. So when Jan Bednarek scored in the 15th minute, and then Shane Long in the 35th minute, it looked as if Southampton were set to continue their winning ways.

But Wolves in the second half were completely different. Wolves began to play like the sixth-placed team in the league. And all of their opportunities came from one place. Their best player this season, Adama Traore, imposed himself on the game. Two of Wolves’s three second half goals were assisted by Traore as the Spanish winger whipped in dangerous crosses and dribbled past Southampton defenders.

It was an exhilarating game and a great comeback by Wolves. With this win, Wolves are now in sixth-place, just behind Man United on goal difference. Meanwhile, for Southampton, this is a tough loss to take. However, they still remain six points above the relegation zone in 13th place.  

Norwich City win, and Bournemouth are in more trouble

There was a battle of the two bottom clubs in the Premier League this Saturday when Norwich City hosted Bournemouth at Carrow Road. And after two red cards and one goal, it was Norwich City who came away with all the points.

This was Norwich’s first win in the league since their 2-0 victory over Everton on Nov. 23, 2019. Since then, the Canaries have managed just four points. And one of the main themes of Norwich’s poor run has been the inability to maintain a lead after scoring first. They have scored first in six of their last nine league games since their last win. And prior to Saturday, in each of those six games they blew the lead and either drew or lost the game.

This win against Bournemouth was the first time since their last victory that Norwich was able to not only keep a clean sheet, but also hold onto a lead. However, even after the three points, the Canaries are still at the bottom of the table. With 17 points, Norwich is still three points behind Bournemouth, who are directly above them, and six points behind Watford in 17th place.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth have been trending downward in the league for a while now. This is the Cherries’s fourth Premier League loss in a row. They have also been held scoreless in five of their last six league games. The return of striker Callum Wilson should bring a little more life to the joint-worse attack in the league, but it won;t solve all of their problems.

The Cherries have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League in over a month, and show no signs of ending that poor run. Manager Eddie howe needs to find a way to fix a defence that has already conceded a worrying 36 goals this season. Bournemouth will have an opportunity to end this poor run when the host South-Coast rivals Brighton on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Everyone below Liverpool has a bad weekend

The teams directly below league-leaders Liverpool had a rough weekend. Manchester City, Leicester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all dropped points in their respective matches.

Let’s start with second-place Man City. The Citizens have not hit the heights of their past two seasons, but they have been playing well recently. Before hosting Crystal Palace on Saturday, Man City won five of their last six Premier League games. After conceding to Palace’s Cenk Tosun on the 39th minute, City turned the game around. Two quick-fire goals from Sergio Agüero in the 82nd and 87th minute all but guaranteed the three points. However, a 90th minute Fernandinho own goal robbed Man City of a victory. The biggest difference between Man City this year and the past two years has been their defence. The loss of starting centerback Aymeric Laporte has been huge for the Citizens this season. Manager Pep Guardiola has been forced to start Fernandinho, who is naturally a central-midfielder, in Laporte’s absence. And something has to be said for not having Vincent Kompany. The club captain left Man City after last season’s title, and his leadership has been severely missed this year. Kompany’s experience is exactly what Man City could use right now.    

Next up is third-place Leicester City. Since their 3-1 loss to Man City and subsequent 4-0 loss next week to Liverpool, Leicester have struggled. Heading into this weekend, Leicester had won just two of their last four Premier League games. So a win against a struggling Burnley team might have been exactly what the Foxes needed. And it looked as if Leiceter were on their way to three points after the first half. Winger Harvey Barnes scored his second goal of the season, and the likes of James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Premier League goalscoring leader Jamie Vardy looked dangerous.  

Much like Leicester City, fourth-place Chelsea had a less-than-ideal game on the road against Newcastle on Saturday. The Blues have made an unfortunate habit of dropping points to teams in the bottom half of the table. In the past month, Chelsea have now lost to Newcastle, drawn with Brighton, lost to Southampton and lost to Bournemouth. Those four teams sit 12th, 15th, 13th and 19 respectively. And Chelsea were nearly there against Newcastle too. The game was tied up until Newcastle’s Isaac Hayden headed home a simple set-piece delivery from Allan Saint-Maximin in the 94th minute. This loss also means that Chelsea have won back-to-back games in the Premier League since Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.

Finally there’s fifth-place Man United. They had the unsavory task of trying to stop Liverpool at Anfield in the last game of the weekend. The Red Devils did have the luxury of knowing that the three teams directly above them had all dropped points, but that didn’t stop them from laying a goose egg against Liverpool. And even if the game ended 2-0 in favor of the hosts, Man United still had plenty of scoring chances. Andreas Pereira had two towards the end of the first half. Fred tested Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson twice midway through the second half, but the best chance came to striker Anthony Martial in the 59th minute. The Frenchman skewed his strike well over the crossbar after a lovely one-two passing move with Pereira. In the end, the Red Devils were punished by the league’s most ruthless team.  

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 22 Review

After nearly a week off due to the FA Cup third round the Premier League returned this weekend. And although matchday 22 didn’t have an outstanding of slate of games, there were still plenty of important results when the fixtures were finished. Here are some of the more important results at the bottom and top of the Premier League table.

Liverpool set another record

It seems that every week Liverpool have an opportunity to break another record, and in their 21st match of the season they did just that. After beating Tottenham 1-0, Liverpool have now amassed 61 points out of a possible 63. This is the best 21-match run in the history of the English first division. It is also the best 21-match start to the season in any of Europe’s top five leagues (France, England, Germany, Spain and Italy). However, against Tottenham, breaking this record did not come easy.

The first 10 minutes were frantic with both teams trading premium scoring chances at either end of the field. Liverpool had the first opportunity to open the scoring, however Roberto Firmino had his second-minute effort blocked off the line by 20 year old Jahpet Tanganga. The next two chances fell to Tottenham. The first for Lucas Mour in the fifth minute and the second by Heung-min Son in the seventh minute. However, like Liverpool, Spurs could not take advantage.

After the electric start, Liverpool took control. The leaders had nearly 85% possession for the remainder of the first half. The possession would pay off for Liverpool in the 37th minute. The Reds capitalized from a poor defensive clearance from Tottenham when Firmino fired his seventh goal of the season from a tight angle. Heading into half time, it looked as if Liverpool would coast to another three points.

Tottenham offered much stiffer competition in the second half, which greatly improved the quality of the game. Liverpool would still dominate possession, but Tottenham looked much more threatening when counter attacking. Tottenham’s attack in the second half resembled much more what they were doing in the first five minutes of the game. Unfortunately for Tottenham, their finishing was just as poor as it was in the first half. Tottenham fashioned chance after chance, but could not score. And the worst instance came in the 83rd minute when Giovanni Lo Celso skewed a sure-fire tap-in.

For Liverpool, it’s another win, even if it wasn’t comfortable. It is also another step closer to ending a 30 year English championship drought. Meanwhile Tottenham fall further behind in the chase for the top four. After a promising start under Jose Mourinho, Spurs have fallen nine points behind Chelsea for fourth place.  

Southampton continue to win

The last time Southampton played, the Saints shocked Tottenham 1-0 and began their climb away from the relegation zone. This weekend Southampton travelled to second-place Leicester City and came from behind to beat the Foxes 2-1. This win catapulted the Saints up to 12th place and eight points above the relegation zone.

However, this victory shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Since the start of the holiday fixtures on Dec. 21, 2019, Southampton have four wins and one draw. Three of those wins have come against premier opposition. They beat Chelsea 2-0 away from home, and as previously mentioned, they beat Tottenham 1-0 at home. Add those two victories with their most recent triumph over Leicester, and the Saints have claimed some impressive scalps this season.

The major catalyst for Southampton’s run has been the play of striker Danny Ings. The England striker is the team’s leading goalscorer with 14, and has scored five goals in his last five games. Having a consistent goalscorer is vital for a team that may find itself in a relegation scrap like Southampton. For example, of the eight teams below Southampton in the table, only one team has a player who has scored more than eight goals (Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki how has nine).

Southampton’s defense has also vastly improved. The Saints have conceded just three goals in their last five games and have kept two clean sheets. Prior to this fine defensive form, Southampton had conceded 36 goals in 17 games. However, Southampton’s schedule doesn't get any easier with a home game against Wolves and then trips to Crystal Palace and Liverpool.  

Manchester United torch Norwich City

The Red Devils need to keep pace with the teams above them if they want to qualify for a European competition next season. And there was some pressure on Manchester United after Friday, when Sheffield United momentarily occupied fifth place. However, after cruising to a 4-0 win at home against Norwich City, the Red Devils reclaimed fifth and also kept pace with fourth place Chelsea.  

This win also matches Man United’s largest margin of victory this season. Their last 4-0 win was against Chelsea on the opening day of the season. But what makes this victory better is that every one of Man United’s strikers were on the scoresheet. Marcus Rashford scored twice and Anthony Martial had one of his own. Add this to 18 year old Mason Greenwood, who also scored, and all of a sudden Man United seem to have plenty of consistent goalscoring.

Another promising performance came from Juan Mata. The Spaniard played on the right side of midfield and contributed with two assists. Now this did come against the bottom club in the league, and there will be plenty of more difficult games ahead for Man United. In fact their next match is a trip to Anfield and the league leaders Liverpool. However, Man United have struggled to find scoring outside of Marcus Rashford this season. So it’s promising to see other attackers carry the weight.

Performance of the week: Sergio Agüero vs. Aston Villa

No goal of the week for matchweek 22 in the Premier League. Instead we are going to honor one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history. Manchester City signed Sergio Agüero in 2011 and ever since he has been bamboozling and befuddling Premier League defenders. In 255 Premier League appearances Agüero has scored 177 goals. Against Aston Villa, Agüero scored is 175th, 176th and 177th. And with his 176th he passed legendary Arsenal striker Thierry Henry for the most goals scored all time by a foreign player in the Premier League. And with his 177th, Agüero has scored his 12th hattrick in the Premier League, which is most all time. At 31 years old, Aguero is still decimating defences. He’s scored 13 goals in 16 Premier League appearances this season and is showing no signs of slowing down.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 21 Review

Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone enjoyed the turn into the new decade, because the Premier League certainly did. There were nine games on New Year’s Day and one on Jan. 2. Unfortunately this does mean that the busy fixture list for the holiday season is over. However, there were still plenty of interesting results to analyze to start the new year.

Arsenal beat a top-5 team

Mikel Arteta’s first two games as Arsenal manager didn’t go well. A draw to Bournemouth and a home loss to Chelsea were disappointing to say the least. However, Arteta and Arsenal redeemed their slow start after a convincing 2-0 win over Manchester United. This was Arsenal’s first win over a team in the current top five.

The Gunners won the game in the first half, with both of their goals coming in the first 45 minutes. Record-signing Nicolas Pepe set the tone when he scored his third goal of the season, and Arsenal’s first of the day, in the eighth minute. Arsenal struck for the second time right before the break when centerback Sokratis Papastathopoulos slammed home a close range effort in the 42nd minute.

So far, Arteta has focused on what Arsenal does well, attacking. In each of his first three games as manager Arteta has opted to start strikers Alexander Lcazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and attacking-midfielder Mesut Özil. With Pepe making his first start under Arteta against Man United, Arsenal potentially have a dynamic four-man attack that could rival any other team in the league barring Liverpool and Manchester City.

Arteta has also been consistent with his formation and first-team selection. Although the Gunners have a woeful defense, lining up in Arteta’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation gives Arsenal two holding midfielders that act as a shield for the vulnerable defense. These shielding roles have Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka, who have started three and two games respectively under Arteta.

Torreira and Xhaka are similar players who excel at intercepting, tackling and breaking up opposition attacks. With the midfield focusing on bolstering the defense, the four attackers in front of them can focus on attacking. This also gives the fullbacks freedom to join the attack and create overloads in the wide areas. Currently Arteta has chosen to start Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right-back, and a platoon of Bukayo Saka and Sead Kolasinac at left-back. Hopefully Arteta will be able to call upon starting fullbacks Hector Bellerin and Kieren Tierney when they return from injury.

Arteta might be just the manager that Arsenal need. He’s a former player who knows the style of play that the fans and executives come to expect. Also, it seems that his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City has greatly influenced and improved his coaching acumen. Arteta now has the ability to add to his squad during the January transfer window if he so chooses. If not, then Arsenal will likely give him the entire summer window before the start of next season to improve the squad.  

Aston Villa, West Ham and Watford all win

The relegation battle has taken shape over the past 12 days, with the gap between 11th and 19th place being just six points after New Years. And there were three teams that did their Premier League cause a world of good on New Year’s Day. Watford and West Ham got important home wins, while Aston Villa beat Burnley on the road.

Villa’s road win over Burnley was an important bounce-back game for the team. Just a few days prior, Villa were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Watford. Their game against Burnley was the complete opposite. Villa dominated the first half, and if VAR had not been involved, they could have been up 3-0 at the end of the first half. However, their 2-1 over Burnley wasn’t perfect. Villa had to substitute goalkeeper Tom Heaton and striker Welsey due to injuries. Both players have started at least 20 games this season, and have been vital pieces in Villa’s campaign so far.

West Ham’s victory over struggling Bournemouth was their largest margin of victory this season. Not only did West Ham score four goals, but they kept a clean sheet as well. This was also David Moyes’s first game back as manager after West Ham fired Manuel Pellegrini. This win stops The Hammers’ poor form of one win in the last five matches. That prior form is the reason why West Ham are just two points above the relegation zone. However, a strong start under Moyes could save West Ham from the drop.  

Meanwhile, Watford continues their impressive run of form under new manager Nigel Pearson. The Hornets have now won three of their last four matches, with their most recent win over Wolves. Unfortunately for Watford, they remain in the relegation zone, but they are only two points behind Aston Villa and 17th place.

Spurs fall to the Saints

Tottenham have not had a good holiday period. From the start of their holiday fixtures on Dec. 22, Tottenham have won once, drawn once and lost twice. Their most recent loss came this past Saturday against Southampton. With the loss, Tottenham have fallen off the pace for the top-four and are now six points behind Chelsea for fourth place.

Against Southampton, Spurs lacked any defensive discipline or attacking edge. Along with Danny Ings’s goal in the 17th minute, there were multiple instances that Tottenham’s defense was exposed. And in most instances, it was just a simple ball over the top or a through pass deep from midfield that unlocked Spurs’s back four.

Meanwhile, Tottenham created just five shots on target with almost 60% possession. Even with the resurgence of Dele Alli under Jose Mourinho, Tottenham have failed to find a third or fourth dimension to their attack to support Harry Kane. Winger Son Heung-Min has been suspended and midfielder Christian Eriksen has lacked match-sharpness due to his intent to leave the club.

Under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs qualified for the Champions League for the last four consecutive seasons. Mourinho easily has the coaching pedigree, having won to Champions League titles already, but if he is unable to qualify for the Champions league with Tottenham this season, then his job might be on the line. And with the emergence of Leicester City and Wolves, the challenge for the top four has gotten even more difficult.

Goal of the week: Alireza Jahanbakhsh vs. Chelsea

It took Alireza Jahanbakhsk 18 months to score his first goal for Brighton. But now he has two in two matches running. The Seagulls’s record signing didn’t adjust well to life in the Premier League during his first season in England. However, under manager Graham Potter, Jahanbakhsh has found new life. After coming on as a substitute in the 68th minute, it took the Iranian winger just 16 minutes to execute the spectacular. After Brighton’s corner in the 84th minute was only partially cleared by Chelsea, Jahanbakhsh contorted his body and performed a picturesque bicycle kick. His worldie earned Brighton a draw and also their first point against Chelsea in the club’s Premier League history.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 20 Review

With most teams having just 48 hours between matches, the Premier League returned this weekend for matchweek 20. And as usual there were important results at the top and the bottom of the table. Here are some of the more important headlines to come out of this week's action in the Premier League.

Watford’s rise continues

Ever since manager Nigel Pearson has taken over, Watford have two wins, one draw and one loss. Their most recent win came this Saturday against fellow relegation strugglers Aston Villa. Although the win keeps Watford in 19th place, they are now just three points behind a struggling West Ham and Premier League safety.

This is the best stretch that the Hornets have had all season, and it can be directly traced back to Pearson’s appointment as manager. In both of their wins Watford have scored multiple goals while keeping a clean sheet. The return of striker and captain Troy Deeney has some obvious influence on Watford’s attack, but the defense is a different story. For the first time this season, Watford look organized in defense.

Pearson has kept things simple for Watford. Defend in numbers and eliminate space. Under their two previous managers Watford would surrender acres of space behind their defense. But under Pearson, Watford defend deeper and in two blocks of four. This makes it tougher for teams to break them down directly and over the top.

The job isn’t done for Pearson and Watford because they still sit in the relegation zone. However, winning a couple of vital games, one of which against a relegation struggler, is a great way to gain momentum.

So armpits are offside now?

Norwich City is the bottom club in the Premier League. They need all the luck to go their way if they want to remain in the league. Unfortunately they got none in their game against Tottenham. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, but the biggest talking point came in the 33rd minute.

Striker Teemu Pukki thought he had scored his team’s second goal after he expertly corralled and finished a pass from Mario Vrancic. The goal went to video review, and after some zooming, line-drawing and discussion, VAR ruled that Pukki was offside, by his armpit.

There was a similar instance during Sunday’s game between Liverpool and Wolves. Although it wasn’t an armpit, the margins were just as tight. Wolves wing-back Jonny was deemed offside by what looked to be his big toe during the build up of his team’s goal. What would have been a tying goal was ruled out and Liverpool won the game 1-0.

The England Football Association states that a player is offside if: “any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents' half (excluding the halfway line) and. any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.”

In simpler terms, if any part of an attacker’s body that he can legally use to score is behind the lasher defender when a ball is played, then you’re offside. Technically both Pukki and Jonny were offside, but the margin of offside was so minuscule, that it could be argued that neither player gained an advantage from being offside.

Also, in Pukki’s case, how likely is it that a player will be able to score a goal with their armpit? And say it does, the ball would likely deflect off the attackers arm and be called for handball anyway. These are just the two most recent examples in a larger catalogue of goals that have been ruled out for a marginal offside decisions.

Chelsea comeback against Arsenal

The Blues made the short trip from West to North London on Sunday to play Arsenal in what was the headliner of the weekend. It was also manager Mikel Arteta’s first home match in charge of his former club. However, it was a home debut to forget for Arsenal and Arteta as the Gunners allowed Chelsea to comeback in the second half and win the game 2-1.

It was a tale of two halves, with Arsenal dominating the first. The first goal came in the 13th minute after Pierre Emrick-Aubameyang headed home from close range. After the goal, Arsenal continued to press for their second, fashioning multiple scoring chances. However, they weren’t able to get a shot on target.

The Gunners were dominating so much that Chelsea manager Frank Lampard made a tactical change in the 34th minute, substituting wing-back Emerson off for midfielder Jorginho. The change switched Chelsea from their starting 3-5-2 formation to a 4-3-3. Jorginho acted as an extra man in midfield for Chelsea and gave the visitors a stronger foothold for the rest of the game.

However, there was a bit of fortune for Chelsea. In the 77th minute, Jorginho fouled Arsenal’s Matteo Guendouzi by pulling him back, stopping an Arsenal attack. This usually results in a yellow card, and at that point in the game Jorginho had already been booked for an earlier foul. For whatever reason Jorginho escaped without a second yellow card and a subsequent sending off.

The non-decision would hurt Arsenal even further when Jorginho capitalized in a Bernd Leno mistake and tapped home Chelsea’s opening goal in the 83rd minute. Four minutes later Chelsea would complete the comeback when Tammy Abraham finished a fast-break counterattack.

The win keeps Chelsea four points ahead of Manchester United for fourth place and the last Champions League spot. Meanwhile, it’s been a tough start for Arteta and Arsenal. In the two games since his appointment, Arsenal have drawn and lost. And it doesn’t get any easier for Arteta as his team now hosts Manchester United on New Year's Day.

Goal of the week: Aaron Mooy vs. Bournemouth

It wasn’t the best week for goals in the Premier League, but take nothing away from Aaron Mooy’s goal against Bournemouth. The goal started when winger Leandro Trossard served a wonderful ball into the box with the outside of his right foot. Mooy’s first touch was excellent, his second was just as good and his third resulted in a goal.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Boxing Day Review

Boxing Day is wonderful. It is one of the many highlights of the holiday schedule in the Premier League. This year 18 teams played their 19th game of the season on Boxing day, while two played the day after. And before you know it, the Premier League will be back this weekend for matchday 20. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at some of the more important results to come from Boxing Day and matchday 19.

Aston Villa earn a massive three points

Aston Villa and Norwich City faced each other in a vital mid-season six-pointer at the bottom of the table. Entering the matchweek Villa and Norwich were 18th and 19th respectively, tied on 15 points. And it was Aston Villa who wrestled away all three points after a tense 1-0 win over their fellow relegation strugglers.

Norwich will feel hard done by with the result. However, the Canaries’s inability to score is what is costing them results. Last week against Wolves, Norwich dominated the first half, creating multiple scoring chances, but were only able to score once. They would be punished for their poor finishing in the second half and lose 2-1. This week, Norwich had six shots on target, one attempt bounce off the woodwork and an Alex Tettey shot cleared off the line by Villa’s Dougla Luiz.

Substitute Conor Hourihane scored the only goal in the 64th minute. This win is also Villa’s first in the Premier League in a month, when they beat Newcastle 2-0. And although Aston Villa are still in the relegation zone after the win, they are now just one point behind 17th-place West Ham. With their next two league games against Watford and Burnley, Aston Villa will have two excellent opportunities to climb out of the relegation zone at the turn of the new year.

Chelsea stumble at home to Southampton

Just four days after their impressive 2-0 win at Tottenham, Chelsea returned home to Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day to play Southampton. And instead of building on the success of their last result, Chelsea squandered an opportunity to distance themselves from 5th-place thanks to a 2-0 loss to the Saints.

Chelsea had 66% possession and completed 555 passes, but barely did anything to threaten Southampton’s defense. And Chelsea’s poor attacking display came off the back of one of their best of the season. Willian, who was man-of-the-match against Tottenham, lacked cutting-edge.

Manager Frank Lampard made three changes, likely due to the busy schedule, that had a negative effect on Chelsea’s attack. The most important of the three was likely replacing Mason Mount with Callum Hudson-Odoi amongst the front three. Mount has been one of Chelsea’s best attacking outlets this season. The 20 year old Englishman has five goals and one assist in 19 appearances this season. Compare this to Hudson-Odoi who has no goals and three assists in just 11 appearances in the Premier League, and Chelsea left a vital cog of their attack on the bench.    

Meanwhile, the Saints were contempt with soaking up Chelsea’s meagre attack, and hitting them on the counterattack. Southampton’s two goals, the first by Michael Obafemi in the 31st minute, and the second by Nathan Redmond in the 73rd minute, came due to incisive attacking from the Saints.

Chelsea’s six-point lead over Tottenham has been cut in half in less than a week after they beat their London rivals. And now they only have a two point lead over Wolves. During a period of the season where the best teams rise to the challenge of a congested fixture list, Chelsea have floundered. Chelsea’s next game will be away to a desperate Arsenal side looking to reignite their season after the appointment of new manager Mikel Arteta.

Liverpool extend their lead

League-leading Liverpool returned from their FIFA Club World Cup triumph with a match at 2nd-place Leicester City. And what could have been an exciting showcase turned out to be a one-sided beatdown as Liverpool swept aside Leicester City 4-0. Liverpool now has a 13 point lead over Leicester and a 14 point lead over Manchester City after they played Wolves on Friday (more on that later).

It took Liverpool 37 seconds to register their first shot on target, and from there the Reds demolished Leicester. Liverpool fashioned chance after chance, constantly exerting their pressure on Leicester’s usually resilient defense. Prior to this match, Leicester had the league’s best defense, conceding just 14 goals and keeping seven clean sheets.

However, that didn’t deter Liverpool from scoring the opening goal in the 31st minute after Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a pin-point cross to Roberto Firmino. For the remainder of the first half, Liverpool continued to press Leicester, but were unable to double their lead.

This frustration continued for the Reds in the second half. Liverpool would engineer multiple scoring chances, but squander them due to poor finishing or an excellent last-ditch tackle from a Leicester defender. There was even a 10-minute period in the second half where Leicester threatened to tie the game. Had Leicester scored during this period, against the run of play, then the complexion of the match would have greatly changed. However, that wasn’t the case.

After Leicester’s 10-minute spurt, Liverpool flexed their muscles again. The Reds attack exploded, scoring three goals in less than 10 minutes and finally put the game to rest. Substitute James Milner scored a penalty in the 71st minute, Firmino benefited from another Alexander-Arnold assist in the 74th and Alexander-Arnold capped off a man of the match performance with a goal in the 78th.

Liverpool’s dominance this season has been staggering. In 18 matches they have won 17 and drawn one for a total of 52 points. They are on pace to amass 109 points and break Manchester City’s points record that was set two seasons ago. And even though we are just at the halfway point of the season, one has to wonder if Liverpool could go the entire season unbeaten.

Wolves and Manchester City produce a classic

The only game on Friday between Wolves and Manchester City was a doozy. Entering the match Man City had an opportunity to reclaim 2nd place with a win, while Wolves could move within two points of a Champions League place. By the end of the math there had been a sending off, a penalty retaken and a two goal deficit erased.

The match really kicked off in the 11th minute when Man City goalkeeper was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity. The Brazilian goalkeeper came out of his box to try and stop pass over the top of his defense intended for Wolves’ Diogo Jota. Instead, Jota chipped the ball over the head of the onrushing Ederson. With zero chance of winning the ball, Edrson clattered into Jota and was given his marching orders by referee Martin Atkinson.

Man City would have to play almost 80 minutes with 10-men and without their starting goalkeeper. Meanwhile, Wolves just had to grind down and already depleted Man City defense that was starting midfielder Fernandinho in central defense. However, Man City were given a lifeline after VAR had deemed that Man City winger Riyad Mahrez was tripped in the box, awarding the visitors a penalty.

Raheem Sterling’s first penalty was saved, but VAR got involved again after the review caught Wolves players encroaching in the box when the ball was struck. With a second opportunity Sterling stepped up again, and the penalty was saved again. However, Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio could only palm the ball back to Sterling, who calmly slotted home the rebound. Then in the 50th minute, the 10-men Man City would double their lead thanks to Sterling again. The Citizens were playing like champions.

After Sterling’s second goal, Wolves would have 40 minutes and a man-advantage to erase a two-goal deficit. The comeback started when Adama Traore fired a low shot past substitute goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 55th minute. Nearly 30 minutes later Wolves had drawn level. Traore was involved again, however this time he assisted on Raul Jimenez’s tap-in. It didn’t take Wolves long to find the winning goal after that. This time it was Jimenez who turned provider. The Mexican striker smartly back-heeled a pass into the onrushing Mathew Doherty, and from there the Irish wing-back did the rest. With his weaker left foot, Doherty scored Wolve’s third and the winning goal.

The comeback was complete. Wolves had moved closer to the Champions League while Man City suffered another loss in what has become a one-sided title race.      

With the win, Wolves became just the second team ever to beat a Pep Guardiola-led team in the league twice in a season. This includes Guardiola’s time managing in Spain and Germany. The only other team to do so was Chelsea during the 2016/17 season, which was Guardiola’s first in the Premier League with Manchester City.

Goal of the week: Jordan Ayew vs. West Ham

Jordan Ayew scored a beautiful winning goal against West Ham on Boxing Day. The Ghanaian forward dribbled in from the right sideline, pirouetted past one defender, dribbled between two and then calmly chipped the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Roberto. And what makes this goal even better, it was a 90th minute winner. Classy.  

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 18 Review

On a matchweek where leaders Liverpool sat idle due to the FIFA Club World Cup, the Premier League produced some important matches at the top and bottom of the table. At the top Leicester City visited Manchester City in a battle between second and third place, and Tottenham hosted Chelsea in a Mourinho Derby. Also, Sheffield United remain unbeaten on the road after they beat Brighton 1-0. Elsewhere, Southampton and Watford earned vital wins as both teams try to climb up the table.

Arsenal and Everton audition for their new managers

It was the last match for Arsenal and Everton interim managers Freddie Ljungberg and Duncan Ferguson before they were replaced by Mikel Arteta and Carlo Ancelotti respectively. Arsenal named Arteta, a former Everton and Arsenal midfielder, their new manager on Friday, while Everton named Ancelotti their new boss last Monday. It was also an opportunity for the players to impress their new managers who were in the Goodison Park stands observing.

Unfortunately for Arteta and Ancelotti, neither manager will be too pleased with the display on Saturday. The game ended in a drab 0-0 draw as both sets of players failed to perform. Neither team did enough when attacking, making it rather easy for each defense to stop anything that came their way.

The attacking display was so poor that Everton striker Cenk Tosun was brought on in the 11th minute and then promptly taken off the field in the 80th minute after not doing enough to influence the attack. This is the second time an Everton striker has been brought on only to be substituted off the field later on due to poor play. The previous instance happened in Everton’s last match against Manchester United, which also ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Meanwhile, Arsenal matched Everton’s poor attack by displaying a frustrating offense of their own. Even with 57% possession and 484 completed passes (a whole 131 more than Everton), the Gunners took just six shots, two of which were on target. Arsenal's Leading scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was frustrated the entire afternoon. The Gabonese international started alongside inexperienced youth in attack like Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli. Because of this, Aubameyang received little service and barely threatened Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Arteta and Ancelotti will obviously have to fix the attack, but both teams’ defenses are cause for concern. Arsenal have conceded 27 goals this year, while Everton have conceded 29. Both teams have had a revolving door of defensive pairings and formations due to injuries and poor form. A consistent selection and new tactics might help both teams as they try and turn their season around.

Arteta’s first match as Arsenal manager will be against Bournemouth on Dec. 26. Meanwhile, Everton will host Burnley on the same date. Both managers will think that their debut games are winnable. And even though a win would be a great way to start their respective tenures, Arteta and Ancelotti will try to bring consistency that both teams have been severely lacking this year.  

Manchester City re-enter the title race, and set back Leicester City

The battle of 2nd vs. 3rd on Saturday afternoon between Leicester City and Manchester City didn’t disappoint. Entering the game Man City were four points behind Leicester and were in danger of falling further behind in the title race with a loss. Leicester were 10 points behind 1st-place Liverpool and had an opportunity to put pressure on the leaders with an impressive win over Man City. When the final whistle blew it was the hosts Man City who had emerged with all three points thanks to an exciting 3-1 win.

Man City winger Riyad Mahrez was excellent against his former club. The Algerian started on the right side of Man City’s attacking trio and was a constant threat cutting in on his favored right foot. Leicester left-back Ben Chillwell was in sixes and sevens trying to defend his former teammate.

Just as impressive as Mahrez was Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The attacking midfielder added to his league-leading nine assists on Saturday. In the 69th minute, De Bruyne made a lung-busting run into the Leicester penalty area before serving and inch-perfect cross to Man City striker Gabriel Jesus for his 10th assist on the season.  

Even after the win Man City is still one point behind Leicester. But if the Citizens were to lose or even draw it would have been a huge blow to their title defense. Man City have already lost four games this season, and cannot afford to lose anymore if they want to keep up with the teams above them. Man City’s next match is Friday, Dec. 27 at sixth-place Wolves.  

Meanwhile, Leicester couldn't take advantage of Liverpool sitting idle due to their FIFA Club World Cup duties. Just a week after drawing with relegation strugglers Norwich City, the Foxes suffer their second loss of the season. Leicester’s last loss was on Oct. 5 against Liverpool. And it doesn’t get any easier for Leicester as they host league-leaders Liverpool on Boxing Day in what could be a title-decider just halfway through the season.

Watford win!

This is not a drill. Watford, the bottom club in the league who have only won once this entire season, have won a game. And it comes against Manchester United, a team that hasn't lost in the Premier League since Nov. 2. Watford’s 2-0 win over Man United is also their first win since they beat Norwich City on Nov. 8.

Aside from these two winning instances, Watford have been dismal this season. The Hornets have scored a league-low 11 goals, and conceded 32. This was only the third time Watford has scored more than one goal in a game. The last time was, you guessed it, their last win. However, this was surprisingly the fifth time that Watford have kept a clean sheet this season.

Will this win be enough to turn around Watford’s season? Who knows. But manager Nigel Pearson, who is already Watford’s third this season, has made an immediate impact. Watford are still the bottom club, but they are now just sx points away from leaving the relegation zone. Pearson’s second game in charge will be on Boxing Day, Dec. 26 against Sheffield United.

Goal of the week: Willian’s first goal vs. Tottenham

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho dominated the headlines as his current team hosted his former team Chelsea on Sunday. However, when the game ended it was Chelsea who took all the headlines, as the visitors cruised to a 2-0 victory over their top-four challengers. And it was Chelsea winger Willian who had the best performance for the victors.

His 12th-minute goal came during a period when Chelsea were dominant. The Brazilian played a quick one-two from a corner kick with midfielder Mateo Kovacic. After the ball returned to Willian’s feet, the Brazilian produced a bit of magic. A quick step-over and a cut onto his right foot gave him just enough space and a better angle to fire the ball into the corner.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 17 Review

Week 17 of the Premier League didn’t had a couple of surprising results, but aside from Everton and Norwich City drawing with Manchester United and Leicester City respectively, it was a boring week for the Premier League. Here are some of the more important headlines to come out of another week of action. 

Arsenal’s miserable season continues

What was supposed to be the premier matchup of the weekend between Manchester City and Arsenal turned out to be a one-sided affair. By the 40th minute, Kevin De Bruyne had given Man City a 3-0 lead, enroute to three points. Even with an hour to play, the game was pretty much over. Arsenal had lost to another team position above them in the table.

After the loss, the Gunners have 22 points and are in ninth place. And it’s a valid reflection of how Arsenal have played this season. Arsenal have played seven of the eight teams currently above them in the table. They’ve won zero, drawn three and lost four, for a grand total of three points.

That’s the reason why Arsenal fired manager Unai Emery, and if it continues, will likely be the reason why interim manager Freddie Ljungberg won’t be brought back. There are too many things to fix at Arsenal, and too little time. The club clearly still has visions of qualifying for the Champions League, but it might be smart to push that idea back for a couple of seasons.

There is still talent in Arsenal’s attack with Alexander Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang and Nicolas Pepe. Arsenal even have exciting youth-prospects like Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Joseph Willock, all of whom have made appearances in the Premier League this season.

Aside from that Arsenal lack leadership and defensive integrity. There’s no one in this squad that fits the mold of a captain. This can be seen in the instance where former captain Granit Xhaka was stripped of his captaincy after being booed off the field by his own fans.

Aubamayang has filled-in as captain, but it was almost as if he was given that position just because he’s one of the fans’ most popular players. There are other players like David Luiz, Hector Bellerin and Sokratis Papastathopoulos who have plenty of experience, but none of them really fit the mold to wear the armband.

Then there’s the defending. The aforementioned defenders have been poor this season. But add that to the atrocious play of Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi, and Arsenal’s back-line is laughable at best.

All of this won’t be fixed overnight. The prime example that Arsenal should look to is Liverpool. Manager Jürgen Klopp was appointed in the early stages of the 2015/16 season with some of the same problems. It took Klopp a few years before Liverpool were finally able to challenge for titles and win European competitions.

The most important thing for Arsenal and its fans is to be patient. Whoever they hire as their new manager won’t be able to turn this team into title-challengers overnight. It will take multiple transfer windows and a couple of years before Arsenal are competitive again. Let alone able to challenge for silverware.    

Meanwhile, this is an important win for Man City. They’re still in third place with 35 points, four points behind second place Leicester City, but they host Leicester on Dec. 21. With a win, Man City could vault into second place and reignite their title defense.  

Duncan Ferguson gets replaced with Carlo Ancelotti even after positive results

So far so good for Everton interim manager Duncan Ferguson. Last week Everton showed fight, something they rarely had under former manager Marco Silva, on their way to a 3-1 win over Chelsea. A week later and the Toffees have grinded out another positive result. This time a one-all draw at Manchester United.

With four points in his first two games, Big Dunc has managed his former club out of the relegation zone. An impressive feat considering how languished this squad looked earlier this month. However, on Monday, Ferguson was rewarded for his efforts by being replaced with the recently fired Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti.

It’s a puzzling move for Everton, especially since Big Dunc has improved what was a poor performing Everton squad. Prior to Ferguson’s appointment, Everton were in the relegation zone. But after two games and four points, the Toffees are in 16th place, three points ahead of the drop. One would think that Everton should stick with Ferguson due to his impressive start, however Everton saw an opportunity to hire a manager with pedigree and jumped on it.

Ancleotti is one of Europe's most decorated managers, which is one reason why he was hired for the job. During his time managing Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Ancelotti has won three Champions Leagues, four league title (one Premier League, one La Liga title, one Bundesliga title and one French Ligue 1 title), along with countless other trophies and managerial awards.      

The Italian manager has built a reputation as a manager for premier clubs, so it’s interesting to see him agree to a deal to manage a club stuck in the bottom half of their respective league table. Time will tell if Ancelotti’s appointment will work. The Italian has a busy fixture schedule ahead of him as the Toffees play four Premier League games in 11 days. He will need to relay his tactics t a squad that will be under its third manager in less than a month.

Does anyone want to challenge Liverpool?

League-leaders Liverpool had a poor showing against bottom club Watford on Saturday. But the Reds still managed win 2-0. This meant that the Reds have now amassed a remarkable 49 points from 17 games, winning 16 and drawing just one.  

Later that day, Leicester City, who are second in the table, needed a win if they wanted to remain eight points behind the leaders. And three points seemed to be almost automatic for the Foxes as they welcomed second-bottom Norwich City to the King Power Stadium. Afterall, Leicester had won their last eight games in-a-row.

However, Leicester’s winning streak was in jeopardy after their first half against Norwich. If it weren’t for last-ditch defending and poor finishing, the Canaries could have been leading going into halftime. Norwich’s attacking gameplan was simple, but effective. They would take advantage of Leicester's high defensive line and play long balls in behind to their forwards.

Leicester did improve after they conceded in the 26th minute. The Foxes would draw level after a Jamie Vardy header was deflected by Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul into the back of his own net in the 38th minute. From that point Leicester pressed for the second goal. If it weren’t for Krul’s heroics, and some last-ditch defending from Norwich, Leicester would’ve scored the winning goal. But the game would end in a draw, with each team taking a point.  

Although, even after gaining a point, Leicester City remain 10 points behind the leaders Liverpool. Their next league game is on Dec. 21 at Manchester City. The winner of that match will likely be seen as the favorite to challenge Liverpool for the title. But if that game ends in a draw, then the title might be too far out of reach for either team.

Goal of the week: Dan Gosling vs. Chelsea

A lovely bit of ingenuity for goal of the week here. Bournemouth’s Dan Gosling might not have hit this ball the hardest or dribbled past an entire team, but what he did do was no less impressive. The Bournemouth midfielder did well to remain onside, take a good first touch and smartly dink the ball over the keeper. The goal might have gone to video review, but that still doesn't take away from Gosling’s ingenuity. 

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 16 Review

This is what makes the Premier League great. Whereas some leagues like the Bundesliga in Germany and La Liga in Spain are preparing for their winter break, the Premier League marches on. Just a few days removed from the Merseyside Derby, fans were rewarded with the Manchester Derby and a London Derby, along with a host of other games to choose from. And the best part is that the Premier League delivered once again. Here are some of the major headlines to come out of an exciting week 16 of the Premier League.

Big Dunc gets his first win

Duncan Ferguson’s first match as Everton manager sure was a good one. The Toffees beat Chelsea 3-1 at Goodison Park. The win dragged Everton out of the relegation zone and into 14th place.

This was also Everton’s first match since their dismal 5-2 defeat to in-City rivals Liverpool, which promoted the Merseyside club to fire it’s manager Marco Silva after the club dropped them down to 18th place and into the relegation zone.

So how did Ferguson manage to have such an immediate impact on a squad that lacked desire? Well the answer was to simplify the game. Under Silva, Everton switched between the 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 formations. However, Ferguson opted to line his team up in a simple 4-4-2.

The game plan against Chelsea was also simple. In attack Everton would spread the ball out to their wide midfielders Theo Walcott and Alex Iwobi, who were then supported with overlapping runs from their fullbacks. From there, Everton would cross the ball into the box for their strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to attack. Everton’s first goal is a prime example of this style of attack.

Then in defense, Everton’s game plan was just as simple. Whenever Chelsea tried to pass the ball around in their defense, press them and force errors. Aside from that, when Chelsea had the ball in midfield or in attack, Everton would sit back, clog passing lanes and absorb any pressure that Chelsea tried to exert in attack. The press on Chelsea’s defenders worked so well, that two of Everton’s goals came as a direct result of this game plan.

Now this is just one game, but it is a promising start for Everton. Big Dunc and the Toffees will have another test on Dec. 15 when they travel to face an in-form Manchester United.

Manchester is red… for now

The headliner in the Premier League on Saturday was the 179th Manchester Derby between Manchester City and Manchester United. And the first meeting of the season went to Man United after they beat their noisy neighbors 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

And it was an open game with plenty of chances for both teams. However, Man United took advantage of their chances in front of goal and even capitalized on a favorable VAR decision which led to Marcus Rashford’s opening goal. Man City had a late fleury of scoring chances in the second half, but were unable to salvage a point. This win solidified Man United’s claim to challenge the top-four and earn an all-important Champions League bid.

This is the first time Man United have won back-to-back games in the Premier League this season, who now sit in 5th place, just five points behind Chelsea. The two wins have also come against top-four challengers Tottenham and Man City.

And on paper, Man United have some easier games coming up. Three of their next four games are all against teams in the bottom half of the table. The Red Devils could solidify their top-four challenge with some positive results against this lesser opposition by the end of the holiday period.

Meanwhile, Man City have already lost four games this season. They lost just six all of last season on their way to the title. Manager Pep Guardiola and company need to find a way to turn this season around if they want to remain in the title race. Because as of now Man City is 14 points behind Liverpool and in 3rd place.

Leicester City continues to roll

With Liverpool continuing to win, and Manchester City losing to Manchester United this weekend, the only team that seems like they want to challenge the league leaders is Leicester City. The Foxes beat Aston Villa 4-1 on Sunday, retaining their 2nd place position in the league, eight points behind Liverpool.

Led by striker Jamie Vardy, Leicester has one of the most potent attacks in the league. As a team they’ve scored 39 goals, which is third best in the Premier League. Vardy has a league leading 16 goals, and after the game against Villa, he’s scored in eight consecutive Premier League matches. The last time Vardy scored one that many consecutive games was in the 2015-16 season when he scored in 11 consecutive games, and Leicester won the title.

However, Leicester also have a defense to match their prolific attack. The Foxes have a league best seven clean sheets, and on the season they’ve only conceded 10 goals. The last time that Leicester conceded more than one goal in a game was the last time they lost when they played Liverpool on Oct. 5. Since that 2-1 defeat, Leicester has conceded just three goals and kept five clean sheets.

Leicester’s form has been so impressive that they’ve extended manager Brendan Rodgers’s contract to 2025. The Foxes will try to win their ninth game in a row when they host relegation strugglers Norwich City on Dec. 14.

Goal of the week: Son Heung-min vs. Burnley

Solo goals are always a treat. So feast your eyes on Tottenham’s Son Heung-min and his 90-yard run, as he sliced his way through a helpless Burnley defense. Son received the ball inside his own half, turned around, and thought to himself, “I’m going to embarrass someone today.” Well he embarrassed a whole team and scored what could be goal of the season.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 15 Review

Midweek Premier League action is always great, and across three days all 20 teams played their 15th match of the season. On Tuesday, Manchester City brushed aside Burnley, while a 10-man Crystal Palace outlasted Bournemouth at home. Wednesday saw every home team win, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Leicester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Wolves all winning. Finally, on Thursday, Newcastle United earned their second impressive result of the week after beating Sheffield United 2-0 away at Bramall Lane, while Brighton handed Arsenal a 2-1 defeat in Freddie Ljungberg’s first loss as Arsenal manager.

The Merseyside Derby cost Marco Silva his job

Cross-town rivals Liverpool and Everton met at Anfield for the 234th installment of the Merseyside Derby. It is also the longest running Enlgish top-flight derby, as the two teams have played continuously in the league since 1962-63. And in recent history this fixture has leaned in favor of Liverpool. So it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the league leaders Liverpool trounce their Stanley Park neighbors 5-2. The Reds have now won the last 20 derbies, and have also not lost to Everton at home since 1999.

This historic dominance from Liverpool has seen Everton cycle through managers in an effort to close the gap. And Everton have cycled through another. Manager Marco Silva, who was having an awful start to the 2019-20 season, was relieved of his position on Thursday. And for justified reasons too. After this loss and a Southampton win, the Toffees were dumped into 18th place, and the relegation zone. Since the start of the Premier League in 1992, only six teams have avoided relegation. Everton is one of them.

It also wasn’t as if Everton have not tried to improve. Per Transfermarkt, Everton spent $136.69 million on players in the 2019 summer transfer window. That was the 5th most out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League. However, Everton is certainly not playing like the 5th best team in the Premier League.

Silva has been managing Everton since May 2018, and he has had a two summer transfer window to try and build a squad in his image. However, that squad is currently sitting in 18th place. In fact, in his 60 matches as Everton boss, the Portuguese manager averages just 1.43 points-per-match. Everton isn’t winning enough to justify massive amounts of spending.

Former player Duncan Ferguson has been named as the interim manager. It’s a move similar to Arsenal when they recently hired former player Freddie Ljungberg to take over for Unai Emery.

Ferguson has a tough first match as Everton boss as his team hosts 4th place Chelsea on Saturday. Ferguson’s impact will decide whether Everton stick with him in the long run. However, the club can’t get too far ahead of themselves. They need to focus on saving this season and avoiding relegation before their next managerial decision is made. And if that means having Ferguson keep the interim tag for the remainder of the season, then so be it.

Marcus Rashford shows up

The headline going into the match between Manchester United and Tottenham was Jose Mourinho returning to Old Trafford to face a club he once managed. When the final whistle blew, the headline after Man United’s 2-1 over Tottenham was the play of Man United’s forward Marcus Rashford.

Rashford scored both of Man United’s goals. The first, from a wide-left position in the 6th minute, and the second, a penalty in the 49th. What makes this performance even more interesting is that it came whilst Rashford started on the left-wing. Rashford has nine goals and four assists this year in the Premier League. Including the two he scored against Tottenham, Rashford has scored seven and assisted on three when he has started on the left-wing (per Transfermarkt).

Rashford might see himself as a center-forward, but it is clear that he operated better isolated out wide against the opposition fullback. Tottenham’s right-back Serge Aurier was on an island the whole game while defending Rashford. And it was Rashford’s direct running and skillful dribbling that earned him his first goal.

The Red Devils have struggled to score goals this season, managing just 23 goals in 15 games. However, this performance from Rashford should give Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and idea on how he should line-up his team for the rest of the season, especially in attack.

Goal of the week: any one of Manchester City’s four against Burnley

After a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on Nov. 30, Manchester City were at their rip-roaring best midweek when they travelled to face Burnley. And due to their attacking brilliance, each of their four goals could be worthy of goal of the week. It’s really up for you to decide.

Gabriel Jesus 24’ - The opening goal of the match, and the Brazilian’s first of the game, Jesus beautifully curls his effort around Burnley defender Phil Bardsley from a tight angle and past goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Jesus 50’ - It took a while for Man City to score their second, but this one was worth the wait. The passing on display from Man City shows why they’ve won the last two Premier League titles. All Jesus had to do for this one was be in the right place at the right time.

Rodri 68’ - An absolute rocket. A frozen rope. Blasted. Whacked. You can say whatever you want about this strike from Man City’s defensive midfielder. All you need to see is that Burnley’s goalkeeper Pope had zero chance of stopping this. The ball was moving too fast and would’ve likely taken Pope’s hand clean off if he managed to get it there in time.  

Riyad Mahrez 87’ - A little bit more of a solo effort here, but still just as impressive as the other three. Mahrez receives a pass in midfield and never looks back. His dribbling and desire to move the ball forward is what makes this goal. It also doesn’t hurt that he scored from outside the box on his weaker right foot.

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 14 Review

Week 14 of the Premier League kicks off the holiday schedule and the busiest period in the league. This weekend was the first of seven games that each team plays in December. By the end of all this fixture congestion there should be a clearer picture for the title race and relegation battle. And it might seem cliché, but teams either sink or swim during this part of the year.

At the top of the table, Liverpool and Leicester City both won 2-1. Meanwhile, Chelsea lost 1-0 to West Ham, and Manchester City drew 2-2 at Newcastle United. There were also two exciting 2-2 draws on Sunday. Arsenal and Norwich City played to a stalemate at Carrow Road (more on that later). Then Aston Villa earned an important point at Old Trafford against Manchester United. But here are the more enticing headlines to come out of this weekend’s games.

Dele Alli looks revitalized under Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourninho has won his first two Premier League games since replacing Mauricio Pochettino as Tottenham manager. Even though it is a small sample size, Tottenham’s attack looks re-energized since Mourinho’s appointment. Spurs have scored three goals in each of their two wins under Mourinho already. And the player who looks most impressive for Tottenham since the change in manger is attacking midfielder Dele Alli.

The England international has two goals and one assist in his two matches since Mourinho arrived. Perhaps the most important for Alli since the arrival of Mourinho is where he’s been playing. Under former manager Pochettino, Alli was deployed out wide as a left-midfielder or in a deeper position as part of a midfield trio.

However, under Mourinho, Alli is playing in his preferred position as an attacking midfielder right behind the striker. This is important because Alli doesn’t have blistering speed, nor is he an exquisite dribbler. But what he does have is an excellent understanding of space and timing. And what makes an effective attacking midfielder is their ability to manipulate the space in between deeper midfielder, and wingers and striker.  

The timing aspect of Alli’s game can be seen in his second goal against Bournemouth. For this goal Alli identifies Bournemouth’s defensive weakness; the space in behind, and then times his run perfectly so that he doesn't have to waste any extra movement to latch onto Toby Alderweireld’s pass.

Meanwhile Alli’s understanding of space can be seen in his assist for Heung-Min Son’s opening goal last week against West Ham. For this goal, Alli occupies a pocket of space in between West Ham’s defense and midfield. After receiving the pass, Alli plays a simple pass to Son who finishes the chance.  

Due to the positional change, Alli has doubled his goal total and contributed his first assist in the Premier League after just two games. If Tottenham want to return to the top four they need Alli to continue to perform and take some of the pressure off fellow attackers Son and Harry Kane.

Managerial change for Arsenal and Watford

Both Arsenal and Watford fired their managers over the weekend. Arsenal parted ways with Unai Emery before their Sunday match against Norwich City. Meanwhile, Watford dismissed their manager Quique Sanchez Florez just 85 days into his second stint as the Hornets’ boss.

Both sackings also came off the back of poor results. For Emery it was a 2-1 loss last Thursday against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League, while Flores lost to fellow relegation strugglers Southampton 2-1 on Saturday in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s interim replacement for Emery is former player and Arsenal U23 coach Freddie Ljungberg. The Swede made 326 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal from 1998 to 2007. However, his first appearance as manager for Arsenal didn’t go as planned. The Gunners drew 2-2 at Norwich, and showed the same defensive frailties that they had under Emery. If Norwich was more clinical with their scoring chances, then it could have easily been a loss.

However, it’s still too early to judge Arsenal and Ljungberg after just one game. And remarkably Arsenal remain just one point behind 5th place Tottenham. This season would be a success if Arsenal come anywhere near qualifying for the Europa League.  

Watford meanwhile have yet to find a replacement, but of the two jobs, it is clearly the worst. The Hornets have one win out of 14 games and a total of eight points. There might be just a six-point gap between them and 17th place, but Watford have a brutal next four games. The face 2nd place Leicester City this Wednesday before travelling to 1st place Liverpool, and then host Manchester United on Dec. 23. The only game that seems manageable is at home against 11th place Crystal Palace on Dec. 7, but the way Watford have been playing, they’ll be lucky to get a point.  

Goal of the week: Kevin De Bruyne vs. Newcastle United

There were a couple of options just from this game alone to pick for goal of the week. Jetro Willems’s goal in the first half finished off a slick one-two passing move for Newcastle. Jonjo Shelvey’s equalizer late in the second half for Newcastle was an excellent finish on the end of a clever free kick routine. Then there was even Jack Grealish’s curling goal against Manchester United on Sunday. However, the goal of the match and, consequently of the week, belongs to Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder fired a volley from outside the box after a deft first touch from a poor Newcastle clearance. Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka managed to get his fingertips to the striker but nothing was going to stop De Bruyne’s effort. Absolute rocket.