Premier League
SEVEN TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE FIRST PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION OF 2020
Goals, red cards, VAR drama, general drama, upsets, and Manchester United not being very good. It might be a new year in the Premier League but the same old themes occur.
What did we learn as England’s top flight entered 2020? Have a gander for 90min’s seven main talking points from the 21st round of fixtures.
Acrobatic Finishes Are Back in Fashion
Two cracking acrobatic strikes in the same round of Premier League fixtures? Don’t say we don’t spoil you.
The first came when Alireza Jahanbakhsh, in the midst of a dramatic career revival in a Brighton shirt, denied Chelsea a victory with an exemplary overhead kick in New Year’s Day’s early kick-off.
Then, in the 5.30 kickoff, Sebastian Haller – who has also struggled to adapt to life in England, if not quite to the same extent – doubled West Ham’s lead against Bournemouth, showing off some similarly ridiculous technique to dig out Ryan Fredericks’ cross and send it across Aaron Ramsdale into the corner.
If the rest of 2020 follows in this vein then that goal of the season competition come May is going to be some contest.
Moyesy-Mania Lives
West Ham’s rampant victory, of course, only came about after the return of the prodigal son, the Special One, Fife’s finest, and arguably the greatest manager who ever lived.
David Moyes took charge of a football match for the first time since being let go by the Hammers in 2018, and showed us exactly why he should have been kept on in the first place.
Bournemouth were of course poor, but in a clinical 4-0 victory, the West Ham players showed a level of intensity near-unrecognisable from that they were showing under Manuel Pellegrini in the first half of the season. If they can keep this level of performance going, then another Moyesy masterclass beckons.
Literally Anyone Could Go Down
What even is the relegation battle this season? Norwich, unfortunately, look finished, but beyond that, it is unfathomably tight.
Everton and Southampton have been resurrected, the latter conquering José Mourinho’s Tottenham over New Year, but although they prop up the top half, they each remain just five points clear of safety.
Watford have dragged themselves back into the fight, Bournemouth have dropped into the bottom three, and Burnley have lost three on the spin – with Chelsea, Leicester and Manchester United on the horizon. With just five points separating 11th from 18th, it seems as if literally anything could happen with regards to the drop, and more than half the league may fear they could yet be dragged into a scrap.
Jack Grealish Might Be England’s Most Creative Midfielder
With an assist and another stunning goal in Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory at Burnley, it’s now 11 goal involvements in 19 Premier League appearances for Jack Grealish since Villa’s return to the top flight.
In that respect, he’s out-performing James Maddison, Dele Alli and Mason Mount in that respect, and he’s doing so for a team languishing near the bottom of the league.
Remarkably, he’s yet to be capped for England, but on current form, it shouldn’t be long before that changes.
Life After Vardy
Jamie Vardy remains the Premier League’s runaway top scorer, so with Leicester missing him following two hard-to-take defeats against Manchester City and Liverpool, they might have taken some time to lick their wounds.
They might have, but they didn’t. In the absence of their talisman, they’ve bounced back with successive victories, scoring five goals from five different scorers – suggesting they are a long way from a one-man team.
Kelechi Iheanacho made a case for himself as Vardy’s heir-apparent with a match-winning display against West Ham before the New Year, and it was Ayoze Perez’s time to shine against Newcastle in their first match of 2020, scoring one and assisting another in a 3-0 win. Vardy will be a difficult asset to replace once he hangs up his boots, but the raw materials needed to do so are already there.
Arteta Out-Thinks Ole
Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Manchester United, less than two weeks into Mikel Arteta’s tenure, gave us a glimpse of an Arsenal team playing with a high intensity and a clear tactical plan. They were sharp, switched on and well-drilled; not perfect, but efficient, functional, and certainly promising.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been in charge at Manchester United for over a year now, and they showed none of those things.
It seems they have only regressed since their early days under the Norwegian, despite a wealth of investment in the summer, and while the same could yet happen to Arteta, on the evidence of Wedneday evening’s clash at the Emirates, it was abundantly clear which manager you’d rather have.
The Future Is Bright for Manchester City
There has been so much negativity flying around surrounding a Manchester City team who have committed the crime of being human in recent weeks, but as the title ‘race’ took another painstaking step towards its inevitable conclusion, one thing became clear for City – the future is remarkably bright.
Defeat to Wolves after Christmas perhaps signalled the death of their hopes of retaining the title, but they’ve bounced back from that with two impressive victories, and the latest over Everton showed that in Eric Garcia, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus, the years to come are in good hands.
Jesus in particular put the Toffees to the sword with a two-goal showing, but Garcia has been a revelation at the back since coming in, while Foden’s meteoric talent is finally being recognised with minutes on the pitch.
They may not catch Liverpool this season, but with three trophies still up for grabs and some hugely promising talents beginning to shine in the first-team setup, there is little to worry about long-term.
-90min
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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