Gameweek 13 – City Not Down and Out
Come kickoff at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City found themselves an inexplicable 12 points behind league leaders Liverpool. An amount that’s surely impossible to overcome given the form of the Reds. Thus, nothing short of three points against a visiting Chelsea side would do for the treble-winning giants.
Things looked harrowing in the early stages. City came out on the flat foot. It was all but inevitable that Chelsea’s strength in possession resulted in a quick-hit counter which N’Golo Kante, after having made a 40-yard run to get on the end of the cross, steered underneath a splayed-out Emerson.
Yet City were able to grab hold of the match and turned it back on its head. A triple-deflected strike from Kevin De Bruyne, eight minutes after having gone down, and a superb dribbling effort from Riyad Mahrez just moments later sent the Etihad flying once more. City then saw out a distinctly un-Pep type of finish by relinquishing most of the possession to their opponents for the rest of the match (the first time they’ve has been out possessed at home since Pep became manager).
For City, this match proved what everyone pretty much knew about their squad: their copious amount of individual quality on the field at any moment. Player like Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus, Aguero and on can sleep-walk around the pitch for 85 minutes, then suddenly blaze in a throng of goals in a flash.
Being able to display that type of talent reminds even the harshest critics that City are too unlikely to fall into total collapse this season. But during a year where their greatest title rivals have slipped just once, and in which their health issues are getting the better of them, the question remains whether City’s talent is truly enough to get them over the edge. The winter months are sure to tell, but even nine points might be a stretch too far for City.
Chelsea Show Determination, Lack Cutting Edge
If you’re a Chelsea fan, it’s difficult to determine how you should feel coming away from this match. The inner title challenger feels gutted at coming away with nothing against City after such a hot start from your side. But you also remind yourself of the scenario your manager is in with having to play a bevy of younger players and concede that it was always a tough ask for your side to overcome the defending champions.
And you know what? You might as well start getting used to it, because that dichotomy isn’t going away any time soon.
Up until De Bruyne’s deflected goal, Chelsea were flat out on the gas pedal and deservedly bossing the match. Unfortunately for them their defensive troubles nipped them back, and the high gear they found early in the match eluded them throughout the second half.
The desire might have been there, especially from a well-oiled midfield trio of Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic, but Chelsea simply lacked teeth when it mattered most. Just once created chance in the entire second half tells the story alone.
If Chelsea expect to stay within reach of the top 3 throughout the duration of the season, they’ll need to find a certain grit to their game. Otherwise they’ll lose crucial points against beatable opponents.
“I’m Back” of the Week
It only took eleven months, but man how good is it to see Jose Mourinho on a Premier League touchline once again? His smirk, winks, and knee-slide after Lucas Moura’s goal was all but vintage Mourinho.
Mourinho had stressed that his work at Spurs in the aftermath of succeeding Mauricio Pochettino would be a lengthy process spanning the course of a few seasons. But this performance was surely was an encouraging start, albeit against a feeble West Ham, who have taken two points from seven matches.
Despite the opponent, the 3-2 It was Tottenham’s first league win in two months and their first away victory in the Premier League since New Year’s Day.
Said Harry Kane after the match, “[Jose] wants to win, he’s a proven winner…I’ve made it clear that I’m at the stage of my career where I want to win trophies.
“I’ve made it clear I want to win them here, and it’s a big year for this. Realistically, we look at the Champions League and the FA Cup to try to do that. We will see how that goes, and, from my point of view, I will keep doing what I’m doing and keep fighting for this club on the pitch.”
For all of the praises and warm welcomes Pochettino would receive from Spurs fans, there lacked a trophy winning edge which most likely hurt his view in the dressing room. And while it’s still WAY too early to determine, just the image of Mourinho being a proven winner could be what Spurs need to finally get over that hump and claim a trophy. In the short term, at least, Mourinho’s reputation could be his biggest asset.
Liverpool Plough On
It’s at this point a writer begins to wonder just how else they can describe Liverpool’s immaculate ability to grind out wins this season.
Stop me if you haven’t heard this script before. Liverpool fail to impress, their opponents squander all sorts of chances and have a goal disallowed by VAR (in this case, James Tomkins’ goal) and then they notch a late, scrambled winner to continue their lengthy unbeaten streak. Do matches like these show the kink in the armor, the holes in the beaver dam about to burst from pressure? Or is this simply a display of Liverpool’s championship character and mentality that will see them through the end?
To be fair, it’s likely a bit of both. Jurgen is certainly in a stage where he’s pacing himself. The Reds have a crucial UCL match against Napoli and a Merseyside derby their next two midweeks. Games against Crystal Palace are important but are also an opportunity to “rest” and not go 100% for 90 minutes.
The formula is working for now, and who’s to say it can’t sustain itself?
Rapid Fire Points
Leicester A Threat
It’s crazy, I know. Leicester winning the title this season would be nuts, especially given Liverpool’s outrageous pace. But at the same time, they’re truly in the hunt after 13 matches. In fact, they’re the only team that’s even able to keep pace with Liverpool at the moment.
A soggy 2-0 win gave Leicester 5 in a row, taking them to 29 points through 13 games. During their title winning season, they had 28 after the same amount of matches. Yes, I know these are entirely different seasons. But give some respect to Leicester.
Brendan Rodgers has this squad firing on all cylinders. Jamie Vardy won’t age, Tielemans and Maddison possess plenty of Premier League creative juices, and the Sonycu/Evans paring has been a revelation. Not to mention Leicester have the second best full back pairing in Pereira and Chilwell. So let’s be honest, until they’re mathematically eliminated, who’s to say they’re not in the hunt? They’ve proved us wrong before, and this squad is better than the one before.
Man United and Arsenal are Not
Raise your hand if you had this on your Premier League predictor bingo. Through week 13, Liverpool have more points than Manchester United and Arsenal combined.
Starting with United, Ole Gunnar lined up in a 3-4-3 formation against a Sheffield side that basically plays the same way week in week out. Thus making you wonder, what did ole think was going to happen? (See: Phil Jones starting at left back) Sheffield dominated the first half and were it not for the brilliance of a three-goal in 7-minute spell, United were on their way out of the midlands with nothing in hand.
But despite the wild 3-3 result, the comeback shouldn’t have happened in the first place. On a side note, fair play to Chris Wilder this season for punching well above his weight, and taking United to the edge with his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the gallery.
And then what to do about Unai Emery and Arsenal? Stalling just isn’t even the right term at the moment. It took a late Alexander Lacazette equalizer to defeat a Southampton team that had secured only 1 point out of a previous 21.
In fact, the noise inside the ground sounded that of a moan rather than celebration. And Lacazette’s reaction were as if he were apologizing for potentially letting Emery’s reign continue on with his strike.
It’s at this point you begin to wonder what else needs to happen for Emery to go? Arsenal have now lost 6 straight in all contests, have no effective tactical plan in place, and have no heart in their performances. Keeping Eemery in place now just feels like negligence.
Silva Surely on His Way Out
The dagger for the Marco Silva era might just have come at the hands of Dennis Srbeny. His stoppage time goal to double Norwich’s lead sent a mass exodus of Evertonians out of the grounds. The travelling fans celebrated their first away win of the season with a rendition of: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” The home fans who remained joined in.
Despite the board’s reluctance to replace Silva, you can’t help but feel this is the end of the road. And if Everton still feel the need to wait it out, here’s a reminder their next three games are against Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea. Good luck sorting that out.
Zeke Ouellette Media 