Wrapping Up: Premier League Week 10
The English Premier League is the best professional sports league in the world. The consolidation of talent isn’t what it is in leagues like the NFL and NBA, but from the way the leagues are organized, to how winning the league works, to the off season, the Premier League has them both beat. Football, soccer, fútbol, or whatever else you may call it, is the undefeated king of worldwide professional sports.
Every week we get drama, intrigue, and a whole mess of highly skilled professionals showing us just how much more talented they are with their feet and heads. This week was no different. Fortunately for me and my tired fingers, not every game needs a full breakdown of what happened because sometimes bad teams look bad against good teams. Manchester City thanks you for your service Burnley.
On that note, Manchester City continues its climb back to the top of the league table with its five to zero victory over Burnley. Burnley remains in the relegation zone with only five points all year. West Bromwich Albion picked up a much needed win over the train wreck that has been Sheffield United. Sheff United remains bottom of the table with one point while West Brom moves up to the 18 spot. Recently promoted Leeds picked up the one goal win against Everton, as they continue their slide down the table. Newcastle United grabbed the two to nil win over Crystal Palace. Both teams have been lackluster this season and really could have used the win, so way to go Newcastle. Lastly West Ham United continues its impressive 2020 campaign with a two to one victory over Aston Villa. Without further ado, matches that provided much more meaning and entertainment await analysis.
Brighton and Hove Albion 1 - Liverpool 1
That was unexpected. A missed penalty, Diogo Jota doing his thing, and an iffy penalty being converted. This game was a little all over the place. The Liverpool back four has been utterly decimated by injuries this season but they still sit as a top two team on the table. There is no reason Liverpool should be drawing with Brighton. Brighton had a chance to take an early lead off of a penalty but Neal Maupay badly missed and was quickly subbed off. There is a world where Brighton win this game two to one. Liverpool will be fine by all accounts, even with injuries they remain one of the most talented teams in soccer, but this result is not what you want as a fan of Liverpool. The almighty kings from last season are not on the road to surefire repeat champs that we all expected them to be.
Southampton 2 - Manchester United 3
This game is a tale of two halves. Southampton came out on fire and ready to play. They scored two goals including an absolutely mercurial free kick from James Ward-Prowse. Manchester United created ample opportunities and refused to convert on any of them. Southampton came out of the halftime locker room firmly in control of this match up. Then in the sixtieth minute Edinson Cavani plays a beautiful cross to Bruno Fernandes and suddenly it is a one goal game. After thirty-five minutes and two perfect headers from Cavani Manchester United saw themselves walk away from this match with the three to two victory. This game was a microcosm of United’s season. Portions of stunning ineptitude closely followed by sections of unbelievable world class, title contending class. It truly is a frustrating existence. As for Southampton, they looked good throughout but clearly exhausted themselves towards the end of the game. However they continue to prove that they have the talent and coaching to really push for a top six spot in the league. Whether they can actually accomplish this goal remains to be seen.
Chelsea 0 - Tottenham 0
It always feels a little hollow when the biggest match-up of the week ends in a zero to zero draw. Despite what Jose Mourinho had to say after the match, his Tottenham Spurs are now on top of the Premier League table. They have done it through stout defense and a lethal counter-attack. They thrive off of the mistakes that risk taking teams like Chelsea and Manchester City take. This is the Mourinho method, so to speak. Meanwhile Chelsea continue to both impress and underwhelm all at once. Their midfield did not look as crisp as they normally do, and the attack continues to be a scrambled mess of brilliantly talented forwards. These are two teams that will be in contention for the title come the end of the season. As for Chelsea, they just need to figure out what to do with that front three.
Arsenal 1 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 2
Arsenal have a losing record. This season continues to go from bad to worse. They went around two or three full games without scoring from open play, and now they continue to lose to teams they should be beating. Wolverhampton sits at seventh on the table, but their goal difference is a paltry zero. The defense in Arsenal looks good as they have only conceded eleven goals all season, but the attack looks stagnant and often unfocused. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang cannot be the only force of potent offense that Arsenal has. Wolverhampton on the other hand, continue to be as tough an out as there is in the Premier league. They play hard and as long as Raul Jimenez can get healthy and come back soon, they are more than dangerous enough on offense to score with anyone. Following both of these teams as the season progresses will be very exciting, or depressing depending on allegiances.
Leicester City 1 - Fulham 2
I don’t actually have much to say on this game. It is just very much worth pointing out that Leicester City continue to be the most Jekyll and Hyde team in maybe all of professional soccer. Also, we should all appreciate Fulham getting the big win here and moving out of the bottom three.