Was There Love For The Top 4 On Valentines Day?
Hello again, welcome back to the latest post into My Premier League Thoughts and in this post I will be addressing how I thought the weekend went in the world's greatest league.
The footballing action never disappoints and this weekend was no exception, also I must point out what a good weekend it was for English players, particularly for them getting on the score sheet. Everything from strong individual performances to impressive team displays, football was at its finest.
The points I will be analysing include:
- The emphatic Liverpool win over Aston Villa.
- Titles contenders going head to head - Arsenal Vs. Leicester City
- My top 3 players of the weekend
- All the fixtures looked over
- News!
To kick things off I'd just like to point out that I will have another post this week, discussing both live games I experience, where I see Leeds United at home to Middlesbrough and the mighty Bradford City go up against Southend United. Its been a fantastic opportunity and I can't wait to share it. But for now, it's on with the Premier League:
Top Fixtures
Aston Villa 0 - 6 Liverpool
Wow! Liverpool winning by 6 goals looks like a good result but realistically is it? The Aston Villa team they came up against is arguably one of the worst Premier League sides since Derby were in the top flight. Liverpool deserve credit for the win, with 6 goals all by different scorers, it shows they did something right.
Daniel Sturridge came back from injuries and scored after only 14 minutes on the clock when he found space in between 2 defenders, Okore and Lescott in the box and headed the ball in from Coutinho's cross. I love Daniel Sturridge, even as a Manchester United fan, I think Sturridge is an incredible goal scorer. It seems he scores every time he plays, and as an England fan I hope he is fit for the Euro's. Him and Vardy partnering in strike could be lethal and see us getting far in the competition. There has been rumours that Jurgen Klopp is loosing patience with the striker due to his injury problems, which is frustrating for the manager and fans alike. But he's risking loosing a fantastic talent, if in fact the rumours are true. Personally, I hope Manchester United would look at Sturridge and try to secure a deal, which would obviously be almost impossible with him coming from bitter rivals Liverpool, but if Man United offered good money, could Liverpool turn it down? As for Manchester United, it could be a risk but if Sturridge was to get on top of his injuries and string some games together, who knows? Although, it could be just me who see's this through my admiration for the player.
Back to game and it was 2-0 by another English player; James Milner. After Liverpool were awarded a freekick to the side of the net, Milner looked to swing the ball into a dangerous area were the ball would only need the slightest of touch to carry it into the goal. Milner scored however, a mixture of dreadful defending to not head the ball away, bad judgement from the goalkeeper, who realistically should do much better in the situation by taking command and catching the ball, but also the deliver from the Liverpool man was spot on. He put enough pace on the ball and directed it on target incase it didn't get a touch, which is exactly what happened and he profited from it.
Emre Can put his name on the scoresheet when he struck the ball from all of 20 yards into the bottom corner. It was a neat finish which sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and slotted in to make it 3-0 after 15 minutes into the second half. Substitute Divock Origi,got through on goal and calmly slotted home. The Belgium got a treat for Valentines Day during his celebration when he found himself receiving a sloppy snog from a fan after he had ran into the crowd. The passionate fan, showed his love for the player with an eerily long kiss, when he was lucky enough to be in more than just touching distance.
Defender Nathaniel Clyne added a 5th for Liverpool after a driving run saw his initial effort saved, but he was on hand to sweep up when a follow up shot was only half saved by the Aston Villa keeper Bunn, and all Clyne had to do was poke it into an empty net. The rout ended with Kolo Toure heading a corner in after he was left unmarked and he became the 6th different goal scorer in the game, which saw Liverpool move to within 2 point of top 6.
I know Liverpool did well, obviously they went riot and scored 6 but Aston Villa are terrible right now. I think even my Sunday League team would beat them! Clearly, moral is down and the players are not preforming at their best, but that's not an excuse in the Premier League, evidently playing like that gets you in the relegation zone. I think its too late for Villa to save themselves now and the Championship looks like where they'll be next season but if they don't buck their ideas up and start playing as a team again, we may not see them back in the Premier League again for some time because the Championship isn't merciful and the teams won't be intimated by playing a team like Aston Villa.
Arsenal 2 - 1 Leicester City
Firstly, what a game! Each week Leicester prove their worth of being in the top 4 in the table, however they were desperately unlucky this weekend as they lost the game due to a dramatic 90+5 minute goal from Danny Welbeck.
Leicester deserve credit for how they took the game to Arsenal, they didn't sit back and invite the pressure but played with the ball and looked to create chances and have possession. The opening 10 minutes saw both teams have chances but the first real clear cut chance fell to Vardy. A ball in from Marc Albrighton found Jamie Vardy in the box but his header was well saved by Cech.
It's a joy to watch a team such as Leicester, because with them not having much to loose as its a miracle that they have found themselves in the position they are in at this stage, the pressure isn't on them. I agree, the pressure was all on Arsenal in this game, it was down to them to get the win and close the gap on Leicester. This allows Leicester City players to be brave when attacking and allows their key players to express themselves in a way that players from other top 4 teams aren't able to because of high expectations on them.
Praise must be emphasised for this Leicester team which took the lead through Jamie Vardy on the brink of half time. They were awarded for their constant pressure in the final 10 minutes of the half with a penalty when Nacho Monreal conceded the spot kick after bringing down Vardy. He handled the pressure well, if he felt any at all, and confidently dispatched the kick from 12 yards into the bottom right corner sending Petr Cech the wrong way. I never had a doubt of Jamie Vardy missing from the spot, not after the season he's enduring. The Englishman must have his name booked in the England squad list for the Euro's in France because the striker is a natural goal scorer and will poach the goals for us in the summer, hopefully. We had frequently seen players have good seasons and not show up for England in tournament, but Jamie Vardy has something different about him and I see England being successful with the Leicester striker leading the line or even better partnering up with Daniel Sturridge if he can manage to keep himself injury free.
At half time Leicester were a goal up and looking in a great position to see out the second half and claim the 3 points.
Danny Simpson made Leicester's task of holding onto the win much harder than it needed to be when he was shown a second yellow card by referee Martin Atkinson. Persistent fouls after the break saw him pick up the first yellow but obviously he didn't see that as a warning and perhaps out of a lack of discipline or his passion was dominant but Simpson saw red following another foul.
Despite going a man down I thought the reaction of the Leicester players was a positive one. Mahrez had to be replaced to allow Marcin Wasilewski to come on and fill in the defensive numbers. But Leicester continued to look to play the ball forward and release Vardy to one on one opportunities.
Misery and doubt crept into Leicester players minds when on the 70th minute Theo Walcott managed to squeeze Giroud's headed pass in between Schmicheal and his near post and level the scoring. It was a cute finish from a tight angle but Theo possesses the ability to score them types of goals when he gets into the position. Arsenal needed the goal and when it wasn't looking like it was going to come up popped Walcott to provide the belief that Arsenal could steal the points.
Leicester, after conceding, looked as though they had set up to try and gain the point and keep some distance between themselves and 2nd place. However the final 10 minutes of the game came with a bombarding of attempts from Arsenal. Chances fell and were missed from the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud, and the whole Emirates Stadium held their breath when it looked as though Per Mertesaker was certain to head the ball in from just 6 yards out but the tall defender didn't manage to get enough on the ball to steer it into the corner.
It was looking bleak for Arsenal and as though a valiant Leicester had done enough to secure the point. However, Danny Welbeck thought otherwise and rose tallest to get the faintest touch on a whipped freekick from Mesut Ozil to guide the ball passed the goalkeeper. The home supporters lifted the roof with the winner coming in the 95th minute. Back from injury and only on the field for 7 minutes, English man Danny Welbeck had won the game for Arsenal.
I couldn't believe it when Welbeck stole the game for Arsenal, although to be honest it had been coming in the final quarter of the game. The win for Arsenal alters the table drastically coming into this final run. I hope that its only a minor speed bump for Leicester and they can move on from this game with their heads up looking for a win in their next game because its not over yet and they are still top of the league at the end of the day. Its Leicester who are in the best position for the title but with Arsenal clinching the 3 points, it could prove vital for Arsenal or even Tottenham or Manchester City to come in and claim the title. Personally, I hope Leicester end the season with the silverware, they deserve it and it would be fantastic to be able to recall the time Leicester won the league.
Top 3 Players
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Imbula
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Imbula had a solid game from centre midfield for Stoke, in the commanding 3-1 away to Bournemouth. After opening the scoring after 9 minutes with a scorching pop shot volley from outside the area, he endured the rest of the game, dominating the middle of the park. The 18.3 million pound Frenchman, swept past Boruc in goal and set the game for Stoke.
I rate Imbula's fantastic performance at an 8/10 due to him encouraging the win.
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| Pedro |
The Chelsea player scored a brace in a large 5-1 win for the Blues against Newcastle. The player showed awareness al game which was evident in his first goal when he capitalised on a poor pass by Newcastle's Aarons, which saw him through on goal before placing the ball nicely into the corner out of reach of the goalkeeper. Pedro deserves Player of the Weekend as he stood out in the Chelsea win, I rate him a 9/10 for his great game.
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| Eriksen |
Eriksen was just one of the eleven I could have picked from the might Spurs team who prevailed against Manchester City. For a second week running, Mousa Dembele had a commanding game in midfield and Danny Rose put in a tremendous amount of effort, however I went with Eriksen because he scored the vital winning goal to help Tottenham on their quest for the title, also it was his birthday. Because of how crucial the goal could prove to be for Tottenham I give Eriksen a 10/10 for creating the dramatic, entertaining ending to the season.
All The Fixtures!
Sunderland 2 - 1 Manchester United
Sunderland came out of this game with the 3 points thanks to goals from Khazri and an own goal by De Gea and dampen Man United's hopes of top 4. Martial equalised with a tidy finish after Mata had his effort parried but the early lead and late goal won it for Sunderland. As a Man United fan I was gutted as I thought we'd been on good form to have confidence in order to win but despite tons of chances it would be Sunderland's day.
Bournemouth 1 - 3 Stoke
A memorable strike from Imbula and a quick fire double from Afellay and Joselu after the break was enough to ensure Matt Ritchie's goal was just a consolation. The win ended Stoke's recent poor run of form and was much needed. Stoke dominated the game and had enough chances to win by 4 or 5.
Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Watford
A Troy Deeney penalty put Watford a goal in front, when he converted the controversial penalty, a low on confidence Palace side found an equaliser through Adebayor, but t was Watford who would come out victorious when Deeney slotted in his 2nd of the game and 9th of the season to down Palace and encourage Watfordat the tail end of the season.
Everton 0 - 1 West Brom
I was surprized to see Everton loose this one but West Brom narrowly took the 3 points through Rondon's 14th minute goal. It secured West Brom's 2nd win of 2016 but was arguably undeserved looking at the stats. With Everton having 76% possession and 34 attempts on goal, West Brom proved to be the more clinical team to claim the points.
Norwich 2 - 2 West Ham
Norwich will be disappointed to let a 2 goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with West Ham who put on a fantastic comeback with 2 goals in as many minutes. Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan put Norwich into what seemed like a comfortable lead but Payet started the comeback ad Noble ended it with his equalising goal coming on the 76th minute. Neither team had enough in them to steal the win but I think a draw best reflected the game.
Swansea 0 - 1 Southampton
Shane Long scored the only goal when he headed home a cross from Steven Davis. A relatively stale first half came into life in the final moments when both teams had a notable chance but both attempts saw the ball fly over the crossbar. Southampton became increasingly the better of the sides in the second half and Long got the goal they deserved to move them within a point of Manchester United and send Swansea close enough to see the drop zone.
Chelsea 5 - 1 Newcastle United
Chelsea were in fine form at home to Newcastle and were 3 goals to the good inside 20 minutes thanks to neat finishes after purposeful passing. With Costa, Willian and Pedro already on the scoresheet, Pedro was to add his second in the second half and Traore put a goal in when he came off the bench. Townsend ended the scoring with a Newcastle consolation but the Chelsea team is starting to look more like we are accustomed to seeing after their recent form.
Manchester City 1 - 2 Tottenham
Tottenham helped their surge to the top spot by beating fellow contenders Man City. Joe Hart attempted to put Harry Kane off when he stepped up to take the penalty Tottenham were awarded but Kane kept his cool to smash the ball down the middle. The entertaining game had end to end action but substitute Iheanacho was to get Man City on level terms with a powerful shot from a low cross. But birthday boy Christian Eriksen would seal the points for Tottenham on the 83rd minute and show that Spurs were a serious title challenger.
NEWS!
Much of the footballing news has been centred around Adam Johnson and his situation involving pleading guilty to charges of grooming a 15 year old girl. The player was sacked by Sunderland and is facing jail time. Im not saying what he has done is right because obviously it is disgusting but if the photo flying round social media of the girl he is associated with is the actual person, how was he to know she was 15? To me she looks at least 19! That's still not right for Johnson to be with a girl that young but if he met her on a night out, possible near a club, he'd have assumed she was older than 15. The full story of how they initially met is unknown but I see why he could have been in this mess. Still I don't reason with him and deem him innocent but I don't see why he would do what he has when he's got a girlfriend who is as good-looking as she is!
Lionel Messi has also been creating headlines with his genius penalty. With him being on 299 La Liga goals he had the chance to break the 300 mark from the spot, but unselfishly he played the ball to the side and allowed Suarez to run on and seal his hat trick. Stroke of genius or disrespectful, I certainly am on the side of genius! I definitely know one CR7 who wouldn't have been quite as generous!
Thank you for the support you've been giving me lately! Its been incredible, I will be uploading again this week, so stay tuned. Let me know your opinions on the fixtures and whether you think Messi was a genius or disrespectful? I love to interact so message me on any of my social media sites. Until next time, bye for now...
Lee Harwood
Social Media-
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kingleeroy67
(I must say, I don't own any of the photo's, copyright issues)
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