There have been many weeks of the Premier League following the script, with big teams running past supposedly weak opponents and tables gaping with inactivity, but there have been very few of those in the 2022-23 season.
There are several consecutive themes in this season’s stories that also aired this weekend. Arsenal looked like favorites for the title because they converted their chances, while Manchester City dominated the opposition just as thoroughly, but did not quite find their smoothness in the last third (however, the two-time defending champions still won).
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But Liverpool proved they climb over humps only to find new humps, barely showing up to play a Bournemouth side that was always going to fight.
And Chelsea have shown signs that they have indeed overcome the Kai Havertz-managed plateau that looked so bad a few weeks ago, but put their boss’s confidence back into goals (someone give Graham Potter some credit, please).
And the Spurs are good again. Maybe Newcastle too.
bottom three? There are seven teams that can get there by week 38.
So maybe a better question is what have we learned from the Premier League this weekend? stick? Here’s where our writers live as Joe Prince-Wright (JPW), Andy Edwards (AE) and Nicholas Mendola (NM) share their insights into the latest PL games.
Read more Premier League
Casemiro red in Manchester United’s entertaining draw against Southampton West Ham and Aston Villa trade blows as Irons scores a valuable point Erling Haaland penalty lifts Manchester City to rainy Crystal Palace
10 things we learned in the Premier League: Week 27
1. Martinelli and Trossard gave Arsenal an extra level just in time (Fulham 0-3 Arsenal): It was a pleasure to watch Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli tear Fulham apart in the first half. The duo moved freely between the left flank and the central zones, and Fulham simply could not track them. Martin Odegaard moved forward to play as a second striker and was always able to combine when they came back. Arsenal had to get creative with their attacks without Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah – the former returned to form and entered the field late in the game – and this inadvertently gave them an extra tactical level at a key moment of the season. Jesus will of course start most of the last 11 games of the campaign, but Arsenal now have a very different option when they want to. This will be crucial in the last months of the season as they aim to win the title. (Japan)
2. Liverpool prove they’re not really back (AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool): The worst thing about this defeat was that in this performance of Liverpool, it felt like he was entitled. This will scare Jurgen Klopp. The German coach said before the game that his team always respected the opposition, but that didn’t seem to be the case at Bournemouth. The players expected to score a goal, expected to win at a late stage and were not ready for the early start of the game in a drizzle on the south coast of England. They didn’t do much to make a difference and there were a lot of hands on their hips. Whether they finish in the top 4 or not this season, there should be a massive rebuild this summer with at least five or six key new signings. All season it was one step forward and one step back, and it made them hope for the top four, and not grab it with both hands. It’s there for the taking. (Japan)
3. Havertz gives Chelsea another hint of what’s possible (Leicester 1-3 Chelsea): In truth, 1-1 would have been a fair halftime score, but the Leicester defenders fell asleep in the final seconds and Kai Havertz timed his run perfectly just as Enzo Fernandez kicked the ball into the box. Havertz took the chance so casually that he seemed to think he was offside, barely celebrating, but the Blues were 2-1 up after surviving Leicester’s dominant period of play. It’s a goal against old rivals Dortmund and another against Leicester City; Havertz can now surpass his early season performance and score his first 10-plus goals of the season at home in a Chelsea shirt. He scored 17 and 12 in two seasons as Bater Leverkusen. (AE, NM)
4. Persistent Kane continues to carry the “spurs” on his shoulders (spurs 3-1 Nottingham Forest): Saturday marked the sixth time in Harry Kane’s career that he scored 20 Premier League goals in a season. In three seasons, he failed to score 20 goals, he “only” scored 17, 18 and 17 (injuries also played a role in two of them). That equates to exactly 200 Premier League goals in the last nine seasons, for an average of 22.2 goals per season. It’s just an incredible consistency and result from a player who unfortunately can go his entire career without winning a single trophy, no matter how long he plays. (AE)
5. Casemiro’s red card changes the game as Saints push Manchester United to the limit (Manchester United 0-0 Southampton): The Brazilian’s reckless challenge resulted in his foot slipping off the top of the ball right into Carlos Alcaraz’s foot. In the past, this move has been used to hurt a player without involving a referee, but now there is VAR and after it was considered, it was hard to imagine that Casemiro would not see his second red card of the season. . Manchester United were in control immediately after that and it seems fair to conclude that Saints didn’t work too hard this week on what they would do if they had the ball. But halftime discussions changed that for Ruben Selles’ Saints; They regrouped and the second half was a crazy chance for the hosts and guests. How it ended with a 0-0 score, we do not know, but the goalkeepers were good, and the goalposts also did their job. Now four games without Casemiro really threaten Erik ten Hag’s goals this season, but the coach doesn’t blame the player for what he sees as an unfair red card. (New Mexico)
6. Almost all of the Palace players are now, appropriately, almost on the verge of relegation. (Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City): Patrick Vieira may have ended his playing days at Manchester City and he may be closer to Pep Guardiola’s assistant when it comes to celebrating football, but he’s an Arsenal man through and through and set his men up to try and take two points from the title rivals of the Gunners. He nearly made it, thanks to performances such as an all-star show from Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga; But it only takes one miss, and Palace, make no mistake, missed to send Erling Haaland to the penalty mark. Palace fans can have near Beat Liverpool at home two weeks ago and they may be close to beating Manchester City, but their manager and his players aren’t giving home supporters anything of interest at Selhurst Park. Palace have scored one goal in their last four Premier League home matches and it was scored by James Tompkins in the M23 derby. The Eagles are now leaving for the Seagulls midweek ahead of a trip next Sunday to Arsenal, where Lokong will not be allowed to play. If you don’t score in either of them, Vieira’s future will be in big question, as will the Eagles’ Premier League status in 2022-23. (New Mexico)
7 Sean Dyche Toffees Found Their Survival Formula (Everton 1-0 brentford): Three 1-0 home wins over Arsenal, Leeds and now Brentford since the arrival of Sean Dyche as boss showed that Everton have a formula to stay out of the relegation zone until the end of the season. Playing without a recognized striker, Sean Dyche set them up for midfield runners to cause havoc, which is exactly what they did for Dwight McNeil’s goal. Amadou Onana, Abdoulaye Dukurem and Alex Iwobi were tireless in the first half and worked hard in the second half to close the space in front of a solid back four. Everton have shown they can persevere, be organized and resist pressure. They will need to do this many times in the last 11 games of the season, but now it looks like they have finally found stability and, most importantly, faith. (Japan)
8. Supersub Miguel Almiron cleans up trash for sloppy magpies. (Newcastle 2-1 Wolves): It’s not really debated whether Magpies were the better team, but Wolves did enough to earn a point in the face of Newcastle’s extravagance. This means that for the people of Julen Lopetegui, this would not have been a fight and a takeover if Miguel Almiron had not arrived on the scene. Nick Pope was not sanctioned by VAR for colliding with Raúl Jiménez in the box shortly before the Magpies took the lead, and the Wolves felt the turn was fair when Hwang called them. Enter Newcastle’s top scorer who was left out of the squad due to poor performance. Miguel Almiron may not hit double figures every year, but thanks to him, the Magpies are still in the top four. The Paraguayan winger came off the bench and didn’t just score the winning goal, he brought the game to life. On another day, his slippery eel move after a late short turn went 3-1 into stoppage time. If the Magpies break into the top four or qualify for the Europa League or the European Conference League, a series of Miggi moments will take them there: a single goal in a 1-0 win against Everton in October, a match-winning score against Tottenham Hotspur 20-1 four days later, the only assist in a win against Chelsea on 12 November and now the winner of the match against Wolves. (New Mexico)
9. Roberto De Zerbi furious about Seagulls end product (Leeds 2-2 Brighton): Brighton were a team that held the ball and created some really dangerous chances, but all of that and two exceptional concessions will leave you ahead of a confusing group of 7-10 and not in the thick of fighting for fifth… or even fourth! It’s probably hard for…
Source: sports.yahoo.com
