Monday, November 18, 2024

Premier League: International Break Edition

International break provides an opportunity to assess the state of the Premier League table 11 matches into the season. Two storylines dominate the top of the table. The first thing to know about the first 11 matches is that the transition from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot has gone far better than any Liverpool supporter could have hoped. The Red are out to a five-point lead atop the table and have conceded only six league goals to date. Of course, Liverpool was far from shoddy on defense under Klopp. Only champion Manchester City and second place Arsenal allowed fewer goals last season. Slot, though, has further tightened that attention to defense, eliminating some of the mistakes to be expected with Klopp’s more frenzied style, and taken Liverpool past Manchester City and Arsenal in the season to date standings.

The second story line is the sudden fallibility of those latter two teams who have run first and second in the league the last two seasons. There seems to be an air of inevitability surrounding the wind down at Manchester City. Technical director Txiki Begiristain, the front office architect of City’s recent title winning squads, has already announced he is leaving at the end of the season. Manager Pep Guardiola’s contract expires this summer with the manager non-committal regarding his future with the club. Rumors regarding Guardiola taking the reins of the Brazilian National team next year have just this week given way to a purported agreement for a one-year extension with the club he has led to six Premier League titles. Superstar striker Erling Haaland has already been reported to have his eyes on a move elsewhere. Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, is hurt more often than he is healthy in what seems the final years of his illustrious career. The biggest factor in Manchester City’s poor start by their standards this season, however, is the absence of Rodri, the defensive midfielder and Ballon d’Or winner who is out for the season.

Arsenal, meanwhile, risks falling back before ever reaching the mountain peak. A key injury to their midfield captain and creative engine, Martin Odegaard, has been a major blow to Arsenal’s attack. The Gunners dropped eight points during Odegaard’s seven match injury absence to fall an ominous nine points behind Liverpool in the table. Unlike Rodri’s season ending status, Odegaard’s return provides hope, but has too much damage already been done to the Gunners’ title chances?

Chelsea, third on point differential over Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Brighton in a crowded top four scramble, seems to have stabilized after a tumultuous period of seeming madness by their ownership. The Blues new manager Enzo Maresca has asserted himself in terms of who he wants to play from the club’s deep roster of options and has been ruthless in his personnel decisions. Excess passengers such as Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell have suffered transfers out or exile to the reserve team under the manager. Fixtures in the lineup include rising league superstar Cole Palmer, improving young striker Nicolas Jackson and defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo who has settled in and begun to flash the form which helped make him such a hot commodity when he was patrolling the pitch for Brighton.

Nottingham Forest and Brighton round out the top six with Forest’s position in the table truly shocking. The Tricky Trees faced a tricky survival battle each of the last two seasons yet now they are suddenly contending for Europe. A defense which has conceded fewer goals than any club but Liverpool has been key for the Trees. Goalkeeper Matz Sels is second in the league with four clean sheets to his credit. In attack, 32-year-old New Zealand striker Chris Wood is the joint second highest Premier League goal scorer, having found the net for eight of the Tricky Trees’ 15 goals scored so far.

Brighton, meanwhile, posted a top six finish two years ago but fell back to midtable last season and said goodbye to highly acclaimed manger Roberto De Zerbi who thought the club’s player investments to be insufficient. In comes 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler, the youngest manager in Premier League history and the Seagulls are soaring once again. Only Liverpool and Manchester City have won more matches and in its last two matches, Brighton has gone toe to toe with both, losing 2-1 to the league leaders and then defeating the defending champions by that same score.

Fulham has also pleasantly surprised supporters this season as the club sits just a point outside the top six. Former Arsenal man Emile Smith Rowe has injected creativity to the Cottagers’ attack and perhaps left the Gunners with some regret over parting ways with the attacking midfielder who could have helped the Gunners during Martin Odegaard’s injury absence. Instead, Smith Rowe has five goal involvements to date for the Cottagers and has become a focal point for Manager Marco Silva’s attack. Former Liverpool man Harry Wilson has also caught fire with three goals in the Cottagers’ two consecutive wins entering the break. Level with Fulham on points are Newcastle and Aston Villa, two clubs who have been streaky this season as they try to establish themselves as perennial top six contenders.

Streaky does not even begin to describe the schizophrenic results delivered by the wide-open style of Tottenham Hotspur Manager Ange Postecoglou. Spurs followed each of their last three victories with a loss, the last two inexcusable defeats to relegation battlers Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town. After 11 matches this is a tightly congested table.

Brentford is level on points with 10th place Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth and Manchester United a point further back in a Premier League table which sees only four points currently separating third and 13th  place in the table. Manchester United are currently 13th, again based on goal differential, as the Red Devils’ uninspiring performances led to the seemingly inevitable departure of the perpetually excuse making Eric ten Hag. The Dutchman is now gone and, with the club having already showed improved form under interim manager Rudd van Nistelrooy, incoming Manager Ruben Amorim takes over a squad which should not be dismissed yet from talk of the European places.

West Ham and newly promoted Leicester currently fall in behind the Red Devils in the table standings. Julen Lopetegui is already in trouble after a poor start to replacing David Moyes at West Ham while Leicester Manager Steve Cooper is also seemingly on thin ice, van Nistelrooy having been mentioned as a possible Cooper replacement.

Everton is in familiar territory as it hovers three points north of the drop line as the Toffees face a relegation battle for the third time in a largely nerve racking four years for Toffee supporters. Everton’s survival chances may be buoyed, however, by the disasters which have been the seasons to date of Wolverhampton and Crystal Palace. The surprisingly poor play of those two clubs has been a boon not just to Everton but has also helped lift newly promoted Leicester and Ipswich Town out of the bottom three, if only marginally and perhaps temporarily.

Wolverhampton has spent all season in the relegation zone, conceding at least five more goals than any other Premier League side. A recent uptick in form by Wolves must be qualified by noting four of five points captured in the last three matches came against Southampton and Crystal Palace, the two clubs who currently share the low rent relegation district with Wolves. The Saints’ struggles are not terribly surprising as the promoted side tries to apply an aggressive style which worked at the Championship level but is far less effective against better Premier League competition. Crystal Palace, however, is a headscratcher. The Eagles were one of the best performing clubs down the stretch last season. While the loss of winger Michael Olise was an expected yet painful departure during the offseason, no one expected the type of regression which has seen the Eagles find the net only eight times this season, the poorest production of any club but for the Saints. Eagles Manager Oliver Glasner is now at risk to see his Premier League career, which began so brightly, end quickly in flames.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Premier League Results Match Week 11: Liverpool Extends Table Lead; Manchester City Loses Again; Arsenal and Chelsea Share The Points; Newcastle Chops Down Trees; Tractor Boys Win As Spurs Disappoint Again; Van Nistelrooy Concludes Successful Interim Run For Manchester United

Liverpool extended its lead in the Premier League title chase to five points over Manchester City. The Reds defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield for their ninth league win of the season while the Citizens lost a second consecutive league match, making its four straight defeats across all competitions for the defending Premier League champions.

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah had the goals for Liverpool in the first and second halves respectively, both tallies coming from Liverpool counter attacks. Salah was in the clear with only one defender to beat in the 20th minute of the first half when he was taken down by Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey. Curiously, there was no foul called but Nunez alertly pounced on the ball and slotted it past goalkeeper Emi Martinez. Salah would later break free on another counterattack in the 84th minute and, free from obstruction, beat Martinez for Liverpool’s insurance goal. The non-call on Bailey’s first half takedown of Salah became more interesting after the match. Replays clearly showed Referee David Coote waved off appeals for a rather clear foul after initial reactions presumed he had ruled advantage to Liverpool resulting in Nunez’s strike. On Monday, Coote was suspended by the PGMOL after a video circulated of the referee spewing anti-Liverpool sentiments. The video, filmed some years ago, includes some salty adjectives applied to former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool fans, critical of Coote’s work in seasons past, may take some smug satisfaction in Coote’s current dilemma but are far more interested in their club’s success under their new manager Arne Slot. The Reds lead both the Premier League table and the new Champions League table in that competition’s revised new format, winning 15 of 17 matches across all competitions under Slot, the best start ever for a manager of a Premier League club.

Meanwhile, the man often thought of as rivaling Alex Ferguson as the greatest Premier League manager ever is having a rough time of it. Pep Guardiola saw his Manchester City team lose a fourth consecutive match in a 2-1 defeat at Brighton. The losing streak is the longest in Guardiola’s tenure in Manchester and has at least temporarily derailed the march toward a fifth consecutive Premier League title. Things began brightly for Guardiola when Erling Haaland banged in his 12th goal of the season to give Manchester City the lead in the 23rd minute of play versus Brighton. Neither side could capitalize on their chances from that point until deep into the second half when Brighton’s Joao Pedro scored in the 78th minute on a poacher’s goal amid a goalmouth scramble. Five minutes later, former Celtic player Matt O’Riley scored in his Premier League debut for Brighton as the Seagulls disposed of the defending league champions. Brighton is now one of four teams (Chelsea, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest being the others) sitting on 19 points, four back of Manchester City and nine points behind Liverpool’s scintillating pace.

Chelsea’s Pedro Neto drilled an equalizer in the 70th minute to salvage a point versus Arsenal in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Both clubs fell further behind league leading Liverpool with the Gunners failing to win for a fourth consecutive time in league play. Arsenal will be encouraged, however, by the return of Martin Odegaard who assisted Gabriel Martinelli’s 60th minute goal which provided the Gunners with their short-lived lead. Odegaard, a source of much of Arsenal’s creativity in attack, had been sidelined for two months before taking the pitch on Sunday. Chelsea sits third in the table over the fourth place Gunners on goal differential in an impressive start to Manager Enzo Maresca’s reign at the club.

Nottingham Forest is fifth after the Tricky Tress relinquished a halftime lead to concede three second half goals and lose 3-1 at the City Ground to Newcastle. Forest has now lost as many games as they have won at the City Ground while the Jekyll and Hyde club has garnered the second most away points in the league this season. Resurgent Newcastle has now won back-to-back matches against clubs then residing in the top three.

Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, continued a frustrating run of alternating wins and losses over its last six matches. Spurs had an opportunity to go third in the  table on goal differential this past weekend. Instead, Manager Ange Postecoglou’s club were upset at home by Ipswich Town to fall all the way to 10th in the table. Ipswich Town’s 2-1 victory was the first Premier League win for the club in 22 years. Sam Szmodic’s spectacular bicycle kick gave the Tractor Boys the lead in the 31st minute. It became 2-0 at half time after rising young star Liam Delap scored his sixth goal of the season for Ipswich Town. A second half goal by Rodrigo Bentancur proved too little, too late for Spurs.

Ipswich Town moved out of the relegation with their victory, leapfrogging a losing Crystal Palace side which could soon be under new management. The Eagles lost 2-0 at home to Fulham in a London derby at Selhurst Park. Manager Oliver Glasner’s side has lost its last ten league matches when conceding the first goal as the Eagles simply do not have the firepower to recover from an early blow. Glasner may be a victim of his own success last season as his underwhelming squad may be finding its true level this season.

Seventh place Fulham, meanwhile, is teasing supporters with possible  European qualification after a second straight win which leaves the Cottagers just a point behind third place Chelsea.

Southampton’s jubilation over the Saints’ first win of the season last week was short lived as the Saints fell back to the bottom of the table with a 2-0 loss at previously winless Wolverhampton. Every team in the Premier League has now won at least once with Wolves beginning to show signs of relegation reluctance with two consecutive draws preceding Saturday’s win.

Manchester United completed its four-match unbeaten run under interim manger Rudd van Nistelrooy with a 3-0 over Leicester. It was the second victory over the Foxes in the past two weeks while van Nistelrooy also presided over a Europa Cup win over PAOK and a league draw with Chelsea. Ruben Amorim takes over as Manchester United Manager following the international break. The management change at Manchester United came after the Red Devils lost at struggling West Ham.

The Hammers have reverted back to terrible form since that match, failing to score in Saturday’s goalless drudge match with Everton which followed on an ugly 3-0 negative result at Nottingham Forest. Things are not yet at crisis stage with West Ham still five points clear of the drop line, but Manger Julen Lopetegui has delivered nothing to excite Hammer fans since following the boring, yet ultimately successful run of former manager David Moyes. Everton, meanwhile, are not free of relegation worries despite having lost but once in their last seven matches. The Toffees are three points clear of the drop line after drawing for the fourth time in that run.

Brentford and Bournemouth, meanwhile, are in that mid-table gray zone with no fear of relegation and yet scant hope for  a European place. The Bees defeated the Cherries 3-2 on Saturday to move one point ahead of Bournemouth into 11th position in the table. Yoane Wissa scored twice for the Bees, his sixth and seventh goals of the season placing him joint third in Premier Leaguer goal production this season. 

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Premier League Preview: Match Week 11

Manchester City and Arsenal try to right the ship the weekend after both clubs have struggled in recent weeks. Manchester City dropped a third consecutive match across all competitions during the week in Champions League action against Sporting Lisbon. The winning manager in that match was Ruben Amorim who the Citizens will be seeing much more of when the Portuguese manager takes the reins at Manchester United in a few weeks. A final score of 4-1 during Tuesday’s match was a humiliating exclamation point on Manchester City’s recent downturn in form. A defense depleted by injury played without discipline and conceded two penalties. Striker Erling Haaland, meanwhile, missed on his own penalty try. City returns to league play at Brighton on Saturday and the Seagulls will not be an easy opponent for Manchester City to recover their form against.

Only the top three clubs have fewer losses than a Brighton side which gave league leading Liverpool a competitive match at Anfield last week before falling in the end. Liverpool is home again this weekend to face  Aston Villa. Manager Unai Emery’s Villa team has won just one of its last five matches, a run punctuated by a 4-1 loss to Spurs last week.

Arsenal, meanwhile, will be on the road at Stamford Bridge as it tries to pick up the pieces after losing two of its last three league matches. A loss to Chelsea and a Liverpool win over Aston Villa would put the Gunners 10 points back of the Premier League top spot, reducing Arsenal’s championship hopes to just a glimmer. The team’s attacking woes were again on display in a1-0 Champions League loss to Inter Milan during the week. Chelsea, however, has been lukewarm at home, winning only two and drawing one of its five league matches at Stamford Bridge. The Blues’ early season scoring barrage has slowed considerably, with the team averaging just over one goal per match in its last four matches versus the three goal per match pace of Chelsea’s first six games of the league season.

Newcastle snapped a five-match winless run in defeating Arsenal last weekend. This week should serve as a barometer as to whether that Newcastle win was more a reflection of Arsenal’s troubles. The Magpies must go on the road to face a surprising top four club in Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees burst into the Champions League places with their third consecutive league win last weekend. Forest will be a tough out for the Magpies as the Tricky Trees have lost just once all season, Liverpool and Manchester City being the only other Premier League clubs to have stumbled just once.

Tottenham Hotspur will try to build on its dominating home win over Aston Villa last week when Spurs welcomes currently relegation bound Ipswich Town to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Tractor Boys are one of only two clubs, along with fellow relegation zone occupant Wolverhampton, not to have won a match this season. Wolves, meanwhile, will face the third relegation zone occupant, Southampton, in a key survival battle on Saturday.

West Ham Manager Julen Lopetegui, meanwhile, could be facing his own survival battle when the Hammers host Everton at London Stadium. Only Brentford, of clubs not currently relegation bound, has conceded more goals than the Hammers under their new manager. The West Ham defense has been wide open and has lost any resemblance to the disciplined and pragmatic, even if boring, style of former Manager David Moyes. Everton shored up their own defensive failings, which marked the early part of their season, to put together a five-match unbeaten run before an unexpected 1-0 loss to Southampton last week. The Toffees have conceded just four goals in their last six matches after conceding 13 goals in losing the first four matches of their season.

Manchester United has had difficulty finding the net in its Premier League matches as only Crystal Palace and Southampton have scored fewer goals than the Red Devils this season. Up next on the league schedule for interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is a visit from Leicester on Sunday. The Foxes, under former Nottingham Forest Manager Steve Cooper, have experienced the most success of the three newly promoted clubs. After capturing seven of the twelve points available over their last four matches, the Foxes are 15th in the table, five points clear of the relegation line. Club legend Jamie Vardy, at 37 years old, leads Leicester with four goals this season.

Crystal Palace has failed to find the net in four matches this season and only twice has the club scored more than a goal in its 10 contests to date. The absence of injured Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton does not provide optimism with respect to Saturday’s London derby with Fulham. The Cottagers defeated Brentford in a London derby last week and are flirting with a top half finish while the Eagles continue their survival mission, flying just two points clear of the relegation line.

Brentford fell out of the top half with last week’s loss to Fulham and this week the Bees travel to in-form Bournemouth. The Cherries have sandwiched wins over Arsenal and Manchester City around a draw at Aston Villa in their last three matches.