Premier League Notes - Week 30

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 30

And YEAH, WE’RE BACK! After 100 eventful and challenging roller-coaster days without football, the Premier League has finally returned! It’s been over three months since my last blog and emotional Twitter thread explaining my addiction and dedication to the game. So, here we are, BACK WHERE WE BELONG! Here’s my summary of what happened in the 30th week of the Premier League, just some key facts and stats and notes, because there’s a lot more action coming thick and fast:

28 goals - most by Man City (v SHU) = 5

263 shots - most by Saints = 22

97 on target - most by Man City (v ARS) = 12

143 corners - most by Villa (v SHU) = 12

278 fouls - most by Man United = 18

29 bookings - most by Bournemouth = 3

2 red cards - David Luiz for Arsenal (v MCI), John Egan for Sheffield United (v NEW)

3 penalties  - 3 scored (De Bruyne for Man City (v ARS), Bruno Fernandes for Man United, Mahrez for Man City (v BUR))

All games were played in empty stadiums with one minute's silence before kickoff in memory of all those who passed away due to COVID-19. #ThankYouNHS And everyone knelt down for the first eight seconds of every match remembering George Floyd and playing with Black Lives Matter on the back of their shirts instead of their names, giving me goosebumps every single time. #YNWA

(Two games in hand were played on Wednesday, postponed from week 28 due to the Carabao Cup final.)

(#AVLSHU)

(And of course, football is back, and with it officiating controversy - COCK-UP! The ref’s watch and VAR were unable to detect and see that the ball had gone over the line with tumbling fumbling Villa goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland off Oliver Norwood’s free kick a few minutes before the break. Everyone saw and knew, just not the officials. Michael Oliver knew as well, but kept pointing to his watch, because it didn't go off. Technology is supposed to just be there for back-up in case you didn’t see anything or aren’t sure, and not be the one and only decider. The Villans did play better after the restart, keeping MOTM United stopper Dean Henderson busy, but the Blades will still feel robbed of two crucial points in the European qualification race.)

(#MCIARS)

(The Citizens dominated from the start, but the Gunners coped and controlled them well. Until David Luiz came on for an injured Pablo Marí and spoiled the show, giving away a goal to Raheem Sterling (45+2’), a penalty (netted by Kevin De Bruyne 51’) after being sent off for pulling back Riyad Mahrez in the box (49’) - what a hat-trick to have within the 26 minutes the Brazilian had on the pitch - another BIG FLOP! It could not have been more one-sided after that. Sub Phil Foden added a third goal off a rebound from Sergio Agüero’s saved strike late on (90+1’), to make it three goals and three points for the still-just-about reigning champions. The result meant Man City closed the gap to the top to 22 points, meaning the Merseyside derby on Sunday wouldn’t be the title decider. See below for more updates and details)

#NORSOU

The home side started strong, the first 10-20 minutes, then it was all Saints. Goalless at the break, there was some hope for the struggling hosts, but it didn’t last long. Danny Ings bashed (49’), Stuart Armstrong boomed (54’) and Nathan Redmond banged the visitors on top (79’), keeping their side in 14th, but ten points safe from the drop zone. The Canaries just couldn’t cope, let themselves down and are most probably out, rock bottom, six points from safety. 

#TOTMUN

A David de Gea howler put Red Devils behind (27'), the Spanish keeper should have stopped Steven Bergwijn's shot, but let it through. A soft penalty netted by Bruno Fernandes pulled the visitors back into the game (81'), and United nearly got another spot kick, but VAR correctly turned that crap call down. It ended a goal and point each, keeping the sides in 8th and 5th respectively, OGS smiling, José Mourinho fuming, the Premier League is well and truly back. Oh, and Roy Keane’s rant on Sky Sports about his former side was priceless! 

#WATLEI

For all Leicester’s dominance, Watford had the best/only real chance in the first half, Abdoulaye Doucouré denied by Kasper Schmeichel (35’). The Foxes had just not clicked yet, the Hornets could smell blood, for the same Frenchman to be denied by the great Danish stopper again with a brilliant spread-body-block shortly after halftime. Whatever Nigel Pearson said during the interval, it worked, his side were much more on top. Brendan Rodgers’ men put on the pressure later on, Marc Albrighton rattling the woodwork before James Maddison forced Ben Foster into an excellent save (75’). Both keepers definitely earned their money at Vicarage Road! Until the 90th minute, and what a hit it was by Ben Chilwell! From the left corner of the box, curled up and into the top right corner - off the post and in, Foster had no chance getting anywhere near that. Wow! Football can be so cruel! Or so I thought. Acrobatic Craig Dawson had a better idea and levelled the score off a corner and Schmeichel’s glove and in during the final seconds of added time. It ended a goal and point each, a fairer result. 

#BHAARS

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both missed early chances, then Bukayo Saka smacked the crossbar, it was all Gunners in the first ten minutes. The Seagulls created a couple of chances as well after that, but not much to shout about. Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno had to come off just before the break with a bad looking injury, his shouts of pain echoed around the ground and the reaction of the other players said it all. His replacement Emiliano Martínez made a fine save seconds later. I’m still wondering how come the Brighton player Neal Maupay, who the injured keeper clashed with leading to the awkward fall, didn’t see any punishment?! Nicolas Pépé gave the Gunners a beautiful lead just before the second drinks break with a beauty, from the right corner of the box, into the top left corner of the net! Both keepers made some good saves beforehand, even-ish game, the visitors will have been relieved. But not for long, this time the ref’s watch worked: Brighton corner, ping pong in the box, Arsenal all over the place, the Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk tapped the ball over the line to level the score (75’). And then non-other than Maupay nicked it in the final seconds, up and over Martínez and in (95’). The Gunners gutted, the Seagulls flying away with the three points. The Frenchman had his cheeky say after the final whistle as well, to rub it under everyone's noses.

#WHUWOL

The Hammers stayed back, Wolves dominated with double the possession at times, but not enough to find a breakthrough. The only shots on target in the first half were by the visitors, but all soft, Pablo Fornals blasting one good chance high and away for the hosts. Super sub Adama Traoré found Raúl Jiménez in the box, who made no mistake of heading it down and in from close range, to finally get the visitors a deserved breakthrough with just over 15 minutes to go. Ten minutes later, Traoré in the buildup again, to Matt Doherty, who provided Pedro Neto with a perfect cross, from the right, brilliant take, smash in, keeper no chance, exemplary Wolves in 6th, Hammers down and out in 17th, level on points with Bournemouth in 18th. 

#BOUCRY

Luka Milivojević gave the visitors the lead with a perfect free kick, over the wall, into the top left corner, keeper full stretch but no chance (12’). A lovely low finish by Jordan Ayew doubled the Eagles’ lead just before the first drinks’ break (23’). Gary Cahill was a lucky man not having his name added to the ref’s book for taking Joshua King out - a nasty ankle shock, not even a yellow was surprising and despite VAR. Not the start the home side were looking for shortly after the interval. And they never got into the game, the ref didn’t help, but that’s no excuse. It ended 0-2, with a happy hairy Roy Hodgson, worrying headache for Eddie Howe with his side in the drop zone on goal difference.

#NEWSHU

Goalless at the break, Sheffield United pressed the self-destruct button after the restart at St James Park. Down to ten men after John Egan’s clumsy second yellow (51’), the Magpies capitalised on every mistake after that. The visitors were all over the place for Allan Saint-Maximin to net the opener (55’). Matt Ritchie doubled the hosts’ lead with a lovely finish to punish United’s clumsiness (68’). And Joelinton ended his long wait for a goal to make it three goals and three points for Steve Bruce’s men (78’), unmarked, from close range, even he can’t miss that one! 

#AVLCHE

Sleepy game, Chelsea on top, until a couple of minutes before the break, totally out of the blue, the Villans nicked one in. Ping pong in the visitors’ box, Kepa Arrizabalaga blocking one chance, defenders nowhere, three Villa players free to play, for Kortney Hause to smash it home to give the hosts the unexpected lead. Chelsea were having 90% of the ball after the interval, so it was no surprise when sub Christian Pulisic tapped one back from close range on the hour, a couple of minutes after coming off the bench. And two minutes later Olivier Giroud turned and saw a deflected shot into the bottom left corner to turn the game on its head, Villa just watching as the Blues slashed through them in a lovely buildup. Villa remain 19th, one point from safety, whilst the Chelsea stay fourth, widening the gap to United in fourth to five points.

#EVELIV

What a letdown. After all the buildup to the Merseyside derby and what it means to the league leading Reds especially, nothing happened. Alisson did make some crucial stops and blocks, the few minutes the Toffees did play. The Reds should have done better with the opportunities Takumi Minamino, Naby Keïta and Sadio Mané created. It was a frustrating watch and result, Jürgen Klopp was fuming on the sideline. Fans were definitely missed, neither team got really going, so, the draw is the fairer result. Carlo Ancelotti will be the happier of the two bosses, that is for sure. The point meant Klopp's side will need to wait till at least Wednesday and WIN to be crowned champions. Click here for my full ByTheMin LFC coverage.

#MCIBUR

Foden’s lovely low smacker from outside the box into the bottom right corner gave the Citizens the lead bang on drinks break (22’). Belter. Mahrez danced and pranced past anyone and everyone in and around the Burnley box and fired the ball across and into the far corner to double the hosts’ lead (42’). And into injury time, Agüero went down and out, had to be subbed, signaled hamstring, Pep Guardiola looked gutted. It was still harsh to punish Ben Mee, he went for the ball, and made marginal contact with the Argentinian’s foot. But penalty was still given, which Mahrez made no mistake of netting to make it 3-0 just before HT (45+3’). Game. Set. Match. Foden and both Silvas combined well for David to make it 4-0 shortly after the interval (51’), top quality all round. Foden made it five but looked very unhappy about a foul in the buildup, Gabriel Jesus setting him up (64’). I was disgusted by the pre-match message by a Burnley plane flying above the ground whilst the players were kneeling down, my tweet(s) say it all! Act now Burnley!!! Club statement and skipper Ben Mee’s words put it right. Let's hope whoever did this, gets found out and punished.

My Predictions - Actual Results

(Aston Villa 0:0 Sheff United - 0:0)

(Man City 1:2 Arsenal - 3:0)

Norwich 1:2 Southampton - 0:3

Tottenham 2:0 Man United - 1:1

Watford 0:2 Leicester - 1:1

Brighton 1:1 Arsenal - 2:1 

West Ham 2:3 Wolves - 0:2

Bournemouth 2:2 Palace - 0:2

Newcastle 0:0 Sheff United - 3:0

Aston Villa 1:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Everton 1:3 Liverpool - 0:0

Man City 3:0 Burnley - 5:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, ByTheMinPL, RMC and Sky Sports coverage. 

Premier League Notes - Week 29

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 29

It's been a few weeks since my last blog, a couple of weeks since the last ball has been kicked in the English football leagues, a lot has happened since... As explained and lined out on my Twitter thread, I love football, have always blogged and will keep on blogging, until we get there. Number 19. Walk on. Write on. With hope in your heart. YNWA. Here are my notes on the last weekend we were able to enjoy the game, until further notice:

The 29th week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:

19 goals - most by Chelsea and Leicester = 4 each

215 shots - most by Burnley = 21

100 on target - most by Chelsea = 11

109 corners - most by Man City = 11

222 fouls - most by Watford and Burnley = 16 each

39 bookings - most by Burnley = 5

1 red card - Djenepo for Southampton 

3 penalties - 2 scored (Dele Alli for Tottenham, Vardy for Leicester)

#LIVBOU

Liverpool had to come back from behind against Bournemouth to record their 22nd successive Premier League win at Anfield, breaking the English top-flight record set by Bill Shankly's team in 1972, and taking their unbeaten home run to 55 games (W45, D10). Callum Wilson gave the visitors a controversial lead slotting home Jefferson Lerma's low cross after appearing to push Joe Gomez in the build-up to the goal (9’). But the Reds soon hit back, Mohamed Salah in his 100th league appearance for the club, levelled the score with a low finish (24’). And turning from provider to scorer, Sadio Mané completed the turnaround (33’), latching onto Virgil van Dijk’s through-ball. James Milner denied the Cherries any way back into the game, clearing Ryan Fraser’s attempt off the goal-line, in a very nervous second half. Jürgen Klopp’s men, missing injured skipper Jordan Henderson, hung on to the win, moving them one step closer to their first title in 30 years, whilst Eddie Howe’s side remain in the relegation zone, level on points with Watford and West Ham but with a worse goal difference than their nearest rivals at the bottom.

#ARSWHU

Alexandre Lacazette's goal 12 minutes from time, which had to be confirmed by the video assistant referee to add to the nerves at the Emirates, decided the tie. The win lifted the Gunners up to ninth, five points behind Chelsea in fourth, leaving boss Mikel Arteta optimistic about his side’s chances of finishing in the top four. David Moyes meanwhile, watched his side record their sixth consecutive Premier League defeat on the road despite creating more chances and threats. But it’s only goals that count, leaving the Hammers hovering above the bottom three only on goal difference.

#CRYWAT

Jordan Ayew helped his side Crystal Palace to their third successive Premier League victory and climb into the top half of the table. His smart finish from the edge of the box (28’) and eighth league goal of the season, was enough for Roy Hodgson’s men to beat relegation-threatened Watford. The side that beat the league leaders last week, mourned their missed chances this week, leaving boss Nigel Pearson very disappointed, just goal difference separating his side from the drop zone.

#SHUNOR

Billy Sharp’s header (36’) and Manchester United loanee keeper Dean Henderson’s heroic saves late on, helped Sheffield United beat Norwich to make it 10 points out of the last 12 and take them to sixth, boosting their chances of European football next season. Daniel Farke’s side on the other hand, remain rock bottom, six points from safety, the German boss describing it as "dramatic and tragic for the lads, because they tried everything".

#SOUNEW

Newcastle moved eight points clear of the relegation zone with nine games to go, after beating ten-man Southampton. Allan Saint-Maximin scored the only goal of the game late on (79’), pressuring Yan Valery into a mistake before tucking the ball home beyond hard-working keeper Alex McCarthy. The Saints stopper had made some top saves, including Matt Ritchie's spot kick, and got close to earn his side a hard-fought point after they had been reduced to ten men midway through the first half when Moussa Djenepo's yellow card was upgraded to a red following a VAR review of his foul on Isaac Hayden. But it was not to be, leaving Steve Bruce a very happy man, whilst Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side drop to 14th following a third defeat in their last four Premier League games.

#WOLBHA

Nothing happened, only one shot on target in each half at Molineux (they recorded more bookings!). The goalless draw took Wolves up to fifth, leaving Brighton, who have yet to win in 2020, just two points above the relegation zone. Graham Potter was full of praise for his Seagulls keeping a clean sheet on the road and all, whilst Nuno Espírito Santo was not so happy with his Wanderers. Contrast. It's all about perspective.

#BURTOT

Burnley boss Sean Dyche was not a happy man, feeling Chris Wood should have been given a penalty after Spurs' equaliser, but the striker did not go down under Davinson Sánchez's tackle. Dele Alli's 50th Premier League goal came from the spot (50’) after Ben Mee brought down Erik Lamela in the box. It was enough to earn Tottenham a point following Wood’s early opener (13’), an easy tap-in after Hugo Lloris had spilled Jay Rodriguez’s shot from distance. Frustrating for both, José Mourinho's side’s fifth game without a win, leaving them four points behind Chelsea, who have a game in hand. Not good. Dyche's men though, have climbed back into the top half of the table and are unbeaten in the past 14 Premier League matches in which they have led at the break. Not bad.

#CHEEVE

Carlo Ancelotti’s return to Stamford Bridge ended up being a miserable afternoon as the Italian watched his side Everton being thrashed 4-0 by his former employer Chelsea, his joint-heaviest league defeat as a manager. Mason Mount ended an 18-game goal drought by firing the ball past Jordan Pickford at his near post and the Blues ahead (14’). Pedro doubled their lead with his first league goal of the season as Frank Lampard's side took control (21’). Two goals in three minutes shortly after the restart, Willian into the bottom corner (51’) and Olivier Giroud with a tap-in off a short corner (54’), sealed the deal for the hosts, no contest. The result keeps the Toffess in 12th, eight points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, whilst Chelsea stay fourth, three points ahead of the Red Devils.

#MUNMCI

Ole Gunnar Solskjær can and will be over the moon, literally, after Manchester United completed the Premier League double over derby rivals Manchester City for the first time in a decade. The champions’ Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson had a nightmare afternoon at Old Trafford, gifting Anthony Martial the opener, a low shot squeezing through under him (30’). And then in the final seconds (90+6’), the stopper threw a clearance straight to Scott McTominay, who made no mistake, one take into the back of the net, in front of a delirious Stretford End to double the hosts’ lead and secure the win. It was a smashing clash, the VAR denying Pep Guardiola’s men any way back into the game, Sergio Agüero deemed offside, whilst referee Mike Dean made a couple of controversial calls leading up to the goals as well. But the Spaniard couldn’t deny, despite all his side’s possession, the Red Devils bossed the game and capitalised on the Citizens’ flaws to bank the three points with two cracking counters. The result sees United remain fifth, three points behind Chelsea in fourth, whilst City trail the top Reds by 25 points, meaning the league leaders need just two more wins to seal their 19th title. 

#LEIAVI

A brace each for Harvey Barnes (40’, 85’) and Jamie Vardy (pen 63’, 79’) completed Leicester’s thrashing of Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium. The convincing win ended the Foxes’ dire run of two wins in their past eight Premier League games - and two points in their past four matches. Brendan Rodgers was glowing and full of praise for his third-placed side, five points clear of Chelsea, four behind City. Dean Smith's Villans remain in the relegation zone after a fourth consecutive league defeat, and a fifth in all competitions, second from bottom, two points from safety.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Liverpool 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:1

Arsenal 2:1 West Ham - 1:0

Crystal Palace 1:1 Watford - 1:0

Sheffield United 1:1 Norwich - 1:0

Southampton 2:0 Newcastle - 0:1 

Wolves 1:0 Brighton - 0:0

Burnley 2:2 Tottenham - 1:1

Chelsea 2:2 Everton - 4:0

Man United 3:2 Man City - 2:0

Leicester 1:2 Aston Villa - 4:0

Rearranged fixture from week 28 Man City vs Arsenal postponed because of the Corona virus.

The Gunners’ boss tested positive for the virus two days later.

And it all escalated from there...

Coronavirus: How the virus has impacted sporting events around the world.

Coronavirus: What next in the UK coronavirus fight?

And there are still people out there who believe we're all just over-panicking, it's a conspiracy, fooling us and taking control over us, all for their own profits and gains. Whoever they are. OPEN YOUR EYES!!! No one is gaining anything from this atm. Either way, whatever, whoever, for whatever reason, the main and clear thing is, people are dying! If you don't believe that, then you can join the Flat-Earthers, Holocaust- and 9/11 deniers, etc. Everyone else, welcome to the real world, STAY HOME, STAY SAFE!!! YNWA

Click here for last week’s Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports.