Premier League Notes - Week 3

Sport - Football - Premier League - Week 3

The third week of the Premier League Football action saw:

36 goals - most by Leicester = 5

248 shots - most by Tottenham = 23

96 on target - most by Tottenham = 12

97 corners - most by Tottenham = 10

252 fouls - most by Brighton, Sheff United and Fulham = 18 each

41 bookings - most by Fulham = 6

0 red cards

7 penalties - 7 scored (Maupay for Brighton, Fernandes for Man United, Richarlison for Everton, Wilson for Newcastle, Vardy x 2 and Tielemans for a Leicester )

#BHAMUN Cheeky Maupay pen put the hosts ahead and deservedly so, Fernandes the clumsy offender. Maguire helped Dunk poke in the equaliser soon after, well worked from a free kick, 194 seconds between the two goals. Seconds after the break, Connolly made the most of Pogba’s covering, second pen, ref checked the VAR screen, changed his mind, no pen, it was soft but so many have been given, especially for United in the past, that’s annoying. Rashford whacked the Reds Devils ahead seconds later, of course, disallowed offside, haha, karma. But the number 10 made up for it soon after, the Seagulls unable to mark or close him down, too much time, too much space, 1-2. March hit the inside of the post shortly after another penalty appeal by Connolly got waved off by the ref. Brighton hit the woodwork FIVE times; no team has done so more in a single Premier League game since Opta have this data available (2003-04). The woodwork spared United plenty of blushes. They could and should have been thrashed. Marsh nicked in an equaliser in the final seconds of stoppage time, heading the ball in and down to make it 2-2 after plenty of chances, pushing and trying. A point would have been fully deserved, at least something, OGS’ men were shambles, the hosts on top. Fight fight fight as the ref blew the final whistle, the Red Devils appealing for a penalty, handball against Maupay, VAR check, harsh but right, it did touch his hand. Fernandes netted the spot kick to make it 2-3 with 99:45 on the clock, a very late and very lucky three points for the visitors. Absolute shambles. Five goals. Two penalties. One penalty overturned. Two goals disallowed. Five times hit the crossbar. Two full-time whistles. Good start to this weekend’s action after last week’s madness. 

#CRYEVE An unmarked Calvert-Lewin put the Toffees ahead, banging in Coleman’s pass from the middle of the box in off keeper Ryan. Kouyaté headed in a corner over Pickford to level the score. More VAR handball checks, both against Ward, first one not given as his arm was down and going away, second did hit his hand but he pulled his arm away, still given, another harsh one, Richarlison netting the pen across and in after one of those annoying run ups, 1-2. The second half was less eventful, Ancelotti’s men bagging the three points and continuing their dream start to the season with three wins out of three, leaving Hodgson and co disappointed suffering their first defeat after their win-win start to the season. 

#WBACHE Defensive and goalkeeping nightmare for the Blues! First Alonso gave away the ball to Pereira, who set up Robinson to flash the ball across and in to open the score after just four minutes. Not long after Werner hit the crossbar from close range, debutant skipper Thiago Silva gave the ball away to Robinson on the run down the other end and the number 7 made no mistake of breaking clear and slotting it in to make it a brace for him and 2-0 to the hosts, just over halfway through the first half. And it went from bad to worse for Lampard and co, just a couple of minutes later, West Brom corner, Furlong headed it on to Bartley, who side-footed it into the bottom corner to make it 3-0. No marking. No chance of stopping that. And who’s the keeper? This is the seventh time in the Premier League that Chelsea have shipped three goals to a newly-promoted team, and the second time under Lampard. Double substitution and skipper changed after the break for the visitors helped them take over. Mount pulled one back from outside the box, keeper frozen, ten minutes into the second half. Sub Hudson-Odoi found the gap thanks to a nice one-two with Havertz, ran through the Albion back line and banged in the second to make it 3-2 with 20 minutes to go. Abraham got in the equaliser in stoppage time, from close range, thanks to Havertz’s shot which Johnstone saved but gloved straight to him. I read about a Havertz handball in the buildup, but honestly didn’t see what all the fuss was about, there was a lot going on in the box and play before the goal. Three goals and a point each, first draw of the season, relief for the Blues, a bit sour for West Brom late on. More madness. I wanted to keep my PL Notes short(er) this week. Impossible. 

#BURSOU Ings gave the Saints the lead early on after a bit of a mess in and around the Burnley box, the keeper coming out, defenders all over the place, but Walker-Peters and Adams still able to complete their passes and a perfect buildup for the former Liverpool man to net. A disallowed goal each, clearly offside, not much else to shout about. It ended 0-1, just the one goal, no typo, believe it or not, leaving Dyche crying out for more players.

#SHULEE Leeds scored in the 88th minute after both keepers did a great job! Harrison was the provider and Bamford the scorer again, three in three from him as he headed it home for a hard-fought three points. The Blades still have no points after three games, no goals, they're now bottom. Bielsa's gang are up to sixth with two wins from their first three. Good start for them. The French can't stop drooling over the great Argentine, documentary after preview after documentary after preview, clips here, clips there, clips everywhere, I've lost count how much and many episodes they have on him.

#TOTNEW The opener was made by Kane, whose stepovers bamboozled Hayden and then rolled a cross across the six yard box for Moura to tap it into an open net from a couple of yards out, ending a run of 22 league appearances without a goal. Darlow made save after save after save, superhero stuff, 10 to be exact - the most by an English goalkeeper in a Premier League match since Forster v Man City in Nov 2017 (also 10). It should have been a thrash. But there was yet another VAR fiasco in the final minutes of injury time, Dier deemed to have handled the ball Carroll headed on, harsh as he had his back to it, but according to the law it's right as his arm was in an unnatural position moving to stop the ball. Offside was checked as well, Carroll was fine, in line, his team mate who was further forward was not involved in play. Wilson netted the spot kick to make it a goal and point each after utter Spurs dominance, disgusted boss Mourinho left the pitch as soon as the pen was taken. The Magpies can thank their keeper and VAR that they got anything out of this match. The Spurs coach Santos saw red after the final whistle for their frustrations and aggravations to complete another absolute madness. And despite the result, Newcastle boss Bruce agreed "we have lost the plot" on handball and VAR.

#MCILEI City dominated, but the score was level at the break, Walker's foul on Vardy allowed the striker to score from the spot to equalise after Riyad Mahrez's stunning opener early on. Not long after the restart, Vardy put a cheeky flick in to give the Foxes the lead, lovely footy off Castagne’s low cross. And he completed his hat-trick before the hour-mark, another pen after being pushed clumsily by Garcia, banged in, 1-3, the Citizens all over the place, hitting the self-destruct button. This was only the third ever hat-trick scored against a side managed by Guardiola and two of them have been scored by Vardy - the other was Messi in October 2016 in a Champions League game (I WAS THERE!). And the old Fox is the oldest hat-trick scorer in the PL. Ake pulled one back with six minutes left, heading in a corner. Comeback? Nope, another penalty conceded instead, Mendy hauled back Maddison, who made it 2-5 from the spot, as Vardy had been subbed seconds before that incident. Game over. Pep’s men well and truly busted, Brendan’s side with just 28% of possession but 100% of the spoils = three points, mind-blowing football, the first time the Citizens have conceded five goals in a home game since February 2003. Man City have lost 10 of their last 36 league games. Liverpool have lost 10 of their last 128. Just saying.

#WHUWOL Bowen opened the scoring for the hosts with a lovely run and beautiful finish beating three defenders. Antonio broke away on the counter down the left, to find Fornals whose shot from range came back off the post, falling into the path of Bowen, who made no mistake of an easy tap in unchallenged, brace for him, 2-0 to the Hammers, too easy. Souček made it three off a corner thanks to a deflection off Jiménez, own goal given, actually. Haller headed the fourth down and in off an excellent Massuaku cross, completingtheir first win of the season in a more than convincing way, taking them up from 18th to 10th. Wolves weren’t anywhere near, dropping down to 16th. Thrash.

#FULAVL Dream start for the visitors, taking the lead after just over three minutes, a ball over the top from McGinn, Grealish timed his run perfectly and smashed it past the Fulham keeper. And the Villans doubled their lead just over ten minutes later, Grealish with a cross, McGinn finding Hourihane who slotted it into the bottom corner, too easy. The HT team talk didn’t work well for the hosts, seconds after the restart, a Villa free kick into the box, no Fulham defenders followed Mings in who just got to it, easy peasy again, 0-3. The Cottagers had the ball in the net, but the lovely VAR first checked offside, then a foul, the goal was disallowed for the latter, Mitrović judged to have fouled Konsa in the buildup. Welcome to the PL. Kebano saw an effort blocked and Bryan hit the bar just before the end. But it stayed three goals and three points for Villa, game, set, match, 100% record going, unbeaten in eight games, whilst Fulham are in bits, defensive nightmare, their CEO full of apologies post-match, boss Parker fearing for his side if no changes are made = new players added. 

#LIVARS The champions bossed the start, the Gunners had David Luiz and keeper Leno to thank for keeping the ball out denying VVD and MOTM Mané respectively. A TAA banger from outside deflected off defenders and off the crossbar, it could have already been 3-0 with just over 20 minutes gone. But of course, totally against the run of play, a present for Lacazette broke the deadlock, after a counter, Robertson mucked up a clearance completely to hand the Frenchman the ball from a couple of yards out, he messed it up but it looped up, over the diving keeper and in, 0-1. Seconds later, a Salah shot was saved but only as far as an on-running Mané, who made no mistake of banging it in from close range, 1-1. 147 seconds between the two goals. Just over ten minutes before the break, Robertson made up for his cockup with a fine control and cheeky low poke in past the keeper to make it 2-1 off a fine Trent cross, that’s better. Alisson had a couple of stops to do after the break, but the visitors’ defence and keeper were definitely the busier again. Constant pressure. Mané, Salah, VVD, sub Jota, all went close. The sub made it three eventually, Trent cross, messed up clearance by David Luiz, received at the edge of the box, nice control and shot across and into the bottom left corner after some odd wet bounces off the ground, 3-1, finally, nice debut goal. Was there a handball? Sleeve? Borderline chest. No VAR necessary. The utter dominance deserved at least another goal, minimum. Liverpool join Everton and Leicester on nine points out of nine, Arsenal remain winless at Anfield since 2012. (And in case you wonder why I haven't mentioned MOTM Mané's booking at the beginning of the match, it's because I don't know what all the fuss is about. Yes, it's a silly foul, arm out and into Tierney, who made the most of it. Nowhere near a red.)

My Predictions - Actual Results

Brighton 1:2 Man United - 2:3

Palace 1:1 Everton - 1:2

West Brom 0:3 Chelsea - 3:3

Burnley 2:2 Saints - 0:1

Sheff United 1:2 Leeds - 0:1

Tottenham 2:2 Newcastle - 1:1

Man City 1:2 Leicester - 2:5

West Ham 1:3 Wolves - 4:0

Fulham 1:2 Aston Villa - 0:3

Liverpool 4:3 Arsenal - 3:1

Click here for my previous PL Notes.

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

Premier League Notes - Week 2

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 2

The second week of the Premier League Football action saw:

44 goals - most by Everton and Tottenham = 5 each 

239 shots - most by Aston Villa = 18

91 on target - most by Man City = 9

122 corners - most by Leicester = 15

239 fouls - most by Tottenham = 18

27 bookings - most by Saints = 4

4 red cards - Gibbs for West Brom, Bissouma for Brighton, Christensen for Chelsea, Egan for Sheff United

8 penalties - 6 scored (Mitrovic for Fulham, Klich for Leeds, Zaha for Palace, Ings for Saints, Maupay for Brighton, De Bruyne for Man City)

#EVEWBA Talk about self-destruction! Brill goal, great start for the visitors, but the Toffees hit back with a cheeky back-foot equaliser, and after Gibbs saw red for a needless push on James Rodriguez seconds after the youngster’s lovely goal made it 2-1, it was game over. Baggies boss Bilic went mad at the officials after the HT whistle and was sent off for his frustrations as well. Shame. Or so I thought. Pereira’s cracking free kick levelled the score again after the restart. Game. On. Keane smacked in the rebound from close range after the keeper saved the initial header off a free kick to, 3-2. Calvert-Lewin tapped in the fourth. And fifth to complete his hat-trick, the thrashing and Albion's misery with it. 

#LEEFUL Costa whacked the hosts ahead off a corner, loud bang off the woodwork/top of the net and in, keeper no chance. Mitrovic levelled from the spot. Klich netted a penalty at the other end to regain the lead for the home side. Lovely low finish by Bamford made it 3-1 after the break. Unmarked Costa whacked in the fourth. Bobby pulled one back for Fulham. A Mitrovic header made it 4-3 and the last quarter so much more interesting... End-to-end stuff, madness, Fulham much better than last week, but still pointless. 

#MUNCRY Townsend put the visitors ahead from close range early on. OGS’ face said it all, he knew his side were in trouble when the VAR call started, handball by Lindelof, pen, De Gea saved Ayew’s soft take easily. To piss on United’s cornflakes even more, it had to be retaken as the keeper was off his line. Zaha banged in the second, 0-2. Sub van de Beek pulled one back after some ping pong in the box. Zaha's turn and shot from the edge of the box sealed the deal, 1-3 and three points to Palace at Old Trafford, happy Hodgson.

#ARSWHU Lacazette banged the Gunners ahead, loved the Dirty Dancing celebration with provider Aubameyang. VAR check for offside in the buildup, would have been super harsh. Antonio turned in the equaliser from close range just before the break. Sub Nketiah put the Gunners ahead late on. Super sub record: Arsenal have scored six Premier League goals through substitutes in 2020, more than any other team in the division.

#SOUTOT After three disallowed goals, two for the visitors, Ings gave the Saints the lead with a banger. Miserinho aka Moaninho’s face said it all. The home side dominated, Lloris made some crucial saves. Son levelled the score just before the break, clinical finish set up by Kane. First shot, first goal for Spurs. And seconds after the restart, Son burst forward and banged in the second. Another killer counter, the same duo, made it a hat-trick for the South Korean and 1-3 on the scoreboard after the home side missed chances to level the score. And the same combo made it FOUR. Lethal. Four assists for Kane, four goals for Son. Kane made it 1-5 netting the rebound off the woodwork from sub Lamela’s shot, just to add salt onto Hasenhüttl’s wounds. Who needs Bale?! VAR check by the ref, handball against Doherty, gave the hosts a pen for Ings to make it 2-5. The French commentators absolutely lambasted that call, he was covering a player, how could he have beamed his arm away before the ball bounced and smacked onto it?! C'est le foot.

#NEWBHA Penalty after not even a couple of minutes, Saint-Maximin bringing down Tariq Lamptey in the box, clumsy footy. Maupay banged it right into the middle. His second goal was flagged offside seconds later. It took nearly two minutes for the VAR to override that call, lines drawn, close call, goal given, 0-2. Sweet curler by Connolly made it 0-3, the miserable Magpies didn’t get anything on target. Bissouma’s weird high back-heel kick into Lewis’ face saw him off after the ref revised the yellow to a straight red in the final minute of normal time. Accidental or not, dangerous is dangerous. Brighton still bossed it, three goals, three points, too easy.

#CHELIV Christensen's rugby tackle deserved red and cost the Blues, and Kepa’s shaky keeping, leading to Mané’s brace. Jorginho was denied from the spot by Alisson after a softer than soft pen call for Thiago’s slightest of slight brush on Werner. It could and should have been four or five goals for the Reds. “Not definitely a red card," said Chelsea boss Lampard. WTF?! What was he watching?! He also said he needs to try and "give Kepa Arrizabalaga confidence." Good luck on that one.

#LEIBUR Poor defending in the both incidents, Wood’s opener and Barnes’ equaliser. Pieters deflected a Castagne shot/cross into the back of his own net to give the Foxes the lead after the break. Justin made it 3-1 totally unmarked from close range despite eight Burnley players in the box. Dunne banged one back off a free kick, 3-2. Whacker from the edge of the box by Praet, 4-2. Burnley still didn’t give up, keeping Schmeichel and the woodwork busy, but still ended pointless.

There were 39 goals scored across eight games this weekend at an average of 4.9 per game. This is the highest goals-per-game rate on a Saturday and Sunday of Premiers League football (with a minimum of five games).

#AVLSHU Red after not even 13 minutes, Egan was sent to an early shower denying Watkins a goal-scoring opportunity, similar to Christensen on Mané as mentioned above. The VAR checked, but the ref was very sure of himself. Targett was booked for a tumbling Basham in front of him, harsh penalty given, looooooong VAR check, ref was having non of it, Villa debutant Martinez saved the spot kick denying Lundstrum, muchas gracias. Konsa headed the opener off a deflected corner just past the hour-mark. That ended up being the only goal of the match. The Villans produced 18 shots, that’s one more than Everton, Man United and Liverpool = 17 each, but just three on target, making the penalty save oh so crucial. 

#WOLMCI Manchester City equalled Aston Villa's record of winning 10 consecutive opening fixtures to a top-flight season, set between 1891 and 1900, the first timeit's been achieved in the PL era. After Saiss' late tackle on De Bruyne on the edge of the box and/or inside the area, the ref pointed to the spot without hesitation, the Belge banged it into the bottom right corner without a hint of a doubt. Foden slashed in the second past everyone in the box, Sterling the provider from the left. Jimenez headed one back. Jesus sealed the three-point deal in the final seconds of stoppage time, deflected shot in, 1-3. And that late goal meant, we have had 44 goals in this round of matches, more than any other game-week since the league turned to 20 teams. I hope I got my math right with all the stats after all the madness. Are you not entertained?!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Everton 1:0 West Brom - 5:2

Leeds 3:1 Fulham - 4:3

Man United 1:0 Palace - 1:3

Arsenal 3:1 West Ham - 2:1

Saints 1:2 Spurs - 2:5

Newcastle 2:0 Brighton - 0:3

Chelsea 1:3 Liverpool - 0:2

Leicester 3:1 Burnley - 4:2

Aston Villa 1:0 Sheff United - 1:0

Wolves 1:2 Man City - 1:3

Click here for my previous PL Notes.

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

Premier League clubs earn and owe most

Sports - Football - Premier League - Money Matters

Talk about never judge a book by its cover:

A couple of weeks back, I read a BBC article which labelled the Premier League as "one of the richest sporting series in the world" with its main earnings coming from the sale of TV rights.

In the UK alone these are worth £1.8 billion over three years; overseas tv deals, internet and mobile phone rights add another £1bn. These deals were negotiated in January 2009 - at the hight of the recession.

The League's total assets add up to £3.8bn and constitute 48% of total club wealth across Europe.

However, another BBC article about a study on football club finances, headlined with the Premier League clubs owing more money than all the other European top clubs put together, with a total of 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn).

In other words, the Premier League clubs are top earners and debtors.

The European Club Footballing Landscape study looked at the 2007-08 accounts of all 732 clubs licensed by UEFA.

The total debt of 18 Premier League clubs is about four times that of the next most indebted top-flight league, Spain's La Lige with 978m euros in debt (and assets of 2.5bn euros).

The report says most of the Premier League's debt is linked to the takeover of Manchester United and Liverpool and does not include Portsmouth or West Ham into their research as they were not granted UEFA licences that year because of their financial problems.

And it has not looked any better for them since.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been able to follow more and more of the other side to the glorious game, the downside:

Portsmouth have become the first Premier League team to enter administration with about £70m debt and are most likely facing relegation after they will have points deducted for their financial plight.

But they are not the first, not the only and will not be the last in a sticky financial situation, that is for sure:

UEFA Cup and Champions League semi-finalists in 2000 and 2001 respectively, Leeds United were forced into a mass sale of players when they came into financial difficulties but could not avoid relegation from the Premier League in 2004. Administration followed three years later and a further relegation, from the Championship into League One.

Crystal Palace dropped out of the top-flight in 2005 and went into administration last January with debts of £30m.

Coventry City had nearly the same destiny three years ago but rejected the big spending approach and went back to its roots instead as a community club.

Manchester United have more than £700m debt by the Glazer family. Liverpool are indebted by more than £200m and are looking for new investors.

Their major profits from TV and sponsorship revenue have been covering them so far, but I would rather not dare to predict for how much longer they can survive that way without incurring further debts and similar financial problems, if maybe not as fatal.

Meanwhile, on the only positive financial note this week, Arsenal have announced a profit boost of £35.2m which has drastically reduced their debts (from £332.8m to £203.6m).

They raised £96.6m by selling 261 new apartments at Highbury Square, their former ground, and have also been rejecting the big spending approach other Premier League clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City have been getting used to.

Analysts say other clubs should follow their and Coventry City's example.

I feel, rules and regulations should be introduced to draw a line under this multi-million misery and avoid any similar demise to Leeds United's, Portsmouth's, et al.

UEFA president Michel Platini has been pushing for a system where clubs should no longer be allowed to compete in the Champions and Europa leagues when they spend more than they can afford.

I think this is long overdue looking at what has happened over the last few years, but it has also its own risks which could escalate the matter even further.

The clubs need to make profit, which would be more difficult with less competitions, less matches, less tickets to sell, less TV and sponsorship deals, etc. etc. etc. It is a vicious circle which I think we are only getting a first taste of where it can all lead to.

During the last transfer window, Premier League teams have spent only £30m, £100m less than a year ago.

So, does this indicate that the Premier League teams have finally learnt for the better? Or will they continue to walk, dance and prance on very thin, cash-strapped ice?

Battling Leeds toppled by Ngog strike

Sports - Football - Carling Cup Third Round

Leeds United 0-1 Liverpool

Young French striker David Ngog spared Liverpool's blushes at Elland Road with a fine left-foot finish to Javier Mascherano's low mis-kick off a corner, the only goal of the match, in the 66th minute.

It could have been so different: Leeds started brightly, showing clear intentions they would not give their guests an easy ride. The League One side pressed forward against their Premier League opposition, who gave away posession too easy and clumsy at times.

Leeds' midfielder Michael Doyle put a free header wide and seconds later their striker Jermaine Beckford was cruely ruled as offside after Lubomir Michalik guided the ball over the line for Leeds, past Liverpool goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri, who looked to have gotten the last touch before he let the ball through.

The Reds scraped through the opening 15 minutes, lucky not to be 2-0 behind. The game continued evenly poised after that, Ryan Babel and Albert Riera missing fine chances. The prior ended his breaking run with a disappointing wide shot, the latter's point-blank header was sharply saved by an aware Shane Higgs.

Beckford came close again in the second half, drawing saves and blocks from Cavalieri, Jamie Carragher and Sotirios Kyrgiakos. A clever hook-shot over his shoulder cleared just over the crossbar. It was just not meant to be for Leeds.

Just moments after Mascherano was lucky to get away with lashing out at a Leeds player, his low mishit volley on the edge of the box found Ngog who swivelled the ball around and fired it past Higgs.

Leeds pressed on, but to no avail. Fabio Aurelio nearly piled more misery onto the Yorkshire side late on, his low-left lightning-free kick deflecting just over the crossbar.

Liverpool will be happy with their youngster's display, Jay Spearing impressing in all areas and connecting well with Ngog. Riera and Babel pressed on wide but gave away the ball away too often.

Leeds will feel unlucky and hard-done-to after they dominated play but saw nothing from it. Nothing went their way and instead they were punished for it with a defeat, to the Scouser's relief as they progress to the last 16.

Leeds United Higgs; Crowe, Kisnorbo, Michalik, Doyle (Showunmi 88); Howson, Johnson, Hughes (Kilkenny 78), Beckford; Becchio (Grella 81), Snodgrass. Subs not used Ankergren, Naylor, Prutton, Robinson. Bookings Crowe 43.

Liverpool Cavalieri; Dossena, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Degen (Johnson 71); Riera, Spearing, Mascherano, Aurelio, Babel (Skrtel 90); Ngog (Gerrard 78). Subs not used Reina, Plessis, Torres, Voronin. Bookings Kyrgiakos 41.

1st half stats: Leeds Utd - Liverpool

Attempts: 3-5

On target: 0-2

Offsides: 1-0

Corners: 3-4

Free kicks: 5-3

2nd half stats: Leeds Utd - Liverpool

Attempts: 9-6

On target: 2-2

Offsides: 0-3

Corners: 0-2

Free kicks: 2-7

Referee: Alan Wiley