Premier League Notes - Week 20

Sports - Football - Premier League Week 20

The 20th week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:

25 goals - most by Watford = 3

249 shots - most by Everton = 22

79 on target - most by Everton = 9

108 corners - most by Southampton = 12

212 fouls - most by Chelsea = 19

43 bookings - most by Arsenal = 5

1 red card - Mariappa for Watford

3 penalties - 2 scored (Deeney for Watford, Kane for Tottenham)

#BHABOU

Only three minutes into the early kickoff, Alireza Jahanbakhsh opened his account for the home side with a lovely low finish across into the bottom right. It was end-to-end stuff, no sign of Christmas fatigue early on, the hosts on top. Dan Burn hit a Messi-esque beauty to double the lead (58’), only for the VAR to spoil the show and disallow the goal for one of those annoying offsides (60’), it was not even an inch of an arm, and so much happened after that, ping pong in the box, it’s farcical. Aaron Mooy controlled and smashed it in to make sure his side’s lead was doubled and couldn’t be disallowed (79’). Lovely lovely football and a deserved three points, the Seagulls were all over the falling Cherries. F-£< VAR!

#NEWEVE

Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the breakthrough at St James’ Park after early Toffee dominance, keeping Martin Dúbravka busy (13’). The Magpies tried their best to hit back, including an offside and handball against Andy Carroll. There were 22 shots in the first half of this game, the second most in the first half of a PL game this season (after 28, Villa at Norwich in Week 8). Fabian Schär finally found the equaliser from close range off Carroll (56’). The number seven provided three assists in his last five Premier League games, as many as he registered in his previous 89 combined. A slide over the line completed the brace for DCL after Carroll lost the ball, and put the visitors back ahead (64’), to make it five goals in his last five appearances in the PL, as many as in previous 28. Over 40 shots between the two, great contest, but only one scorer and winner for the visitors in the end. 

#SOUCRY

The first goal of the season for Max Meyer - was disallowed! Wilfried Zaha was deemed offside by the VAR as he jiggled past two defenders on the left and drilled it low into the box. Meyer was on hand to blast it in and gutted to see it chalked off. By a hair. Or breath as the BBC put it. Pf. James Tomkins headed the visitors ahead off Luka Milivojević’s free kick (50’). Danny Ings equalised for the Saints with their first shot on target, making no mistake of Martin Kelly’s cockup (74’). The point lifts Southampton four points clear of the drop zone, whilst Roy Hodgson's side remain ninth, 

#WATAVI

Troy Deeney gave the home side the lead just before the break, his low hard hit palmed back by Tom Heaton, the rebound squeezed into the far corner (43’). Adrian Mariappa was sent off, second yellow (59’), despite that the ten men doubled their lead and Deeney doubled his total from the spot (67’). Ismaila Särr finished the tie off with a blast in from close range (71’). Villa were nowhere, Nigel Pearson's side rolling over them, on- and upwards, just three points away from safety. 

#NORTOT

Four changes each side, the hosts started on top and took a deserved lead thanks to Mario Vrančiç run through and in, side-footing the ball past everything and everyone, Paulo Gazzaniga beaten too easily to his right (18’). The VAR disallowed Teemu Pukki’s controlled finish (33’), replays showing he was onside?! Great cross and counter goal, the defender’s foot ahead of everything - even the arm of the attacker they kept marking and drawing from. What are the officials watching/taking/doing up there?! Christian Eriksen levelled the score after the restart (55'). Harry Kane equalised again from the spot (83’) after Serge Aurier’s own goal had put the home side ahead for a second time, diverting Pukki’s take (61‘). Only Alan Shearer (145) and Sergio Agüero (138) have scored more Premier League goals in their first 200 appearances in the competition than Kane (136). Lucky point for one side, hard one to take for the other, as it should have been a home win, VARcical! 

#WHULEI

Nine changes for the Foxes after their Boxing Day thrashing against the Reds! A poor penalty from Demarai Gray was easily saved by Łukasz Fabiański, the keeper making up for his foul on Kelech Iheanacho. The Nigerian’s header gave the visitors the lead just before the break, the Hammers’ defence shambolic (40’). Unmarked Pablo Fornals surprised himself with the equaliser, a nice drive into the bottom corner (45’), West Ham’s 151st different goalscorer in the Premier League, more than any other team. A cool clip by Gray finished a breakaway nicely to give Brendan Rodgers’ men the lead (56’) and a comfortable win for the Foxes in the end. The Hammers equal their club Premier League record of four consecutive home defeats, set from November 2005 to January 2006 at Upton Park. Surprise surprise, the late match was still going when Manuel Pellegrini’s departure was announced. More surprising he lasted this long!

#BURMUN

The Red Devils dominated, but Burnley coped well and kept solid, including Phil Bardsley’s goal-line clearance (34’). Until Anthony Martial converted an absolute gift (44’), Charlie Taylor giving the ball away needlessly to Andres Pereira who made no mistake of setting up his team mate. Too easy. All hard work undone for Sean Dyche and his men. Marcus Rashford sealed the win in the last seconds (90+5’), Ole Gunnar Solskjær and his men ending up on top of an otherwise dire match, not much else to shout about. The home side looked like they could and should have snatched and grabbed something back, but just weren’t good enough in the end. Not that their opposition was much better. Still, the win sees United up to fifth, just one points separating them from the top four.

#ARSCHE

After a bright start for the home side, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed the Gunners ahead totally unmarked (13’). The Blues were struggling for the whole first half. The visitors dominated after the restart. Bernd Leno handed Jorginho the equaliser off Mason Mount’s free kick (83’), an easy punch away, but the keeper somehow missed it. The German stopper has made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the Premier League since August 2018 (seven). And Tammy Abraham completed the perfect counter and turnaround through Leno’s legs (87’). Frank Lampard was ecstatic, no wonder, after his side didn’t form much of a threat for most of the match. Mikel Arteta will be gutted after his side bossed it for so long - and should Jorginho have been sent off? This is the first time Arsenal lost against the Blues after being ahead at the break, winning 12 games and drawing three before. And it’s the Gunners’ first defeat after winning all other 68 home Premier League games where they led at half-time. Only one league win since the first weekend of October for the one London side, whilst the other is only three points behind third-placed Manchester City!

#LIVWOL

The Reds dominated, but didn’t quite click, couldn’t get the final touch right. It took more VAR drama to overrule the officials' judgement of handball against Adam Lallana, setting up an onside Sadio Mané for an easy tap in to give the home side the lead (42’). Pedro Neto squeezed in the equaliser into the bottom left corner to level the score before the break (45+3’) - Nuno Espírito Santo was booked as he was going absolutely mental on the sideline whilst VAR checked and disallowed Neto's equaliser, for offside in the buildup, it was Joao Moutinho’s arm! Replays showed it was the tip of his toe as well actually... 1-0 it stayed and remained at the break, still, madness! Mané is only the second player to be directly involved in 30 Premier League goals during 2019 (24 goals, 6 assists), after Jamie Vardy (34). It ended a tense win for the Reds to put them 13 points clear at the top, with a game in hand. 

#MCISHU

Lys Mousset thought he had put the visitors ahead in the first half (29’), but not for long as VAR chalked it off for offside - theme of the weekend. Sergio Agüero gave the home side the lead (52’) after the referee got in the way of the United defence trying to clear the ball. Controversial. Kevin De Bruyne doubled the Citizens’ lead with a low finish (82’). Chris Wilders' side's first away defeat of the season (10 games) and they still out-created the champions. Big chances: Man City 1-3 Sheffield United (with Man City’s big chance coming as a result of a refereeing deflection). Phenomenal first half of the season from the Blades, finishing the year in eighth, whilst the Citizens remain third after their first clean sheet since 26 October, 14 points behind the league leaders, six points ahead of Chelsea in fourth.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Brighton 2:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Newcastle 2:1 Everton - 1:2

Southampton 2:1 Crystal Palace - 1:1

Watford 2:2 Aston Villa - 3:0

Norwich 1:2 Tottenham - 2:2

West Ham 1:3 Leicester - 1:2

Burnley 1:1 Man United - 0:2

Arsenal 2:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Liverpool 2:1 Wolves - 1:0

Man City 1:1 Sheffield United - 2:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report and RMC Sport coverage.

Premier League Notes - Week 6

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 6

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

31 goals - most by Man City = 8

258 shots - most by Man City = 28

91 on target - most by Man City = 11

98 corners - most by Everton = 12

202 fouls - most by Leicester = 16

38 bookings - most by Arsenal = 5

2 red cards - Saïss for Wolves, Maitland-Niles for Arsenal

3 penalties - 3 scored (Ward-Prowse for Saints, Agüero for City, Pépé for Arsenal)

#SOUBOU

Saints were all over the place on Friday night, unable to cope with the Cherries, hence, two goals down at the interval. And just when it looked like the hosts were getting back into the game after the break (creating 25 shots!), things went from bad to worse to embarrassing! Stoppage time drama saw a brilliant save by Aaron Ramsdale at the one end, keeping the score at 1-2, followed by a comedy error at the other, Angus Gunn and Jan Bednarek producing You've Been Framed material, a present for Callum Wilson to make it 1-3 with the last kick of the game and three points for the visitors, their first ever win at St Mary's! Eddie Howe's side have won four of their last eight away games in the Premier League, having had lost the previous nine in succession!

#LEITOT

The Foxes' comeback was full of ups and downs and controversies. VAR was cheered on and chanted by the fans after a goal was disallowed for offside, to Paulo Gazzaniga's relief after an embarrassing spill! LMAO! But eventually Spurs found a breakthrough, Son Heung-min with a cheeky back-foot pass on the edge of the box, finding Harry Kane, who was falling over like a stumbling drunk but somehow still got a shot away and in to give the visitors a weird but top quality lead (25'). VAR chalked another goal off, Serge Aurier with the finish, eventually disallowed, but this time it was soooooo close, millimetres! The French commentators were not happy! But off is off (more to that below)! Moments later, Ricardo Pereira had all the space in the world, no one near him in the box, easy equaliser (69'). After all the chances, poking and trying, VAR controversies, disallowed goals, the hosts pulled themselves back into the game. And James Maddison completed the perfect comeback, with a screamer to make it 2-1 (85')! Mauricio Pochettino's men have failed to win three consecutive Premier League games when they are leading at the break for the first time since March 2008. Since Brendan Rodgers took over at the King Power Stadium, only Manchester City and Liverpool have picked up more points. Top character. 

#BURNOR

After last week's surprise victory against the reigning champions, Norwich were on a high. But Chris Wood had better ideas, shooting the Canaries down with his brace, two goals in four minutes (10', 14'). Lethal. The 27-year old Kiwi opened the scoring with yet another header, his seventh since the start of last season, more than any other player has nodded in. Five of his last six league goals have been scored with his head, and four of those from corners. Nod on. 

#EVESHU

Everton scored an own goal to add to all their misery, opening the score for Sheffield United five minutes before the break at Goodison Park. The Toffees have now conceded 20 goals from set pieces since Marco Silva took over, more than any other Premier League team. It was a great counter to double the lead/agony, depending which side you're on. It completed the Blades' first PL away win in 13 years, despite the home side dominating and trying their best with over double the possession, eight times the shots and double on target. A reminder: The blue Merseysiders have spent £195 million on transfers (net) since June 2016, which makes them the fourth highest spenders in the English top tier. Their allocation of resources is one of the worst in the PL history! They are the highest spending club in WORLD football without a trophy with £954m splashed out since 1995. Mind. Blown. 

#MCIWAT

This was just ridiculous! The same side that created 31 shots in a great comeback to grab a point against Arsenal last week, just absolutely crashed and burned from kickoff at the Etihad. It was the fastest and biggest onslaught, David Silva finding the net first after just 52 seconds! 17 minutes later, it was already 5-0! I couldn't keep up with the Tweets! It's the fastest any side has ever gone 5-0 ahead in the Premier League and the biggest half-time lead. Bernardo Silva made it six, scoring his first ever PL brace, and netting in back to back home league games for the first time in his City career. And that was not all. It became the Portuguese's first ever top-flight hat-trick in what is his 178th appearance across the English, French and Portuguese top tiers. It was the first time for the Citizens to score eight in a single PL fixture. An absolute mauling. Watford's heaviest defeat ever in English league football. Outclassed. Gerard Deulofeu completed 13 out of his 14 passes - EIGHT of those coming from kickoff! Shocking.

#NEWBRI

There were lots of empty seats at St James' Park! The Seagulls dominated from start to finish with most of the possession! The Magpies only had 24.2% of the ball in the first half, not much more after the restart. A reminder of Steve Bruce's men's possession so far this season: 38% v Arsenal, 37% v Norwich, 20% v Spurs, 49% v Watford, 25% v Liverpool. WTF?! What are they on the pitch for?! To play football, no?! It was an absolute drag by Newcastle on Saturday night, waste by Brighton not to capitalize, the torture ended 0:0. Cheered sub Andy Carroll couldn't make the much needed difference on his return to Tyneside.

#CRYWOL

Leander Dendoncker's own goal was Crystal Palace's 100th goal in the Premier League under Roy Hodgson - the first time the Eagles have scored as many under one boss and they are the first club the former England boss has managed in the competition to reach this total. Centurions. Diogo Jota's last-breath equaliser from close range spoilt the party at Selhurst Park and nicked a point for ten-man Wolves, FIVE MINUTES in to stoppage time! 

#WHUMUN

How many times and weeks have I been writing it and will keep on writing it: Man Who?! The Hammers' dominance finally paid off when Andriy Yarmolenko made the breakthrough just before the break, squeezing the ball past David de Gea into the bottom corner (44'). The Red Devils have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last ELEVEN away matches in all competitions, their worst run since conceding in 14 consecutive matches between April and December 2002. It was a smacking free kick by Aaron Cresswell to make it 2-0 with under ten minutes to go, top corner, de Gea no chance. Manuel Pellegrini is the first manager to win against four different United managers in the Premier League: David Moyes, Luis van Gaal, José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Collection.

#ARSAST

What a comeback it was by the Gunners, first to come from behind being down to ten men, and then in what fashion! Two goals in four minutes, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's late winner was an absolute belter!!! That made it seven in seven this season for the Gabonese striker. The Villans are still pointless on the road, and despite a much improved performance Dean Smith's men haven't won any of their last five Premier League away games when scoring first (D1 L4) and fall down to 18th, whilst the Gunners fly high back up to fourth. 

#CHELIV

The Reds bossed the first half, the Blues the second. Jürgen Klopp's men are the first team in top-flight history to win their opening six matches of a top-flight season in two consecutive seasons. Pacesetters, five points clear at the top. The contrast in commentating was surreal! Martin Tyler sounded very bored, whilst the French and American commentators went mad! No wonder, all three goals were top quality and the end was tense! The VAR arguments are getting more and more ridiculous! As mentioned above, close, yes, cruel, maybe, but off is off! (I loved Graeme Souness' quote on those close calls: "You cannot be nearly pregnant!") And with or without VAR, there will always be missed incidents and mess-ups, it is still humans behind the screens (and in front of them)! Nobody's perfect. But there should be a system where they get punished or there should be some consequences for anything missed or messed up, because every call, every goal, every point is oh so crucial! But hey, that would probably take another 20 years for the FA to work it out! Behind every other country and every other sport! Pf! No wonder it's winding everyone up!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Southampton 1:1 Bournemouth - 1:3

Leicester 1:1 Tottenham - 2:1

Burnley 2:2 Norwich - 2:0

Everton 1:1 Sheffield United - 0:2

Man City 2:1 Watford - 8:0

Newcastle 1:0 Brighton - 0:0

Crystal Palace 1:0 Wolves - 1:1

West Ham 2:2 Man United - 2:0

Arsenal 3:1 Aston Villa - 3:2 

Chelsea 2:3 Liverpool - 1:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Notes.

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

Reds Bash Hammers 4-0

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 4:0 WHU

Liverpool recorded their 500th Premier League win in convincing fashion, beating West Ham comfortably 4-0 in their season opener at Anfield on Sunday early afternoon.

The home side impressed and dominated possession and play from kick-off with their front trio constantly threatening, Egyptian king Mohamed Salah taking only 19 minutes to tap in the opener from Andy Robertson’s precise cross.

An unmarked Sadio Mané doubled the lead from close range just before the break, becoming the first LFC player to score in three consecutive opening top-flight fixtures since John Barnes between 1989-92.

The Senegalese forward looked offside when he drilled in his second off Roberto Firmino’s pass to make it 3-0 to the Reds after the interval, but the flag stayed down, replays showing some oh-so-slight deflection off a Hammer.

New signing Naby Keita impressed with a driving performance as well, with some slick moves and plenty of tempo, also contributing to the first goal.

Meanwhile skipper James Milner bossed the pitch from start to finish (rugby-style with a headband wrapped around the stitches on his forehead), and Virgil van Dijk’s presence was heard, felt and seen at the back for the Reds.

Substitute Daniel Sturridge added to the party scoring with his first touch, 24 seconds after coming on in the 87th minute, making it 4-0 and sealing Liverpool’s biggest opening home league win since 1932. 

New Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini watched his side being well beaten and not giving the new Red record-signing keeper Alisson Becker much to do, easily catching Fabián Balbuena's header, one of just the two attempts on target for the visitors.

And the defeat could have been heavier with chance after chance for the home side, leaving Jürgen Klopp all smiles and full of praise, the German could not have asked for a better start to the new season, but also warning of the bigger and harder challenges ahead.

Liverpool Goals: Salah 19’, Mané 47’ & 53’ & Sturridge 88’.

Match Stats: LFC 4-0 WHU

Possession: 64.8%-35.2%

Shots: 18-5

On target: 8-2

Corners: 5-4

Offsides: 5-3

Fouls: 14-9

Bookings: 1-2

Liverpool Team: 13 Alisson; 26 Robertson, 4 van Dijk, 12 Gomez, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 21’); 9 Keita, 5 Wijnaldum, 7 Milner (c); 10 Mané (23 Shaqiri 82’), 9 Firmino (14 Henderson 69’), 11 Salah (15 Sturridge 87’). 4-3-3

Subs not used: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne, 3 Fabinho, 20 Lallana.

West Ham Team: 1 Fabianski; 26 Masuaku, 21 Ogbonna, 4 Balbuena (booked 55’), 24 Fredericks; 41 Rice (11 Snodgrass 45’), 16 Noble (c); 8 Anderson (17 Hernández 62’), 19 Wilshere, 30 Antonio (booked 52’); 7 Arnautovic.

Subs not used: 5 Zabaleta, 13 Adrián, 14 Obiang, 20 Yarmolenko, 23 Diop.

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Ground: Anfield

Attendance: 53,235

Man of the match: Sadio Mané

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Sky Sports coverage and app and Twitter.