We learned from the Premier League
Guardiola and company celebrate on Saturday.
Tottenham ended a 28-year wait to beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in the league and in doing so all but ended their London rivals hopes of Champions League football next season. Mauricio Pochettino may still not have won a trophy as Spurs boss, but the progress made under the Argentine is undeniable as Tottenham have established themselves as regulars in Europe’s premier club competition. Even more impressively, Spurs did most of the damage without Harry Kane, who made his return from injury as a secondhalf substitute.
Liverpool were able to lean on Mohamed Salah once more to grind out a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday to remain well on course for a top-four finish. However, there were more warning signs than sources of hope for Jurgen Klopp ahead of facing the might of Manchester City twice in the space of six days for a place in the Champions League semifinals. Just as against Manchester United three weeks ago, young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was exposed against the pace and power of Wilfried Zaha. Centreback pairing Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk were also got napping when Christian Benteke passed up two huge chances to restore Palace’s lead in the second-half. Given similar service it is highly unlikely Liverpool will escape unscathed against the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane in midweek.
When Alexandre Lacazette was fouled to win a penalty in the final moments of Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Stoke, it seemed certain that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would take the spotkick to complete his hattrick. The Gabon striker’s late double had put Arsenal in control after they laboured to break down Stoke for long periods at the Emirates Stadium and his first treble in England seemed a fitting reward. But instead Aubameyang deferred to France forward Lacazette, who was returning from an injury lay-off that served as the latest blow in a difficult first season with Arsenal. Lacazette gratefully accepted the gift, slotting home the penalty to leave Gunners boss Arsene Wenger musing happily about the friendly gesture.
Jose Mourinho’s carrot and stick approach to his Manchester United players must be wearisome to them as it is certainly to the fans. He gave them unstinting praise for their firsthalf display but it appears he is more focused on staving off any questions over his job security. He spent most of the day defending his record, showing his 12 minute rant last month about his tenure clearly is his theme of the moment. The 2-0 win over Swansea may have kept their noses in front in the race to be runners-up to City but should the latter seal the title in the Manchester derby, expect Mourinho to ramp up the self justification. – AFP