Liverpool and Arsenal slip and fall as City seize control
THERE are a few ways a team could beat a title contender.
They can score early, ride their luck, and grind out a one-nil win (e.g. Crystal Palace). Or they can absorb pressure in the first half, adjust with an excellent manager like Unai Emery to derail their ex-employer’s title challenge.
That’s what Aston Villa did at the Emirates, as Emery’s second-half adjustments made the difference against a wasteful Arsenal side. Villa dropped deeper in the second half and blocked off passing lanes to the forwards tremendously.
As the crowds groaned and became restless, Villa took advantage and secured a two-nil victory against the previously undefeated Arsenal team in 2024. This is a psychological blow to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
The advantage is now in Manchester City’s hands; the season could end for the Gunners tomorrow if they lose to Bayern Munich in the return leg of the Champions League.
Are Liverpool officially the banter club of 2024, or does that title belong to Manchester United?
In the running to win four titles by Feb 22, 2024, after winning the League Cup, the wheels seem to come off in Juergen Klopp’s farewell tour, or as fans would like to dub it, “The Last Dance”.
After the defeat against Atlanta midweek by a big scoreline in the Europa League, Liverpool suffered another defeat at Anfield after Crystal Palace left, with all three points following a resilient defensive performance.
The Anfield faithful can kiss both the Premier and Europa League goodbye after another poor performance by the entire squad.
The current Liverpool front three lacks chemistry and understanding, unlike the previous trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah. Uncertain about what the coaching staff are doing in training, it’s clear the front three are currently not clicking.
Alexis Macallister must be feeling the weight of the club on his shoulders in the middle of the park, as none of his partners have returned to form after recovering from their individual injuries.
Klopp now needs to salvage something before the season ends. The Premier League title is out of his grasp, and there’s only a glimmer of hope in the Europa League. If Klopp cannot overturn that deficit, they still have the League Cup.
Hopefully, the fans will still show up for the League Cup parade at the end of the season.
City took advantage of their Saturday fixture by beating Luton comprehensively to go top of the league, even if only for 24 hours, with Erling Haaland scoring in successive games now. The star of the show was Jeremy Doku as he ran riot on the left.
City are hitting championship form and could win the league if they win all the remaining matches with Arsenal’s defeat. Fourth in a row is on the horizon, and I don’t think Pep Guardiola would let it slip.
The season for Manchester United fans cannot end soon enough. Bournemouth have taken four points from United this season, and things are not looking good for Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag can only motivate his players for the big game, a.k.a. Liverpool, or ruin the season against their greatest rivals, but he cannot motivate his players enough to beat or put on a decent run to chase the Champions League spot.
With their competition still having to play the teams challenging for the title, why can’t Ten Hag’s team put on a decent run to close the gap?
Something is wrong at the club, and the fanbase is slowly turning on Ten Hag, especially after he threw his best player of the season, Alejandro Garnacho, under the bus, and yet none of the senior players got called out when Bournemouth dominated their team.
It is now one win in seven games, definitely relegation form for any club. United now lie seventh, and if both West Ham and Newcastle string a couple of results in the next six games, United could finish the season in their worst-ever league position in the Premier League.
If that happens, what will investor INEOS do?
Tottenham’s assault on the fourth took a hit as Newcastle ran riot at St James’ Park. Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon both ran the show as Newcastle finally strung together backto-back wins.
Eddie Howe’s team have now scored more goals than the amazing Kevin Keegan entertaining Newcastle side.
As it stands, the title is City’s to lose, as their run of fixtures looks relatively easier versus Arsenal and Liverpool.
Four in a row is not an easy feat, and only a miracle could prevent City from lifting the title in May.