The last week saw a host of matches in the EPL. There has been a congestion with some teams playing every alternate day amongst scheduling headaches as the World Cup break approaches. It is therefore a massive challenge for the players to keep their physical and mental levels high every time and bring their A game whenever they take the field. The pressure is telling on a few teams which is reflecting in their performances. So let us have a brief look on the happenings on match day 12 & 13.
The Seagulls are losing Flight but The Foxes are on the Prowl
In my post on Match Day 9, I had adjudged Brighton ( the Seagulls ) as the team of the Week after they had played out an impressive draw against Liverpool. Akin to the commentators curse, unfortunately Brighton have failed to win a single match, lost 3 and drawn two after my appreciation and are out of the top 5, stumbling down to 9th. They have scored just once in 4 matches. They have suddenly gone subdued and the brave, fluent football seen from them is missing big time. They face Chelsea next and after their loss to Manchester City, the Chelsea test would not be easy. The pressure is telling on Brighton. I hope the Seagulls pick themselves up and begin to fly.
It seems that eventually the Foxes ( Leicester City ) have come out of their slumber and are on the prowl after two back to back comprehensive victories. The former Champions were struggling at the bottom, however with two victories in 3 days ( 2-0 against Leeds and 4-0 against Wolverhampton ) without conceding a goal, augurs well for the Foxes. They are now out of the dreaded bottom 3 and have moved upwards to 17th. They have won 3 of their last 5 games with a single defeat and a draw. Watch out for the Foxes now.
Leeds and Wolverhampton both have squandered a decent start and find themselves on the 18th and 19th position after suffering 4 losses in their last 5 games. They have not been consistent enough and have let go off a good beginning.. Leeds have another tough game against Liverpool next while Wolves meet Brentford.
Kepa to the rescue of Chelsea again
Manchester United travelled to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s home ground. Chelsea’s form has been chequered off late while United have shown vast improvements after a horrible start. The match too went on the lines of current form. Manchester United were in control of the match right through. They had more possession, they had more shots on goal and should have scored much more than what actually transpired. Kepa the belligerent Goalkeeper from Chelsea kept the attacks from United at bay, making some brilliant saves. Kepa is anticipation and agility personified. A stroke of luck for Chelsea got them a penalty and they went ahead in the 87th minute against the run of play. A loss for United would have been gross injustice and so happened a divine intervention in the dying minutes of the game when a weak Casemiro header just managed to enter the goal. It was 1-1 at the end of play. This was Chelsea’s second consecutive draw while Manchester United were impressive in their previous game too beating Tottenham 2-0. Chelsea have been pushed down to 5th while Manchester United stay at 6th.
The Upset of the Week
After two back to back victories over Manchester City and West Ham, a confident Liverpool travelled to Nottingham to play a team at the bottom of the table, the beleaguered and looking for some redemption, Nottingham Forest. But they kept the past behind and focused on the game at hand. A tired Liverpool tried their best to score but lacked that intensity and incisive play which had got them victories. Nottingham surprised them too with their stubborn defense and eventually scored in the 55th minute. Liverpool tried but to no avail, they failed to score and ended losing to Nottingham Forest. Liverpool were beginning to show some spark of yore, which has been doused a bit.
The Round Up
In the other matches, an impressive Arsenal stayed put on top of the table with 4 wins out of their last 5 games and though they were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton, the Gunners have managed to maintain their playing standards. Manchester City were flawless in their 3-1 win against Brighton and are sitting pretty at 2nd position in the table. Tottenham ( Spurs ) however have shown a bit of slackness and have lost their last two games to Manchester United and Newcastle within 4 days. Concerns for Spurs, however in the back of a great start they still occupy the 3rd spot on the table.
Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Aston Villa and Brentford had mixed results. Bournemouth lost both their matches in the week while Fulham on the other hand are making the most of their return to the Premier League with two sparkling wins and are now placed 7th on the table.
Team of the Week
Newcastle United has been one of my favourite teams since the days of the former England captain Alan Shearer. . The present season for The Magpies as they are known ( due to their black and white stripes resembling the beautiful magpie bird )has witnessed a turnaround for this amazing club having a history of 130 years. Prior to this season Newcastle have been struggling to stay in the Premier League and have been placed in the bottom half of the table for a few years now. So its resurgence this year is heartening to say the least. Newcastle have gone undefeated in their last 5 matches winning 4 of them. In their last match they brushed aside Tottenham and moved to the 4th spot on the table. The Magpies are in top flight playing some exciting Football. They meet Aston Villa next. Good Luck to the Villans.
The Goal of Match Day 12-13
Leicester City blanked the Wolves 4-0 at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton on Match Day 13. James Maddison with a brilliant strike in the 55th minute and the opening goal by Youri Telemans were the best in my opinion this week. However the one by Telemans undoubtedly spurred his team for bigger things. A right footed clean strike from outside the box just saw the ball fly with amazing accuracy and power as it hit the top right corner of the goal. The effort by Telemans was a spectical indeed.
This was a brief post on the Match Day 12-13 and another interesting Match Day awaits us as the EPL moves forward this weekend. There are some crunch games lined up and it would be interesting to see how the Magpies and the Foxes perform.
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