Matchweek 21 of the English Premier League was full of action and drama. Many teams had to cope with the absence of key players – some due to the African Cup of Nations and some due to injury. New players came in the winter transfer window and had instant impacts on their teams’ performances. A total of 29 goals were scored in this week, including 4 own goals.
Spurs continued their ascent, Liverpool slumped to third position in the league table, while Chelsea went seven points clear at the top of the table. Manchester City, Swansea City and Crystal Palace suffered humiliating defeats.
Let us take a look at some of the crucial events of this week’s Premier League action.
#1 Zlatan’s late equaliser gives Manchester United a fully deserved point against Liverpool
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An absorbing Premier League encounter between fierce rivals Manchester United and Liverpool ended 1-1 at Old Trafford. The hosts extended their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions as a result of the draw. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp’s side are still looking for their first win of the year.
Both the teams looked cautious right from the start – a result of the two managers’ tactical battle. Both teams tried to dominate the midfield, hence chances were tough to come by. James Milner's 27th-minute penalty and sixth league goal of the season – awarded after a bizarre handball from Pogba – gave Liverpool the lead. The former Manchester City player has scored his past 10 penalties in the Premier League, including all seven for Liverpool.
But it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who had the final say in the tie. He scored his 19th goal of the season and is now the top-scorer in the Premier League alongside Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez. In spite of the best efforts of both teams in the final few minutes, neither side failed to break the deadlock.
Simon Mignolet came to Liverpool’s rescue time and again, making some brilliant saves. His heroics forced Jose Mourinho’s side to wait till the very end to salvage a point from the match. Jurgen Klopp has had to make big decisions with his keepers this season, and the inclusion of the 28-year old Belgian was fully justified.
United's nine-match winning streak in all competitions is over with that draw. Liverpool, quite contrastingly, are winless in four matches and have dropped from second to third over the course of the weekend.
#2 Chelsea do a double over title holders Leicester City, cement the top spot
Chelsea restored their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League with the win over Leicester City at King Power Stadium. The Chelsea side came back to winning ways in the league after a loss to Spurs at White Hart Lane.
The result also meant that Chelsea have completed the double over the reigning champions for the second time in Premier League history. They had earlier achieved this feat in the 2009-10 season when they beat Manchester United twice to win the title.
Diego Costa's absence seemed to have little impact on Chelsea's title chase as they beat their opponents without much difficulty. The Spanish striker is rumoured to be the target of a big-money bid from Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian. But his manager maintained that a back injury had prevented Costa from training and travelling to Leicester.
Marcos Alonso’s double strike and Pedro’s fourth goal in as many matches ensured a comfortable victory for the West Londoners. Both these players have performed exceptionally under Conte’s management. The Spanish duo had more shots on goal than any other player in the match.
Claudio Ranieri, Fifa's coach of the year, deployed a 3-5-2 system to counter Chelsea’s attacking threat but failed to contain the league leaders. The Foxes lacked quality in the final third of the pitch as a result of the absence of the star Algerian duo of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani.
The defeat leaves Leicester City in 15th place in the table and only five points clear of the relegation zone. If they continue this poor form, they might well be the worst title defenders in Premier League history.
On the other hand, the win will surely be a confidence boost for Antonio Conte’s side, who face Arsenal and Liverpool in three weeks time.
#3 Arsenal put four past lacklustre Swansea City
Paul Clement faced a demoralising loss in his first Premier League match in charge of Swansea City. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez, and own goals from Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton meant that they have conceded 3 goals or more in the league on 11 occasions.
Swansea have now conceded four or more goals in three of their past five Premier League home games.
Clement's top priority is to improve the Swans' defence - the worst in the top flight. But the way his players resisted Arsenal early on with their high pressing was an encouraging sign. But after conceding the first goal in the 33rd minute, their defence collapsed and they failed to cope with the movement of the Arsenal players. It will be a daunting task for the former Bayern Munich assistant manager to steer the Swans to safety.
Olivier Giroud continued his fine goalscoring form as he scored the Gunners’ first goal from close range. The Frenchman has scored in each of his past nine starts, netting 11 goals in total. Alexis Sanchez scored his 11th away league goal of the season and now has 8 goals in his last 9 appearances. The Chilean has been involved in more goals (21) than any other Premier League player this season (14 goals, seven assists).
Swansea find themselves back at the bottom of the table and with a tough run of fixtures to come - Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, three of their next five opponents. On the other side, Arsenal's display will surely give Arsene Wenger renewed hope of posing a serious title challenge.
#4 Spurs rout West Brom to make it six Premier League wins in succession
A rampant Spurs side extended their unbeaten home record in the league to 11 (9 wins, 2 draws) with an emphatic 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. The North Londoners had failed to win 6 out of the last 7 home matches against the Baggies. But this time around, they went all guns blazing right from the kickoff to rise to 2nd position in the Premier League.
Spurs got their lead in the 12th minute as their star striker Harry Kane cleverly lifted Christian Eriksen's through ball in off the upright. He added two more to complete his 4th hat-trick in Tottenham colours. Kane had 9 touches in the West Brom penalty area while the Baggies' entire team only managed seven touches in Spurs' box. The English striker has now scored 94% of his Premier League goals for Tottenham from inside the box.
Tottenham have adapted to the 3-4-3 system well. They bossed possession and created numerous opportunities.The wing-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker have been a great attacking threat from wide areas. Mauricio Pochettino’s side also looked defensively solid, preventing the Baggies from having any shot on target.
This victory will keep Spurs in the hunt for the league title that eluded them last season. Tony Pulis will be disappointed with his side’s defence which kept only 3 clean sheets this season.
#5 Everton land a huge blow to Pep Guardiola's Premier League title hopes
Manchester City’s poor record on Merseyside continued as they were beaten comprehensively by the Toffees at Goodison Park. City looked the better side right from the start, enjoying long spells of possession in the opponent’s half but failed to create clear-cut chances. After the 10th game of the season, Pep Guardiola's side were top of the table with 23 points, but 11 matches later, they are well away from the top.
Manchester City have won four and lost four of their past eight Premier League games – form that will give Guardiola sleepless nights. His side have kept only four clean sheets in 21 league games. A stoppage-time error by John Stones gifted Everton debutant Ademola Lookman his first goal for the club. The Toffees capitalised on every defensive error and made City pay.
Ronald Koeman was bold in starting with Tom Davies and 20-year-old defender Mason Holgate. Davies had a perfect match, involving himself heavily in all of Everton’s attacks and helping out his defenders as well. The local lad scored his first Everton goal in the 79th minute after a piece of brilliant attacking play.
The Belgian pair of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas made use of the limited opportunities that came their way to give the Toffees a 2-0 lead within 47 minutes of the match. Lukaku has been involved in eight goals in his last nine home league games (five goals, three assists).
Pep’s side next host second-placed Tottenham and will be hoping to stop their rampant run in the league. Everton have a great fixture list ahead as they face only one of the top six teams in their next eight league outings.
