Match Week 23 Update
Well, as discussed yesterday, the game of the week did not disappoint. an instant classic. Drama, great goals, a comeback, the home crowd was intense. The story line was significant…undefeated Manchester City against surging Liverpool. A top 4 clash for the ages.
Let’s go right to the highlights in case you don’t know how this one went down.
Wow…what a game. An early wonder strike gets Liverpool the lead but Manchester City fights back for the late first half goal. You figure they will find a way to keep their record intact. But then the crazy 9 minute stretch from 59:00 to 68:00 where Liverpool scored 3 really amazing goals and hit the post once. Firmino, Mane and Salah all delivered. The energy in their stadium was electric…Manchester City was going down for the first time this year. But wait…someone forgot to tell Man City. An equally crazy 10 minute stretch toward the end of the game got fans pretty nervous. Goals at 84:00 and one in extra time made it 4-3 with still 3 minutes to go. And then the penalty at the 94:00 minute mark. A great kick by Kevin De Bruyne and a diving header by Sergio Aguerro and the ball is tracking on goal. Looked like it was in…but no…just wide. Wow. Some fans in that stadium and fans on TV for Liverpool must have freaked out in that moment. Hearts were racing everywhere. That was really close to a goal and an amazing comeback. It was not meant to be on this day. Liverpool, surging in the past few weeks, takes down Manchester City and moves into 3rd in the table. Man City has its first wobble of the year. And the fans…an instant classic and probably the best game in the Premier League this year. Wow!
A Tale of Two Teams. Liverpool becomes the team of the week and to counter their amazing week, we have the team under the most pressure in the league, Arsenal. A team with amazing history who are floundering. A manager under pressure, top players looking to sign elsewhere in the transfer window, and now a 2-1 loss to the team ranked 17th and near the relegation zone, Bournemouth. A terrible result for the team and manager. Pressure building on the club to fire Wenger. Should be an interesting few weeks for the London club and one of the most popular clubs in the World. Bournemouth up to 13th with the win. A huge result for them.
Original Post
Match Week 23
The week is almost in the books with the Saturday games completed. 38 weeks in the season so pushing past the halfway mark in the season as well. No classic must-see match ups today as the big game is tomorrow as Liverpool face off with Manchester City in a match up of #1 vs. #4. Liverpool with the chance to hand Man City their first defeat of the year and climb over Chelsea into 3rd. Chelsea with a poor recent run of games has dropped points recently, with a few ties and has moved from second to 3rd and maybe 4th after tomorrow.
Race of the Top 4
Unchanged in the past few weeks with Manchester City rolling along with an insurmountable lead….per the experts…and still undefeated this year. Manchester United and Chelsea in second and third but with a few ties in their recent games to only secure 1 point and put no pressure on Man City. Liverpool hovering in fourth and closing while Tottenham look to be dangerous again and are closing on the top 4.
The Relegation Zone
Here is where all the fun is for the rest of the year…who will fight their way out of the relegation zone. The bottom three is unchanged but the points are changing a bit.
Swansea City in last with 16 points fought hard for a 1-1 draw and a valuable point to get to 17 against Newcastle United, currently 6 points ahead of them in 14th position. West Bromich Albion, currently in 19th position with a huge win this weekend against 15th place Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0. they are up to 19 points and only 2 points from 17th. Bournemouth (17th) and Stoke City (18th) both play tomorrow against top 4 teams, so a tough ask, but a win or draw would be important points.
The Transfer Window
Things slowing down a bit after the big Coutinho move to Barcelona but still two weeks left and some teams looking for reinforcements. Please Chelsea, can you secure a striker to help Morata and Hazard.
A Little Saturday Fun with Skills & Tricks
I hope to add some local footage with the U15 Girls now back in training…a little weekly juggling video to challenge the girls and show off some skill.
Manchester City v Liverpool tomorrow. 10:00 A.M. CST. Take a few minutes from your busy day and check it out. I will have some highlights for the rest of you.