Liverpool. Amazing Liverpool. Unbelievable Liverpool. And now we can add….once beaten Liverpool. I am a bit conflicted today as I write about Liverpool. It was starting to get exciting. The streak was something to focus on since Liverpool was running away with the League Championship race. How many games could they win, how many in a row, how long till they would lose a game. Their last loss was to Manchester City last January and since then 44 games in a row undefeated and equally impressive, 18 games in a row winning streak. I mentioned last week that the road to the record of 50 was actually pretty good. The next few games were to lower tier teams until they would face Manchester City again as they approached the record. No way they could stumble against the likes of West Ham or Watford, ranked 19th place in the league. So as I was channel surfing yesterday afternoon, I chanced upon the Liverpool-Watford game. First half and the score of 0-0. but upon watching a few minutes the game seemed pretty competitive. Watford dropping into a low block and defending like crazy, but able to break out occasionally and look threatening.
So I continued to watch into the second, now intrigued if Liverpool would keep the streak going. the halftime pundits were not to kind to Liverpool….they were off their game and did not look sharp. Watford was full of energy and playing with confidence. 10 minutes into the second half and I look up at the TV….what!, Watford 1-0 over Liverpool. A throw in from deep in the Liverpool half, a slick move down the end line, a cross into the 6 box and bam….a tap in goal. That looked to easy and not much urgency to prevent to move from the Liverpool defenders. Well, no worries, Liverpool will crank it up and take this game over…..but they just never did. They never really looked threatening. There were not many shots on goal. A glancing shot off the post was as close as they came and then shock of all shocks…..another throw in from Watford in their half, a back heel down the line, a quick thru ball whipped toward the back line and then, what?, the Watford striker breaks thru , wins the ball, and has a 1 v 1 vs the Liverpool keeper. A touch, the GK approached and then a very slick, chip over the top of the GK and into the back of the net. Oh my! What just happened….Liverpool down 2-0 to the team in 19th place. Virgil Van Dyke, the best defender in the Premier League just got beat off a throw in?? But still 25 minutes and this is Liverpool. But it never really got better for Liverpool. Watford controlled them and limited shots and seemed fresh and full of run. Liverpool looked slow and not engaged. And then it happened. A back pass, a steal, a ball dropped into the corner of the 18 and Bam! a ripped shot into the far corner….3-0 Watford. Oh come on….what is going on….is their an alternate universe premier League I am watching. But it did happen….Watford shocked Liverpool 3-0. This was not a late game, lucky win off a crazy rebound….this was a thorough beating of the top team in the league on a record run by a team about to get relegated out of the Premier League. Wow—wrap your head around that for a minute. Have I ever said this is a really difficult league and any team can beat anyone on a given day. The biggest shock of the Premier League so far this season for sure.
And so the record run ends. 44 games unbeaten and good for second best all time. 18 games winning streak, just 1 short of the record. Liverpool still has several record to play for, but a little of the magic just rubbed off their season. The 2003/2004 Arsenal team just popped the cork off some Campaign and gave a big, phew!, it really seemed that Liverpool was going to do it and break the their record. Hats off the Liverpool for a great run, it was exciting to follow and now let’s get on with the week 28 wrap up.
Match Week 28 Recap
Let’s take a look at the winners this past week as the race for top 4 and relegation are still very much alive and well. Only 5 winners this week with several draws and a few games postponed due to weather.
- Watford shocks the world and Liverpool, 3-0.
- Crystal Place with a 1-0 win over Brighton..
- West Ham United with a solid 3-1 win over Southampton..
- Norwich City with a critical win, 1-0 over struggling Leicester City..
- Wolverhampton with a key 3-2 win over Tottenham.
Race for the Top 4
Liverpool is a run away leader. How does the rest of the table look.
- Liverpool 26-1-1 79 points.
- Manchester City 18-3-6 57 points.
- Leicester City 15-5-8 50 points.
- Chelsea 13-6-9 41 points.
- Manchester United 11-9-8 42 points.
- Wolverhampton 10-12-6 42 Points
Tottenham (40), Sheffield United (40), Burnley (38), and Arsenal (37) round out the top 10. The top 4 have been the same for awhile, but Leicester and Chelsea are hanging on and several teams in the hunt and chasing them down for a top 4 finish. But none of the teams in the 3-8 spots seem to be able to get on a run of games and take charge. It will be an interesting finish for the Top 4 race. Manchester City’s potential ban from UEFA Champions league die to financial fair play rules violations will become a very big story as the season progresses. Maybe the 5th place team gets in!
The Relegation Zone
There are now 6 teams within 3 points of the relegation zone and fighting to stay up. Brighton sit with 28 points, West Ham United at 26 points and Watford with their big win get to 27. The current bottom three include:
18. Bournemouth at 27 points 19. Aston Villa at 25 points 20. Norwich City 21 points. Norwich City with a huge 3 points this week if they want to try and climb out of the cellar. A tight race for sure.
Game of the Week. Match Week 29. The Manchester Derby is always must see TV. #2 Manchester City vs. #5 Manchester United.
UEFA Champions League Update
The round of 16 leg one is now complete. These games are home and away with the winner advancing to the Quarter Finals. There are 8 games per session and the final 4 games of Leg 1 were completed this week. Here are the results.
- Athletico Madrid (Spain) took down mighty Liverpool (ENG) 1-0.
- Dortmumd (GER) beat PSG (France) 2-1.
- Atalanta (Italy) had a decisive win over Valencia (Spain)
- RB Leipzig (GER) took down Tottenham (ENG) 1-0
- Bayern Munich (GER) demolished Chelsea (ENG) 3-0.
- Napoli (Italy) drew against Baarcelona (Spain) 1-1.
- Lyon (France) took down mighty Juventus (Italy) 1-0.
- Manchester City (ENG) defeated Real Madrid (Spain) 2-1.
Germany 3-0 and looking strong!
MLS Is Back!
The new season kicked off this weekend. Two new teams make their debut with Nashville and Inter Miami kicking off play. Inter Miami had David Beckam in the ownership group and is trying to bring sexy back to soccer in Miami. That’s 26 teams now in MLS. Let’s see if Minnesota FC can take another step forward and make a deep run in the playoffs this year.
More expansion coming in the next few years. Austin FC, St. Louis, Sacramento and Charlotte should all be joining in 2021, 2022 and 2023. #0 seems the right number, but we will see. MLS is booming and the fans are showing up.