A View From the Perch: Kelly’s Sorry, Not Sorry Look at the EPL Week
As the Holidays approach we have exciting things happening in the PL. We have teams making slow but beneficial comebacks and other teams still riding that struggle bus! Find out what teams are heading into the holidays on a positive note and what teams are asking Santa for a miracle!
Liverpool 2 vs Watford 0
The table leaders took an even better lead after this week’s win. I would say Liverpool is feeling pretty good after this week. They are a good ten points ahead of the closest team behind them (Leicester City). For some the main talking point would be Mo Salah. The first decent chance of the game came from Henderson. Salah also had several chances, you could tell that he was hungry for the goal. I think my favorite part of the game was all the open chances Watford had and the fact that they couldn’t get their first touch together. The first flop came from Deulofeu. He received the ball in the box and absolutely destroyed the first touch. Luckily for Liverpool they took advantage of a bouncing ball and Mane takes it up the field and gives Mo Salah a great pass right in front of him. Salah quickly gets to it and slots it in the back of the net. Ben Foster really did not stand a chance. The half ends with the reds up by one. In the second half we saw even more wide open Watford chances and even worse missed opportunities. It was kind of sad to watch, they are professional players and they can’t even manage a decent first touch. It was only five minutes in when we got to see Mane score a goal but VAR declared it off-sides. When I watched the footage I did not see what part of him was off-sides but I don’t have 2020 vision so I don’t have the right to make that call. VAR disallowed the goal which gave Watford a chance. It wasn’t until the 90’ minute when we saw a second goal. Mo Salah once again takes out his magic kit and manages to make the ball go into the back of the net. It was a shot by Origi that was deflected to Salah’s feet. He wasn’t even facing the goal and he manages to tap it into between his own legs and into the net. My description doesn’t even do the goal justice. It was a great two goals for Salah. It makes me feel bad for Ben Foster, I truly believe he is one of the few decent players Watford has but sadly one player can’t win games for a whole team.
Bournemouth 1 vs Chelsea 0
What a frustrating few weeks for Chelsea. It was kind of been a roller coaster for them. I wouldn’t classify it has a large roller coaster but like the little dragon kids roller coaster and that is because they are still sitting in a nice position on the table. You would think being in the fourth spot with such a young team why would anyone be frustrated with them? That is because we have seen the potential in this young team and now we are seeing them sort of fall. On the other side Bournemouth win a game after five loses. They needed this win badly. It was a decent game to watch. Chelsea was dominating the ball and was consistently in the Bournemouth box. My question is when is Chelsea going to fix this problem of dominating a game but not being able to score a goal. By the second half, I was getting frustrated with the scoreline. In the 61’ King had a great breakaway and the excitement of a potential goal was taken away by the Chelsea defense. It was a great play to keep Chelsea in the game. It wasn’t until the 84’ that we actually saw a goal in the 84’. It was a little confusing of a goal. Mason Mount takes a nice step to make Gosling very much so on-sides but everyone thought it was off. VAR cleared up the confusion, I usually do not agree with VAR but in this case it truly was not off-sides and it was a nice way for Bournemouth to end the game and finally get the win they were looking for.
Sheffield 2 vs Aston Villa 0
Sheffield is back on a one game win streak. This was another game that could have gone either way and the better team just ended up winning. I personally could have done without the first half. It was not that exciting and nothing happened. It wasn’t until 5’ into the second we saw the first goal of the game. Fleck scored a beautiful goal that was put on his feet from an even more beautiful cross. The Aston Villa bad boy Grealish had a really decent chance to tie the game up but decided not to get his hair messy and doesn’t put the effort needed for the ball to the back of the net. Fleck then makes it a 2-0 game with a second goal of the game. Every Vila defender thought it was offside so absolutely no one went for the ball or tried to block it. It clearly was not off-sides, and that is why you should play until the whistle! The game actually didn’t end there. Villa was given a perfect opportunity to turn things around in the 75’. Which would of been plenty of time to comeback. They received a penalty kick and it was taken by Grealish. He lines the ball up, takes the shot and it radiates the crossbar. If Grealish isn’t going to score who will for Villa.
Leicester City 1 vs Norwich 1
This game was difficult for me simply because I talked about how LC was going to destroy Norwich and yes I said this knowing Norwich was slowing coming back. I was proved very wrong. I need to start taking my own advice and remember that all these games aren’t predictable. Norwich came out looking great. They scored first and early in the first half. Pukki puts one in in the 26’. Schmeichel didn’t even make a move to save it. It was a quick well placed goal. Then there was a pretty nasty foul on Norwich. Todd Cantwell comes from behind and takes the ankles out of the LC player, I can’t remember who it was. It instantly causes some arguments. I would say all the LC players thought it was deserving of a red card and the Norwich players thought it was an accident. VAR stepped in and decided with was only a yellow, phew! It wouldn’t be a Leicester City game if Jamie Vardy did not put a goal in the back of the net. When watching the game it looked like when the cross from the corner came in it went off of Vardy according to everyone else it was an own goal on Krul. Which is a bummer for Vardy because that ends his goal scoring streak. Just to make Krul feel better I am going to say it was a Vardy goal to tie the game up. Norwich really got to Leicester City. LC is a very confident team and they play like it. Norwich kind of took away some of the confidence from them so it is a shame that they only pulled off the tie.
Burnley 1 vs Newcastle 0
Another good old fashioned middle of the table game. We have seen some really decent games from Newcastle in the past couple weeks. They must of been tired from actually working hard to win some games because I did not see the same excitement that they had. Andy Carroll even got some serious playing time for Newcastle, maybe that is why they didn’t get the win. It was a frustrating first for both teams. The second half gave Burnley a little bit of relief. Chris Woods heads one in the back of the net in the 57’ to make it a 1-0. After that goal, it was clear that Burnley was going to take the win. It almost seemed like both teams exhausted themselves in the first.
Southampton 0 vs West Ham 1
We saw Southampton lose which was pretty normal what isn’t normal was the fact that they lost and Danny Ings didn’t score. We all know that if Ings or Prowse doesn’t score no one will. The first two minutes were probably the most exciting of the whole game. They were both playing with such intensity that I was so excited that this was how the whole game would be, and boy was I wrong. Haller scores in the 37’ to give WH the upper hand. It was a really fun play to watch, I love when satisfying plays like that lead to goals. After the goal the rest of the game was just so messy. There was plenty of fouls and plenty of flops. It really just wasn’t as enjoyable as the first two minutes. I sometimes think that Southampton does not care about the position on the table. They just don’t seem to play like a team that is about to get their asses relegated.
Manchester United 1 vs Everton 1
I recently learned a new term, Glow Up. Which means going from looking, I guess I will say ugly, to looking beautiful. I think that Everton is currently in the process of their very own glow up! No they did not win this game but compared to where this team was three weeks ago it is truly a damn glow up! Besides the Everton glow up we got to see another MU youngster make a few moves and no I am not talking about Rashford I am talking about Jesse Lingard. One of MU long lost players was given a decent chance that was quickly blown. United was so much better than the Everton defense, which most teams are so it was disappointing that they only managed to get one goal in. The first goal was awarded to Everton on a United own goal. De Gea jumps for the ball and it looks like he is able to punch it away and just misses. It hits off of Lindelof and they way he was position there was no way he had time to react at all and it is deflected to the back of the net. The second goal comes in the 76’ from Greenwood. It was one of those shots where it was so powerful that it was almost slow motion. Pickford’s brain could not process the ball coming his way a dives a little to late and it bounces right in the back of the net at the near post. The game hands down should of went to Manchester United and some will say that Everton did not do much to deserve this win but no one said that the process to a glow up was an easy and smooth one.
Tottenham 2 vs Wolves 1
Another top five team that the Wolves almost defeated. The first goal comes early from Tottenham. Moura scores in the 8’ after Wolves make two really bad clearances. The wolves don’t let an early goal effect time. They were giving the Spurs a hard time, like I said I really thought the Wolves were going to take this one. Dier almost gives Tottenham a 2-0 lead but just misses, Dier please stay on your half of the field please. The Wolves finally tie it up in the 67’, Traore slams the ball at the top of the box. It was truly an shot that couldn’t be saved. Twenty minutes left in the game and it was truly anyone’s game. Vertonghen seals the deal for Tottenham with an extra time goal. Its was set piece gone from for the Wolves. Vertonghen heads the ball in and gives the Hotspurs and Mourinho the satisfaction of another win.
Manchester City 3 vs Arsenal 0
There really is not much to say on Arsenal’s performance the scoreline does that for them. All you have to know is that Kevin De Bruyne is truly one of the best players in the league. He opens up the scoreline with only two minutes in. His first touch is just to good and he pounds one into the back of the net. The next City goal came from Sterling in the 15’. It was an assist from KB. KB had four Arsenal defenders on him and managed to get the pass to Sterling who was wide open which made it an easy shot into the net. Then Kevin De Bruyne wraps up the first half with his second goal of the game. He was able to walk right into the box and get a shot off. It was like the Arsenal defense was scared of him. The second half was annoying for me as a fair weather fan. The first was so exciting I simply wanted to see more goals. It does make me sad for Arsenal they are really in need of some type of leader. They need to find a manager that can take on the struggles of this team and can give them the support they are looking for. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Santa Claus can bring them that this Christmas.
Crystal Palace 1 vs Brighton 1
The main talking point of this game was easily Zaha. It was a frustrating game for Crystal Palace. I say that because they have seem doing so well. It is also frustrating because it seems that Zaha is the only player doing anything for them. It has been made very clear that Benteke is not they player CP needs him to be and we really haven’t seen much from Ayew. It was a tough first half to watch. There was not a whole lot really going on. The second half starts on an exciting note. When Neal Maupay puts one in the net. Brighton who pretty much dominated this game were in need of a goal and Maupay finishes the job. I had mentioned how this game was not that exciting. With the score being 1-0 I assumed that it would end this way. We also should know that if you give Zaha any type of room he is going to take full advantage of it. In the 76’ that is exactly what he does. He is given the room and he slams the ball into the top of the net. It was a tie game with a little over ten minutes to play. The goal doesn’t get CP the momentum they need to finish the game but it does allow them to walk away with a needed point.
Thank you all for reading! Have a Happy Holidays!