View From the Perch: Kelly’s Sorry, Not Sorry Look at the EPL Week

Week 13 of the PL has come to an end. Sadly we all can’t be jobless like Pochettino and watch all the games so here is a little week 13 analysis and a whole lot of my own opinion!  

West Ham 2 Vs Tottenham 3

Let’s be honest waking up at 6:30am for anything on a Saturday is very difficult. This Saturday it was still difficult but also a little exciting and not because I was looking forward to another game watching Harry Kane struggle to keep his mouth closed. We had the pleasure of seeing Jose Mourinho take the reins again with his first game as the Tottenham manager. As we all know, Tottenham has been a vulnerable team and they were up against a struggling West Ham. We also know that Tottenham’s vulnerability can sometimes get the best of them. West Ham had every opportunity to stick it to the Hotspurs as well as their new manager. It wasn’t until the 36’ minute when we finally saw a goal.  The king of hitting the post (Son) slots one in the back of the net. It then lights a fire under the Hotspurs ass because minutes after Lucus Moura puts the second goal in, in the 43’. Jose Mourinho goes into half time with a 2-0 lead. Or did Mourinho miss that since he decided to head to the locker minutes before the halftime whistle was blown? West Ham may have been down 2-0 but they were trying and they were still determined to do something in this game. Four minutes into the second half everyone’s favorite Englishman Harry Kane heads one in to make it 3-0. After a bunch of offside calls and Jose Mourinho camera angles West Ham finally proves they are still in the game with a 73’ right footed inside-the-box goal. The game could have easily ended 3-0 but Tottenham couldn’t let Mourinho have an easy first day. West Ham ended up scoring a second goal in the 90+6’(Angelo Ogbonna) but Mourinho probably missed that goal too.

Liverpool 2 Vs Crystal Palace 1

When we all turned on our TVs or found a website to stream the game, damn you NBC Gold, we were all thinking “here we go another three points for the top of the table team”. Yes, Liverpool did end up getting those three points but man was it a difficult three points. The first half we saw a lot of missed opportunities for CP and a lot of shakiness from LP. The fans were also a little shaky after seeing the starting lineup.  James Tomkins (CP) finally slots one in but VAR decided that they haven’t pissed anyone off today so might as well disallow a goal. When watching the replay my eyes were on Tomkins, the goal scorer, to me there was no reason for it to be disallowed. What we learned was that there was a foul in the box for a push on Lovren, so instead of being down 1-0 Liverpool just received a free kick in the box.  The first half ended with a bunch of pissed off Crystal Palace fans and a disoriented Liverpool team. Sadio Mane the man who usually scores before the half makes it a 1-0 game in the 49’ minute. Not all heroes wear capes but they do wear a Mane jersey. I think all the Liverpool fans were content with a 1-0 win, this game was exhausting. Then in the 85’ Liverpool gets a corner. The ball comes flying into the box right to Virgil when his shot was blocked. There was a lot of confusion after that and BOOM Roberto Firmino puts it into the back of the net. It was then 2-0 with still what seemed like an eternity of time. Joe Gomez gets subbed in and so many of us thought thank goodness Lovren is coming off. Nope, Bobby is coming off and LP adds a fifth defender. Liverpool has five defenders plus the rest of the players and Zaha gets a wide-open shot to at least give CP some type of hope, and he skyrockets it so far into the stands. I think he was aiming for the guys in the VAR booth. The games end and every Liverpool fan can breathe again. 

Bournemouth 1 Vs Wolves 2

Both teams were coming off two decent games. Bournemouth had just come off a win against United and Wolves with a win against Aston Villa.  Coming into this season if someone asked me if I thought with a third of the season played if I thought the Wolves would be sitting in the top five on the table, I would have laughed and walked away.  In the first thirty minutes the Wolves were up 2-0 with text books goals from Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez. To make matters worse for Bournemouth 36’ in Simon Francis receives his second yellow card due to a foul from behind. If you haven’t figured out the math yet two yellow cards equal one red, seer ya later Simon. Bournemouth is not only down 2-0 before the half but they are also down one player. After a much-needed break Bournemouth start the second half determined to not give up. In the 59’ they get their first corner kick of the game and Steve Cook comes running from the edge of the book and heads one in giving Bournemouth hope in this game. After that goal you would have never guessed Bournemouth was playing a man down. It was a fight to win from both sides. Both teams are getting chances after chances but nothing is going in. Credit needs to be given to both teams. Bournemouth never gave up and continued to fight. We saw several chances and even a hope for a Wilson goal (both Harry and Calum). The Wolves beat Bournemouth for the first time ever away and proved yet again that they deserve the position they are at on the table. 

Arsenal 2 Vs Southampton 2

This was a game where both teams were in desperate need for a win. Arsenal hasn’t seen a win in four matches and Southampton in seven matches. Southampton pulled the trigger first by a goal from Danny Ings. The goal came from a quick set piece and Danny Ings was nicely assisted from the near post and into the back of the net. Apparently, Arsenal was still in the warm up because they were snoozing on that play. From there I instantly thought the game was over. Arsenal looked asleep and in true Southampton fashion I assumed that Danny Ings got his goal so they were just going to switch off. Also, did I mention this all happened 8’ in!? Arsenal finally started to wake up because ten minutes and several missed Southampton’s attempts later, Arsenal ties it up with by a much needed Lacazette goal. The rest of the first half ends with a yellow card frenzy. I thought Oprah was out there, you get a yellow card and you get a yellow card.  The second half starts off quick and Arsenal officially looks like they are completely awake. They had two great chances in the first ten minutes of the second. Aubameyang and Pepe both have open chances and both can’t find the back of the net. Like I said Danny Ings already scored so Southampton is content just playing defense for the rest of the game but believe it or not Southampton makes it a 2-1 game due to a penalty from Tierney. Tierney can’t believe it but most players never realize when they tug on other players kits. VAR decides to step in to make sure there was no offsides and we get confirmation that there was a penalty. James-Ward Prowse takes the penalty and it’s blocked! James being a seasoned vet remembered what his grade school coach taught him and that was to follow your shots and that’s exactly what he did and scores on the rebound.  Just when I thought Southampton had this one in the bag Lacazette ties the game up from a beautiful play to end the game! 

Brighton 0 Vs Leicester 2

Leicester being the team that currently put their name in the hat for a run at the Premiere league title has yet again added another win to their outstanding beginning of the season. In the first half we really didn’t see much from either side. Leicester almost had a breakaway goal from a pass from Maddison to Vardy but sadly nothing but a missed opportunity came from it. It took 64’ for Leicester to get their first goal of the game it was a great run from Vardy who saw Ayoze Perez offsides and Vardy holds the ball until he can get onside when he slots the ball to Perez and taps to the back post and into the net. I completely forgot that Brighton was a part of this game as well. Brighton had a few opportunities in the second. Duffy had a few chances to give them hope. Leicester just continued to be a better team throughout the game. We often see teams get frustrated with themselves and the score line. This is when we start to see late in the game red cards and penalties. In this game intraarticularly Webster stands on the foot of Gray. VAR awards Leicester the penalty. Vardy takes the shot and it’s another saved penalty but it’s also another penalty when the offensive teams follows the ball and puts it in the back of the net, but wait it wouldn’t be a goal without the opinion of VAR, and the penalty is called to be retaken. All is good in the world and Vardy puts this one in the back of the net ending the game with a 2-0 win over Brighton. 

Everton 0 Vs Norwich 2

If you know me, and most of you don’t, then you would know the love/hate relationship I have built with not only Everton but with Norwich as well. I put so much effort into secretly and vocally rooting for these two teams. Norwich started the season so promising and impressed so many of us and Everton… well didn’t necessarily impress us.  I just was just hopeful for them. Since the Pukki train had stopped and it didn’t seem like Norwich had anything left in them, I thought for sure Everton could easily take this one. Norwich starts off strong from the beginning and was giving Everton a run for their money. The first goal wasn’t scored until the 54’ from Todd Cantwell with a beautiful assist from Pukki. I wish I was shocked but the Everton defense looked very lost and confused, someone needs to remind them that their job is to stop the ball from being shot. The rest of the half was just laughable. Everton made Norwich actually look like a team that hasn’t been on a seven week down fall. I can’t completely blame this loss on the Everton defense because the only thing their offense did was send Todd Cantwell limping off the field. If this 1-0 loss for Everton wasn’t embarrassing enough, Norwich puts one more in the back of the net from the center of the box in the 90+2’ from Dennis Srbeny. Congrats Everton you let Norwich come to your field, score two goals and leave with a clean sheet. I really want to be excited for Noriwch but it was just Everton they beat after all. 

Watford 0 Burnley 3

Both Burnley and Watford entered the international break on a high note with wins. The question was who was going to continue taking the high road. It took the whole first half for both teams to establish who would be the winning team. With all the set pieces both teams had I assumed that we would be heading into the half with at least one goal. In the first Watford was the better team offensively but Burnley hit them hard defensively. In the second half the roles were reversed. Burnley came out strong offensively and, well, Watford just came out to put guys on the field. The first goal came in the 53’ off a corner. It was a missed header that went right to the foot of Chris Wood. It wasn’t until the 82’ when Burnley made it a 2-0 game. Before we can discuss that, Burnley believed they deserved a foul in the box in the 79’. Jose Holebas tries to clear the ball, misses, and hits Barnes instead. VAR rules it a penalty and this is how Ashley Barnes scores the second goal of the game. Six minutes after Tarkowski shoots the ball from a set piece and bounces off Ben Foster and Tarkowski picks up his own scraps and puts it in the net to end the game with a 3-0 win over Watford. 

Manchester City 2 Vs Chelsea 1 

Personally, I have never rooted for Chelsea as much as I have this season. This was another game I can add to the list. City is another team that has kind of shocked us all and not in the “winning” way and Chelsea has shocked us with the youth that Frank Lampard is putting onto the field. It only took Chelsea 21 minutes for Kante to put one in the back of the net. It was a great feeling for Chelsea and a heck of a way to start the game. Manchester City, a team that never stops fighting, ties up the game with a typical Kevin De Bruyne outside of the box bullet. Eight minutes later Riyad Mahrez makes it a 2-1 heading into the half. We have seen this before with City and Chelsea they both have outstanding first half but they struggle to put anything together in the second. The second was a perfect opportunity for Chelsea to have some type of comeback. Maybe it’s the vulnerability of a young team or just that they couldn’t keep up but Chelsea just couldn’t get the job done. There was hope of a second half goal from Raheem Sterling but VAR called him offside to make it a 2-1 game in City’s favor. City may have gotten the win but they also may have accrued more injuries. It was an overall exciting game and a much needed win for the defending champs. 

Manchester United 3 Vs Sheffield United 3

I am first going to start by mentioning how when United scored the third goal after coming back from being 2-0 so many United fans couldn’t help but remind us how unstoppable they are and then Sheffield reminded everyone about playing until the final whistle. Let’s rewind to the beginning because it only took Sheffield 19’ for Lundstrum to put one past De Gea. United may have dominated Sheffield in possession but in the first Sheffield took full advantage when they had the ball. United is still struggling to get anything in the back of the net. Mousset then comes from outside the box and make it a 2-0 game in the 52’. Jones had the most Jonesy game ever and the score was showing it. I expected United to just throw the towel in. Marcus Rashford wasn’t scoring so why even bother.  That wasn’t the case however, because in an 8-minute span starting in the 72’ United put three goals in. Williams, Greenwood and Rashford all contribute to what seemed like the comeback of the year. Sheffield being a team no one expected to have such decent season kept fighting until the final whistle blew because they took any hope for a United win away with a 90’ from Oliver McBurnie. It was a great game and once again if you are still out their doubting Sheffield I think this was a game where they proved they aren’t one to discredit. 

Aston Villa 2 Vs Newcastle 0

If Monday isn’t already the worst day of the week they have to toss a Aston Villa vs Newcastle game in the mix, just kidding.  This game could have easily gone either way. Aston Villa needed a win since the last one was three games ago. Villa came out to play and Newcastle came out to let Jonjo Shelvey work on his long balls.  One team showed up this game and the scoreline showed it. There was five minutes worth discussing in this game and during that five minutes Aston Villa scored two goals. The first one went in at the 32’ mark. Dubravka was caught flat footed and Conor Hourihane strikes it in. Five minutes after the first goal Aston Villa makes it a 2-0 game.  Anwar El Ghazi is assisted by Hourihane, hello fantasy points, and El Ghazi, not only stumps the Newcastle defense, but Dubravka as well. The first half ends and Villa is walking into the locker room feeling good.  The second half wasn’t as exciting. We saw a few decent shots from Grealish but nothing worth changing the scoreline over. Don’t worry folks because Newcastle put in their secret weapon Andy Carroll. Their secret weapon did so good that Newcastle ended up losing the game 2-0 to Villa.