View from the Perch: Kelly’s Sorry, Not Sorry Look at the EPL Week 14

Another exciting weekend with a new manager, table changing games and most importantly a Pukki goal! 

Newcastle 2 vs Man City 2

This game started a little slow. Within the first ten minutes Dubravka accidentally tackled Ferandez one of his defenders and for a second it didn’t look great. As soon as that happened I thought well might as well go back to bed. Thankfully Raheem Sterling makes the first move to make the game exciting. David Silva sets Sterling up with a flick and Sterling slots it to the back of the net. Newcastle wasn’t going to be taken down easily because three minutes after Willems hits a powerful right footed shot past Ederson. The score line was 1-1 and City realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as I am sure they assumed it would be. Newcastle was throwing everything they had at City.  Most of the second half we saw several saves and misses from both teams. It wasn’t until the 82’ when we saw a standard Kevin De Bruyne shot. It was outside the box and it was a complete bullet. It was an unsavable shot and even it was savable any body part that tried to stop it would of probably ended up shattered. The celebration quickly fades for City when Jonjo Shelvey shows De Bruyne that he isn’t the only one on the field that can send bombs into the net from outside the line. The game ends 2-2 and Jonjo Shelvery becomes the Liverpool hero he always desired to be. 

Liverpool 2 vs Brighton 1

Liverpool, being the league leaders, took a different approach for this win and it involved Virgil’s head. It only took 18’ for Virgil to step forward and get the reds the push they needed.  It was only six minutes later when Virgil decides he wants to give Liverpool a nice little cushion and heads another ball into the back of the net from a great corner ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Reds are 25’ in and are up by two and have not given Ryan a break.  Brighton weren’t on the defense for most of the game though as they would get some chances in the box. Thpey were instantly shut down and Liverpool’s attack just came much harder at them. Then there is a little hope for Brighton when Allison Becker the Liverpool goalkeeper comes out to make a save well outside the box. This mistake ( said with a question) gives Brighton a free kick but also sends Becker off to the locker room.  Adrian is instantly welcomed back by a set piece goal. If you watched the game you saw that the whistle was blown while Adrian was setting up wall. The ref blows the whistle and Lewis Dunk takes full advantage and easily slots it to the back of the net. Adrian makes a lot of great saves after that. Depending on who you ask, some will say that the whistle shouldn’t of been blown and that goal was a fluke and others will say it was fair and smart on Brighton’s part. As for my thoughts on it, well Liverpool got the three points and Virgil scored both goals so I am pretty happy. Despite the scoreline and the bullets coming off Virgil’s head a lot of credit has to be given to Ryan, Brighton’s keeper, if it wasn’t for him I truly believe the scoreline would have been significantly larger. 

Burnley 0 vs Crystal Palace 2

Burnley was looking for their third PL win in a row and Crystal Palace was just looking for a win. Crystal Palace ended their five game winless run. Burnley started the game strong it almost looked like a promising game for them. Going into this game it almost seemed like another perfect game for them to win, they were on a hot streak and Crystal Palace on a not so hot streak. The first goal went in pretty early for CP, but offsides was called and VAR disallowed it. The Burnley defense wasn’t the only players on the field that struggled this game. The first goal that mattered was scored by Zaha in added time of the first half. A shot aimed toward the near post. The post that should be most protected by the goalie or in Popes case the post that wasn’t defended at all. Zaha makes it 1-0 heading into the locker room.  Starting the second half, the Burnley Defense completely shuts down. The second goal comes from Jeff Schlupp with another front post goal. It was a great goal to pretty much ensure the win for Crystal Palace. Then comes the 85’ when Burnley finally wakes up and gets their offense involved in the game. For the next fifteen minutes they gave CP a run for their money. Luckily unlike Pope, Guaita was on it and left the game with a clean sheet and a much needed Crystal Palace win! 

Chelsea 0 vs West Ham 1

As we know, last week we saw Chelsea lose to Manchester City. We all thought well this is normal for City they are a verteran team and Chelsea isn’t so it made sense. Did I think that, this  game would play a role into a slippery slope for Chelsea, NOPE! Frank Lampard was also put to the test due to one of his stars, Tammy Abraham, was out with an injury. I am not saying this is where things turn south but it has been said that December is where teams make a name for themselves in the PL. Chelsea being the better team this whole game the possession percentage and shots on target can prove that but what actually matters is the score. Both Kepa Arrizabalaga and David Martin deserve all the credit this game. Let’s start with Martin because not only was this is first start as an older keeper but he dealt with a lot more shots. Chelsea pounded 19 shots at the guy and he didn’t seem phased what so ever. As for Arrizabalaga he only suffer through 5 shots but managed to still allow one in. Aaron Cresswell was the one to finally put one in the back of the net 48’ into the second half. It was beautiful, pretty much to remind Chelsea that a couple decent wins in the PL doesn’t mean anything. As the game ended Chelsea realized that it’s time to get off their high horse and get back to training. For me the best part of the game was David Martin leaving the game with happy tears. He deserved the derby win! 

Tottenham 3 vs Bournemouth 2

This is the Tottenham we have been wanting to see all season long. Granted, we didn’t see a Harry Kane goal and we still saw several misses from Son. Still, it was still quite an improvement from the beginning of the season.  The first goal was a beautiful Dele Alli goal assisted by Son. I think Dele started to realize that if he started picking up Son’s scraps he would score more goals. The Hotspurs scored another goal but VAR stepped in and disallowed it. That didn’t stop the hotspurs. Dele’s second goal comes minutes after the second half whistle. It started from a beautiful pass from Dier from the back and a little flick from Son that sets Dele up perfectly to make it a 2-0 in the 50’. Dele Alli was all over the field and so were the rest of the Hotspurs. In the 69’ Tottenham makes it a 3-0 game with a cross in the box to an unmarked Moussa Sissoko. Sissoko hasn’t scored in 95 appearances for that explains why Bournemouth had no one marking the guy. Jose Mourninho was probably so excited that he most likely left for the locker room early. Jokes on Mournho who probably assumed his job was going to be easily. Tottenham may have performed great in this game but they still have a long way to go. Bournemouth gets a penalty outside the box. Harry Wilson gets set to take it. Wilson, a kid that is on loan from Liverpool, has been making a name for himself here. He takes the kick and makes it looks so easy. The game is 3-1 in the 73’. This goal allows Tottenham’s true colors to show because they start playing a little bit more frazzled. The doesn’t end there. Harry Wilson puts one more in the back of the net in the 90+6’. They muster a few more attempts but can tie the game.

Southampton 2 vs Watford 1

Two very important things happened in this game, Danny Ings scored and Southampton got the win. Two teams that sit at the bottom of the table and two teams that desperately need a turn of events. Watford sets the tone for the game with an early goal in the 24’. Ismaila Sarr puts one in. It was a shot that most goalies wouldn’t have saved. Watford lacked in possession and shots but managed to keep the lead for a majority of the game. Danny Ings makes it a tie game in the 78’ with a close range goal.  James-Ward Prowse is awarded a free kick and takes full advantage of it and puts it into the back of the net. This win gives Southampton a little bit of hope to get out of the relegation zone. As they move closer to escaping, Watford starts to get comfortable sitting at the bottom of the table. 

Norwich 2 vs Arsenal 2. 

Is it safe to say that the Pukki train is officially running again? Norwich is slowly making a comeback after a whirlwind of a season so far. I was so excited about the comeback of Pukki I forgot to mention we have another new manager to discuss. We said goodbye to Unai Emery and welcome Freddie Ljunberg. Freddie did not have a great first game with the Gunners but what would you expect coming into a team a third of the season already played.  The question is how is Freddie going to turn Arsenal around. Arsenal led the game in possession and shots. They managed to not lose the game but they also didn’t win. I think he has a tough job but one that can easily be done. Pukki’s goal was the first on the scoreboard. I would really like to spend the next couple sentences describing it to you but I was so excited that he scored that I kind of blacked out with excitement. All I can say is that he was so damn happy. Minutes after the Pukki goal Christoph Zimmerman forgets what sport he is playing and attempts to catch a ball in the box. After the soccer/VAR gods take a look they give Arsenal a penalty kick. Aubameyang steps up to take it and Krul makes an incredible diving save. VAR now has a new rule that if the goalie saves a penalty kick the player who kicks it gets to retake it because they feel bad. Due to the ruling, Aubameyang takes it again and slots it past Krul to make it a 1-1 game. Norwich makes it a 2-1 game in added time of the first half. After last week Todd Cantwell makes another appearance and makes it worth it with his before halftime goal. During the half time I assume Freddie contemplated if this job was really worth it. He clearly thought so because he and the team came back out for the second. Arsenal scores again in the 57’ minute. The Gunners receive a corner and after a Norwich block Aubameynag finishes it to tie the game up.  The game ended in a tie when realistically Norwich deserved that win, yes that is strictly my opinion, but Arsenal kept on fighting maybe one day soon they will actually get a win and not a tie, but we can probably blame David Luiz for that.

Wolves 1 vs Sheffield United 1

This was a game I was looking forward to this weekend. Both Wolves and Sheffield are having seasons I never predicted them to have. After this week the Wolves are sitting in the 6th and Sheffield in the 7th spot. The top five of the table looks pretty standard but these teams are sitting above Manchester United and Arsenal, something that I felt needed to be mentioned. It kind of makes sense to why this game ended in a tie, they are just so similar. The game started with an early Lys Mousset goal. He puts one in from the center of the box and making it look way to easy. That goal looked destined to set the tone for the rest of the game. I thought for sure Sheffield was going to take the cake. The wolves resisted the notion. It was a battle for the Wolves. They sent 13 on target shots at Henderson but being the great goalie he is he wasn’t letting anything in. Finally in the 64’ minute the Wolves finally tie it up with a Matthew Doherty header. It wasn’t the goal that everyone was talking about. After his goal the Irishman ran over to the homeside fans and took off his black arm-band that he was wearing and started kissing it. This band was worn by the whole team. That game and goal was in tribute to Beniks Afobe’s two year old daughter who passed suddenly on Friday. Benik was a former teammate for the wolves.  It was an emotional game for the Wolves. They didn’t get the exact result they were looking for but they luckily continued their unbeaten streak. 

Leicester 2 vs Everton 1

Leicester City has proved to be a scary team this season. They are tough and they can score goals, like a lot of goals. I am pretty sure I said multiple times that LC was going to destroy Everton. They did get the win but it didn’t seem to come easy for them. Everton played up to their normal standards. I will say for having shitty possession they did have a decent amount of on target shots. One of those actually made it to the back of the net. Thank you Richarlison for your 23’ goal. It came off his head and into the back of the net. After that went in Everton thought they had a chance to get a few more past Schmeichel but he put an end to that. It took awhile for LC to put a dent in the score. Jamie Vardy finally slots on in 68’ into the second half. It was a typical Vardy goal. My eyes were on Rogers because he was so damn happy that they finally tied it up. I wonder what he wrote on his notepad after that goal maybe something like“Yippee there is hope that we won’t lose to Everton.” I forsure thought this game ended in a tie. I was disappointed but LC didn’t let us down. Im the second half there was 8 added minutes, which is plenty of time for a team like LC. They take full advantage and end up scoring and winning the game. Pereira sends one down the field to find Kelechi Iheanacho and he slots it past Pickford. Sorry Everton another week of no points.

Manchester United 2 vs Aston Villa 2

Oh Manchester United, my head is just at a constant shake while writing this. where do I begin? Do I start with the Pogba drama or the fact that Pochettino may be their new manager? As we all know, this season has been tough for United. To make matters worse Paul Pogba is whining that his team isn’t good enough and wants to be moved. Maybe they would be good if he stopped bitching and start performing..just saying.  Honestly, it was a shame that Aston Villa couldn’t get the win. They almost did but I think Tom Heaton felt bad for United and scored an own goal to let them have a chance. The unstoppable Jack Grealish scored first giving Villa an early lead. Like I mention right before the half Heaton scored one for United to give them something to end the half with. That was actually such a bummer because if it wasn’t for that goal United would have lost that game.  Deeper into the second half United decided that it may be better to score on their own. They receive a corner in the 64’ and Victor Lindelof heads one in. It doesn’t take Villa long to counter that goal. Two minutes after in the 66’ Tyrone Mings puts one in from the center of the box. I think United were still celebrating the fact that they actually scored a goal for themselves this game. Hopefully Santa can bring United what they are asking for and get these guys a new manager to save what they can of this season. 

– Kelly K