Goal of the week
Bruno Fernandes' 40-yard screamer summarized Manchester United's 2-2 draw against Liverpool. United were terrible for much of the game, with two world-class moments enough to secure a point. Liverpool were careless in the phases, missed a mountain of opportunities in front of goal and failed to take advantage of a rudderless United team.
This should feel like two points lost for Liverpool rather than one point gained. The match followed the same pattern as the FA Cup classic between both teams. last month: Liverpool controlled the first half, changing their lines in front of goal and allowing United to get back into the game in the second half. In the first half alone, Liverpool scored 15 shots to United's zero. Liverpool controlled the ball and dictated the pace of the game, methodically opening up Erik Ten Hag's team every time they moved up the field. But Fernandes' goal against the run of play (with an assist from Liverpool's Jarell Quansah) turned the match into carnage.
As the match descended into chaos, Liverpool were unable to establish any sense of order until the final 15 minutes. Instead of continuing to play at their own pace, Liverpool allowed chaos to overtake them. Kobbie Mainoo's 'macheeeeddaaa' impression It gave United a 2-1 lead before Liverpool scored a late penalty to leave Old Trafford with a point.
Jürgen Klopp knows this could be a decisive result in the title race. Liverpool created more opportunities. They created better chances: they won the confrontation on paper 4.43 to 0.83. But Liverpool's inconsistency in front of goal cost them the chance to beat United early and regain top spot in the league.
Player of the week
Just when you thought Kevin De Bruyne Unable to find new ways to inspire shock and awe, he produced one of the performances of the season in Manchester City win 4-2 over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
City were not at their best against Palace. They gave up easy chances and turned the ball over for the first 45 minutes. But, as he often does, De Bruyne bent the game to his will. He finished with two goals, an assist and four key passes, as many as Crystal Palace's midfield had combined. “Today Kevin won the game,” Pep Guardiola said after the game.
The goals were De Bruyne's 99th and 100th for the club. The first was the vintage De Bruyne: A curling effort from the left edge of the frame. The second was a little less orthodox: a lanky half-volley that struck sweetly past the goalkeeper.
Look at those limbs. De Bruyne almost approaches the ball like a small child taking his first steps. His arms are everywhere. His body shape is too open. He I look out of balance. By De Bruyne standards, it's not elegant. The result? De Bruyne drills it past the goalkeeper as usual.
City have not lost a league game since De Bruyne returned from injury in January. He leads the league in assists during that time and has more than double that. the number of expected assists per 90 (0.94) than Leon Bailey in second place (0.42). As City have evolved over the last 18 months, the midfielder's impact has, in some ways, get even deeper. In the robotic structure of the team, De Bruyne provides some necessary abstraction. When De Bruyne sits, City still present a star cast with (minor) weaknesses. But with De Bruyne, they seem almost invincible.
Statistics of the week
Making the jump from contenders to champions can sometimes feel like smelling chocolate while nibbling broccoli. Counterattacks and avalanches of goals are the foundation of the league's best, but goals alone can only take a team so far. It is defensive solidity that pushes a team to cross the line.
No one seems to have internalized that spirit more than Arsenal. Towards the end of their 3-0 win over Brighton, Gabriel let out a guttural roar after denying the Seagulls a chance to score. Preserving Arsenal's clean sheet seemed as important to the centre-back as getting three points.
Arsenal's defensive record this season borders on the absurd. The Gabriel-William Saliba couple is the protagonist of the headlines at the back, but Mikel Arteta has all work without the ball and play with a perfect combination of caution and adventure with it. Arsenal To date they have kept five clean sheets away from home, the same amount as any other team has kept away from home in the league all season.
If you are looking for advantages in the title race, that is the starting and finishing point. Of the last six first division Champions, five conceded the fewest goals in the league when they won the title, and all but Klopp's Liverpool were tops in expected goals against (the quality of chances conceded). Even Klopp's leaders were first in xG at the time they were confirmed as champions.
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Arsenal have been the stingiest team in the league this season by far, conceding just 24 goals with an xGA of 24; City have conceded 31 goals with an xGA of 31; Liverpool they have conceded 31 with an xGA of 37. And since the turn of the year, Arsenal have been even better. In their last 11 league games, they have conceded an expected goals against ratio of just 4.98 (!). The next best team during that period, City, has 12:28.
It also goes beyond the objectives. There is a level of control that Arsenal exert over matches. They dictate the pace. They grind results. Once they get to the front, they eliminate the danger, closing games in a way that is avoiding even the city these days.
The 'energy trick' award
Forget AG1, Zyn Bags either receiving sunlight in your eyes, the purest form of all-day energy is to tune into Thomas Frank's Brentford. Due to sheer comedic effect and the volume of shots they concede, Manchester United continue to lead the Premier League's watchability index. But Brentford continues to rise Premflix classifications.
Every game is a turbocharged fest of chance. In the 3-3 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday, the two teams combined for six shots on goal, six goals and zero saves. Villa squandered a 2-0 lead to fall behind 3-2, before an 80th-minute header from Ollie Watkins gave the home side a point.
Villa were disappointed not to see their advantage. Watkins said his team lacks a “big team mentality” to finish tough games. “I'm not putting down my team, I'm a part of it,” Watkins said after the game. “We need to somehow figure out how to close the deal when we're 2-0 up.”
It was a crucial point for Brentford, who have been in dismal shape. Frank's team has lost 14 of its last 21 games, posting its weakest points per game in that streak. The point at Villa Park puts them at 29 this season, four points above the relegation zone.
This was not an exceptional week for relations between the club and the referees. Firstly, Burnley were frustrated after Dara O'Shea was sent off in their match. 1-0 defeat against Everton. Not to be outdone, Sean Dyche lamented the lack of decisions that favored Everton in what would otherwise have been a comfortable victory.
The wolves escalated the rhetoric even further. Club owner Jeff Shi issued a statement after his team lost 2-1 to West Ham, calling on the league and refereeing body PGMOL to “uphold the integrity of the competition.” Shi took a particular swipe at VAR. “It's time to ask ourselves if someone disallowing that goal from a distance is really what football wants or needs.” Shi said in a statement.
Wolves had a late equalizer disallowed for offside against West Ham after Tawanda Chirewa was adjudged to be in an offside position, obstructing the view of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. Tim Robinson, the VAR, advised on-field referee Tony Harrington to check the goal on the pitch-side monitor.
Shi's intervention is a reminder that there is no independent authority in the Premier League. The club owners govern the league.. And frustration is growing among those who ultimately decide whether VAR will be used and how much money they are willing (or not) to fork out to PGMOL to help raise the standards of on-field referees and VARs. This season, Liverpool have issued a statement complaining about a decision. Arsenal have issued their own statement. Nottingham Forest took the step of appointing Mark Clattenburg as their referee advisor/official cajolerwhich must be at the level of Trump University or $20 margaritas like Society's strangest scam..
Does football want VAR? With a perfect implementation, why not? But this incarnation is a disaster. It is up to the club owners to decide whether to abandon video technology completely or put their hands in their pockets to try to solve the problem.
