Liverpool wasted a chance to cement their
stranglehold on the title race on
Wednesday after Manchester City’s shock
slip.
Chelsea suffered their worst defeat for 23
years, while Mesut Ozil came in from the
cold at Arsenal.
Here are five things we learned from the
Premier League’s action-packed midweek
programme:
Liverpool suffer power failure
With the destiny of the title race in
Liverpool’s hands after Manchester City’s
shock loss at Newcastle 24 hours earlier,
there was a mounting feeling of celebration
around Anfield when Sadio Mane opened
the scoring in the third minute against
Leicester.
A Liverpool win would have moved them
seven points clear of second-placed
Manchester City and put the Reds well on
course for their first English title since
1990.
But, as Jurgen Klopp’s side lost their way
in the first half, that warm sense of
imminent success melted away like the
snow that dusted the Anfield pitch.
Poor marking from Virgil van Dijk allowed
Harry Maguire to equalise for Leicester and
it could have been even worse in a patchy
second half.
Klopp felt Liverpool should have had a
penalty, but in the end they had to settle
for moving five points ahead of City, who
now have renewed hope of catching the
leaders.
‘Fergie time’ not enough for United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s winning run since
taking over as caretaker manager of
Manchester United has brought memories
flooding back of Alex Ferguson’s golden
years in charge at Old Trafford when the
Norwegian was a player.
To add to the daring, attacking brand of
football, United’s current crop have now
also shown the ability to fight back at the
death that characterised Ferguson’s title-
winning sides, most notably when Solskjaer
scored the second of two goals in stoppage
time to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1999
Champions League final.
Yet, even two goals in the final minutes
were not enough for a ninth straight victory
under Solskjaer in a 2-2 draw with Burnley
on Tuesday, although Chelsea’s 4-0
thrashing at Bournemouth means United
are now just two points off a top-four
place.
Is complacency costing City?
2018 African Footballer of the Year:
Aubameyang, Mane, Salah battle for
crown again
Pep Guardiola vehemently insisted the
champions had not underestimated
Newcastle in a shock 2-1 defeat, but just
as they did in similarly surprising December
losses to Crystal Palace and Leicester, City
took their foot off the gas after going 1-0
up early on.
Ahead inside 24 seconds at St James’
Park, Guardiola did concede his side played
with nowhere near enough aggression or
urgency to kill the game off before
Newcastle staged a second-half fightback.
Just as worrying for the Catalan coach will
be the lack of a response to falling behind
in each of those three defeats and in losing
2-0 to Chelsea.
Not once have City come from behind to
win a game in the Premier League this
season and have picked up just one point
from a losing position in a 1-1 draw at
Wolves in August.
Son answers Pochettino’s call
Tottenham were staring down the barrel
with 10 minutes left of their match against
Watford, trailing 1-0 after a miserable week
in which they crashed out of two cup
competitions.
They dominated possession at Wembley
but badly missed the cutting edge of the
injured Harry Kane and Dele Alli’s creative
input.
But Son Heung-min, back from Asian Cup
duty, looked sharp throughout and got his
reward in the 80th minute, driving home
the equaliser before Fernando Llorente
struck the winner in a 2-1 victory.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino badly
needs Son to keep firing as Tottenham
strive to keep Arsenal and Manchester
United at bay in the race for Champions
League qualification, while also keeping the
pressure on Man City and Liverpool at the
top.
Ozil comes in from the cold
Newcastle survive Blackburn scare,
Wednesday earn Chelsea clash
On a freezing night in north London, Mesut
Ozil’s winter exile came to an end as the
Arsenal midfielder was recalled by Unai
Emery for their 2-1 win over Cardiff.
Ozil has been put into cold storage by
Gunners boss Emery for much of the
season after he grew frustrated by the
German’s failure to respond to his
demands for a high-tempo style of play.
Although Ozil is Arsenal’s highest-paid
player, there has been talk he might be
sold amid reports of a training ground bust-
up.
Against that backdrop, it was intriguing to
see Ozil start a game for the first time
since December 26, with Emery handing
him the captain’s armband.
Ozil lasted for 76 minutes, and even earned
rare praise from Emery. “He worked like we
wanted. It was good,†he said.
Source:
www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/
chelsea-suffered-their-worst-defeat-for-23-
years/
