Premier League Round-Up: Matchweek 22
Matchweek 22:
West Ham 1-0 Arsenal
Leicester 1-2 Southampton
Crystal Palace 1-2 Watford
Burnley 2-1 Fulham
Brighton 0-1 Liverpool
Cardiff 0-0 Huddersfield
Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle
Everton 2-0 Bournemouth
Tottenham 0-1 Man United
Man City 3-0 Wolves
Glory, Glory Man United Apparently
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Photo Credit: Football365
Things just continue to get worse for Jose Mourinho. It was one thing when United was able to reel off 3 straight victories after he got fired but now that United has won 6 games in a row after his firing, not a good look at all. I mean who wants to hire a coach who continues to upset players only for that team to succeed without him. Also credit where credit is due but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has this team rolling at the moment. I would still be cautious of giving him the permanent role right now, because I would still want to see how he finishes the season and there’s really no rush, but he’s definitely got to be the leading candidate. Forget about recycling through some other coach that’s been to 5 different top clubs and has won a handful of trophies, give this man a chance considering his only opportunity outside of Norway was with Cardiff City of all teams. In the 6 games under Solskjaer, United have scored 17 goals and only allowed 3 goals. Not too bad for a defense consisting of Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Ashley Young and Luke Shaw. Granted I don’t think that any of those players are necessarily bad, just none of them have proven to be really great players in their careers yet, and these are mostly the same guys that allowed 29 goals in 17 games. So whatever Ole Gunnar has done to rejuvenate this team, bravo.
Also let it be known that Man United are level with Arsenal in the league table at the moment. If I’m not mistaken, they were about 8 pts behind Arsenal when Mourinho was relieved after the December 16th game with Liverpool. So in less than a month they have completely wiped out that deficit. Arsenal have helped them close the gap as well by continuing to drop point after point. Arsenal have lost 3 and tied 1 in their last 6 premier league matches. Looks like the honeymoon with their new coach is officially over and now it’s time to see what he’s really made of and if he can get this team back on track. Arsenal and Man United currently sit in 5th and 6th place with 41 pts and are 6 pts behind Chelsea who are in 4th place. Arsenal has a huge match coming up with weekend against Chelsea, while Manchester United take on Brighton at home.
Other Notes:
Liverpool barely squeak by Brighton with a Salah penalty to retain their 4 pt lead over Man City.
Man City take care of business in the Monday night game over Wolves. Also Man City have scored a ridiculous 19 goals in their last 3 games. They beat Wolves tonight 3-0, they Rotherham United 7-0 in the FA Cup and Burton Albion 9-0 in the EFL Cup. Poor Burton Albion, the cinderella team that made it to the semifinal in the EFL cup, only to get dismantled by City.
Other results from Cups. In the other side of the EFL semifinal Spurs beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg. In the FA Cup, not a lot happening other than Wolves knocked out Liverpool, and Man United and Arsenal have drawn each other in the next round.
Cesc Fabregas had officially left Chelsea for Monaco for a transfer fee of £10 million.
Chelsea are also apparently in talks with Juventus over Gonzalo Higuain
Leading goalscorer in the Premier League, Harry Kane has injured his ankle and is expected to be out for at least a month.
And lastly if you missed it, Cardiff coach Neil Warnock said that he can’t wait for Brexit and to hell with the rest of the world. Pretty interesting comments for a guy who fielded a starting 11 with 8 players from outside England.
Neil Warnock to the rest of the world after Brexit
Photo Credit: RTE