Premier League Round-Up: Matchweek 38(Final)
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Matchweek 38:
Watford 1-4 West Ham
Burnley 1-3 Arsenal
Southampton 1-1 Huddersfield
Man United 0-2 Cardiff
Liverpool 2-0 Wolves
Leicester 0-0 Chelsea
Fulham 0-4 Newcastle
Crystal Palace 5-3 Bournemouth
Brighton 1-4 Man City
Tottenham 2-2 Everton
Manchester City Are Back to Back Premier League Champions
There was about a minute stretch in this game where Man City fans were actually nervous. In the 27th min Brighton scored first to take a 1-0 lead. Needing a win, City waited no time to respond with a equalizer just a minute later. This eased the tensions some and then just 10 minutes later City would scored their 2nd goal which would go on to become the game winner. They added 2 more goals in the 2nd half and with 20-30 minutes remaining in the Premier League season, the title had been already handed to Manchester City for the 2nd time in 2 years. Manchester City are the first team to win back to back titles since Manchester United won 3 in a row between 2007-2009. All in all the final day lacked any drama outside of the 1 minute that Brighton took the lead. Manchester City capped off an incredible run of 14 wins in a row to win the title. I have to admit, that I was never truly impressed by Pep Guardiola because he was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but what he’s done to win back to back Premier League titles is probably his greatest accomplishment to date. Very impressive indeed.
Unlucky Liverpool
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool. I actually feel pretty bad for Liverpool. In my opinion they were the best team all season long and to score 97 pts but still come up 1 pt short is the ultimate heartbreak. I mean Liverpool only lost 1 game all season long and still lost the title. 1 game!! City on the other hand lost 4 games throughout the season but the major difference was Liverpool’s 7 draws vs City’s 2. City had twice the amount of defeats as they did ties. City’s ability to scrap out win after win and not fall victim to the the sneaky mid table club fighting out a draw was the difference. At least Liverpool have the Champions League final to look forward to in a few weeks, and with a very favorable match-up against Tottenham I fully expect them to win, but the drought for a Premier League title continues and it’s now up to 30 yrs since the last top flight title in England for Liverpool.
In Horrible Fashion, Chelsea & Tottenham Clinch Top 4
The fight for the top 4 continued to be a disaster into the final week. Chelsea had already clinched a top 4 spot but they were fighting against Tottenham for 3rd or 4th place (3rd place automatically gets into Champions League group draw while 4th place does have to play a play-in game). Tottenham had pretty much secured top 4 as long as they didn’t get destroyed by 4-5 goals in their final game. Well Chelsea finished their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Leicester, securing 3rd place. Tottenham who had 3rd place in their hands with Chelsea lacking any sort of goal scoring, gave up 2 quick goals with 20 minutes remaining to dash those hopes. As a Chelsea fan, I still cannot understand how we finished this season in 3rd place. It seemed like an absolute disaster in the 2nd half of the season, because it pretty much was. Chelsea finished with 72 pts which is 2 more pts than last season when Antonio Conte, who had won the title the season before, finished with 70 pts and outside the top 4 to get fired. Chelsea were gifted a top 4 spot, but I’m not complaining.
Other Notes:
All England Champions League and Europa League Finals. Liverpool take on Tottenham in the Champions League Final. It’s still doesn’t sound right to say Tottenham in the CL final. And then we have Chelsea vs Arsenal in the Europa League Final. It’s good to see Premier League clubs representing.
Despite finishing outside the top 4, Arsenal still have Champions League hope. If Arsenal are able to beat Chelsea in the Europa League final, they will be granted automatic exemption into the Champions League competition next year. Arsenal obviously have a lot more to play for that Chelsea.
Eden Hazard is definitely leaving Chelsea. After the match, Sarri said that the Chelsea fans must respect Eden’s decision about his future. This isn’t a comment you make unless you’re pretty positive that Hazard is leaving.
The golden boot finished as a 3 way tie between Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Each player had 22 goals which is a pretty down year for the golden boot. It usually takes around 25-27 to take the trophy.
Hopefully over the summer I’ll be able to write some blogs about club news and transfers, but that’s all she wrote for this season. Premier League starts back up in August!!!
Thanny