It was a much anticipated Premier League game week, and while it certainly did not disappoint, it did surprise.
Newcastle started things off with a nice little thrashing of Spurs. 4-nil, spank you very much.
In the next batch of matches, Mediocre United, barely escaped a draw away to Bournemouth, while their cross-town rivals Manchester City put the sword to Little Luton, 5-1.
City assumed top spot with those three points and afterward manager Pep Gratitudiola had this to say:
“After what we have done in the previous seasons: fighting for the title one point behind, 80 points, 21 points left, on Wednesday playing against Real Madrid with the chance to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals with all the energy our fans will bring, all the best positive moods they will bring to us here and then FA Cup next Saturday to reach the final. What a privilege to be here.” (mancity.com)
A privilege indeed when you are talking about three of the greatest competitions in world football.
And let’s be honest, most of us expected that either Arsenal or Liverpool – or both – would reassert their table superiority on Sunday.
But… football is a funny old game.
Jurgen Klopp wasn’t laughing after losing 1-0 at Anfield to visitors Crystal Palace. Liverpool had 70% possession, 21 shots and 2.87 expected goals but could not find the net. You have to give credit to Palace manager Oliver Glasner for organizing his team so well after the Eze goal they scored in the 14th-minute.
And Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was in no laughing mood after watching Unai Emery deliver a masterclass in coaching his team to 2-nil victory at the Emirates.
And so Sunday ended with Gratitudiola’s City still on top of the Prem. Wow.
The cherry on top of this game week was Chelsea’s 6-nil hammering of Everton on Monday. It was a big win that had Stamford Bridge rocking throughout. But Mauricio Pochettino still has so much work to do there. Like not having his players fight over penalty-taking privileges.
Oh there’s that word again – privilege.
Here’s what Poch had to say about the incident:
“The players and staff know that Cole Palmer is the penalty taker. I am so, so upset about the situation. Discipline is the most important thing in our team. We all agree they [Jackson and Madueke] were wrong. They are not experienced players. They are young.”
They are young. Oh to be a coach. Ain’t easy my friends. Ain’t easy.