Liverpool, Man City helped by goalkeeper errors in EPL wins

It was a day of goalkeeping blunders in the English Premier League.

Liverpool and Manchester City, seemingly set for another duel for the title, benefited from two of them in hard-fought away wins on Saturday.


Liverpool eked out a 1-0 victory at Sheffield United but only after home goalkeeper Dean Henderson let a volley from the edge of the area by Georginio Wijnaldum slip through his arms and legs in the 70th minute.

That’s seven straight wins to open the campaign for Liverpool, and 16 in a row in the league stretching back to March. Two more and the Reds will equal the top-flight record set by City in 2017.

City, meanwhile, was drawing 1-1 against Everton and dipping below its usual high level when Riyad Mahrez took aim with a free kick in the 72nd minute. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford should have had it covered but the ball went under his hand and crept inside the far post, before Raheem Sterling wrapped up a 3-1 win with a late goal.

The gap between Liverpool and second-place City stayed at five points. West Ham, in third spot, is a further four points adrift.

Capping a forgettable day for goalkeepers, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris was dispossessed near his own line to concede a goal against Southampton. His teammates rescued him by winning 2-1 despite playing with 10 men for an hour, lifting the side to fourth.

TOP TWO DIG IN

Neither Liverpool nor City was at their fluent best, but still found ways to win. It is not yet October and they are already pulling clear of the rest.

Liverpool, in particular, was put off its game by the intensity and work rate of Sheffield United before Henderson’s mistake cost the promoted side. Henderson is on loan from Man United, traditionally Liverpool’s fiercest rival.

It was just a second clean sheet in the league for Liverpool, which kept a league-high 21 last season.


“Eight times 1-0 is more important than one time 8-0,” said Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, referring to City’s massive win by that score against Watford last weekend.

City never reached those heights against Everton, though Kevin De Bruyne excelled once again, collecting his eighth assist in the league with a curling cross headed home by Gabriel Jesus.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalized for Everton, which forced City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes into some smart saves.

“They are on an incredible run,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of Liverpool. “They don’t drop points and they win well. We know it, the players know it. It is not easy.”

DEFIANT SPURS

Lloris’ mistake was probably the worst of the day.

The France captain collected the ball near his line, dithered and tried to beat Southampton striker Danny Ings with a deft turn. Ings dispossessed Lloris and the ball rolled into the net, leaving the score 1-1 after Tanguy Ndombele’s early goal.

By that stage, Tottenham was also a man down after the 31st-minute red card to Serge Aurier for two bookings but Mauricio Pochettino’s team still prevailed, Harry Kane finishing a flowing move in the 43rd to make it 2-1.

Spurs have had a difficult start to the season — losing on penalties to fourth-tier Colchester in the League Cup in midweek — but they are still in the Champions League places.

WEST HAM FLYING

Doing even better than Tottenham, somewhat surprisingly, is West Ham.

A 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, earned by left back Aaron Cresswell’s 74th-minute equalizer, lifted West Ham to third. The London team’s only loss came on the opening weekend, a 5-0 hammering by Man City.

It was Cresswell’s second goal in as many games. He also curled in a free kick in a win against Manchester United last weekend.

HOME WIN FOR CHELSEA

Chelsea finally kept a clean sheet this season, and it earned Frank Lampard a first home win in the league since his return as manager.

Jorginho converted a penalty and Willian scored with a deflected shot as Chelsea beat Brighton 2-0 with both goals coming in the second half.

It was the ninth straight league loss for Brighton against Chelsea — an English record run for most games played, and lost, against one opponent.

Lampard had two draws and a loss in his first three league games at home following his return to Chelsea, where he is the all-time top scorer.

STILL BOTTOM

Watford will head into October still without a league win.

Wolverhampton Wanderers consigned Watford to a fifth loss in seven games by winning 2-0 at Molineux thanks to an effort from Matt Doherty and an own-goal by Daryl Janmaat.

Watford has two points and was on the end of an 8-0 thrashing by Man City last weekend.

In the other two games, Burnley equalized twice in a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace won 2-0 at home to Norwich.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Chelsea, Conte standing out as normality returns to EPL

MANCHESTER, England — In one sense, normality has returned to the English Premier League after the craziness of Leicester’s improbable surge to the title last season.

The top six on Christmas Day are the teams most pundits predicted would be challenging for the title: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United.

There’s nothing normal about Chelsea’s current form, however.

After 11 straight wins, Chelsea leads the league by six points from Liverpool, heading into the hectic period of festive fixtures that is unique to British soccer. Only once — Arsenal in 2001-02, with 13 straight wins — has a top-tier club had a longer winning streak in one season since World War II.

In the first year of the “super-coach” era in the Premier League, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is standing head and shoulders above the rest, although it needed a September switch to his favored 3-4-3 formation to get the team to click.

With a stingy defense (two goals conceded in the last 11 games), a dynamic midfield marshalled by N’Golo Kante and a forward line led by the league’s top scorer, Diego Costa, there are no apparent weaknesses in Conte’s lineup. On current evidence, it’s hard to see how the team from southwest London can be stopped.

One thing is for sure, there’ll be no miracle sequel for Leicester in the Premier League. Languishing in 15th place in the 20-team standings, the reigning champions are closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League qualification spots.

It’s back to the heavyweights challenging for the title. And Chelsea is the big favorite.

Title Race

One factor is particularly helping Chelsea and Liverpool in their quests for the title: No European competition.

Such was the extraordinary nature of last season that neither team qualified for the Champions League or even the Europa League. That failure is now allowing them to focus purely on the domestic games, give their players more rest, and have a full week of preparation for Premier League games.

Chelsea hasn’t dropped a point since a 3-0 loss at Arsenal on Sept. 24, during which Antonio Conte changed formation to a 3-4-3 and hasn’t looked back. Like Chelsea, Liverpool has two losses so far.

Man City is in third place, a point behind Liverpool, as coach Pep Guardiola gets to grips with the physical and non-stop demands of English soccer, including no rest at Christmas. Arsenal is a further two points back on 34 points in fourth, Tottenham has 33 and Jose Mourinho’s Man United has 30. For United, some 13 points behind Chelsea, the target has already switched from winning the league to securing Champions League qualification with a top-four finish.

Chelsea has three tough away games left — at Spurs, Liverpool and United — and is proving adept at eking out 1-0 wins. Four of its last six games have finished with that scoreline, including the last three.

Pick of the Players

While Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho, Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez have starred in patches, Diego Costa has been the only player to have had a consistent impact this season.

Last season, the Spain striker appeared to be more interested in picking fights than scoring goals. Costa is a changed man, though, and has scored a league-high 13 goals while providing five assists.

Five of the goals were winners (against West Ham, Watford, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace), an overhead kick earned a draw at Swansea, and another goal sparked a come-from-behind win at Man City in December.

Emerging Talent

There’s another “Harry” making a splash at White Hart Lane.

The 20-year-old Harry Winks is a central midfielder who is getting a run in Tottenham’s first team, starting four of the past eight games at the expense of internationals like Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier. He scored against West Ham on his full league debut in November and is an intelligent passer with a good technique.

Mauricio Pochettino is renowned for giving youth players a chance to shine during his time at Southampton and now Tottenham. Harry Kane has matured into one of the best strikers in the Premier League under Pochettino, and Winks could be next in line.

Surprise Team

When it was announced in August that West Bromwich Albion had been bought out by Chinese investors, the future of manager Tony Pulis looked precarious despite his record of never having been relegated from the Premier League.

The new owners were wise to keep hold of the 58-year-old Pulis.

Away from the likely title contenders, West Brom is proving to be the best of the rest in the Premier League and at one point early in December was in the top six.

Known for setting his teams out with a solid defensive structure, Pulis has added some flair up front in forwards Nacer Chadli — a club-record signing in the offseason — and Matt Phillips, who operate behind Salomon Rondon. The Baggies have scored three or more times in four games this season, testament to their new-found attacking approach.

Points to Prove
The season started with rival coaches Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho expected to be battling it out for the title. The way things are going, they’ll be fighting just to secure Champions League qualification.

Both coaches have had tough spells in the first season with their respective clubs, with Mourinho in particular criticized for public outbursts against his players and a run of poor results over September and October. United has won its last three league games to get back on track, but a current position of sixth is not good enough.

Guardiola started his City tenure with 10 straight victories but has only won six of his next 17, raising questions about his tactics, the team’s defensive stability and whether Guardiola can get to grips with English soccer.

It will help Guardiola to have Sergio Aguero on the field. The Argentina striker has missed seven of City’s 17 league matches through suspension, and needs to make amends in the second half of the season.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Southampton hangs on for 1-0 win vs Middlesbrough

SOUTHAMPTON, England — Southampton managed to end a miserable week on a high after holding on to just its second Premier League victory in seven games with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at St. Mary’s Stadium on Sunday.

Midfielder Sofiane Boufal opened the scoring for the home side when he slotted a James Ward-Prowse pass into the top left corner past Middlesbrough goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 53rd minute.

It was the first meeting between the sides in the top flight since 2005.

The Saints were swept aside 3-0 by Crystal Palace last weekend before crashing out of the Europa League following a home draw against Israeli side Hapoel Beer Sheva on Thursday.

The win moves Southampton into 10th in the league while Middlesbrough is 16th, three points clear of the relegation places.

source: sports.inquirer.net