PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKEND: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

 

Following the latest round of Premier League action we look at five things we learned from the weekend fixtures.

Elliott a game-changer, but Liverpool need anchor

Liverpool escaped from Crystal Palace with a 2-1 win that moved the Reds top of the table, but there was little convincing about the performance of Jurgen Klopp’s side. A controversial red card saw the game turn in Liverpool’s favour, after Jordan Ayew was dismissed for two bookings, with Palace leading.

Harvey Elliott continued his habit of influencing games off the bench, as the 20-year-old fired in a stoppage-time winner. Elliott has started just once in the Premier League this season, but has proven to be an effective option from the bench. After late assists to help Liverpool come from behind to earn results against Wolves and Luton, the England u-21 international fired home his first goal of the season at Selhurst Park to snatch the points.

While Elliott is banging on the door for inclusion in midfield, issues remain in Liverpool’s new look side. Wataru Endo was poor at Palace, filling in for the injured Alexis Mac Allister as the deepest of the midfield three. The Japan international is the only available defensive midfield option in Klopp’s squad, but lacked imagination in possession and struggled with the physicality of Palace.

The 30-year-old was a stop-gap signing after missing out on Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo last summer, and his underwhelming start at Liverpool has heightened the need for an engine room anchor. Finances and availability will dictate whether one arrives in January, but a specialist defensive midfielder could make the difference in Liverpool’s title challenge.

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Source :https://onefootball.com/en/news/premier-league-weekend-five-things-we-learned-38703393

BAYERN'S UNBEATEN RUN ENDS WITH FRANKFURT THRASHING

 Bayern Munich lost for the first time in the Bundesliga this season in stunning fashion, with Eintracht Frankfurt putting the champions to the sword on Saturday.

Eintracht Frankfurt - 05

Bayern Munich _ 01

Scorers: Marmoush 12′, Dina Ebimbe 31′, 50′, Larsson 36′, Knauff 60′; Kimmich 44′

Eintracht had lost four consecutive matches in all competitions heading into this one, but they took the lead after 12 minutes, when an effort from Farès Chaïbi came back off the crossbar, and Omar Marmoush was on hand to score his seventh goal of the season.

The second goal came after 31 minutes and Éric Dina Ebimbe was the scorer, with his shot squirming through Manuel Neuer’s grasp.

Bayern’s afternoon got even worse when they fell three behind a few minutes later. Joshua Kimmich lost possession cheaply and was punished by Hugo Larsson finding the net

Kimmich atoned for that error by pulling a goal back from distance just before half-time, but early in the second half Dina Ebimbe got his second goal to make it 4-1 after Dayot Upamecano had been caught in possession.

It got worse for Thomas Tuchel’s side just after the hour mark too, with Ansgar Knauff lashing past Neuer to rub salt in the wounds.

That result leaves Bayern three points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who travel to face third-placed Stuttgart on Sunday.

While Eintracht are up to seventh.

Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/bayerns-unbeaten-run-ends-with-frankfurt-thrashing-38697267

OUR 3️⃣ POINTS AS VILLA MAKE PREMIER LEAGUE STATEMENT AGAINST ARSENAL

 Aston Villa continued their sensational form on Saturday, downing former Premier League leaders Arsenal at Villa Park.

Aston Villa - 01

Arsenal _ 0

Here is what we made of the match.

Aston Villa: The real deal

The chasm between the ‘big six’ and the clubs below them has never been bigger than in recent seasons, but Aston Villa are gatecrashing the party of the Premier League elite.

With a victory against the Gunners just days after beating treble-winners Manchester City, Unai Emery’s men have shown they need to be taken seriously.

The win sees Villa extend their winning streak at home to 15 games in the Premier League, the first time they have accomplished that feat in the club’s 149-year history. In that span, it’s 39 goals, seven conceded and eight clean sheets.

Two years ago they finished 14th in the table and last season seventh. This time around, Villa have earned 35+ points after 16 games of a top-flight campaign for only the fifth time (counting three point per win all-time).

The other four times that happened, they either won it all or finished second.

Now five points clear of title-holders Man City, Villa are certainly a contender with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal for the title.

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Sources :https://onefootball.com/en/news/our-3-points-as-villa-make-premier-league-statement-against-arsenal-38698594

WARREN ZAÏRE-EMERY MAKES RETURN FOR PSG AGAINST FC NANTES

 Following an ankle injury against Gibraltar during his senior France international debut, PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery (17) has made his return to on-pitch action for Les Parisiens. The youngster from the Paris suburbs was substituted on during the second half of PSG’s Ligue 1 clash with Nantes, the result finely poised at 1-1 on his entry into action.

For the remainder of the half, he sat in his usual central midfield position – dictating play and linking passes as Les Parisiens sought to find a winner against a resolute Nantes side. Eventually, the winner was ultimately found by Randal Kolo Muani on the 82nd minute via a rebounded Parisian free-kick as Luis Enrique’s side saw off Les Canaris.

Zaïre-Emery has been a key part of Luis Enrique’s midfield this season, featuring in 11 Ligue 1 matches and all four Champions League clashes so far this campaign. The PSG youth product is already on two goals and two assists in domestic action, and three assists in the Champions League.

His return to action with PSG against Nantes comes just before Les Parisiens face a do-or-die trip to Borussia Dortmund next week in the Champions League, with qualification from Group F in the hands of the visitors.

GFFN | George Boxall

Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/warren-zaire-emery-makes-return-for-psg-against-fc-nantes-38699050

ÇALHANOĞLU SHINES AS STATISTICS SHOW INTER ARE ONES TO WATCH

 Inter Milan look to be in the form of their life.

Inter - 04

Udinese - 0 

Simone Inzaghi’s side welcomed Udinese to town and showed why they are one of the best squads in Europe.

Inter had an xG of 3.44 in the first half and three goals to show for it from three different scorers in just seven minutes.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu opened the scoring from the penalty spot to become the club’s second midfielder to score more than five goals in the first 14 Serie A matches. The last was Lothar Matthäus 55 years ago (eight goals in 1990/91).

But the Turkey international then turned on the style, winning a ball just outside the box and teed up Federico Dimarco who blasted home a second.

The entire team was then involved for the third, as a move with 21 passes from back-to-front cut Udinese apart.

Marcus Thuram scored his seventh goal in 20 games since signing for Inter, which goes alongside his six assists.

These impressive stats don’t lie! Can anyone challenge them for the Scudetto?

Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/calhanoglu-shines-as-statistics-show-inter-are-ones-to-watch-38698835

ARSENAL LEARN TWO VALUABLE TITLE RACE LESSONS IN ASTON VILLA DEFEAT

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@sr_collings

Arsenal's season has been full of late goals but, no matter what the added time was here at Villa Park, it never felt like Mikel Arteta’s side were going to find the net.

Two disallowed goals, a host of missed chances and a waved penalty shout told the story of a match where Arsenal banged on the door, but it never opened.

The frustration for Mikel Arteta was clear to see. Sat in the stands he cut a glum figure as time ticked away and, seconds before the final whistle went, he swiftly headed for the dressing room.

Arsenal may feel grievances about some of the officiating, but they were also guilty of missing several big chances as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat that means they are second in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta was serving a touchline ban

PA

Liverpool had leapfrogged them earlier on Saturday with a late rally against Crystal Palace, but there was none of that here.

Instead, Arteta could only watch from the stands at Villa Park as he served his touchline ban for a third yellow card of the season against Luton on Tuesday.

The hosts, in stark contrast, were jubilant at the full-time whistle as they rounded off a week where they beat both Arsenal and Manchester City. Villa are now just two points off leaders Liverpool and perhaps Pep Guardiola was right that they are title contenders.

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Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/arsenal-learn-two-valuable-title-race-lessons-in-aston-villa-defeat-38698568

RB LEIPZIG SCRAPE PAST DORTMUND AWAY FROM HOME

 Borussia Dortmund were unable to hold on after an early Mats Hummels red card, losing at home to RB Leipzig.

Borussia Dortmund - 02

RB Leipzig  - 03

Scorers: Süle 45+6′ ; Bensabaini (OG) 32′, Baumgartner 54′

Dortmund were under the cosh in the early exchanges, as Mats Hummels was sent off after taking down Loïs Openda from behind when the striker got in past the defence.

While Leipzig were initially given a penalty-kick, a VAR review showed the challenge to be outside of the box.

But the visitors took advantage of their numerical superiority some 15 minutes later, snatching the lead through a Ramy Bensebaini own-goal.

The gutsy Dortmund players did not give up there however, as Niklas Süle reclaimed parity in first half stoppage time against the run of play.

The hosts could not hold out forever though, as Christoph Baumgartner fired Leipzig back in front less than 10 minutes after the restart.

Leipzig appeared to put the final nail in the Dortmund coffin in the dying minutes as Yussuf Poulsen fired home on the break, but Niclas Füllkrug cut the lead once again minutes late.

It was too little, too late for Dortmund however, as Leipzig held on to narrowly collect the points.

The win sees Leipzig extend the gap over their opponents on the night to four points, and put more pressure on teams at the summit of the Bundesliga.

Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/rb-leipzig-scrape-past-dortmund-away-from-home-38698401

PREMIER LEAGUE: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

Following the latest round of Premier League action we look at five things we learned from the midweek fixtures.

Rice repaying record spend

Declan Rice was not signed to score the goals that led Arsenal to the title, but the club-record signing has already delivered moments of real consequence in the North London side’s title charge.

Rice recorded his first goal for the Gunners with a last-gasp winner against Manchester United in September, and repeated the trick to settle a chaotic clash with Luton this week.

The England midfielder met Martin Odegaard’s cross to head home a 97th minute decider at Kenilworth Road, settling a seven-goal thriller that had seen The Hatters threaten an upset.

The ball-winning ability and forward drive of the former West Ham captain was sought to strengthen the spine of a side that faltered during last season’s run-in. The goals, and strength of character, have been a welcome bonus. Arsenal, with six straight wins in all competitions, are beginning to find momentum.

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Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/premier-league-five-things-we-learned-38689959

SON HEUNG-MIN LABELS TOTTENHAM ‘SOFT’ AS SPURS MAKE UNWANTED PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

 Tottenham captain Son Heung-min said Spurs were too “soft” after their 2-1 defeat to London rivals West Ham on Thursday, as they became the first team in Premier League history to drop points from a winning position in five straight games.

Spurs have not won in the Premier League since their victory at Crystal Palace in late October but have taken the lead in all five matches since, losing to Chelsea, Wolves, Aston Villa and West Ham as well as drawing against Manchester City.

They threw away another lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday night, after Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse struck second-half goals to stun injury-hit Spurs on the counter-attack following Cristian Romero’s early opener.

"We lost the game which is unacceptable," Son told Amazon Prime. "You get the lead five times in a row and losing the game I think is unacceptable and as players we should take responsibility.

"West Ham have always been tough to play against but look we were soft. Especially in the Premier League, even if you are winning 2-0, 3-0, you don’t know what will happen in the end."

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Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/son-heung-min-labels-tottenham-soft-as-spurs-make-unwanted-premier-league-history-38689431

PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK – MATCHDAY 15

Here is our Premier League Team of the Week for Matchday 15 after the midweek schedule of top-flight football.

Goalkeeper: Lukasz Fabianski – West Ham

David Moyes made a big call with the return of Lukasz Fabianski to the West Ham side, with the 38-year-old preferred to Alphonse Areola for the win at Tottenham. The Poland international’s distribution left much to be desired in the first half, but his experience was key to West Ham remaining in the game.

He made five saves, including four from inside the box, and while few of the efforts truly stretched the veteran, he added calming presence to the Hammers.

Right-back: Jack Hinshelwood – Brighton

A first senior goal, the boyhood Brighton fan earned his side a 2-1 win over Brentford. The versatile teenager started at right-back and made an impact at both ends, clearing a Brentford effort off the goal-line before popping up with the match-winner.

It was an impressive effort from Hinshelwood, who climbed above his marker to meet Pascal Gross’ cross and head home, generating the power needed to beat Mark Flekken. A solid showing from the 18-year-old, who looks ready for more opportunities in Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

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Source:https://onefootball.com/en/news/premier-league-team-of-the-week-matchday-15-38689839