Category: Sport

Exciting weekend of English Football

This weekend played host to four FA Cup ties and five Premier League games. Watford v Crystal Palace got proceedings underway with the Saturday lunchtime game. The FA Cup tie threw up a repeat of the 2016 semi-final. Watford took a lead in the first half, but Palace equalised just after the hour. With 10 minutes of the 90 left, extra time seemed to be looming. A beautiful lofted through ball found Andre Gray with a chance to volley home from 8 yards. This is will be Watford’s second trip down the Metropolitan line in three years. The Hornets will be hoping to go one further this time.

With two more FA Cup ties to still be played, the Premier League’s Saturday games were squeezed in at 3pm. Burnley played host to Leicester, West Ham to Huddersfield and Newcastle had their longest journey of the season travelling to Bournemouth. All three games were incredibly tight. Leicester had perhaps their worst start imaginable. Maguire got caught out of position and fouled as last man. The referee was lost with no choice but to send him for an early shower. The game looked to be heading for 1-1 draw as stoppage time began. A late corner allowed Leicester to pinch all three points thanks to a Wes Morgan Header.

Bournemouth hosted Newcastle, the longest trip in the top flight. Newcastle opened the scoring with a beautiful Rondon freekick just before the break. Bournemouth scored early after the restart and seemed to wrap up all three points with a penalty in the 81st minute. However, Newcastle were determined not to be leaving empty handed. Matt Ritchie, a former Bournemouth player, popped up with a superb half volley to earn his new team a point.

Finally, West Ham welcomed Huddersfield to the London Stadium. Huddersfield started the day bottom 16 points away from safety and a goal to game ratio of 0.5:1. Survival now seems pretty much impossible so every point they can claim counts. The Terriers were well disciplined initially but a sloppy challenge one Lanzini saw the home team awarded a penalty. It did not take long for the Yorkshire side to bite back and by half time were leading 2-1. A third goal from the visitors left them with 25 minutes to defend for their lives’. It took 10 minutes for West Ham to pull one back. Hernandez, the impact sub, scored twice in quick succession. Huddersfield had let it slip. It finished 4-3. Remarkably, the three league games all ended with an injury time goal.

There were still two FA Cup games to play on the Saturday. Kicking off at 17:30, Manchester City travelled to South Wales to play Swansea. 20 minutes in and the Swans made it 1-0. Within 10 minutes, they doubled the lead which they preserved until the 65th minute. At 2-1, Stirling burst into box and appeared to be brought down. The penalty was awarded but replays appeared show this decision should have been overturned. However, whilst VAR is still being trialled in the Cup, it is only available in the grounds of Premier League clubs. This is something Swansea fans will feel incredibly hard done by. Two minutes from extra time, Aguero kept City’s dream of a quadruple alive by scoring a header from 8 yards out. However, the replays showed that the goals should not have stood. Aguero was clearly a yard offside. The game finished 3-2 with Manchester City progressing to Wembley for a second time this season.

The final Saturday game saw Wolves host United in the third FA Cup quarter final of the day. The first 25 minutes were slightly cagey, but Wolves settled into the game first. The halftime score of 0-0 did not flatter the home side at all. The second half continued exactly the way the first ended. Wolves looked to be gaining momentum and a goal seemed inevitable. Following a period of six minutes, Wolves were leading 2-0. By the time Rashford’s goal came, it was too little too late.

Sunday provided no let up for the excitement. Millwall and Brighton kicked off first in the last cup quarter final. The game was tight and in the balance until Millwall made the breakthrough on 70 minutes. The home side then doubled their lead and with 10 minutes to play looked set for their first semi-final since they were runners up in 2004. The last few minutes were not going to be plain sailing after Brighton pulled one back. With one last freekick to defend, Millwall looked set to be celebrating. The ball was crossed deep and was heading straight for the hands of the keeper. A horrendous fumble saw the ball slip through his hands and into the net. Extra time showed Millwall’s exhaustion. They were clinging on and things became much harder when they were reduced to 10 men. Ferguson was off after stamping on Dunk’s calf in frustration, a complete moment of madness. Brighton broke through with seconds to go and scored. However, the goal was ruled out for offside and the replays again showed that the lack of VAR at non-Premier League grounds was to be a talking point. The goal should have stood. To penalties. Brighton were to go first and to everyone’s surprise, Glenn Murray missed, the shot rebounding off the bar. Millwall took advantage and led for most of the shoot-out but a save from Ryan moved us into sudden death. Brighton scored their first. Millwall’s first penalty flew over. The Seagulls were through to their first semi-final since 1983.

The Premier League still had two games left to play with Merseyside v West London. 15 minutes after the Millwall and Brighton game kicked off, Liverpool were looking to take advantage of City being busy to take top spot again. Away at Fulham, an easy victory was expected. It 25 minutes for the breakthrough following a clever one-two with Firmino, Mane opened the scoring. It stayed 1-0 for just over 50 minutes when a sliced clearance from James Milner fell awkwardly between Van Dijk and Alisson. The Dutch centre-half failed to get enough on his header back to the keeper and Ryan Babel, a former Red, managed to slip in a put the ball into the open goal. With just 15 minutes to play, Liverpool appeared destined to another away draw. With just under 10 of the 90 to play, Mane had moved to the centre and was getting himself about. Despite a poor first touch after Rico had spilt the ball in front of him, the goalkeeper pulled the forward back. Mane undoubtedly went down easily but it was a definite penalty. The game finished 2-1 with Liverpool returning top. They have now played one more game than City.

In the other match of Merseyside v West London, Everton hosted Chelsea at Goodison Park. Everton’s form has been somewhat poor of late seeing them drop down into the bottom half of the table. Everton have particularly been struggling against the top six, have gone 25 game without a win. Chelsea, however, are showing a complete lack of desire and threat. They have only won one of their last four away games, the other three seeing them failing to score. With both teams struggling for form, it was hard to tell which way this one might go. Chelsea created the better chances of the first half. A rousing speech in the dressing room from Marco Silva saw an almost different Everton team come out for the second half. They pressed together, tracked back and passed with real intent. Within five minutes of the restart, the Toffees were leading. Chelsea offered very little with the ball going sideways more than forwards. Everton were resilient and kept Chelsea at bay. With 20 minutes to go, Sigurdsson made it 2-0, scoring a rebound from his own penalty. The win was sealed. Merseyside 4 – 1 West London.

Can Liverpool win the league? Short answer, yes.

Liverpool Football Club are having their joint best season after reaching 73 points from 30 games. However, they sit in 2nd place behind City, unlike the previous seven times they have reached this feat. The last time Liverpool achieved this tally at this point of the season was in the spring of 1988. Liverpool went on to win the 17th title this season, finishing 9 points ahead of Manchester United. Liverpool won the league once more, in 1990, the second to last season of the First Division.

Before the Premier League era began, Liverpool were the dominant force of English Football winning 12 titles, four European Cups, two UFEA Cups, three FA Cups and four consecutive League Cups all during an 18 years period from 1972-1990. Since the start of the Premier League, Liverpool have struggled to keep pace with Chelsea and Manchester City receiving huge investments. However, Premier League era has seen Manchester United overtake their Merseyside rivals to become the most successful side in England.

So, can Liverpool win the league this season? At the start of 2019, Liverpool went to Manchester City in first place, 7 points clear of the Cityzens. A seven-point lead on New Years Day has never been overturned in the history of English Football. Despite losing 2-1, Liverpool were still in the driving seat with a four-point cushion. At the last match week of January, City were up first and surprisingly lost 2-1 to Newcastle, despite scoring first. This was Liverpool’s chance to increase that gap back to seven as they hosted Leicester. After going 1-0 up in the 3rd minute, poor defending, reminiscent of pre-Van Dijk back four, saw Liverpool concede right on half time. The game finished 1-1.

In their last 10 games, Liverpool have won just five and lost one, opposed to Manchester City’s run on nine wins and one loss does shine worrying light on Liverpool’s title credentials. Liverpool’s last away goal came on the 4th of February when playing West Ham. Their next away fixtures were away to Manchester United and Everton. In a normal season, 0-0 draws at Old Trafford and Goodison Park would be considered good results. However, during this run of poor away form, Manchester City were able to take the initiative to get themselves back into pole position. Liverpool’s best ever Premier League points tally came in the 2008/09 season, finishing in second with 86 points. Whilst this left them four short of the summit, it really did appear to be Liverpool’s year. However, costly draws against lower league opposition at Anfield saw them miss out. With only two losses and undefeated at home, Liverpool drew 11 games seeing their wait for a title challenge go on for 5 more years.

Whilst in 2013/14 season Liverpool finished two points below their record, this will still be remembered as Liverpool’s best season in the Premier League. With three games remaining, Liverpool were five points ahead of Chelsea and need to win at least two out three. Chelsea were the visitors to Anfield and Mourinho the pantomime villain of the occasion. Mourinho very nearly didn’t travel to the game as he was suffering from flu. Just before halftime, Gerrard received a short pass from Sakho which slipped under his foot. Turning to keep the ball under control, he slipped allowing Demba Ba a 1-on-1 opportunity. He scored. Liverpool now chasing the game appeared to be struggling mentally. Liverpool had 73% possession, twice as many shots and 14 corners but were still unable to get past the proverbial Mourinho bus. As the game went on and Liverpool became more desperate to get an equaliser allowed Torres to run through before squaring it to Willian. The game ended 2-0. With City having a game in hand and now being two points behind Liverpool, the Reds had to try gain ground on City’s goal difference. A visit to Crystal Palace, Liverpool led 3-0 with 10 minutes to go. Somehow, the game ended 3-3. City had won the day before and now sat one point behind Liverpool. However, City had a game in hand on Liverpool meaning the Cityzens had six points available, whilst Liverpool only had three to play for. City won their game in midweek, not taking them top and two points ahead. Liverpool now needed to beat Newcastle and see West Ham take all three points away from the Etihad Stadium. Liverpool pushed it all the way, it had slipped through their fingertips. This now had Liverpool going into the 25th year without winning the league, one short of Manchester United before they won it in 1991/92.

Five years on and now 29 since their last league title, Liverpool, again found themselves in the driving seat. Poor results for City during the Christmas period allowed Liverpool a seven-point lead. Since the turn of the year, Liverpool’s form has dipped, losing their first game of the year away to City and then struggling for away form. In 2019, Liverpool have only won 1 out their 5 away games, beating Brighton 1-0. Since then, they have drawn three consecutive away games. The Reds’ home form has prevailed, picking up 13 points from a possible 15 in 2019. Whilst City now lead the title race, Liverpool, who were knocked out of the FA Cup are away to Fulham this Sunday, the last round of fixtures before the international break. This gives Liverpool a chance to retake top spot. Whilst Man City will have played one fewer game, their match being postponed is the Manchester Derby and won’t be played until the 24th of April. If Manchester do progress to the semi-final then they will have another game moved to accommodate possibly allowing Liverpool to move further ahead.

The only issue that presents itself to Liverpool is that they have not won the league. Only one member of the Liverpool squad has won the Premier League and that was James Milner with Manchester City. Liverpool have been so close before but in 2008/09 draws at home against teams like Hull City and Fulham proved costly. Again in 2014, as Liverpool were closing in on their first title for 24 years, cracks in the foundations of the team began to show. Gerrard’s costly mistake seemed to be the turning point as Liverpool imploded a missing out on that elusive trophy.

Now, 10 years on from Rafa’s men nearly reaching their goal, Liverpool are powering on with Klopp. The German manager has revitalised the hope fans had and made them believe again. Klopp has been with Liverpool since October 2015 and has since shaken things up with his signings and style of play. Attacking, Liverpool strike fear into any opponent and, with the arrival of Van Dijk and Alisson, Liverpool have patched up their leaky defence. As they’ve drifted behind City following the poor form they have shown since New Year, Liverpool now have a chance to reinvigorate their title challenge. By leapfrogging City this weekend will ship the pressure back down the M62. With a victory on Sunday, Liverpool will go two points ahead again. City are then faced with five of their last eight games being away from home, including the Manchester Derby which is the game in hand.

Sure, in the past Liverpool have let slip the title through poor results or struggling to see the job through, but this season feels different. Klopp has the experience of winning league titles, winning two in Germany. Whilst Milner is the only player to have won the Premier League, he has experienced winning it on goal difference. Liverpool seem to be in a stronger position than ever to win the league. Liverpool need to take the opportunity of winning on Sunday to recharge their away batteries and improve their away form. It is time for them to take full advantage of this; 30 years is too long to wait.