Premier League: Three Things we Learned as League Leaders Drop Points
The Premier League this weekend saw old rivals clash and managers looking to get confidence up for their team.
Ronaldo dropped as United hold Chelsea to draw (Chelsea- 1 Man Utd- 1)
Eyebrows were raised when Man Utd interim coach Michael Carrick benched Cristiano Ronaldo for his team’s trip to Stamford Bridge. The 5 time Ballon D’or winner was understandably frustrated, storming off the pitch at the final whistle.
Chelsea missed the chance to put a marker down on the title, they will certainly see this game as two points dropped especially with how Man United have been playing recently in the league. With Man City and Liverpool winning, the gap between them and 3rd placed Liverpool is now just two points.
Chelsea were dominant for a large portion of the game, and were outdone by a sucker punch goal from Jadon Sancho after a massive mistake from Jorginho, who had his blushes spared after he slotted away the penalty to tie the game.
Ronaldo was a frustrated figure, coming off the bench and seeing his side drop points from a winning position
Liverpool continue fine goal scoring form in Saints rout (Liverpool- 4 Southampton- 0)
Liverpool were at their romping best this weekend to put Southampton to the sword and they continue their fantastic goal scoring form this season. The reds have now scored 39 goals in just 13 games, no team has scored more.
Southampton did not have a chance against Klopp’s Liverpool, a tactical switch to three at the back came back to haunt them, with a lack of defensive structure to help them build from the back, ultimately relying on mistakes from the Liverpool players to get chances.
Liverpool didn’t hold back against the Saints, constantly pushing forward in the hope to score as many as possible. Diogo Jota’s two goals to put them 2-0 up is very timely for Klopp with Roberto Firmino still nursing a serious hamstring injury.
Diogo Jota netted twice against a far inferior Southampton side
Newcastle remain winless after Arsenal loss (Arsenal- 2 Newcastle United- 0)
Newcastle remain the only team in the top four divisions in England to not have a win, and Eddie Howe certainly has his work cut out to keep the Magpies in the league. The Englishman will look to January to bring players in to help out what is a poor squad who struggle in all areas of the pitch.
Arsenal were keen to make amends after their humiliation against Liverpool last weekend, they want to continue to push for a top four spot. They remain fifth in the table but face stiff competition from many teams to get that champions league spot.
The Gunners were fully deserving of their win on Saturday, as their youngsters were the stars of the show again. Newcastle lacked a goal scoring edge and seemed to play for damage limitation after it went to 1-0.