1. The two best teams in the Premier League produce a brilliant game
TOO OFTEN IN the Premier League, big games fail to live up to expectations.
The recent Man United-Arsenal match was a prime example — neither side performed at their best and although there was some late drama in the form of Olivier Giroud’s equaliser, the match was a mostly dull affair.
Yet, by contrast, Saturday’s clash between Man City and Chelsea had everything — great goals, controversy and an intensity and rhythm to the play that rarely abated.
Both sides played to win and either easily could have.
While Liverpool and Arsenal fans may well disagree, there were times where it felt as if we were watching the two sides most likely to be still competing for the title come May, such was the level of quality on display.
2. Is Alexis Sanchez the best player in the Premier League right now?
There have been few more dominant individual performances in recent times than the one Alexis Sanchez gave for Arsenal at West Ham’s London Stadium on Saturday.
The Chilean international laid on the assist for Mesut Ozil’s first-half opener, before scoring an incredible 14-minute hat-trick after the break, with each goal special in its own way.
Of course, there is the caveat that it came against an awful West Ham side who remain just one point off the relegation zone following the loss, but Arsenal’s attack still showed the type of impressive ruthlessness that Man United lacked against the Hammers last week.
Sanchez now has 13 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners this season and if he keeps this form up, his individual brilliance could inspire an Arsenal title bid, in the same manner that Riyad Mahrez, Eden Hazard and Luis Suarez have done in the last three Premier League seasons for Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
Yes, it’s high praise, but on the evidence of Saturday’s game at least and recent matches in general, Sanchez certainly belongs in such esteemed company.
3. Spurs get confidence boost at the expense of dire Swansea
Are Spurs back on form after recording their second win in 11 matches at White Hart Lane on Saturday — an emphatic 5-0 defeat of bottom-of-the-table Swansea?
Pessimists would say they merely had the good fortune of coming up against the Premier League’s worst team.
The truth, though, is probably somewhere in between.
The previously goal-shy hosts may have benefited from a lucky penalty that sent them on their way, but the outcome ultimately did not flatter Mauricio Pochettino’s men, as further chances were wasted against Bob Bradley’s beleaguered outfit.
Fresh from news of his new six-year contract, Harry Kane scored a clinical brace to restore the sense of a feel-good factor around the club.
People were prematurely starting to write off Tottenham’s top-four hopes following their recent discouraging run of results, but yesterday’s game suggests they are still very much legitimate contenders, with the win leaving them just three points off Man City in third.
Swansea, meanwhile, having enjoyed relatively stability in the Premier League in recent seasons, now look set for a prolonged fight for survival — and on the evidence of Saturday’s game, it’s questionable whether they have the stomach for this unenviable battle.
4. What has happened to Leicester?
Incredibly, months after winning the Premier League title, Leicester now sit only two points above the relegation zone following Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 loss against Sunderland.
With 13 points from 14 games, the Foxes have the worst record of any defending champions in Premier League history.
So what’s gone wrong?
They lost one key player in N’Golo Kante, but managed to retain Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy — two of the stars from last year’s campaign, while also spending substantially on a couple of highly-rated new signings.
The distraction of the Champions League seemingly isn’t helping, while they simply lack the same effervescence that made them such formidable opponents, with the sense of a hangover from last season’s prolonged party hard to escape.
Most people would have felt before Saturday that they were too good to go down, but being convincingly beaten by another relegation-threatened side, Sunderland, certainly highlights the extent of their recent downfall.
5. Set pieces key for overachievers West Brom
Yesterday’s 3-1 win over Watford saw West Brom leap above Man United into sixth place.
The position highlights the incredible job Tony Pulis has done since joining the club.
They are the anti-Man United team in many ways. Despite spending meagre amounts in comparison to the Red Devils and most teams in the Premier League let alone the top 10, they somehow finding themselves thriving this season.
One area that has certainly been key to their success is set pieces. Jonny Evans headed home the Baggies’ opener from a corner earlier, and it was their seventh goal from a dead-ball situation this season — a better tally than anyone else in the league.
Jose Mourinho may be considered football’s ultimate pragmatist — but Tony Pulis isn’t doing a bad imitation at the moment, with football that is invariably ugly but still highly effective more often than not.
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