1. Is Son Heung-min the Premier League’s most underrated player?
AFTER A DIFFICULT first season following a £22 million move to Tottenham, Son Heung-min’s confidence was undoubtedly shaken.
Initially at least, the player was not an automatic pick for Spurs, largely due to the excellent form of others.
The South Korea international even asked Mauricio Pochettino if he could leave during the summer, after an underwhelming return of four goals in 13 games last year.
The Spurs boss refused his request, however, and that decision appears to have worked out very well for club and player alike.
The 24-year-old has improved significantly this season and thrived of late in particular, with seven goals in his last five games, including a vital late goal in the midweek defeat of Swansea and a brace in yesterday’s convincing win at home to Watford.
In Harry Kane’s absence (though the England forward made his return from the bench yesterday), Son in particular has stepped up, ensuring Chelsea’s title tilt is not quite a formality yet.
2. Controversial red card the right call
There was no doubting the key incident in today’s Sunderland-Man United game at the Stadium of Light.
With the scoreline at 1-0, there was still some hope that the Black Cats could launch a comeback. However, once Sebastian Larsson was sent off for a high challenge on Ander Herrera on the brink of half-time, the game suddenly felt all but over, and so it proved.
It was not a popular decision. On Sky, pundits Jamie Redknapp and Niall Quinn both suggested the referee was overly harsh in sending the player off.
An unimpressed Sunderland boss David Moyes, meanwhile, commented afterwards that the game’s outcome had been “helped by the referee”.
The idea that it was the wrong call and only merited a booking at worst seemed to be predicated on the fact that Larsson’s challenge did not seriously injure Herrera.
Yet it was at best careless, irresponsible and extremely dangerous — the type of challenge that could easily have resulted in a leg break if the opposing player had been less fortunate, much like Gareth Bale’s infamous challenge on John O’Shea during the Ireland-Wales game a few weeks back.
Such tackles need to be eradicated from football completely — otherwise, the chances of another Seamus Coleman-esque injury happening will be greatly increased, and in acting accordingly, referee Craig Pawson was implementing the letter of the law to boot.
3. Only a catastrophic collapse will stop Chelsea now
If ever there was going to be a week where Chelsea would slip up, this was it.
Antonio Conte’s side faced two games in the space of three days — a daunting clash with Man City as well as a tricky-looking trip to Bournemouth.
For the Londoners to emerge from these challenges with six points has greatly reduced the chances of any late drama in the title race, leaving their rivals increasingly demoralised in the process.
The Blues now have seven games to play and only need five wins to guarantee their status as champions.
For a side as efficient at the back and ruthless in attack as Antonio Conte’s men, it now seems inconceivable that such a reliable outfit would pass up this opportunity.
4. Liverpool prove there’s life after Mane
It may have been nervy at times, but Liverpool eventually got the job done yesterday with a 2-1 win over Stoke.
The result was vital for Jurgen Klopp’s side’s confidence. It was also their first league win of the season without key attacker Sadio Mane, who is now set to miss the rest of the campaign through injury.
In Mane’s absence, the Reds had previously taken just two points from four games.
By beating Stoke, the Anfield outfit maintained their strong top-four ambitions with all of their rivals winning as well.
They currently sit third, though Man City, Arsenal and Man United all have at least one game in hand, so picking up three points is becoming increasingly crucial as the season approaches its climax.
5. Inspired Lukaku ensures Shakespeare’s winning run finally comes to an end
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku was on the fire again, hitting a brace as Leicester’s unbeaten run under Craig Shakespeare finally came to an end at Goodison Park today.
The Belgian international has now managed 23 Premier League goals — four more than the next most prolific player, Harry Kane.
And this afternoon, Lukaku clinically exposed the defensive frailties that have been evident in the Foxes’ backline throughout this season.
Much has been made of the way Shakespeare has rejuvenated the team since taking over as manager, winning all six of his matches in charge before today.
Nevertheless, while the new manager has undoubtedly improved things, there has been a level of exaggeration about the degree of his influence on proceedings.
Leicester are 11th for a reason, and it’s not purely down to player apathy and poor management by Ranieri — as today’s game highlighted, there are flaws in the side that cannot be rectified until the summer, no matter how accomplished their new head coach is.
In this improbable winning run, five of their six games were home matches and invariably against beatable opposition — under Ranieri this season, they actually had a decent record at the King Power Stadium: five wins and just four losses in 12 games. Consequently, while they look safe from relegation now, both Shakespeare and his players still have plenty to prove next season.
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