The 2020/2021 Premier League season is now at a vital stage and last weekend round of games offered the clubs another chance to take a step towards achieving their objectives.
Manchester City clash against West Ham was the first game of the weekend, while Everton’s clash against Southampton rounded up the action.
And ahead of the midweek games, Freshsports, in its usual tradition, review some of the talking points from last weekend.
Unstoppable Manchester City: Manchester City are not ready to relax, and they showed that in the 2-1 victory over West Ham at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s men are now on a 13-match winning streak in the league and 20 in all competitions. The Citizens are almost certain to reclaim their league title as they sit 12 points ahead of Manchester United, who currently are in second place.
And with the Manchester derby coming up on Sunday, City could extend the lead at the top to 15 points.
Liverpool Return To Winning Ways: The champions have been poor this year, which has put an end to their title defence. Liverpool currently sit 19 points behind City and are also two points off the top four.
Before their game on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp’s men had lost their last four games in the league. However, they bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United on Sunday night.
Liverpool set up differently for the game, with Klopp tweaking the team’s shape. And that helped as they were comfortable on the night.
Obviously, there’s still much work to do if they are to make the top four, but the win should give them a boost.
Breathing Space For Jose Mourinho: Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur are another team in a poor run of form. But they did turn on the style on Sunday, thrashing Burnley 4-0.
With pressure building on Mourinho, the Portuguese tactician started the trio of Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min and Gareth Bale, and it proved to be a genius move.
Bale scored twice, with Son providing the assists, while Kane was also on target. Should the trio maintain their form, then Spurs might still be able to make a late push for the top four.
Southampton In Trouble: The Saints started the season very well, with many tipping them to finish in one of the spots for Europe. But their season has been on a downward trajectory since they beat Liverpool.
Ralph Hassenhuttl’s men were once again on the receiving end on Monday night as they lost to Everton at Goodison Park. It was their eighth loss in their last nine league games.
A season that started with so much promise is now in danger of ending badly. The Saints are not likely to go down, but they are just seven points above the relegation places.
Arsenal Outclass Leicester: Despite the loss to Manchester City, Arsenal appear to have turned around the corner. The Gunners bounced back from the loss to City with a brilliant win over Leicester City at the King Power.
Mikel Arteta’s men fell behind inside the opening six minutes, but they showed enough mental strength to come back and score three goals.
They are still far away from the top four places, but they could end up in a European spot with a strong finish.
