The competition is heating up following the latest round of matches and ahead of a busy festive period of the 2020/2021 Premier League season.
Matchday 12 took place across the grounds last weekend, and there were a lot of surprising results. Leeds home clash against West Ham kicked off the round while the action concluded with Leicester’s encounter against Brighton.
And in its usual tradition, Freshsports highlight the talking points from some of the games played last weekend.
Chelsea Suffer A Reality Check: Chelsea had won four of their last five league games before Saturday with Liverpool, manager, Jurgen Klopp saying the Blues are the favourites fo the title.
However, Frank Lampard’s men were brought down to earth as they suffered a 1-o loss to Everton at Goodison Park. Although Chelsea dominated position and hit the post a couple of times, the result gave them a reality check and not to believe their hype.
While Chelsea are still one of the favourites, they need to ignore the title talk and focus on one game at a time.
Arteta On The Brink: It was another loss for the Gunners on Sunday night, meaning Arsenal have now lost their last four Premier League matches- their worst run since 1959.
Arsenal went into the clash against Burnley with the hope they can pull away from the lower half of the table. But it was Burnley, who recorded a smash and grab win- although the Gunners were not helped by a moment of madness from Xhaka- who was sent off for violent conduct.
The result leaves Arteta on the brink of a sack. The Spaniard needs to find a way to turn the Gunners fortune around, starting with the game against high-flying Southampton.
It doesn’t get easier for Arteta as their next three games after the Southampton clash is against Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Spurs Drop Points: Following a Saturday, which saw all their rivals drop points, Tottenham went into their clash against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with an opportunity to extend their lead at the top.
Spurs started well and took the lead through a long-range effort from Harry Kane. It should have been more than that in the first half, but they were denied on numerous occasion by Vicente Guaita in Crystal Palace goal.
Jose Mourinho’s men then went to sleep following the break and Palace got a deserved equaliser courtesy of Jefferey Schlupp nine minutes from time.
Spurs had two late chances to win it, but Guaita denied them on the two occasions. Although they remain top, it was a big opportunity missed for Mourinho’s boys.
Liverpool Fail To Capitalise: After Spurs failed to take advantage, Liverpool had the chance to go top outrightly with a win at Craven Cottage.
But Jurgen Klopp’s men were lucky to walk away with a point as they met their match in Fulham. The newly-promoted side had numerous chances in the first half, but could only take one of them.
The defended resiliently in the second half and were unlucky to concede a penalty, which Mohamed Salah converted. Neither team could conjure up a winner, which means Spurs stayed top on goal difference.
Liverpool can, however, go top on Wednesday when they host the league leaders in a top of the table clash.
Boring Manchester Derby: The Manchester derby was the match to look forward to going into the weekend, but it failed to live up to expectations. Neither team was willing to take the initiative with both managers taking a conservative approach to the games.
The point gained by both teams looks satisfactory but does them no favours in the title race.
