Week 30 Premier League results strengthen the competition for the top standings teams. Map of the standings at the top has not changed. It’s just that, the gap between Manchester City and Arsenal is getting thinner. The difference is 4 points, and Man City still has one match saved.
Arsenal under pressure? Winning two goals in the early minutes, Arsenal lost control in the second half. West Ham managed to catch up. Score ended 2-2. The situation with the match against West Ham was the second incident experienced by Arsenal in the last week. Last week, Arsenal also failed to maintain their lead when playing against Liverpool. The results of the match also ended in a draw.
Two draws from the last two matches have made the gap with Man City even narrower. Man City doesn’t seem to relax the pressure on Arsenal. The biggest opportunity is that the meeting between the two teams can be a determining factor at the top of the standings.
It can be seen that Man City appears more confident from match to match. Despite playing in three different competitions, Man City has a squad composition that is currently in the best condition.
One of the supporting factors is the absence of injured players and balanced squad depth between core players and substitute players. When the reserve players were played, Man City’s contribution and aggression did not decrease. In fact, Man City continues to perform at the best level. For example, when coach Pep Guardiola replaced Kevin de Bruyne when he played against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in the middle of last week. Bruyne was replaced by Julian Alvarez.
This substitution did not dampen Man City’s game. Man City could even score two additional goals against Munich. The depth of the squad makes it difficult for Man City to relax its pressure on Arsenal. In fact, the pressure is getting heavier for Arsenal. The draw against West Ham showed Arsenal’s instability. Excellence in the early minutes was not utilized as much as possible.
Penalties in the first half and goals in the second half made Arsenal have to settle for going home with 1 point. However, 1 point was not enough to ease Arsenal’s burden, which was being terrorized by Man City. Ideally, the advantage in the first half was utilized as well as possible. Apart from that, B. Saka also failed to convert a penalty kick which could have given Arsenal the win. This matter
Arsenal are really under pressure. The psychological situation can also be affected. As a result, the team’s performance is not focused. Tend to be “stage fright” where playing dominates but failed to get full points.
Erling Haaland Hard to Chase. I don’t know what adjectives should be pinned on Erling Haaland’s performance in his first season with Man City. The player who was bought from Borusio Dortmund continues to add to his goal faucet. The Norwegian player has scored a total of 32 goals and equaled Moh Salah’s achievements. With only two goals left, Haaland can beat the record of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Shearer and Cole previously scored 34 goals in 42 games.
It is not impossible, Haaland will break record after record to become the top scorer in one Premier League season. The opportunity is getting bigger when considering the remaining matches. Behind 6 matches and Haaland is still in the best condition. What’s more, Haaland is supported by quality players who already understand Haaland’s style of play well.
Todd Boehly Getting Squashed. Since signing Frank Lampard as interim coach, Chelsea’s performance has not improved. Of the three matches in Lampard’s coaching, Chelsea have lost. With this, the decision to fire Graham Potter is not a solution, as well as the selection of Lampard as coach is not a way out.
This weekend, Chelsea lost 1-2 to Brighton. The defeat made Chelsea worse off. Lampard has not been able to find the right formula to concoct his squad. From the last three matches, it seems that Lampard is still at the level of tweaking the squad to find the right formula. Against Brighton, Lampard played R. Sterling as a lone striker. Previously, he tried J. Felix and K. Havertz, but they failed.
With a 4-2-3-1 formation, Lampard tried to make big changes. Lampard gave place to C. Pulisic, D. Zakaria, C. Gallagher and M. Mudryk. These four players have rarely played this season. Hence, Lampard’s choice is more on testing the squad to find the best performance. However, Lampard is somewhat unaware that his opponent is Brighton, whose status is one of the dark horse teams in the Premier League this season.
No doubt, Chelsea lost on various sides. Brighton is more dominating than Chelsea. This defeat cornered club owner Todd Boehly. In that match, the fans did not hesitate to have direct confrontation with Boehly. This means that Boehly’s decision as a club owner has not won the sympathy of supporters. Boehly failed to follow in the footsteps of the loyal Roman Abramovich
Every time a change of coach always has a positive effect on team performance. The results this season will determine Boehly’s reputation. It’s okay, this businessman from the United States poured a lot of money to buy expensive players. However, that may not please the fans. After all, the fans want the title. It has become the law that takes place at Chelsea. When the team doesn’t award titles, the club’s management can dribble and also be criticized.
Evidently, Boehly has been directly criticized by fans. Sooner or later, his position as owner will be shaken if he doesn’t immediately improve the situation in the team.
ASL
