London is Blue

Chelsea are the Premier League Champions of 2016-17! Tottenham did believe that they could win it, however, it was clear that the Blues had other ideas. They are number one!

Tottenham were consistent in maintaining a four point gap between them and the leaders, Chelsea. However, when they were defeated 1-0 by West Ham, Spurs conceded their title hopes to Chelsea, who completely destroyed them!

The Blues defeated both Middlesbrough (3-0) and West Brom (0-1) before Spurs were even able to play their next matching, confirming Chelsea as the Premier League Champions!

The fans chanted Antonio Conte’s name and Tottenham became a distant memory.

It’s been a great season for the Blues, they’ve climbed from tenth place under Mourinho to first place under Conte! This is a tremendous victory for the club, the manager and the fans.

This is Terry’s, the Chelsea legend’s, last season with the club. He scored one of the goals in Chelsea’s 4-3 victory over Watford and will, undoubtedly, play in the last match. It will be a nostalgic send off for the legend and an unforgettable day as the Blues receive their trophy.

MANCHESTER UNITED UPDATE

Manchester United have really built themselves up since last year, and are beginning to show that they can still be a too club without Alex Ferguson.

They put on very strong and promising performance in January. Not only were they largely winning their Premier League matches, but they also succeeded through the third and fourth round of the FA Cup.

The same fate followed them throughout February, in which they reached the Europa League last 16 and won the Football League Cup by defeating Southampton 3-2! Impressive! 

It’s sad to note that they were knocked out of the FA Cup in March after being defeated by Chelsea 1-0. Manchester United are good, but perhaps not as good as the Premier League leaders.

Although, that was indeed challenged this April. Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 last weekend, just a few days after drawing against RSC Anderlecht 1-1 in the first leg of the Europa League quarter final! They won’t give up!

Manchester United is currently 5th position on the Premier League table, but they have the mentality of a team in top four. Let’s hope that this can-do attitude helps them in the second leg of their Europa League match tomorrow!

LIVERPOOL UPDATE

Despite how Liverpool began 2017, they’ve made substantial progress. It now looks as if they will be finishing this Premier League season in a comfortable spot in top four.

Although Liverpool were able to hold the leaders, Chelsea, to a draw, they faced many losses in the months of January and February. It was almost as if they gave up and found it easier to descend down the table.

However, that all changed the following month. Not only did they hold Manchester City to a draw, but they also defeated Arsenal 3-1. Now that’s more like it!

This April, the Reds have not lost a single match! They are currently sitting at third position on the Premier League table, and it doesn’t look as if they’re willing to budge! 

CHELSEA UPDATE

The title is very much still Chelsea’s for the taking. Tottenham is crawling up behind them, however, considering the great football the Blues have been able to deliver this season, the trophy is likely to end up in their hands.

It is true that Chelsea finished 10th place on the Premier League table last season. However, that doesn’t seem to have affected the team’s mentality. They have renewed their image by winning matches over and over again. 

They won all their Premier League matches in January, except for their 1-1 draw against Liverpool. They also won all their February games, including their 2-0 win against Wolverhampton for the FA Cup quarter finals, except for their 1-1 draw against Burnley. At this point they were still undefeated.

The Blues soured through March without any mishaps, and it was safe to say that they were on a high! However, April wasn’t so soft-hearted.

Both Crystal Palace and Manchester United defeated Chelsea this month, causing the gap between the leaders and second place Totenham to reduce to only four points. With only six more game to play, the pressure is definitely on!

Chelsea are set to face Tottenham for the FA Cup Semi final this weekend and, considering the tension between the two clubs in the Premier League, it might just be the most intense game to be played this year!

ARSENAL UPDATE

2017 has been an uphill battle for Arsenal, who began well but soon started to stumble. As we reach the end of the Premier League season, it’s hard to see how much they can make of their last few games whilst in their current form.

Since February the Gunners have been struggling to maintain any sort of winning streak, and haven’t really been managing to draw matches either. They faced a heaving 3-1 defeat against Chelsea and a hefty 5-1 defeat from Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Then in March, both Liverpool and West Brom defeated the Gunners 3-1; and the Reds also suffered another 5-1 against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League Match. Quite understandably, they are no longer competing in Europe.

Quite frankly, they have enough troubles at home to be worrying about. Some fans have lost confidence in the team, with the uncertainty surrounding the future of Wenger and key players, such as Sanchez, at the club. After suffering a 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace, many, unshockingly, felt huge disappointment.

However, there is still hope. Arsenal might be currently 6th on the Premier League table, and risk finishing outside of the top four for the first time in 21 years, however, their recent win against Middlesbrough suggests that there is still hope.

The Gunners are set to play Manchester City for the FA Cup Semi final this weekend. Perhaps after a great start to the week they might just have enough motivation to gear themselves towards a trophy this year!

Clear Divisions

It appears as if distinctions are being made between the top teams that have the potential to go on to win the Premier League title and the top teams that will just finish somewhere near the top of the table. Here’s why…

After Chelsea’s brilliant 3-1 victory against Manchester City, they continued their winning streak. Diego Costa netted the winning goal for Chelsea in their game against West Brom to secure their ninth successive league win. Chelsea are 3 points ahead of second-place Arsenal, and it seems like no team can stop them (especially with Diego Costa running around)!

After defeating West Ham 5-1, Arsenal went on to destabilise FC Basel in the Champions League. They defeated the opposition 4-1, with a rewarding hat-trick from Pérez! Arsenal continued their celebrations into the weekend, as they defeated Stoke 3-1. This secured their second place position on the Premier League table, keeping them in touching distance of the leaders, Chelsea.

After losing to Bournemouth 4-3 and then drawing 2-2 with West Ham, Liverpool have fallen to third place, six points behind the leaders Chelsea. With the way the Blues are playing, it might prove too difficult to close the gap again.

Manchester City have also had their fair share of disappointments. During their match against Chelsea, the Man City players lashed out at the blue players out of frustration, causing Aguero and Fernandinho to be suspended for a few matches. 

This perhaps gives reason as to why City drew 1-1 with Celtic in the Champions League, and lost 4-2 against Leicester City. They are currently sitting fourth on the Premier League table, but with the same 30 points as Liverpool. Their title hopes aren’t over yet, but only if they find a way to recover from their distress.

Now, moving down to sixth place, we find Manchester United. It’s been a tough season for them so far, but they seem to be trying to turn things around. After drawing 1-1 with Everton, they defeated  Zorya Luhansk in the Europa league and Tottenham 1-0 in the Premier League. That’s more like it.

However, we must still be aware of the fact that they’ve still got a lot to make up for. United are six points away from top four and a whopping 13 points behind Chelsea. The Premier League is a long road, and they must continue to prove themselves constantly.

The Premier League top teams are breaking up point by point. They all seem to have progressed in Europe, despite a few recent poor results. However, the Premier League is proving to be a whole different ball game!

Bouncing Blues

Last season was a disaster for Chelsea, but they’ve bounced back better than ever. They hit top of the table the week before last and they are still there now. Here’s why…

Thanks to Diego Costa, Chelsea defeated Middlesbrough 1-0 to achieve their sixth straight win in a row without conceding. This took them to first position on the Premier League table, 9 spots higher than where they finished last year. 

They then maintained this lead after defeating Tottenham 2-1 at a Derby game at Stamford Bridge. Although they broke their streak of not conceding, they managed to win three points. That’s the important thing.

Good fortune has befallen the Blues since they’ve been under the management of Conte. The sorrowful fate they suffered under Mourinho is perhaps now being endured by his new team, Manchester United.

Manchester United defeated Feyenoord 4-0 to keep their Europa League hopes alive. However. They couldn’t produce the same result in their weekend Premier League match.

West Ham took the lead against United in the second minute, and the Reds only managed to net one goal to gain a single point from the game. Mourinho got so frustrated that he had to be sent to the stands in the second half of the match! Who knew things were so bad!

Mourinho is doing no better at United than at Chelsea. The Reds are currently sixth position on the Premier League table, 11 points behind the the leaders and eight points away from top four. The Premier League is definitely not theirs this season.

Fortunately, Manchester United was able to get their revenge on West Ham United by defeating them 3-1 in the EFL quarter- final. This is much more than what Arsenal were able to do, as The Gunners lost 0-2 against Southampton.

 But, to be fair, Arsenal were not playing their top 11, unlike United. Clearly they have their eyes firmly focused on the Premier League, the league which Manchester United can’t keep up with.

Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all won their Premier League matches and are chasing down Chelsea’s top spot. Liverpool also defeated Leeds 2-0 in the English Football League!

It’s dog eat dog. All is still to play for and the race for the PL Cup, or any cup for that matter, is no where near over!

Make Way

The top Premier League clubs seemed reluctantto score goals in their Saturday matches. Not only did most of them draw, but they also gave Chelsea the opportunity to go top of the table on Sunday.

Arsenal faced Manchester United for a derby match at Old Trafford. Mourinho has never really considered Wenger as anything more than an enemy, and it came through in United’s gameplay. Mata gave the home team the lead in the 68th minute.

Unfortunately for Mourinho, United were unable to maintain their lead for the entire match. Giroud equalised for the Gunners, just before full time, and both teams left the match no better than the other. It is fair to say, however, that both managers still don’t see eye to eye.

Another team that drew was Liverpool. They played against Southampton and neither team managed to score a goal. The Reds have managed to stay at the top of the Premier League table, however, their inability to gain more points has meant that they could easily fall down the table.

Manchester City went level with Liverpool on the Premier League table after defeating Crystal Palace. Yaya Toure was first to score for City in the first half, but Palace equalised in the second. Luckily, Yaya Toure was able to wack in another goal to gain a late win for his club! What a superstar!

Both Liverpool and Manchester City have 27 points, however, with Chelsea on 25 points both teams could be overtaken when the Blues play their upcoming match. The title race has become more and more challenging, and it’s starting to show.

GOOD TO BAD AND VICE VERSA

Manchester City began the week on a high after defeating Barcelona 3-1! However, by this weekend they had been brought down a notch. Luckily, the opposite was true for Manchester United.

Messi gave Barcelona the lead against Manchester City in the 21st minute. However, three goals from Gundogan (39′, 74′) and De Bruyne (51) silenced the team known as the best in the world!

Perhaps it was the energy needed to secure this win that caused City to underperform in their match against Middlesbrough. Although Aguero managed to net a goal for his team in the 43rd minute, de Roon scored the equaliser for the opposition in extra time. By this point, it was too late to make amends.

Manchester United did the reverse of what Manchester City did. The Reds lost their Europa League match against Fenerbahce 2-1. They began losing from the second minute of the match, and Rooney’s late goal in the 89th minute couldn’t save them from defeat.

Fortunately, United had a better fate this weekend. They defeated Swansea City by only conceding one goal and by netting three. That’s more like it!

Manchester City are one win away from securing their entry into the next round of the Champions League. However, they are down to third place on the Premier League table.

Manchester United still have a chance to reach the next stage of the Europa League, however, they are going to have to perform a lot better in order to do so. Despite this, they seem to be on the up as they are now sixth place on the Premier League table.

Nothing is ever clear cut in football. As more games are played, the clearer things will become. Soon it will be evident which teams are strong and which ones are not.

 

 

 

LIVERPOOL LARGER THAN LIFE

Liverpool have placed themselves at the head of the Premier League table by defeating Watford 6-1. They had all to play for and they didn’t miss a single thing.

Mane was the first to score for Liverpool, with his goal in the 27th minute. Coutinho then doubled the scoreline three minutes later. The Reds just wanted more and more!

The third goal was netted by Can just before half time and, in the second half, Liverpool continued their goal spree! Firmino netted the fourth goal in the 57th minute and, three minutes later, Mane netted his second goal of the match. As the roars of the Liverpool fans got louder, Watford got quieter!

Janmaat managed to net a goal for Watford in the 75th minute. However, this was of course just for consolation. In fact, the Reds soon minimised this effort with their final goal in extra time. They just had to have the last word- or the last goal in this case!

Liverpool has a total of 28 shots at goal, 17 of which were on target! By the looks of things, it could have been a lot worse for Watford than 6-1.

This huge victory has taken Liverpool above Chelsea and up to top spot on the Premier League table! Now, if any team wants to catch up, they’re going to have to hope that Liverpool drops points and lets them.