Premier League Update – GW 20 | OneFootball

Saturday, Jan. 4

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 Newcastle United

It turns out Ange has an angry side after all. The Aussie gaffer all but blamed the officials for his team’s loss, sputtering “if all things were equal and balanced we would have won” multiple times in his post-match interview, while praising the players’ effort. Opinions on Law 12 (which covers handling) aside, the fact remains that Spurs lost, Newcastle won and Ange has been backed further into a corner.

Aston Villa 2 – 1 Leicester City

That Ross Barkley screamer was picture perfect, tearing through space 3 inches above the grass into the corner. Despite Stephy Mavididi’s equalizer five minutes later, Leicester once again were unable to finish out a game. Leon Bailey shined a spotlight on the Foxes porous defense as he slotted home a goal off Ian Maatsen’s pass. Leicester really need to shore up that back line during the January window.

Bournemouth 1 – 0 Everton

This victory marks eight consecutive unbeaten games for the Cherries, a new club record. They’re a club playing with absolute conviction right now. Everton’s stubborn defense failed when David Brooks converted off a Milos Kerkez pass late in the second half, and once again their front line failed to score. Classic Dycheball.

Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Chelsea

Defender Christan Lacroix has been a fantastic addition to the Palace defence, but it was his error that left Cole Palmer alone in the box to score in the 14th minute. The Eagles were lucky Nicholas Jackson was taking most of Chelsea’s shots in the first half, and had to be pleased that they improved before heading into the dressing room. Palace continued to ratchet up the pressure throughout the second half, absorbing Chelsea’s attacks, before Eberechi Eze capitalized on a clearance error to deliver a gem to Jean-Philippe Mateta for the equalizer.

Manchester City 4 – 1 West Ham United

Most will applaud the reboot of Norwegian goal-bot Erling Haaland, who nabbed a brace after a long drought. But the true architect of today’s thrashing was Brazilian midfielder Savinho, who not only fed dimes to Haaland, but kicked off the scoring when his shot deflected off Victor Coufal into the net. Two wins in a row for City does not a comeback make, but the ship is catching wind in the sails once again.

Southampton 0 – 5 Brentford

So ugly, if you’re a Saints fan. It’s not just the goal tally that stings, but the nature of those goals. Kevin Schade’s cheeky right-foot tap kicked things off early, and Bryan Mbeumo’s brace (including one from the sport) put the visitors comfortably ahead. But to concede two additional goals in stoppage time is downright sloppy. The only positive is that few fans remained in St. Mary’s to see that debacle.

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 – 1 Arsenal

This was a fine time for Brighton to earn their first penalty in the season, though legions of Arsenal supporters probably do not agree with me, or referee Anthony Taylor’s decision to grant it. But much like fellow Londoners Tottenham, griping about officiating is the last refuge of a team that fails to win on their own merit. Brighton has now drawn 6 of their last 8, but should feel that this result is a positive. One bright spot for Arsenal in an otherwise pedestrian effort was 17 year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who scored his second PL goal.

Sunday, Jan. 5

Fulham 2 – 2 Ipswich Town

Preview: With three of the bottom five dropping points on Saturday, Ipswich seek their first consecutive win of the season to bounce out of the relegation zone (pending Monday’s result, of course).

That was one wild minute at Craven Cottage. Referee Darren Bond granted Fulham a penalty after consulting the monitor, concluding that Sam Morsy’s minor tap on Harry Wilson’s calf caused him to stumble. Yellow card issued. Raúl Jiménez then put it away to bring his team level (and become the top PL goalscorer from Mexico). But exactly 21 seconds after the restart, Liam Delap dribbled into the box and was on the receiving end of a swipe from Timothy Castagne. Immediate penalty. Yellow card issued. Delap duly pummeled it into the net. Ipswich were minutes away from escaping the relegation zone when Leif Davis caught Jiménez with a trailing leg. Immediate penalty to bring the hosts level once more. Wild.

Liverpool – Manchester United

Preview: Normally you’d see this fixture and rub your hands with glee at the forthcoming battle. But given United’s recent form, the only logical question to ask is: “By how many goals will Liverpool prevail?”

It didn’t quite turn out that way, huh? Man U were completely unrecognizable today, displaying a passion, fire and quality not seen in weeks. They weren’t playing to survive, they played to win. The scoreless first half was a thoroughly entertaining 45 minutes; the second half brilliantly spicy and the final ten minutes pure unbridled mania. Liverpool were pretty good today as well, but the scoreline was fair.Damn. What a match. They just don’t get better.

Monday, Jan. 6

Wolverhampton – Nottingham Forest

Preview: This should be a cracker. Wolves come in on two straight wins; Forest have five straight. Given recent form, you have to give Forest the edge, but Molineux will be hopping despite expected inclement weather.