Where would Chelsea be without the wizardry of Eden Hazard?
It would have been music to the ears of Chelsea fans to hear Eden Hazard speak in glowing terms, after scoring a brace against Watford, about wanting to emulate the likes of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard in the pantheon of Chelsea legends. What followed thereafter would not have been so pleasing. The talismanic Belgian, who has 18 months left on his current contract, revealed plans to shelve contract talks till the end of the season. Hazard, it is said, isn't just all about the money, but the ambition of the Stamford Bridge outfit as well. With Real Madrid waiting to prize him away to Spain, as a major Galactico signing, the Blues have a fight on their hands to keep hold of their best player. He is by far their most important as his two goals against Watford demonstrated. Chelsea are a good side, but are a great one with Hazard in it. With Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud not fully earning the trust of coach Maurizio Sarri, Hazard of late has been deployed in a false-nine role up top. With a combined tally of 19 goals and assists this season, he has led from the front. Not one for many words or interviews, his feet does the talking. The absence of a genuine goal threat elsewhere in the squad makes the pursuit of Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain on Loan at AC-Milan logical. Despite having developed a reputation for big misses in grand games, the Argentine brings what none other in this Chelsea squad, bar Hazard can provide --goals, and Sarri knows him well too having worked with the striker at Napoli. It is tempting to imagine where the Blues will be without the boots of the silky Belgian constantly delivering the goals and sublime performances . How much is he worth to Sarri and Chelsea? He is priceless.
Centurion: Eden Hazard notched his 100th and 101st goals for Chelsea, since joining six years ago, in a tight 2-1 away win against Watford at Vicarage Road
His second of the game was a well taken penalty after Watford goalie Ben Forster had clumsily felled the attacker inside the box.
Stat: According to Opta, Eden Hazard has been involved in 10 goals and 9 assists for Chelsea this season.
Confidence hit City need to rediscover their mojo.
Confidence hit City need to rediscover their mojo.
Just what has come over Manchester City? Top of the table only three weeks ago, the Citizens find themselves seven points behind a rampaging Liverpool. Pressure perhaps, complacency, maybe injuries, tactical choices or a combination of all four. They are not even Liverpool's closest challengers --that is now a title befitting Tottenham Hotspur. The issues plaguing Pep Guardiola's side lie at both ends of the pitch. It has been 540 minutes since City last kept a clean sheet in the league --the 4 nil thumping of West Ham United in late November. The loss to injury of Fernandinho and absence of Vincent Kompany have been key. In the game against Crystal Palace, a 3-2 loss at the Etihad Stadium, the experiment of John Stones in a pivot holding role failed horribly, as he could neither shield the backline nor recycle possession quick enough to launch attacks. Defensive midfield is proving a chink in the armor of this City team. They simply do not have adequate cover for Fernandinho. John Stones, Fabian Delph and Gundogan can play a role there, but often look like fish out of water against stern opposition as Palace proved. At the King Power Stadium against Leicester City, the latter opened the scoring but was overrun in midfield as the trio of Wilfred Ndidi --who is catching the eye with some fantastic displays -- Nampalys Mendy and Hamza Choudhoury won the midfield battle, thus cutting out the supply lines to the frontmen. In attack, the few chances that did come were snatched at. Sergio Aguero looked like a pale version of his usual clinical self, spooning a decent opening over the bar from yards out, after being teed up by Leroy Sane, while Kevin De Bruyne has only returned from a long injury enforced layoff. . It is only the half way stage, however its anything buť the procession many feared it would be for this talented City squad.
At a time when Liverpool are cranking up the pressure, City seem to be creaking under it. Pep's side do need to stay within sight of the League leaders and the clash on January 3 at the Etihad is more than just three points at stake. At the moment, Guardiola has the looks of a pirate who has briefly miscalculated the bearings of his ship, he would do well to sort out the drop in confidence levels before Liverpool disappear into the distance. Never write off the defending champions though, they are that good.
At a time when Liverpool are cranking up the pressure, City seem to be creaking under it. Pep's side do need to stay within sight of the League leaders and the clash on January 3 at the Etihad is more than just three points at stake. At the moment, Guardiola has the looks of a pirate who has briefly miscalculated the bearings of his ship, he would do well to sort out the drop in confidence levels before Liverpool disappear into the distance. Never write off the defending champions though, they are that good.
Masterful Liverpool look like the real deal
Elsewhere at Anfield, the Reds are setting a ferocious pace and are proving difficult to keep up with. Composed and mature in display, an eighth consecutive league win, at home to an unambitious Newcastle United followed on from the impressive 2-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Mollineux. All over the pitch, Liverpool oose quality,and even more importantly, belief and confidence. After an arduous 28 year wait for the League title, there is a genuine belief on Merseyside that this might finally be their year. Of course, we have heard that before. Think of Rafa Benitez's 2008/2009 side or Brendan Rodgers agonizingly close 2014 team, but this time around it feels different. This is a very good squad from last season strengthened by smart summer recruitment. After conceding 38 goals last season, Klopp's Reds have let in just 7 in 19 games. Where once there was organized chaos and Liverpool games were always a pleasure for the neutrals, now there is attacking efficiency and defensive control. The best defence in the league supported by the goalie with the most clean sheets -- Allison on 12-- and the league's hottest front man in Mo Salah, the stars seem to be aligning in Liverpool's favour. The renewed squad depth enables Klopp to rotate without altering team dynamic. Be it Xherdan Shaqiri or James Milner, Fabinho or Jordan Henderson, Dejan Lovren or Joe Gomez, there's a level of quality, consistency and assuredness in their play. Jurgen Klopp does know how to spot a talent when he sees one. They are not home and hosed though. The past title collapses tell as much. Title races are like the 100 metres : you cannot lose focus even when close to the finishing line bearing in mind your competitor is only a few steps behind. In the coming weeks, the games against Arsenal and Manchester City will give us a clearer picture of how ready the Reds are to end that nearly three decade wait. Top of the table heading into the new year, a club record 51 points from 19 games, Liverpool are in pole position heading into the second half of the season.
Bottom of the pile Huddersfield Town need to start turning good displays into crucial points.
If the Premier League were to end at the halfway mark, Huddersfield Town are going down. Barring some dogged determination and gutsy displays, come May they may well be. David
Wagner’s charges have been punching above their weight since gaining promotion
in the 2017/2018 season. With each punch however, their strength seems to be on
the slide and the tank seems to be running low. A 3-1 defeat to fellow
relegation threatened but rejuvenated Southampton, was followed by a defeat away at Old Trafford by the same scoreline, leaving the team from West
Yorkshire bottom and more crucially five points from safety. Against Southampton, it was a tale of a catalogue of defensive errors as costly mistakes from
Zanka and Christopher Schindler gifted the Saints two goals duly converted by
Danny Ings –a spot-kick—and Michael Obafemi, who became the youngest Republic
of Ireland man to score in the EPL at
just 18 years old. The strong and pacy winger has certainly been one of the
breakout starlets of the season. Wagner however needs his own stars to
breakthrough this season. It is alarming to note that the combined goal tally
of his strikers this campaign reads zero, with the half-way stage of the season
reached. Steve Mounie, the £11.5million
signing from Montpellier, has scored just 7 goals in 42 Premier League
appearances since the start of last season. Not exactly what you would expect
from a club record purchase.
Stat: Huddersfield Town have scored
a paltry 10 goals at home in 2018. Blunt!
The loss of Aaron Mooy to injury
–a torn ligament in his right knee– in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal earlier this
month, which has seen him out of action for an extended period, has been a
hammer blow. The Australian, an integral figure in the team, offers dynamism
and creativity –and most importantly goals, from the middle of the park. The
conundrum faced by Wagner is at both ends of the pitch. The Terriers have conceded
the fourth most goals this season (34) and are the lowest scorers in the
division, with 12 goals. Recent signings have left a lot to be desired with the
investment on the likes of Alex Pritchard and Steve Mounie yet to truly
convince, and as such the fantastic work done by Wagner so far, risks being
undermined except the German magician can conjure up some of that magic to
steer his side out of the pits, just like the near-miraculous escape of last
season. A brave display at Old Trafford followed, but still they were left with no points to show for their efforts after some costly misses early on when the Red Devild had not gotten into their stride. You only get few of those at Old Trafford. After Nemanja Matic's opener from a corner-kick, there was only going to be one winner, and so it proved. They weren't poor , Huddersfield, just limited. However, good displays only without results do not change the position on the log, points do.
Bright start to life for Ralph Hasenhuttl at Southampton.
A little on Southampton though. It is a truism
that there is a tendency for player performances to pick up when a new manager
comes to town, as individuals fight for their futures. But there can be little
denying the impact made by Austrian Ralph Hasenhuttl in his brief spell in
charge of the Saints. They are marching on with confidence. The loss against West Ham United was only a slight bump in what has been a revitalising road so far. Such close games usually come down to a little bit of star quality. West Ham had that in two goal hero Felipe Anderson. Southampton did not. In recent years,
Southampton have shown a tendency to self-destruct, losing some of their identity with the recent
appointments of Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes –all good managers but unsuitable
for the club’s model– after the unprecedented success of the Mauricio
Pochettino and Ronald Koeman years, which earned them big moves elsewhere.
Those to have graced the hot-seat subsequently have taken the club nowhere at
best, and backwards at worst.
Stat: Southampton have won consecutive games in the EPL for the first time in twenty months (since April 2017). Resurgent!
Ralph Hasenhuttl seems capable, at least from the early signs, of steering the club back onto desired path. Like the famous Southampton model, he favours youth, while also implementing an attacking style of football. Already the connection with fans and players has resulted in a bubbly and bouncing Saint Mary’s faithful, far unrecognisable from the hostile and unhappy faces donning striped red and white in the Mark Hughes reign. Seven goals in two games, yielding six points from a possible nine, hints at a more clinical edge to the Saints. That three of those goals came at Home to Arsenal makes the rapid turnaround more impressive. After the game, the Austrian remarked, "we do not lose, we only win and learn ", his side have surely learnt some positive things in his short spell so far.
Stat: Southampton have won consecutive games in the EPL for the first time in twenty months (since April 2017). Resurgent!
Ralph Hasenhuttl seems capable, at least from the early signs, of steering the club back onto desired path. Like the famous Southampton model, he favours youth, while also implementing an attacking style of football. Already the connection with fans and players has resulted in a bubbly and bouncing Saint Mary’s faithful, far unrecognisable from the hostile and unhappy faces donning striped red and white in the Mark Hughes reign. Seven goals in two games, yielding six points from a possible nine, hints at a more clinical edge to the Saints. That three of those goals came at Home to Arsenal makes the rapid turnaround more impressive. After the game, the Austrian remarked, "we do not lose, we only win and learn ", his side have surely learnt some positive things in his short spell so far.
United’s successive wins harked back to the high marks of the Fergie era…Ole showed he can cajole the best out of Red Devils
A moment in the first half away
at Cardiff City, best summed up the change in emphasis, the change in strategy,
more importantly, the change in approach. With United in the ascendancy, Victor
Lindelof brought the ball out of defence into midfield and advanced into the
opposition third, a neat inter-play with a teammate saw him surge into the
Cardiff penalty area, before the attack was snuffed out
That daring, bold, attacking
zeal, when last could we say that about Manchester United? They are
unrecognisable from the side lumping aimless long balls towards Romelu Lukaku,
or Marouane Fellaini as a plan B. These are a group of players playing with
confidence and coherence, intensity and incisiveness. Players showed up for the
ball, took calculated risks on it. Gone were the days of many retiring into
their shell being too scared of being given a public dressing down after a
mistake had been made. Here for every misplaced forward pass Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer implored them to go again, when possession was lost, rather than fall
back into defence, the Red Devils went like a pack of hungry wolves in search
of it. It has only been two weeks since Solskjaer assumed the reins, but the
transformation has been clear for all to see. In this season of sharing, the
Norwegian’s arrival was in many ways the perfect Christmas present. Paul Pogba
looks a player reborn, free of defensive shackles and playing with verve and
commitment, Rashford has been imbued with confidence, struggling summer signing
Fred has been given a fresh start. Even in defence, the often maligned duo of
Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof are looking impressive. They weren’t that bad as
Mourinho made them to be after all. On his return to Old Trafford, as United
welcomed Huddersfield Town, Solskjaer was given a rousing reception. He is one
of their own. A Red Devil through and through, his name forever etched in
exalted company and as such understands what the Manchester United’s
institution stands for. The message to the players was loud and clear: wear the
United shirt with freedom not fear, with pride not anxiousness, with commitment
not lethargy. All of those seem to have sunk in. Okay, let us not get too far
ahead of ourselves, after all United have only beaten Cardiff City and
Huddersfield Town –who are placed 17th and 20th – in
Solskjaer’s first two games. Relegation fodder you might say, but what did United
serve up against same similarly low opponents in Southampton weeks back? A 2-2
draw, the only positive being the comeback from two goals down. Small isn’t so
small.
United as one: United players celebrate Nemanja Matic's first-half goal which set them on course for a 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town
Perfect Precision Paul: Paul Pogba slotted into the bottom corner to give United a two goal cushion
The connect between manager and player uis evident as the Frenchman has found a new lease of life under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
There is a renewed thrill to
United’s games and of course the sometimes shaky defending as well, making for
some nervy moments. Isn’t that what United were about in the glory days?
Edge-of-your-seat stuff and entertaining victories? Once enclosed in tactical strait
jackets the red horses have been allowed to run free. The huge strides made epitomised
in Paul Pogba. Two goals and two assists in two games do not tell the full
story. The intelligent positions he now picks up, the raking passes from deep or sublime
through balls in the final third, the off-the-ball work and lung bursting
sprints, the swagger and élan. The third goal against Huddersfiled said as
much, one which effectively sealed the game. Receiving the ball about 25 yards
out, he only had one thing on his mind. The curling precise shot, in off the
post, that followed was pure technique and class. The broad smile and superman-esque
posture celebration that followed spoke of a man in happy surroundings. “Ole,
Ole, Ole” came the chants from the stands as the fans serenaded Solskjaer. They
appreciate the impact he has made on a previously under-performing bunch in such
a short period. He has got the Red Horses running free again.
Tottenham's blitz too much for Bournemouth to handle. Pochettino's men are turning up in style
Mauricio Pochettino used a perfect analogy afterwards to sum up his Tottenham Hotspur side. Spurs, he said, are "in the same race but not the same car". Very apt. This Tottenham group are surpassing expectations, and by a wide margin too. Not many, if any, gave them a chance this campaign especially with the uncertainty surrounding the completion of the new stadium, one that has led to a period of austerity measures on the transfer front. Yet, it would not be out of place to suggest, at least on current form, that Tottenham are the best team in London --Chelsea and Arsenal included in that sample -- A glance at the League table tells the story. Spurs are the nearest challengers who look like usurping Liverpool off their perch atop the standings. True, Manchester City's two consecutive losses were unexpected, yet Tottenham sitting in second place is no flattery to Pochettino's men at all. A remarkable feat considering the wealth available to City and United and the relatively larger resources of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. One of the key strengths of Poch is his innate ability to catapult his players to new performance levels.
Mauricio Pochettino used a perfect analogy afterwards to sum up his Tottenham Hotspur side. Spurs, he said, are "in the same race but not the same car". Very apt. This Tottenham group are surpassing expectations, and by a wide margin too. Not many, if any, gave them a chance this campaign especially with the uncertainty surrounding the completion of the new stadium, one that has led to a period of austerity measures on the transfer front. Yet, it would not be out of place to suggest, at least on current form, that Tottenham are the best team in London --Chelsea and Arsenal included in that sample -- A glance at the League table tells the story. Spurs are the nearest challengers who look like usurping Liverpool off their perch atop the standings. True, Manchester City's two consecutive losses were unexpected, yet Tottenham sitting in second place is no flattery to Pochettino's men at all. A remarkable feat considering the wealth available to City and United and the relatively larger resources of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. One of the key strengths of Poch is his innate ability to catapult his players to new performance levels.
Christian Eriksen's defelected opener thundered the floodgates open against Bournemouth who were thrashed 5-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley
Harry Kane (second left) , Son Heung Min (extreme left) and Lucas Moura (extreme right) all helped themselves to goals as Spurs ran riot. Youngster Kyle-Walker Pieters provided three assists in a magnificent outing.
Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Moussa Sissoko, the list is almost endless. Fresh from the 6-2 mauling of Everton, the men in white hit five unreplied past Bournemouth. It was a lesson in clinical finishing. For every ruthless finish, Spurs showed up Bournemouth's profligacy. Chances came and went for the visitors, but on each occasion wasteful finishing laid waste to them. On the odd occasion when the finish seemed precise, they found Hugo Lloris in goal impenetrable. There is a benefit in slowly ascending up the ladder. With the spotlight firmly fixed on the bigger fries, Spurs are going about their business without fuss. But make no mistake, they are punching well above their weight.
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