A Preview of English Premier League So Far
Although there is a lot of way to go in the season, but things are shaping up quite well for a few teams at the top of English Premier League table. On the other hand, many teams have failed to live up to the expectations, while some desperate changes are needed immediately to change the results in their favour.
Before this week, Chelsea was the only team that had not dropped any points in English Premier League in three matches. On the other hand, Arsenal drew a match against Liverpool, at Anfield, which means that they were looking in good shape as well. Apart from these teams, every other team had struggled to show their best game.
Manchester United drew their last match at Fulham, as they conceded a late goal to finish the match at 2-2. Liverpool lost a match against Manchester City, while coming out with a late draw against Arsenal in their home match. Manchester City spent a lot of money in transfer market, but they could not get a result against Tottenham Hotspurs in their opening fixture. Despite a great victory against Liverpool, City again slipped up against Sunderland, losing the match by 1-0.
As the two London sides, Arsenal and Chelsea were looking comfortable; Tottenham could not keep up with them, as they lost against Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane. As Chelsea was getting further away from reach of these teams, it was very important for all the teams to secure victories in their matches after a long international break.
The first match was played between Manchester United and Everton, at Goodison Park. Although, Wayne Rooney was playing well for England, however he was dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson from United’s squad. He was not even on the benches, as Ferguson feared that his old fans at Everton would create problems for him, in wake of his recently disclosed domestic problems. Still, Manchester United looked great, especially because Everton was facing its own problems, as they failed to inspire in their opening matches, losing two out of three fixtures.
The match was dominated by United’s players for the most part. Although, they conceded the first goal, however they bounced back quickly with an equaliser. After that equaliser, United never looked back, as they soon scored two more goals to take a comfortable 3-1 lead. Everything was going well till the injury time, when all of sudden United looked shaky, giving two goals in space of three minutes to Everton. In the end, United got their second draw in a row, moving further down the points table.
After this result, Chelsea did not stumble to win their London derby against West Ham United. Chelsea looked in control of the match, throughout the 90 minutes, as they showed no real signs of weakness. In the end, Chelsea won the match comfortably by 3-1.
Arsenal was playing their match alongside Chelsea, with an intention to win the match, keeping Chelsea in their sight. The Gunners were up against Bolton, and they won the match comfortably as well, by a big margin of 4-1. This meant that Arsenal and Chelsea remained the best performers, so far in the league, while the rest of the teams stumbled in their opening fixtures.
Quite a few teams are trying to break into the top four in English Premier League, while City remains the top contender. However, they could not cash upon a draw by United, as they also drew against Blackburn Rovers in City of Manchester Stadium. Tottenham, who took Liverpool’s spot in top four, last season, drew as well against a weaker side, West Bromwich Albion.
So, right now, Chelsea is looking in good shape, while Arsenal is also hanging in there. There is still a lot of time left in the season, but other teams cannot afford to let any club get away, while they fail to produce results in easy matches. This means that they would be catching up to the top teams for the most part, which always brings a lot of extra pressure. So, now is the time for the coaches to sit back and re-design their strategies, so that they do not lose easy points in fixtures to come.
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