Tag: Premier League

Erling Haaland Fires Four Past Wolves in Six Goal Thriller

The Premier League top scorer has regained his spot once again at the top of the golden boot race with a first half hattrick against Wolves that has silenced fans saying that he is a shadow of his 22/23 performance.

With his 5 goals on Saturday, Haaland has now registered 25 goals in the Premier League and 36 goals across all competitions in 41 appearances. It has come to the back end of the season where he has really come to life after scoring his sixth hattrick for the treble winners in just two seasons at the club.

Two of Haalands goals against Wolves came from the Penalty spot with a soft one given in the 12th minute and then a blatant foul onto Jeremy Doku in added time on the first half. It took him 54 minutes of the game to score 4 goals and, as Guardiola does, he inevitably subbed him off and sent him to rest which fans are speculated caused his frustration on the subs bench.

After the game concluded, Manchester United legend, Roy Keane, had a lot to say about Haalands outburst on the bench saying he was ”behaving like a spoiled brat”.

This comes only weeks after calling Haaland a ‘‘League Two player without his goals”. It has been highly critised that he can have this statement on the post match after just scoring 4 goals and giving his team the push that they need in the title race.

He did then say in the post match interview with viaplay that he ”does not care specifically about that man” referring to Roy Keane, possibly igniting Roy Keanes comments in the punditry box at full time.

Manchester City’s next game in this neck and neck title race is against Fulham on the 11th of May on the early 12:30 kick off where they will hope to regain their lead that they have in the Premier League over Arsenal and set up for their toughest game in this back end of the season against Spurs on the 14th of May, only three days later.

Returning Haaland Keeps Man City In Control of the Title Race

After Liverpool dropping points yet again, it is down to Manchester City and Arsenal to battle the title between the two of them rather than the three that was expected.

Manchester City faced off against a punished Nottingham Forest after a 4 point deduction in late March.

City lined up without Phil Foden who was out with an apparent illness so he stayed in Manchester whilst the team travelled. With the missing Foden, came some good news with the return of Erling Haaland who was out of the squad for two games due to fatigue/ muscle injuries.

Despite not starting for this game, Erling Haaland did come on in the 62nd minute whilst the Champions were already 1-0 up. He came on and almost instantly made it 2-0 with a goal in the 71st minute pretty much putting an end to the battle that Forest were putting up.

Haalands goal puts him back on the top of the golden boot race that has been very contended this year compared to the last that the Norwegian dominated. He goes up to 21 goals whilst Cole Palmer is just one behind with Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak are sitting on 19 goals.

Just like the title race, the golden boot race is up for debate and will go down to the final day.

This game was also a landmark moment for City with Pep Guardiola taking control of 300 Premier League games with a staggering 221 wins. Despite his contract expiring, Guardiola is consistently extending his contract at the right timing for the following season.

If he does decide to extend and stay with Manchester City despite winning everything he possibly can, he could put his name in Premier League history as the most prolific winner of all time.

Manchester City will face off against Wolves on the 4th of May at the Etihad Stadium with the reverse game of this fixture going in the way of Wolves handing City one of their 3 losses all season long.

Foden Brace Keeps Man City in Driving Seat For Title Push

Phil Foden, who is having the best season of his career delivers once again for Manchester City in the run in to the end of the season where City normally perform their best.

After missing last weeks Premier League games due to the FA Cup ties, Manchester City travelled to Brighton to close the gap that Arsenal gained after winning both of their games. Manchester City are now in the final games of the season which, they took control of last season breaking a 13 point gap into a Premier League winning season.

Phil Foden has taken over the role of the centre of attention for this City side this year with injuries to Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne going in and out of injuries, but Foden was the one stable person within Manchester City this year. He has now become the main person to look towards a game changing moment this year.

City took the game comfortably 4-0 with a 3-0 first half making the home side realise that their chances for Europe next year is now near impossible with even winning out the rest of their games, they would still need the 5 teams above them to drop drastic points in their battle for Europe.

The day before the Manchester City game, Liverpool got shocked by Everton in a 2-0 loss putting their title chances even further in doubt now sitting 3 points off of Arsenal at the top of the table.

Arsenal are currently sat at the top of the table, however, the top position will be short-lived as City are one point behind them with a game in hand. Meaning even a draw for Manchester City could put enough pressure onto Arsenal in this title race.

Manchester City’s next game is against Nottingham Forsest on Sunday following the North London Derby between Tottenham and Arsenal where City fans will be having their best Spurs shirts on for the huge game in the title race.

Title Race Goes Into The Hands of Manchester City

After a crazy weekend in the Premier League title race, Manchester City are gifted the top spot in the league after both Arsenal and Liverpool lost their games at home.

Manchester City kicked off the weekend with a 5-1 convincing victory over Luton leaving fans reassurance that they aren’t giving up on the title race with a wonderful team performance from City. Despite the 5-1 win they were still sitting 3rd in the league with fans still expecting to not reach the top spot this weekend.

However, it all went in City’s favour on the Sunday with Liverpool kicking off the day against Crystal Palace at Anfield in, what seemed like, a standard win for them. Despite that, Eze shocked Liverpool with a goal in the 14th minute which ended up being the only goal of the game and putting Liverpool’s title race in the balance with City now ahead of them in the league.

Although Liverpool dropped points, City were not to remain at the top if Arsenal were to win their game against Aston Villa who are sitting 4th in the league. City are coming off the back of a 4-1 victory over Villa which led to fans believing that they aren’t the team that got them into 4th spot anymore.

But something to keep in mind was that in the game against City, they were missing Watkins, McGinn, Martinez and Diaby who were all very influential in the game against Arsenal.

The game with Arsenal was very defensive until the the 85th minute where Leon Bailey put the ball in the back of the net to shock the home side with Ollie Watkins doubling the lead only 3 minutes later to send the Arsenal fans into a shock with a possible repeat of last years ‘bottle’ that saw them lose the league to City after being in the top spot for most of the year.

Ollie Watkins has now registered his 19th goal of the season, only 1 goal behind Erling Haaland, proving to fans that he is striker that is one of the most prolific goalscorers the league has seen this year and the past.

After the past weekend of games, City are now sat in the top spot with 73 points with Arsenal and Liverpool sat on 71 with all teams only 6 games to play left in the league where City have the easiest run-in of games of the three and Arsenal still are yet to face Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham which could see City lift the title yet again.

What to Expect From Man City vs Luton

With the title race coming down to the wire in its final 7 games in the Premier League, Manchester City face ‘must win’ games including welcoming Luton to the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

With the Etihad Stadium being something of a fortress over the last 2 years, any team to come and visit Manchester would come away with a draw in the BEST case scenario with teams such as Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal all failing to get a win at the Etihad Stadium.

The upcoming game with Real Madrid could mean that Guardiola would rest players such as Phil Foden or Ruben Dias with the strength in depth of their bench, City can afford for Jeremy Doku and Rico Lewis to step into the side for their tie this weekend.

It is reported that De Bruyne’s illness earlier in the week came from food poisoning which he seems to be recovered mostly from and will be fit for next weeks reverse fixture of the champions league tie against Real Madrid and could star in this weekends tie against Luton Town.

Manchester City go into the game against Luton 1 point off the top spot in the Premier League with Arsenal and Liverpool sitting on 71 points. The run in for Arsenal is without a doubt the hardest of the three where they have to face off against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United in games that could cause their title race could come crumbling down.

City also have to deal with the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League in the space of 8 days with games against Real Madrid and Chelsea in the cup competitions possibly leaning towards resting certain players that wouldn’t need to play the full 90 minutes against Luton.

The team that could possibly be sent out this weekend, should be weaker than usual with Ederson maybe returning to the side and Rico Lewis, Mattheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku returning to their starting XI still possibly regaining their Premier League title.

The Two Titan Teams Forced To a 3-3 Draw at The Bernabeu

Two giants in global football faced off last night at the Bernabeu with the greatest club in the world against the best team in the world in this huge champions league clash.

The game is a repeat of the last three years of Champions League football with these two teams facing each other in the knockout stages with both teams having 1 win a piece, each year one of the two teams winning the competition.

This game had the skill and talent to become a final game however, it was a quarterfinal tie with one of these great teams being taken out of the competition so quickly in the tie next week with the aggregate score being 3-3.

With the run in into the game, people were fixated on the battle between the two hot English talents, Jude Bellingham vs Phil Foden. However, the Real Madrid youngster didn’t have much success compared to the Stockport lad. Phil Foden scored an insane goal from outside of the 18-yard box rocketing into the top left of the goal putting the game level at 2-2 60 minutes in.

The game started off crazy with a 2nd minute free-kick goal from Bernardo Silva which was answered back from Real Madrid with 2 goals in 2 minutes from the 13th-15th minute tie-ing up the game until the second half where Guardiolas side retaliated with 2 incredible goals from Foden and Gvardiol putting the game in their favour. However, it was short lived with Valverde having a sweet volley shot from the edge of the box rattling into the bottom corner of Ortegas goal.

Rodri’s incredible unbeaten run continues with 66 wins in all competitions after the 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu. The reverse fixture of this game should carry on this run with the Etihad being a fortress unbeaten for over a year which could lean towards a repeat of last years tie where it was all square in Madrid and once it kicked off in Manchester, City dominated 4-0 against Real Madrid.

Manchester City will still face Luton Town on the 13th of April at 15:00 with the run up to the reverse fixture in Manchester where they cannot afford to rest too many crucial players in the title race that has fans biting their nails to see if the treble can actually be retained for two years in a row.

Mainoo SHOCKS Liverpool With Stunner To Force a Draw at Old Trafford

Kobbie Mainoo strikes the ball to send it right into the top right corner of the goal to put Liverpool’s title dreams a bit shaky with Arsenal and Manchester City now breathing down the neck of Liverpool with Arsenal sitting at the top of the league after beating Brighton 3-0 on Saturday and City defeating Palace 4-2.

After knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, they had a repeat of the fixture once again with a similar result coming out of it despite not getting the win.

Liverpool were heavy favourites to win the tie with revenge on their minds but also the immense pressure of not being allowed to drop any points in the run in to the end of the season. However, United youngster, Mainoo, had other ideas with a beautiful goal from the edge of the box curling into the top corner of the net giving United the lead for a brief moment before an awful tackle from Wan-Bisaka led to Salah slotting home a penalty to tie up the game and end it 2-2.

Manchester United taking away the two points from Liverpool leave the Premier League title race neck and neck between the three sides with only goal difference separating Liverpool and Arsenal with City trailing behind by only 1 point.

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Willy Kambwala earned himself a start in this game and he did not disappoint with a strong showing from himself and his partnership alongside Harry Maguire managed to shut out Liverpool from getting a significant chance inside of their half with both goals being set-pieces, which gives credit to the young Frenchman alongside Maguire.

United next game is against Bournemouth in the Premier League where they are still fighting for an unlikely spot in Europe for next season with themselves being 11 points behind Villa and Spurs who are neck and neck for the fourth place finish that is so attractive to United fans as of recent.

Liverpool will go on to face Crystal Palace at home with hopes to regain their lost points with a win keeping themselves in contention with the win and hopefully a good send off for Klopp in his final season.

Manchester City Cruise Past Palace with 4-2 Victory

Manchester City keep their name in the race for the Premier League with a comfortable win over Crystal Palace with Kevin De Bruyne bagging a brace and an assist after being rested in the midweek game against Aston Villa.

After a hat-trick performance against Villa, Phil Foden was awarded with a rest in this tie ahead of the huge Champions league tie against Real Madrid. In his place was the world class, Kevin De Bruyne who didn’t disappoint with 2 goals and an assist to put the game to bed.

With his second goal, he set a milestone and joins the 100 club for Manchester City goals going onto the list of players that is very limited to legends of the club. De Bruyne can now be put down in the City history books as a legend of the club.

Their win over Palace puts City in the title race with Arsenal and Liverpool both getting results from their games that keeps the title race neck and neck and could possibly go down to the final day once again potentially creating another ‘93:20′ moment.

The double-treble is most definitely on for with Manchester City not ‘dominating’ the Premier League as to speak, however, their chances are very good to grab another repeat with the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Chelsea coming up soon and the super important repeat tie of Manchester City vs Real Madrid in the Champions League set to play tomorrow night.

Their next Premier League game is against Luton at the Etihad Stadium on the 13th of April being a must win game which all of their games in the run in, are going to be.

Palmer Hat-Trick Sinks Manchester United in 4-3 Thriller

Manchester City academy star, Cole Palmer sinks Manchester United in late thriller with a hat-trick to end their 7 year dry streak against United at Stamford Bridge. He registers his first professional hat-trick against United similar to academy team mate, Phil Foden.

Palmer has been on fire this year with now clocking in 24 G/A in 25 games in the Premier League for Chelsea after a surprise move from Manchester City early into the season for £40 million on deadline day. Ever since then he seems to be bailing Chelsea out of the mud with goals from the penalty spot but also crucial goals such as the one last night in the 100th minute of play.

His goal leaves a mark in Premier League history as the latest ever winning goal for the Premier League era where he, once again, saved his team single handedly.

He has also become the highest goal contributer in the world for under 24 in all competitions, surpassing Jude Bellingham and Florian Wirtz who are both having outstanding seasons for Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. This just shows his immense talent and impact he has had on this Chelsea side after nearly missing out on a move earlier this year.

He is now up to 16 goals in the Premier League second to only Erling Haaland on 18 goals. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Cole Palmer could take the crown from his former teammate with Chelsea’s run in of games compared to the pressure that City are feeling in the title race.

Despite the success of Cole Palmer and how well he played, there have to be eyes on the performance of the Manchester United squad with the winner of the game from Palmer, easily avoidable if they don’t switch off because it is the final minutes.

There have been questions for months now on the validity of Ten Hag and whether or not his play-style can bring United into winning positions, and the game seemed like it relied on personal excellence from Garnacho and less tactics from Ten Hag with the team in the final moments giving out different calls and shouts which ultimately led to the downfall of the Red Devils.

This win for Chelsea sends them into 10th with Manchester United still comfortably above them in 6th despite dropping the 3 points that could prove to be brutal in the run in to the end of the season.

Phenomenal Phil Scores Hat-trick Against Struggling Villa

An incredible performance from ‘the Stockport Iniesta’ gives Manchester City the hope of keeping their title race alive in 4-1 victory over Aston Villa. Foden registers his second hat-trick of the season after his hat-trick against Brentford earlier this year.

Pep Guardiola sent out a team that was considerably weaker than usual with Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and John Stones allowed to rest on the bench, assuming that they will be very important for the tie against Real Madrid on the 9th of April.

After his performance last night, Phil Foden has starting receiving praise once again for his talents shining whilst the superstars De Bruyne and Haaland were resting on the bench. He stepped up for the side and provided three crucial goals that set the game apart after being tied 1-1 after 20 minutes with the game looking very cagey.

In the post match interview, Pep Guardiola had nothing but praise for the youngster with his exhilarating performance in this crucial game;

“He’s still open-minded and he still has to understand some parts of the game, especially attention as he is sometimes distracted in the defensive parts. But his work ethic is unbelievable. He is so special, especially when he is playing in that central position.” – He told BBC Sport.

Fodens number 10 performances this season have grabbed him two hattricks and 10 assists across all competitions giving Gareth Southgate a very simple decision to make for the Euro’s. Start Foden in the 10 role for his country and good things will follow.

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His teammates that are known for the goals and assists were celebrating with him from the bench after his smart free-kick which sent the Aston Villa keeper, Olsen, stuck in the mud with no chance of reacting to the quick free-kick.

With the win secured and Foden up to 31 G/A across all competitions this season, Manchester City look towards the weekend where they play Crystal Palace where, once again, they cant afford to slip up if they want to win the Premier League where they are leaving hope in the hands of their neighbours, Manchester United.