ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE 2019/20 MATCHWEEK 22 ROUND-UP & HIGHLIGHTS

Liverpool and Sergio Aguero make history, VAR controversy continues and is Danny Ings the best striker in England right now? Here are highlights of Premier League’s Matchweek 22.

It is Liverpool’s year

Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 1 Liverpool

On Saturday night Liverpool traveled to London for a 0-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur – a victory that set a phenomenal Premier League record (and the result was predicted correctly by us). They have officially made the best start to a league season ever, earning 61 points after 21 games, having drawn just one game in the entire campaign so far.

 

In all fairness to Harry Kaneless-Spurs, this wasn’t the easiest win for Liverpool. Tottenham spent the entire match desperately trying to exploit Liverpool’s errors, which were way more than what we’ve gotten used to seeing this season.

But The Reds’ ability to control the ball and tempo in difficult situations is second to none and after numerous attempts at finding the back of the net, world-class Roberto Firmino scored in the 37th minute.

 

Jose Mourinho probably did nothing to help team morale as he looked like yesterday’s man; crestfallen, demoralized and genuinely worn out. Spurs missed some unbelievable chances to equalize, especially in the last 30minutes of play, for which they were punished by walking out of their own stadium with zero points to their name.

Liverpool have now extended the gap at the top of the table to a staggering 16 points, so surely by now, we are all ready to admit it? This is Liverpool’s year.

Take a bow, guys. Take a bow.

The Avengers

Leicester City 1 – 2 Southampton

Southampton avenged the savage 9-0 defeat by Leicester City earlier in the season as they came from behind to stun the hosts at the King Power Stadium this Saturday.

 

Two of Brendan Rodgers’ former players scored against him in a thriller clash that boosted The Saints to 28 points, level with Everton and Arsenal on the table.

Dennis Preat scored on an early Leicester break in the 14th minute, only for Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong to equalize four minutes later with a deflection that steered past Kasper Schmeichel.

Then Danny Ings decided to own the show. Bitter-sweet to watch as the striker rattled the bar not once, but twice before the break, only to finally score the goal he was owed and put Southampton ahead less than ten minutes before the final whistle.

Things didn’t end there. The Foxes thought they got away with a point after equalizing but the goal was ruled out thanks to VAR.

To be honest, we can’t get over how brilliant Ings is. Would we go as far as saying that he is the best striker in the Premier League right now?

A rare sight to witness

Chelsea 3 – 0 Burnley

A rare thing for Chelsea this season: a routine win at Stamford Bridge. After surviving an early VAR scare, Frank Lampard’s men stood strong as they consigned Burnley to a fourth straight Premier League defeat this Saturday.

Willian won a questionable penalty that Jorginho coolly slotted home in the 27th minute followed by Tammy Abraham’s header for the Blues’ second ten minutes later.

 

Just after the break, 19-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi scored his first-ever Premier League goal after benefitting from a good cross and bad marking to slide it in at the back post.

The teenager is the youngest player to score their first league goal for Chelsea since Carlton Cole almost eighteen years ago.

Get the VAR out of here

Sheffield United 1 – 0 West Ham United

Chris Wilder got to celebrate his new contract at the helm of Sheffield United with a 1-0 victory over West Ham on Friday night. But that’s not what this game will be remembered for.

VAR made a controversial appearance once again, as Robert Snodgrass’ injury-time strike was ruled out because the ball struck team-mate Damian Rice’s arm in the build-up to the equalizer.

“We are fuming. All the lads are livid,” said Rice after the game. We feel your pain.

And as if the Hammers needed more bad news, they now face an anxious wait after goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi showed signs that his hip injury has made a recurrence.

Not for the queasy

Arsenal 1 – 1 Crystal Palace

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the hot topic of the match. The Gabon international created a brilliant finish inside 12 minutes of play, tallying to 14 Premier League goals since the start of the season.

Mikel Arteta’s men looked like they were in for a third consecutive win across all competitions after Auba’s strike, but it all went downhill from there. Arsenal failed to take advantage of their dominance and their sloppy defending allowed Crystal Palace to get back in the game thanks to Jordan Ayew’s goal in minute 54.

Then Aubameyang was sent off for what was a horrendous challenge. He will miss Arsenal’s fixtures against Sheffield United at home and the trip to Chelsea, as well as the FA Cup tie against Bournemouth, before returning on February 2nd.

 

Don’t think we didn’t take note of other players though! Special shout out goes to Vicente Guaita for a fantastic double save to keep Palace leveled.

Agueroooooooooooo

Aston Villa 1 – 6 Manchester City

That’s right. Sunday’s fixture gifted us with seven goals but the only thing we want to talk about is the legend that is Sergio Aguero.

He broke not one, but two league records at Villa Park. The Argentina international made history as the player with most Premier League hat-tricks ever (12). And he is also now the league’s top goalscorer from overseas (177), overtaking Thierry Henry (175).

Pep Guardiola said: “To achieve this record from incredible legends like Henry and Shearer shows that it is not just for a short period [that Agüero has been scoring], not just one or two seasons. It was an honor to be here on the day he achieved that.”

It truly was an honor for all of us.

See you for next week’s Premier League fixtures!

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