Despite the cold December air, the drama in the Premier League kept us warm. Eye-catching goals, shock losses and VAR controversies topped the action over the weekend.
Statistic of the week
Mo Salah has a new nickname: double centurion. The 31-year-old scored his 200th goal for Liverpool during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. At the same time, he became the fifth player in Liverpool history to achieve this feat. With his goal, his 150th in the Premier League, Salah became the joint 10th all-time top scorer in the English top flight. Not a bad afternoon for the Egyptian king.
Salah is not a classic centre-forward, but does his damage from the outside in. In that sense, he continues the line of Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo. But has any player in the history of the competition ever been so effective as a backup striker while seemingly starting out wide? Henry played many seasons as a more orthodox striker. Ryan Giggs scored 109 goals for Manchester United while playing on the wing. Raheem Sterling is on 120 goals and counting, having played a similar reverse role for several clubs. But only Henry comes close to Salah – and the Egyptian is now just 25 goals behind Henry on the all-time scoring charts.
To complement Salah’s individual excellence, Liverpool have now gained 15 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. You can read that in two ways: as a sign of the championship, the clichéd ability to win while playing ugly; or as a sign that they are often too nasty, too nasty, and too open defensively to be a legitimate title threat. Still, three points is three points, and their come-from-behind win took them to the top of the table – for now, anyway.
The ‘shaken, not stirred’ award
After missing the last three games with a muscle injury, Alisson Becker returned in style. His astonishing save in the 27th minute denied Jefferson Lerma the opener and further cemented his world-class credentials. The strength, agility and composure the Brazilian used to block the shot from close range was reminiscent of James Bond at his best. Give Becker a Vesper martini (shaken, not stirred), and you could easily mistake him for Ian Fleming’s leading man.
It is difficult to overestimate Alisson’s impact on Liverpool’s title aspirations. It feels like not a week goes by without Alisson making a breathtaking stop. Since the start of last season he’s been rounding out the league’s goalkeepers with xG save after a shot, which is a nice way of saying he’s making saves he shouldn’t even get close to.
Despite the Brazilian’s brilliance (which kept Liverpool in the game), Lerma should have found the net. Jordan Ayew’s cross was put on the plate for Lerma, and how he didn’t score from so close is beyond me. I think that’s how Bond’s enemies felt when they thought they had defeated their rival.
Goal of the week
While there were plenty of show-stoppers on offer, John McGinn’s opener against Arsenal achieved top marks. Shortly after an incredible performance in Villa’s 1-0 win over Manchester City, McGinn impressed again when his glancing shot found the net after seven minutes. For such a ruthless runner without the ball, it is McGinn’s calm and composure that stands out when he has it.
The goal saw Villa beat one of the league’s best teams and extend their impressive unbeaten run at home. Will anyone say we’re in a quadruple title race?
The ‘Maryanne Oketch’ price
And now for our regularly scheduled Sean Dyche praisethon. Dyche’s Everton continued their impressive climb from the relegation zone after their points deduction and showed they have everything Chelsea lack: intensity, control and belief.
Everton came into the match with a plan and executed it to perfection in their 2-0 win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Chelsea do not appear to have an identity or playing style that Everton have exploited. Outside of Unai Emery, no manager has had a more immediate impact over the past 12 months than Dyche. Everton were relegation fodder under Frank Lampard. With Dyche at the helm, their form is closer to that of a team fighting for a place in Europe.
Despite their 10-point deduction, Dyche has Everton four points above the bottom three. By Christmas they could be almost halfway down the table. The league should get its Manager of the Year recruits now, to save a few bucks on the winter sales.
Also a special shoutout to Lewis Dobbin, who scored his first Premier League goal just minutes after taking the field. Dyche was even impressed by Dobbin’s celebration. “It was a very authentic response,” Dyche said. “I praised him afterwards. Nowadays everyone wants to dance and all that nonsense. He got run over, slid into the corner and said, ‘Take that.’ And everyone went with him. Who even thinks about doing a dance? I can not get out.”
Player of the week
The theory that Erling Haaland’s absence would be yet another nail in the coffin for Manchester City’s dismal results of late was quickly debunked by Bernardo Silva in their 2-1 win over Luton. Silva refuted accusations that City were faltered by ruthless, precise passing and a front-page finish in the 62nd minute, which not only proved vital to City’s title hopes, but also in silencing the gossip mill that put them out of sight lost. Without Silva, City could very well have dropped points again. With and without the ball, Silva is City’s most instrumental player. Is there actually a better player in the league right now?
The ‘yep, it’s happening again’ award
In the pouring rain on Saturday afternoon, Bournemouth recorded one of the most dramatic wins of the season, a 3-0 win at Old Trafford – a scoreline that might have ultimately flattered the hosts.
Just three days after an sensational result at home against Chelsea, United were completely embarrassed by Andoni Iraola’s selection. And while Bournemouth certainly deserve praise, United need to clean up the mess. It’s classic for United in the 2020s to have the Premier League Goal of the Month, Manager of the Month and Player of the Month and somehow produce another dismal performance and result.
Let’s recap their week: It started with the leak that the players are looking for another manager again; the club suspended newspapers and broadcasters from reporting on the team’s press conferences; United then produced their best performance of the season against Chelsea, showing signs of fight and passion. Shortly afterwards they limped lifelessly through another home appearance against Bournemouth. In an attempt to keep Scott McTominay on the pitch and provide a goal threat, they moved out of midfield, giving Bournemouth the freedom of Manchester to charge through the middle. Marcus Rashford has crammed more into a ten-minute cameo than he has in ten months. Bruno Fernandes recycled his petulant act by running around for the final 15 minutes, kicking opponents and earning himself a yellow card that will ban him from the team’s trip to Anfield next week. And now Erik ten Hag has made another leap in the managers-under-pressure rankings. If we hadn’t seen it all before, it might even be entertaining.
Ten Hag’s days will be numbered if he fails to find a way to get his team on solid ground.
Celebrity sighting of the week
Last weekend, Birmingham co-owner Tom Brady showed up at Liverpool-Manchester City. This week Hugh Jackman was in the stands at Selhurst Park to watch Liverpool against Crystal Palace.
As the camera panned to him during a break in play, the fans seemed indifferent to his presence and kept their eyes on the field. It is refreshing that English football culture does not focus on the A-listers. If this was North America, celebrities would be the star of the show and fans would be lining up for their autographs instead of watching the action – a broadcaster maybe even try to marry them off. Luckily for Jackman, he saw an entertaining match in London, although he was probably disappointed he didn’t go to Forest Green with Deadpool. To be honest, I thought he would support Wolves.
VAR controversy of the week
Why do we still give VAR the benefit of the doubt? Anyone enjoying the delays or inconsistencies? Is a drive for accuracy – if it ever comes – even worth it? There is always drama with the technology and the people who work with it. The weekend kicked off with not one, but two controversial penalties at Selhurst Park, which started as a ‘huh’ moment and turned into ‘I’ve got to go for a walk’.
In the first half, Will Hughes’ challenge against Wataru Endo was repeated no fewer than 31 times before Palace’s penalty was retracted. In the end it was the right decision, but such a lengthy review due to an obvious error was absurd. It was almost as if VAR was trying to persuade Andy Madley to overturn his original call. Shortly afterwards things got worse. Early in the second half, Jarell Quansah made contact with Jean-Philippe Mateta in the penalty area, but Madley did not interrupt the match for 106 seconds. That’s more than enough time to put the kettle on and make a cup of tea – or get something stronger if you work at Stockley Park. Perhaps the referee should have given himself a yellow card for wasting time.