It’s incredible to think that the English Premier League has only been absent from our lives for the past 11 days, but I know I’m not alone when I say it feels like so much longer. I know international breaks only take away one weekend at a time from leagues around the world, but when it breaks up the schedule and our normal viewing routine so jarringly, it seems worse that it really is.
Thankfully, there’s not another international break for a long ti…Wait, WHAT?! There’s one from November 10-18?!!? Oh for pity’s sake, FIFA.
Despite my mixed feelings about getting excited over qualifiers for a tournament that everyone that matters is getting into, I was predictably sucked in to the Euro action and the various friendlies of the past weekend, most notably the Landon Donovan send-off match for the USA again Ecuador, the legitimately scary brawl/international incident in Belgrade between Albania and Serbia, and the collective dumpster fire that was Holland’s 2-0 defeat at Iceland. (Brazil 2014 seems a lifetime ago for Dutch football. Somewhere, Johann Cruyff is probably still crying…if Johann Cruyff felt sadness.)
Were those and the other Euro/friendly fixtures intriguing? Yes. Were they entertaining? Yes. Were they as good as a weekend in the Prem?
Umm…Not even close.
Thankfully, the boys in England’s top flight are back in action this weekend, but before you start on the full slate of matches of Matchday 8, let’s look back – waaay back – to all that went down the last time out in the EPL. It’s the Matchday 7 editon of Additional Time, and it starts, as so many of these have this season, with a look at another Chelsea beatdown…
Chelsea 2, Arsenal 0: Blues Cruise…Again
Frustrating. A bit desparate. Ultimately futile.
You could easily apply that description to Arsene Wenger’s side’s performance versus their wholly superior London neighbors…or to his “I don’t like you” shove of Jose Mourinho on the touchline.
In reality, the Frenchman uncharacteristically losing his cool, inexplicably entering Mourinho’s techincal area and making contact with him for no apparent reason (stress on the word “apparent”) was the only true fight shown by the Gunners on this particular trip to Stamford Bridge. Even though the scoreline was only two-nil, it always felt like a Chelsea win from shortly after opening kick, with that assumption only partially based on the strength of this Blues team this year.
The other part? The sudden lack of a cutting edge for the Gunners, who had been scoring an abundance of goals abroad and domestically of late. Despite putting in eight tallies in their previous three games, Arsenal were unable to come close to cracking a Chelsea defense, even after the Blues lost their starting goal keeper midway through the first half.
In the 10th minute, Thibaut Courtois was clattered into at the top of the 18-yard box by an on-rushing Alexis Sanchez, with the Chilean’s thigh (the non-exposed one) jarring the 6’6″ keeper’s head back and leaving the Belgian splayed out across the pitch. After subsequently passing a very brief series of concussion tests (…), Courtois was allowed to carry on, but 14 minutes later, he was down again, this time with blood coming out of his ear Wrath of Kahn-style.
That was enough to pull the plug on Courtois’ day, who was lifted and replaced by relatively untested back-up Peter Cech in the 24th minute. (…Must be tough to have no depth, right?)
Moments after the arrival of Cech, the game would find its first goal, though at the end opposite the new goalkeeper. A moment of individual dribbling brilliance by Eden Hazard left the Gunner defense in the dust en route to the penalty area, and the ensuing Laurent Koscielny foul on the Belgian winger was all too predictable. The Frenchman clumsily stuck out a leg into Hazard’s path, and the attacker accepted the invitation, crashing to the ground in front of goal and earning one of the more stone-cold penalties of the campaign, which he himself would convert.
The Blues would come close to doubling their lead to no avail until the 78th minute, when another moment of magic from two new Blues would all but seal the victory.
With Arsenal’s defense in a you’re-basically-asking-for-it-high line, Cesc Fabregas would lob a ball over the head of Koscielny and into the path of goalscorer supreme Diego Costa some 25 yards from goal. After one quick touch to provide more separation from the scrambling defense, Costa found his control and double-clutched a chipped ball over a stranded Wojciech Szszesny and into the back of the net. In a season of goals for the former Atletico hitman – nine now for Costa in his first seven league games as a West Londoner – this tops them all.
And between you and me? That’s saying something.
With a vanquished Arsenal now behind them, Chelsea find themselves unbeaten through the first two months of the season and five points clear of the rest of the league at the top of the table. They’ve scored twenty-one league goals and conceded only seven for a league-leading goal differential of +14, double the tally of closest competitor Manchester City. They pass the eye test, the stats test, and the strength-of-squad test, and to this point, there’s been very little to suggest their dominance will be ebbing away anytime soon.
As for the Gunners, they can take some heart in the improvement they showed from last year’s 6-0 hiding they took in their last encounter at Stamford Bridge. And yet, after playing toe-to-toe with fellow contender Man City earlier in the season, their capitulation at the hands of Mourinho and Co. must be a bit deflating for the squad and, especially, Wenger, who surely wanted this game badly against his old nemesis.
The news of the severity of Mesut Ozil’s knee injury in the days following only worsens matters, as the German midfielder is set to miss a month or more, the latest in a rash of midfield casualties around the Emirates.
The only positive? With Arsenal, at least they’re used to coping with these sort of things.
The Wrap-Around
Hull City 2, Crystal Palace 0
Well, so much for that.
After going unbeaten in four games under Neil Warnock, Palace were thoroughly handled on the road in the 65-year old’s fifth outing in charge by a lively Hull side, with the final scoreline a bit deceptive of how dominant the Tigers really were.
Hull now are the only Prem team with a dead-even goal differential – 11 scored, 11 conceded – and they rest in 11th place going into the international break. I feel like there’s some significance there…but I’m not sure what it is.
Leicester 2, Burnley 2
In a battle of new boys, it was Burnley (?!?) coming to life to pull a Leicester on the Foxes at the KP, earning a scrappy draw in the dying moments.
The Clarets’ opening goal from Michael Kightly in the 39th minute broke a scoring drought that had lasted five full games and stretched 47 days – that’s over 500 minutes of football, gang – but it was the glorious free kick from the pocket-sized Scotsman, Ross Wallace, that secured the point in the 6th minute of extra time. (My favorite part about this? At 5’6″, Wallace couldn’t remotely see the target over the Leicester wall that had congregated in front of him and still banged it up and down from 20 yards out. FREEDOM!!!!)
The point could go a long way for Sean Dyche’s side, especially after they were hammered 4-0 to West Brom last weekend. As for Nigel Pearson and the Foxes, it’s a tough draw to take, but as they play at Newcastle next, their odds of regrouping quickly are favorable.
Liverpool 2, West Bromwich Albion 1
I say this will all due respect to WBA manager Alan Irvine and the two Baggies fans out there that might be reading this – and I mean all due respect – but this was a game Liverpool probably wins 5-1 last season. A few missed scoring opportunities, a tough call against them on the Saido Berahino penalty that wasn’t…These things were breaking LFC’s way in 2013-14, but they’ve been going the opposite direction this campaign. (It’s been the Walter White of seasons so far.)
And yet with that said, I think Liverpool are on the cusp of getting things together. Even though they’ve gone a poor 1-2-1 in their last four matches in all competitions, conceding six goals in that span and scoring just four, they’ve looked the much better side in their last two EPL fixtures against Everton and the Baggies and seem to have regained a little confidence in their step. Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson and Joe Allen are all set to return from injury, plus it doesn’t hurt that their next three fixtures are at QPR, home to Hull, and at Newcastle before they host Chelsea on November 8th.
Yes, they’re only on ten points through seven games and have essentially half of Chelsea’s outlay so far, but they’re just four point back of Man City in 2nd place and a mere point back of 4th, so all is certainly not lost just yet. Call me crazy, but I still believe.
(…And cue Dejan Lovren’s abdominal injury. Cheers, everyone.)
Sunderland 3, Stoke 1
THE FIGHTING POYETS RETURN!!!
After a rough patch of recent fixtures that saw the Black Cats go 0-1-3 and score all of two goals against bottom half opposition, Gus Poyet’s side looked brilliant against a Stoke team that can’t quite figure out its identity this year. Great goals from Connor Wickham and a brace from Steven Fletcher (can I get a Fletch Lives shout-out??) erased the bad taste from last week’s dour 0-0 draw against Swansea.
As for Stoke, they’re 1-2-1 since their Matchday 3 win at Manchester City, with losses to Leicester and now Sunderland, a draw at QPR, and their lone win coming at Newcastle. That’s only four points in four games against less-than-elite opposition. Not a good sign moving forward for Mark Hughes’ club.
Swansea 2, Newcastle 2
Against all odds, Alan Pardew has made it to the second international break of the season after going to Wales and back still firmly implanted as manager of the Magpies after a well-earned draw against a reeling Swansea side. He’s got Demba Papisse Cisse to thank in large part for the point his side earned at the Liberty Stadium after the second brace in three games from the Sengalese striker lifted Toon even with the Swans late and kept them from sinking to the very bottom of the table.
The next step for Newcastle? Winning a match would be good, as only they and fellow relegation-threat Burnley have yet to earn a league victory this year. (Baby steps on Tyneside this season.)
As for Swans, things have soured quickly after a promising 3-0-0 start; since their humbling 4-2 loss to Chelsea, they’ve lost at home to Southampton and have now drawn with lower level clubs in back to back weeks. Their eleven-point outlay so far is still good enough for 5th in the league, and the return of Wilfried Bony’s scoring touch this weekend has to make manager Gary Monk smile, but they’ve lost form a bit and need a jolt and soon.
Unfortunately for Swans fans, that likely won’t come on Matchday #8…when they host Arsenal.
Aston Villa 0, Manchester City 2
Despite outshooting their hosts 27-6, City were unable to break the deadlock thanks to lots of solid Villa defending/bus parking until the 82nd minute, and only then it took a great individual effort from Yaya Toure to give the Citizens another vital three points. Sergio “I Score When Fit” Aguero added his fourth strike of the season in the closing moments to seal the win.
There’s really not too much more to say here; it’s just like City to make life difficult on themselves, but despite a few shortcomings over the eighty-plus scoreless minutes, the match still ended comfortably for Manuel Pellegrini and Co., and the three points gained have moved them into second in the table, a spot they’ll be hard-pressed to surrender this year.
Manchester United 2, Everton 1
No Rooney, no problem for the Red Devils, though there certainly could’ve been trouble if not for the sublime David De Gea between the sticks.
The 23-year old Spaniard, whose form and confidence has run hot and cold since joining United in 2011, was outstanding all afternoon at Old Trafford, saving five of six attempts on goal from the Toffees, including a penalty stop on Leighton Baines at the very death of the first half. (By the way, what were the odds of sudden Roberto Martinez favorite Tony Hibbert (HIBBO!) drawing a penalty this season? Even 10,000 to 1 seems low.)
De Gea provided the salvation, making save after save that few others would’ve pulled off, including a stunner in the dying moments on a shot from Bryan Oviedo, but it was the play of Juan Mata in place of Rooney that provided the story. The forgotten man in Louis Van Gaal’s system this year, Mata sparkled behind Radamel Falcao in the #10 role, assisting on Angel Di Maria’s first goal and generally being involved in everything positive in United’s attack.
Mata won’t take Rooney’s place when his three-game suspension ends, but after a performance like this, LVG might want to consider finding other ways to get the former Chelsea man on the pitch.
As for Everton, a bad start to the season continues to get worse. Is it just me, or have they had the toughest schedule of anyone in the league so far? Through seven games, here’s what they’ve had to go through:
At Leicester City (2-2 Draw)
Arsenal (2-2 Draw)
Chelsea (6-3 Loss)
At West Brom (0-2 Win)
Crystal Palace (2-3 Loss)
At Liverpool (1-1 Draw)
At Manchester United (2-1 Loss)
Yikes. Those teams have a combined record of 20-14-14, which might not sound like much, but that averages out over seven games to a mark of 3-2-2, which would put the squad of “Everton’s Opposition” in 4th place right now.
As a comparison, Manchester United’s opponents are currently 11-19-19, roughly averaged to 1-3-3, good enough for 17th…which is exactly where Everton are sitting at the moment.
On the positive, the schedule eases a bit after the international break, with games against Villa, Burnley, Swansea and Sunderland on the way.
It’s a good thing, too, as the blue half of Merseyside is simply a M.A.S.H. unit right now. Compounding Roberto Martinez’s problems are the loss of defender John Stones, who sprained his ankle badly late in the United match and will miss anywhere between 10 and 14 weeks. Kevin Mirallas is out indefinitely with a hamstring pull he suffered against Liverpool, plus Ross Barkley is still yet feature this season after suffering a knee ligament tear in preseason.
They’re so dinged up that if you didn’t know any better, you’d assume I was still talking about Arsenal.
Tottenham 1, Southampton 0
Mauricio Pochettino’s new squad beat his old one at White Hart Lane thanks to a lone goal from Christian Eriksen just before halftime. The loss was the first since Matchday 1 for the Saints, who had won four straight on their climb to second-place in the EPL table, while it was the first win for Spurs since Matchday 2. Neither side looked especially bright, but with three points in the bag, I don’t think Pochettino will mind too much, especially with a trip to the Etihad up next.
Also…How much do Spurs fans wish they still had Gylfi Sigurdsson? (Not to pour salt in the wound…but did you SEE him in that Iceland-Holland match? Granted, the game was played at night in Reykjavik, and the Dutch looked like they were half-frozen and would’ve rather been anywhere else on the planet…but still.)
West Ham 2, Queens Park Rangers 0
Let’s put it like this: if your team drops points to QPR this season, it doesn’t bode well for you moving forward. Rangers’ level of play so far falls somewhere between “listless” and “disjointed”. Good work, ‘Arry.
With that said, give Sam Allardyce and the Hammers credit for doing the job, as solid defending and another great goal from Diafra Sakho – five now in six appearances, with four coming in the league – have the East Londoners feeling good in the top half of the table. I’m still not convinced they’ll finish there, but Big Sam’s side have shown they won’t an easy test for their opposition in the months to come.
Looking Ahead
At a quick glance at this weekend’s fixture list, it’s clear that there are a variety of interesting subplots featured around the league, and yet there aren’t a lot of particularly great matchups. However, as we’re all so desperate for the EPL at this point, no one’s going to care if the games aren’t spectacular. (Way to starve us out, FIFA.)
The lone true exception that jumps out is in Manchester, as the Citizens host Tottenham in the opening fixture of the matchday. Each side will be buoyed following respective shutout wins over decent opposition their last time out, though as Spurs lost their two league fixtures last year to City by an aggregate score of (…close your eyes, THFC fans) 11-1, any buoyancy felt pre-match might be short lived.
And yet, Spurs defense has been much better this season, and even though they’re still seeking their first win against the EPL’s elite clubs this campaign – they’re 0-1-1 so far – their draw at Arsenal on Matchday 6 was a sure sign of progress under Pochettino. Even if they ultimately come up short in this one, I feel confident they at least make it interesting.
The other match of real interest is on Merseyside, as Everton host Aston Villa in a battle of American goalkeepers. For Villa, their early season success seems like ages ago, as they’ve been shut out in their last three league matches, all losses, albeit against the best the Prem has to offer in Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man City in back-to-back-to-back weeks. (Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.) They’re still just in the top half of the table, thanks to a 3-0-1 record to start the campaign, and they do have Christian Benteke back and close to fully fit following his recovery from a ruptured Achilles last April, but despite those bright spots, Paul Lambert will know his team needs to get something from this match, hostile conditions at Goodison notwithstanding.
And yet, Villa are in fine shape when compared with the mess at Everton. As covered above, the Toffees are in 17th right now, have a grand total of one win in seven games, and have been relying on Tony Hibbert at right back. These are increasingly desperate times for Roberto Martinez’s club, and in all honesty, nothing but a win at home will do here.
Along with Everton in the #NeedThreePoints Club this week are Liverpool (at QPR; you can’t expect us to take you seriously if you drop points against these guys, even on the road), Anyone Playing Burnley (West Ham gets the honors this week), and permanent members Alan Pardew/Newcastle (at home to Leicester). We’ll see how this plays out…
As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy the return of the EPL this weekend! Walk on, friends.
Photography courtesy of PremierLeague.com