Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal
The only place to start: as Liverpool took Arsenal apart to move back into the top four at the expense of the Gunners who drop to 5th place. Whilst Jurgen Klopp's side have had some really rough results against the sides at the bottom of the table, their form against the top six is simply unmatched. This win against Arsenal, a thoroughly deserved one, means that they've beaten Man City, Arsenal and Spurs at Anfield in the last few months, and will be relishing a trip to the Etihad in a couple of weeks: having won at Stamford Bridge and the Emirates already this season.
And make no mistake, Liverpool were awesome. Sadio Mane has proven to be a sensational signing by Jurgen Klopp and he was once again at the heart of the demolition, with a goal and an assist in a first half where the Reds were rampant. Mane's lovely ball across the box created the first, before finding himself in acres of space and finishing off an excellent team move to put Liverpool 2-0 up.
Unlike the game against Spurs, where Liverpool killed the game, Arsenal proved harder to put to bed, as Alexis Sanchez came off the bench to cause Liverpool a lot of problems, and Arsenal woke up. The decision not to play Sanchez looks increasingly baffling on Wenger's part, as without him Arsenal were woeful, and with him, better. Giroud's header was excellently kept out by Mignolet before the Belgian keeper came out unconvincingly, allowing Welbeck to chip him.
But Arsenal rarely threatened to equalise, and indeed Liverpool looked the more likely team to kill the game, which they eventually did through a magnificent breakaway goal: the amazing Adam Lallana picking out substitute Divock Origi, whose cross was turned in by Gini Wijnaldum.
So what does this result mean for both teams? Well for Liverpool the answer is not a lot. It serves as a reminder of just how good this team is when they turn up, but it doesn't answer the real question which is whether or not they can turn in these kinds of performances consistently against teams down the bottom of the table, something that they simply haven't done in 2017. As for Arsenal? Well it underlines their reliance on Sanchez, as well as their serious defensive issues and how lightweight their midfield is. This game was a body blow for Arsene Wenger, and it also served as a painful reminder that nobody has a God-given right to finish in the top four, and Arsenal now have to be considered outsiders for a Champions League place.
Man United 1-1 Bournemouth
This match was a very very tasty one, with lots to dive into, so let's jump straight to the controversy, as Kevin Friend totally lost control of this match - sending off an unfortunate Surman whilst leaving Mings and Ibrahimovic on the field. Friend struck me as someone who didn't want to send anyone off, taking pains to avoid sending off Ibrahimovic and only giving Surman a red card because he forgot that he'd booked him when he gave him his second yellow card - a point that Man United captain Wayne Rooney was quick to point out.
This was just a bad game for football really. The standard of defending in the first half was shambolic, the standard of finishing from Man United was laughably poor, the standard of refereeing was absolutely awful and the standard of sportsmanship was essentially non-existent. One image that sums up the match was Harry Arter having been barged in the head by Paul Pogba lying flat out on the pitch with a clear head injury, whilst the referee happily let Man United get on with things.
And of course, the key clash was between Mings and Ibrahimovic, with the latter time and again the instigator. First of all Ibrahimovic wrestled Mings to the floor with an arm around his neck, then he attempted to stamp on him, before finally getting retribution for Mings' stamp a moment later by deliberately elbowing him in the face. Whilst Mings' reaction was abhorrent and disgusting if he stamped on Ibrahimovic deliberately, (and personally I think there's no way of telling whether he meant to or not; only he knows) Ibrahimovic's behaviour was absolutely despicable all afternoon and there's no place for it in the game. The referee seemed to be almost afraid of Ibrahimovic at times, and showed absolutely no bottle in failing to send off the United man. There's a lot of talk about video refereeing but I'm not sure that seeing a replay would have made much difference for Friend. It's not just a case that referees don't have all the information but in some cases, simply show poor judgement skills.
But what's important is not to let the performance of the referee overshadow what was a poor result for United, as they suffered from the same problems as they have done all season. Ten draws this season, including seven at Old Trafford, indicate that they simply cannot kill off opposition. They had a hat-full of chances in this game, including a penalty and an open goal but on almost every occasion they failed miserably to make the most of it. Boruc had a solid game but most of the shots he saved were reasonably comfortable. United's expected goals was 1.8 in a brutal first half, but once Bournemouth went down to ten men they created almost nothing in the second, 0.4 their tally apart from a poor penalty decision in their favour. United simply aren't scoring enough goals to make the top four, and part of that is that Ibrahimovic aside, they have no real goalscorers, and even Ibrahimovic should be scoring more. Aguero, Costa or Kane would have 35 odd goals by now with the chances United are creating for him.
Moving forwards, top four looks very tough for United, as they remain 6th. They still have to play Chelsea at Old Trafford, and travel to the Emirates, the Etihad and White Hart Lane, all games where you would say they are second favourites. And if they keep dropping sloppy points at home, they're in trouble.
As for Bournemouth, they were absolutely awful for half an hour, the sort of performance that gets teams relegated. But once they grabbed the penalty and got back into the game they produced a stunning backs to the wall defensive display. There is some hope for them yet.
Swansea 3-2 Burnley
Whilst there are certainly talking points from the other 3pm kick offs - Boro are relegation fodder, Hull's recovery stunted, Leicester and Palace may be safe now, what on earth happened at Watford v Saints - Swansea v Burnley is by far the most interesting fixture.
The first thing to note is how incredibly impressive Swansea were. Burnley barely had a kick in this game. It would have been mightily unfair had the visitors got anything from this game, as the phenomenal Llorente was terrorizer in chief, winning just about everything in the air. Paul Clement said there aren't many better strikers in Europe at scoring from crosses into the box and it's hard to argue with him. There aren't many better headers of the ball in the Premier League based on Llorente's display this season. And he capped off that display with two sensational headed goals, including a late winner in this game.
And it really is remarkable that Swansea required a late winner, given how dominant they were, particularly in a first half where they hit the woodwork three times, Llorente and Mawson both incredibly unfortunate not to put the game to bed before half time. However, in equally remarkable circumstances, Burnley got a penalty for handball, even though it was quite clearly Burnley's own striker, Sam Vokes, who threw himself at the ball with his hand. This is another case of really poor judgement from a referee who couldn't have been certain what he was seeing.
Paul Clement put it best, when asked about the use of video referees, pointing out that every single other person in the stadium will get two or three different looks at a particular incident, except the one person who most needs to see a replay. Referees like Antony Taylor in this game need help, or the standard of refereeing at the top level will only get worse. Every single weekend at the moment we're complaining about how one or more referees has cost a particular team a result. Fortunately that didn't happen this weekend but Swansea could have been robbed by a really shocking decision.
Take nothing away from Andre Gray though, who took the two chances he had in this game, the penalty and a volley on the swerve, with aplomb to put Burnley into a leading position at 2-1, only for a carbon copy of Olsson's goal against Leicester, as a Sigurdsson backheel set him away for a rollicking finish, before Llorente's heroics.
Burnley's away form continues to be abysmal, because the idea that they would win their first game of the season away from Turf Moor a week before they inevitably win at Anfield was never going to happen. But they're absolutely fine in terms of a mid-table finish.
And a mid-table finish looks very plausible for Swansea now, much as it ended up being last season, as a terrific result off the back of a string of good performances puts them five points clear of the drop and very much on the up.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Big wins for Saints, Exeter and Wasps.
- England off to a flier in their ODI series.
- Bellew beats Haye. At least that's over.
- Australia pile the pain on India.
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