Sportration’s Week 22 Barclays Premier League Review
Records were set and broken as games in the week 22 Barclays Premier League were played over the weekend.
The notable ones include:
1. Watford lost four successive Premier League games for the first time since May 2000.
2. John Terry’s goal (97:53) was the latest scored in a Premier League game since Yakubu’s for Blackburn v Wigan (98:14) in Nov 2011.
3. Wayne Rooney’s winning goal against Liverpool, his 176th for Manchester United, beats Thierry Henry’s 175 record of goals scored for a single Premier League club.
4. John Terry is the 3rd player to score for his own team & net an own goal in the same PL game in 2015-16 (after Giroud & Deeney)
5. Sergio Aguero has now scored against 25 of the 28 different opponents that he’s faced in the Premier League.
Away from the stats here are five other things we learnt from week 22.
Chelsea continue their slump
The fact that Chelsea’s form has been horrible this season is obviously an understatement. This present Chelsea are nothing close to the side that won the premiership title 6 months ago. The appointment of interim manager Guus Hiddink seemed to have sparked a mini-revival of some sorts but the performance of the side is still below-par and this was evident in Sunday’s 3-3 draw against Everton. While many will say that Chelsea are undefeated since the arrival of Guus Hiddink and that they showed mental strength to come back from behind 3 times against Everton, Chelsea’s final goal was a result of ‘diabolic officiating’ as Roberto Martinez, Everton boss described the 97:53 John Terry’s goal. Chelsea’s display showed they need to improve if they are to leave the relegation zone.
Missing in this Chelsea side is any sort of creativity in the midfield, an organized defense and a strike force that terrorizes the opposition.
Manchester United surprisingly still in the title race
Manchester United might be this seasons dark horses, while their attacking play has been criticized this season they still pose a threat as they are 5th on the table, 7 points off leaders Arsenal with 16 games left to go. While their attack lacks a cutting edge their accuracy in front of goal and their defence has helped to keep them in the title race. They have conceded 20 goals this season, only Tottenham with 18 goals have conceded less and their accuracy in front of goal was highlighted once again as they sneaked a 1-0 win over Liverpool despite having only 2 shots on target, Wayne Rooney recent run of goal scoring has helped to brighten up the atmosphere at Old Trafford as he has now scored 5 goals in his last 4 games.
Can Arsenal go all the way?
If Arsenal are to win the premier league title this will be their best opportunity. However in recent times Arsenal have been rightly criticized for crumbling at critical moments either due to injuries or poor run of form. Stoke have already beaten both Manchester clubs and Chelsea this season and they looked to continue their giant killing spree with a win over Arsenal but this was not to be.
Arsenal were without Mesut Ozil and they were still able to grind out a 0-0 in what was a tense affair despite the lack of goals.
If Arsenal can maintain their form and steer clear of any serious injuries, this might just be the season where they no longer fight for a top four spot but go all the way and win the EPL title.
Leicester finally feeling the heat
Many fans and pundits expected the threat posed by Leicester City to have fizzled out already but 22 games in and they are still in the title race as joint leaders with Arsenal. However while their position on the table is desirable, their squad depth and experience is what they will need to remain in the top 4 and possibly title race. They have only won 1 of their last five games and with Jamie Vardy seemingly losing his midas touch Leicester is struggling at the moment, a barren draw against bottom dwellers Aston Villa is proof of that as this was a match they should have gotten all 3 points.
The title race is still open
Who will have predicted that at this point in the season Chelsea will be 14th in the table and fighting to get out of the relegation zone, Leicester will be 2nd and Arsenal will be 1st. This makes each fixture mouthwatering as there are no easy fixtures this time around. Only 1 point seperates the top three teams and 7 points separate the top 5 teams, the race to the title is simply intense and breathtaking.
By: Adedayo Adekunle
