How the tables have turned, English clubs are enjoying a fantastic spell in this year’s Champions League, for once the Premier League is giving an excellent account of itself. Manchester City tore through Basel to win 4-0, whilst Liverpool made once winners Porto look like a Sunday league team.
Pundits have claimed that Liverpool currently have the best front three in all of Europe, despite confusion earlier in the season about whether or not England was still in Europe because of Brexit they have come out of the other side of an average start to the season and been racking up the goals and the wins of late.
They find themselves slowly creeping up the table and knocking on the door of United’s hold on second place, which if we’re honest is all there is to fight for now.
That’s right despite the fact that Pep is in a strop because people keep tackling his players, they breezed to victory against a sub-par Leicester City team, fellow sulker Mahrez couldn’t change the course of the game coming on as a substitute, and got a big taste of what he has missed out on by being unable to make a move to Manchester.
Pep has been outraged at the fact that people are daring to make tackles on his City side, and has called a meeting with premier league top dogs to try and see if they can sort out some way that tackling a Manchester City player will become an instant dismissal, or if he can get a bulk discount on the amount of cotton wool he is looking to purchase to wrap them in. City have posted an incredible 9 goals in 2 games as not only did they thrash Leicester 5-1 they went across to Basel a few days later and banged in 4 unanswered goals. It would take something miraculous for City not to win the title now, Pep Guardiola could put himself on the teamsheet 11 times and run around the field naked for 90 minutes, and they would still probably win the title.
Whilst its been a good week for teams at the top half of the table, regular bottom dwellers West Brom couldn’t capitalise on the recent poor form of Chelsea and suffered a 3-0 loss. Alan Pardew still believes his team can earn the 40 points that he thinks guarantees survival, but with them being sat dead last on 20 points, and looking less likely to score than a one-armed man wearing a Donald Trump mask at a feminist rally, it seems this year might be the year the baggies slip to the Championship.
Paul Lambert’s replacement of Mark Hughes hasn’t seemed to inspire Stoke City into a run of good results, with only one recorded win this year, it’s looking more and more likely that Paul Lambert will be putting his vast Championship experience to good use next year.
However, with this being one of the closest relegation battles we’ve seen in the Premier League, there is still all to play for, as anyone in the bottom half of the table could go down. I also believe it is still mathematically possible (although highly unlikely) for Burnley to go down, so I’ll cross my fingers and hope.