Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 22nd round of the Premier League yesterday. In the standings, City consolidates its leadership with a 13-point lead over Chelsea, which remains provisionally in second place.
Kevin De Bruyne’s goal gave City a deserved victory after a tactical battle between two defensively strong teams that did not allow many chances. Pep Guardiola’s team controlled the pace and tempo, especially in midfield, and had the best chances, the best of which was saved by Jack Grealish.
With an impressive ball control, the Citizens dominated the game but could not find the breakthrough in the first half, thanks to a great save by Kepa in front of Grealish. Despite some interesting counter-attacks, often wasted by Lukaku, who failed to beat Ederson in the second half, the Blues finally broke down in the second half with a magnificent curled shot from the edge of the box by De Bruyne (70th).
Romelu Lukaku (28 years old, 14 games and 5 goals in the Premier League this season) played a disappointing role in Chelsea’s defeat against Manchester City (0-1) on Saturday. The Belgian striker of the Blues was not spared by his coach Thomas Tuchel after the game.
“He has to do the job too. He had many losses of balls without being put under pressure, in interesting situations. He is part of the group but the performance in attack in the first half… We need to do better because we had a lot of transition situations,” the German coach was annoyed at the microphone of BT Sport.
Man Utd: Coutinho executioner, a first
The Aston Villa team fought to snatch a draw from Man Utd at Villa Park, thanks to the inspiration of Philippe Coutinho.
A winning return to the Premier League. On loan with an option to buy from Barcelona to Aston Villa, Philippe Coutinho (29) was immediately decisive in scoring the equalizer against Manchester United (2-2) in the 22nd day of the league.
Coutinho is a first for the former Liverpool (2013-2018), who had never managed to find the goal or offer an assist to a teammate during the seven PL games played against Manchester United with the Reds. It is now done with the Villans, after 14 minutes played.
Tottenham-Arsenal postponed!
Soccer lovers will be deprived of the expected derby between Tottenham and Arsenal this weekend. Initially scheduled for this Sunday (17:30) as part of the 22nd day of the Premier League, the clash is postponed because of the many cases of Covid-19 detected in the Gunners, who have less than 14 players available (including a goalkeeper) for this game.
Rafael Benitez will be fired in the next few days
Rafael Benitez is expected to be sacked by Everton after the club’s defeat against Norwich, according to reports. English newspapers report that he is expected to be relieved of his duties before the match against Aston Villa on January 22, as the club has won only one of its last 11 matches.
The defeat against Norwich City leaves Everton in 15th place and in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle, and banners have been unfurled calling for the manager’s sacking.
