Boxing Day marked of Week 19 of matches, and with its conclusion, we've reached the halfway point of the Premier League season. The first one-hundred ninety matches have offered all of the drama that the Premier League always guarantees. Now that the table has begun to take shape, the second half of the season will show who can sustain form and push toward their long-term goals. The title chase, the fight for European football and the relegation battle will all undoubtably heat up throughout the remainder of festive fixtures and the rest of the season.
We have reached that point of the season where the pressure is on the top sides week in and week out to gather three points. Any points dropped will be viewed as a missed opportunity to either hold serve or gain ground on the other teams in the title race.
Liverpool played host to Newcastle knowing a win would guarantee them top spot at the halfway mark. The Reds started quickly and it was unlikely scorer Dejan Lovern who found the back of the net on a wicked volley in the 11' to open the scoring. After going into the break 1-0 up, Mo Salah began the second half quickly by piercing into the penalty area and being dragged down for a penalty. Salah promptly stepped up and buried the spot kick for his 12th goal of the season. Xherdan Shaqiri netted a 3rd, and substitute Fabinho added a 4th as Liverpool cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory. Alisson and company have now kept 12 clean sheets in 19 PL matches, having conceded only 7 goals, which is 8 less than any other side. This victory marks the 7th on the bounce in the league for Liverpool, and leaves them atop the league on 51 points.
Tottenham Hotspur played host to Eddie Howe and Bournemouth looking to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Man City. Spurs hit the front through a devastating deflection on a strike from Christian Eriksen in the 16'. By the 35', Spurs were up 3-0 after strikes from Son Hueng-Min and Lucas Moura respectively. Young fullback Kyle Walker-Peters, making his first Premier League start, burst onto the scene by assisted each of the first three goals. After halftime, Harry Kane netted his 12th goal of the season on a volley at the near post, bringing him even with Salah, one goal of the league lead. Son added his second of the match, and his seventh in nine PL matches, to seal the victory 5-0.
Manchester City were tasked with going to the King Power Stadium in Leicester to get a result. Things started out well for Pep Guardiola's men just a quarter of an hour in, when Sergio Aguero pierced the Leicester center backs with a clever ball, and Bernardo Silva slotted calmly past Kasper Schmeichel. However, Leicester responded quickly when Jamie Vardy found Marc Albrington on a back-post run, and the midfielder made no mistake. Despite repelling long periods of Man City pressure, Leicester clung to the 1-1 scoreline. In the 81', Leicester City's corner was cleared to the top of the box, where Leicester defender Ricardo Pereira brought the ball down, shuffled the ball onto his right foot, and lunched a rocket of a strike past Ederson into the far corner. While Man City pushed for an equalizer, Fabian Delph was sent off for a poor challenge as he tried to regain possession for his side toward the end of the match. This is City's third loss in four PL matches, and marks the first time they've lost consecutive matches in the competition since 2016. More painfully, City now find themselves drop to third in the table, as they are surpassed by Spurs. City are seven points off top as they sit on 44 points.
Chelsea squared off with Watford at Vicarage Road in what was an entertaining London Derby. After a relatively uneventful first half, Chelsea got the breakthrough in the first minute of firsthalf stoppage time, when Mateo Kovacic sent Eden Hazard through on goal, who finished coolly rounded Ben Foster for his 100th goal in a Chelsea shirt. However, Watford responded brilliantly, as Roberto Pererya rocketed an awesome volley into the bottom corner from a Jose Holabas corner. This goal came less than two minutes after Chelsea's, sending the teams into the locker room tied at one. In the second half, it was Hazard again who made the contribution for the Blues. The Belgian alluded a defender in the box and was bundled over by goalkeeper Ben Foster. He then stepped up himself and sent Foster the wrong way for his 10th goal of the season. Sit in 4th on 40 points points and will face Crystal Palace next.
Arsenal traveled to The Amex to face off against Brighton, who were looking to right the ship after three straight loses. Brighton, despite the return of mainstay center back Shane Duffy, struggled organizationally and defensively early in the match, and were made to pay within ten minutes. After multiple Brighton defenders failed to clear their lines, the ball found its way to Alexandre Lacazette, who cleverly laid off to strike partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who curled his shot into the far corner, past a helpless Mat Ryan. Brighton responded by lunching a longball after a defensive corner, that Stephan Lichtsteiner failed to deal with. In fact, his glancing header allowed the ball to find its way to an onracing Jurgen Locadia, who rounded the Arsenal goalkeeper and finished into an empty net. Brighton, thanks to some important saves from Mat Ryan, held on for a 1-1 draw and ended their run of defeats. Arsenal currently sit in 5th, two points out of a Champions League spot.
Southampton played host to West Ham United in the lone Thursday fixture as they looked to make it three wins in a row under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. After a first half that offered relatively little going forward, the home side found the breakthrough after an absolute goalmouth scramble five minutes into the second half. The ball squirted through to Nathan Redmond, who was being held onside by a defender on the far side. Lukasz Fabianski produced a brilliant save, and then partially blocked Oriol Romeu's follow-up attempt, but the ball was eventually bundled over the line by Redmond. However, it didn't take long for West Ham to respond. It was Felipe Anderson who, just three minutes later, rocketed a strike past Alex McCarthy to level the match at one. Then, six minutes later, West Ham hit Southampton on a devastating break off a corner, which led to Felipe Anderson through on goal. Anderson, yet again, made no mistake, netting his second of the match and sending West Ham into the top half of the table. West Ham have now won 15 points (5W, 1L) in the month of December, which is their highest point total in a single month in the competition's history, and they still have one more match to play. Southampton remain three points clear of the relegation zone after the loss but have to face a wounded Man City next.
Crystal Palace hosted Cardiff City in an important match in the bottom half of the table. Palace were on the ascendancy early on the match, when Wilfred Zaha threaded strike partner Andros Townsend through inside the box, but Townsend pinged the ball off of the crossbar and over. Palace came close in the second half when Luka Milivojevic rocked the upright with a free kick. Neil Etheridge and Vicente Guaita each produced some important saves, the best of which came late in the match, when Guaita denied Kadeem Harris with a strong left hand. The goalless draw has Palace seven points clear of the drop zone, while Cardiff sit in 17th, three points above the bottom three.
In the early match on Wednesday, Fulham hosted Wolverhampton at Craven Cottage. Fulham were eager to assert their dominance, as Aleksander Mitrovic found himself with a couple half chances in the first half. Mitrovic turned free of both Wolves' center backs at one point but was repelled by a good save by Rui Patricio. In the 2nd half, Fulham found the breakthrough in the 74' when substitute Ryan Sessegnon fired a shot home to become the 3rd youngest Boxing Day scorer in Premier League history. As has been their problem all season, Fulham could not hang onto the lead. Wolves' Roman Saiss found his way into the box and latched onto a cross that was kept out by a sliding Joe Bryan's arm. Aleksander Mitrovic almost won the match for Fulham in stoppage time, but Conor Coady sprinted back and cleared the ball off of the line to preserve a point for Wolves. Although the point lifts Fulham off of the bottom of the league, realistically it must be looked at as a massive missed opportunity for three points. The Cottagers are currently four points from safety with the worst goal difference in the league (-26).
Burnley welcomed Everton to Turf Moor as they looked for a result to lift them out of the relegation zone. Their hopes were quickly dampened when Yerry Mina headed home a cross from Bernard in the 2' to give the visitors the lead. The match was pretty much over when Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a penalty to give Everton a 3-0 lead in the 22'. It finished 5-1, as Lucas Digne showed his ball-striking ability by netting a free kick and scoring with a beautiful low strike in the second half. Richarlson also netted his 9th of the season after coming off of the bench. Everton are up to 8th after the victory, while Burnley remain in 18th, three points from safety. Burnley have now only taken four points from their last 11 matches, in which they have won one, drawn one, and lost nine. Sean Dyche's men look to be in serious trouble.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of his first match at Old Trafford as Manchester United hosted struggling Huddersfield Town. Namanja Matic opened his account for the season when he found himself free at the back post for a tap in when a cross flicked off of a Huddersfield defender. Huddersfield held the home side from scoring again until the 64'. Paul Pogba, looking a new player under Solskjaer, lashed home off of the post after Ander Herrera cleverly set him up as he rushed into the box. Pogba hit the double in the 78' when he let fly from 25 yards. Huddersfield ruined United's clean sheet with a conciliation goal from Zanka in the 88'. United have only kept two clean sheets on the season, but they have now won two of two with Solskjaer in charge. The Red Devil sit in 6th, six points behind Arsenal. This loss marks six in a row for Huddersfield, who, thanks to Fulham's draw, now sit dead bottom of the table.
Huddersfield will travel to Fulham on Saturday in what is a massive game in the relegation battle. Burnley will host West Ham United on Sunday.
Spurs host Wolverhampton and City travel to Southampton as they look to chase down leaders Liverpool. Liverpool will host Arsenal in a blockbuster affair on Saturday. The Gunners will be eager to pull themselves into the title conversation with a result against the current leaders.
Check out my next blog, where I will rate all 20 teams' seasons so far.
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