The Lion king
Manchester United - Liverpool 1:1 (20/10/2019)
This is one of the biggest matches in the Premier League each season. The two teams come from cities separated by only 57 km and are one of the biggest rivals in football history. The expectations for this derby are always high regardless of the current form of the squads and place in the table. This game made no exception. Manchester entered the match with only 9 points from 8 games while Liverpool was undefeated on the top of the League. Most analysts predicted an easy win for Liverpool since the quality and last performances of the team in theory gave them a very big advantage in terms of confidence and achieved results. However this particular duel is always unpredictable and has proved wrong football gurus too many times before. So the question was what would happen this time?
Both teams came out with their best line-ups with exception of Liverpool where Mohamed Salah missed the game due to an ankle injury. This was considered a huge loss since he is one of the main players who can score and at the same time create numerous chances for his teammates. In general football is a team game so the absence of one player should not have a big impact on the overall performance of the squad. But we have seen too many examples of how poorly Barcelona could perform without Messi or Real Madrid without Ronaldo. So no one could tell how big of a difference for Liverpool would be Salah's absence.
The game started in high tempo with Manchester United being more aggressive. Liverpool's defense led by Van Dijk was closing the gaps in their half very well and pressing the opponent high in the pitch. The first 30 minutes looked like a cat-mouse chase. Then it came 36 minute when Rashford opened the score for Manchester after a very well played counter attack. This goal was very controversial and all Liverpool players including Klopp contested the referee decision. They argued that just before the counter attack the ball was taken from Origi with a foul.
This was a clear example of how even an experienced referee like Martin Atkinson could fall into his own trap. Since the beginning of the game he had given players more freedom in their tackles. Judging on a case by case he had adopted a way of not stopping the game for each foul. I actually like this approach. But what happens when a team concedes a goal after a clear foul against one of his players had been committed and which the referee had not given because he did not consider it being of high significance. Well this was exactly the case when Origi was fouled in the midfield. A counter attack followed where Rashford scored the first goal. In my opinion this was a mistake by the referee. In life does it make difference if we throw on the street a cigarette butt or a banana peel?
NO. Just because the cigarette butt is smaller our action can not be considered less wrong because if everyone does it our planet will be covered with waste. Both of these actions are equally wrong and should be punished. In football when there is offside the referee waits until he sees which player will play the ball and then decides whether or not to stop the game. The same logic should have been applied here. A clear foul was committed. The referee has let the play continue as not to disrupt the rhythm of the game but when the goal was scored he should have interfered and not allowed it.
Despite the protests of Liverpool players the game continued with one goal lead for Manchester. The unfairness of this decision of the referee doubled the efforts and the motivation of Liverpool and they started fiercely attacking their opponents. Few chances were created before the end of first half. In the 44 minute the VAR disallowed Sadio Mane goal for Liverpool because of a handball. The second half started in the same fashion but Manchester defense was this time surprisingly well organised and disciplined. In 60 minute Klopp decided it's time to make his first substitution taking higher risk to win a point or more on Old Trafford. Liverpool is not a team who gives up so easily.
Liverpool efforts were finally rewarded in the 85 minute when Klopp third substitution Lallana leveled the score and both teams shared a point. This draw benefited more Liverpool than Manchester as they maintained their lead on the top of the table with 6 points before City. Manchester gained only one place at 13 position. This is quite unlike Manchester United whose fans are used to their team occupying the top spots in the League table. Earlier in the week there was an announcement from Chevrolet that they will withdraw their sponsorship next year after the end of the current contract. This is a clear sign that important decisions must be quickly made at Old Trafford before they completely lose their reputation of one of the world's football icons.
Liverpool - Tottenham 2:1 (27/10/2019)
The match between those two teams is usually considered a derby. However before this game many people were reluctant to call it that. This was due to the Tottenham weak performances in their last shows in the Premier League and the 12 position in the table they occupied prior to the match on Anfield. We all remember also the fiasco in the Champions League where Bayern Munich insulted them in front of their own crowd scoring seven times. In any case everyone knew that it was going to be difficult for Liverpool to win the three points today. The reds were already under big pressure after the yesterday's win of Manchester City against Aston Villa by 3:0. The distance between the two teams was shortened by only 3 points which made this game a must win for Liverpool against a very difficult opponent.
The first half offered us a great spectacle of football. One of the best I've seen since the start of this season. Tottenham opened the score in the first minute of the game when a reflected ball by the side bar went to Harry Kane who found himself alone against an empty net. The captain never misses such opportunities so Tottenham took the lead for the big surprise of all spectators in the stadium. From that moment until the end of the first 45 minutes there was only one team on the pitch and that was Liverpool. The ball possession was 75% to 25% in their favor with 7 to 1 shots on target. With every minute passed the Reds were tightening the siege around Tottenham penalty area and were creating more and more dangerous runs, crosses, combinations and shots towards Gazzaniga. The most critical part for Tottenham in the first half was between 25 and 30 minutes. Liverpool organized several back to back clinical attacks and only the alien's skills of Tottenham goalkeeper made possible for them to maintain their lead. The Reds were fiercely attacking as angered bees would attack anyone who tries to steal their honey. Tottenham were lucky not to concede any goal so the first half ended 1:0 in their favor.
The second half began in the same manner. In the first minute Tottenham just as in the first half had a chance to score but the cross bar saved Liverpool from conceding a second goal. Then the attacks of the Reds towards Gazzaniga renewed with the same strength and consistency. This time the result was not delayed because in the 52 minute they managed to level the score. Jordan Henderson was the man who brought Liverpool's dreams for the Premier League title after 30 years back to life. This goal boosted the adrenaline of all Liverpool players who seizing their moment went for the win. Tottenham continued to only defend themselves being surrounded under siege by red shirts.
In the 75 minute penalty was given against Sadio Mane. Mohamed Salah did not miss and Liverpool took the lead. At that point Pochettino made two changes in his team hoping that Lucas Moura and Giovani Lo Selso will change something for the better. Tottenham did actually become more dangerous and they missed a very good opportunity just before the end of the game to level the score. In the stoppage time Liverpool put their efforts into defense in order to maintain the result. Finally they managed to add to their balance three crucial points which restored their lead from Manchester City by 6 clear points. This brought Liverpool and all their fans closer to their dream in the crazy race for the Premier League title.
Liverpool - Manchester City 3:1 (10/11/2019)
So the time had come for the ultimate derby in the Premier League. For the last three years these teams have been ferocious opponents in the battle for the League title. Manchester City in the previous two seasons managed to win the crazy race against the Reds from Anfield. They were somehow the more balanced and consistent team. But they were lucky too. I still remember the match against Leicester on Etihad stadium at the end of the last season. City struggled throughout the whole game. They desperately needed the three points to stay in the game for the Title. Liverpool was breathing in their necks waiting for every opportunity that may come their way. Just when it seemed impossible to break the hard nutshell called Leicester and their chances of back to back Titles were fading away the Belgium national player and captain of the team Vincent Kompany decided to take fate in his own hands. With just 20 minutes left in the game he scored his only goal for the season from what could be called a desperate and helpless shot taken by near the 30 meter line. Even if he tried that same shot for the next hundred years it would be impossible to replicate it. So Karma had decided City to be Champions again.
Liverpool took relief in winning the Champions League which was their 6 European title. But the Reds from Anfield were hungry for more. It has been 30 years since they last won the Premier League. Their fans have been longing for this moment for so long that many of them had not even been born yet the last time it happened. But they knew that their team would never give up and spare no effort nor sacrifice to achieve this dream. So the new season had started with high hopes and up until this match Liverpool's performance could not have been better. They entered the game with 6 points lead. A lot was at stake. The win on Anfield would have given them even more comfortable advance against their biggest rival.
The first half started more than great for Liverpool. In the 6 minute a long power shot by Fabinho opened the score for the Reds and their fans cheered in delirium. However not the goal itself but the City attack that preceded it was furiously disputed by the blue shirts players and their manager. Even the VAR showed clearly that there was a hand ball by Alexander-Arnold inside Liverpool's penalty area which should have meant a penalty for City. Everybody in the stadium including the people at home watching on TV and the commentators during the break wondered why it had not been given. I am sure there is a rule somewhere in the books that proves why this obvious foul was left unpunished. However in my opinion the referee's decision had to be revised and overruled. But it was not.
So the game continued with one goal lead for Liverpool for the joy of the 53 thousand red fans on Anfield. Seven minutes later the score was doubled with a beautiful header by Mohamed Salah. Andrew Robertson was the person who gave him a great cross ball behind City defense. Until the end of this first half the tempo was very high with Manchester City pressing their opponents as hard as they can everywhere on the pitch. They missed at least three almost 100% chances for scoring but Karma was this time on Liverpool's side. The second half started in the same way. With only 6 minutes passed Sadio Mane made the score 3:0 and gave his team the confidence of who will be the winner of that battle. Nevertheless one thing was for sure that Manchester City would not give up the fight just yet.
They were tightening their ring around Liverpool's net by the minute. It seemed like a City goal was inevitable. So in the 78 minute Bernardo Silva scored in the bottom left corner of Alisson. All of a sudden with 12 minutes and stoppage time left in the game City's hopes for something more on Anfield had been reborn. They used their momentum to create more chances and did everything they could to change the result. But this time it wasn't meant to be. It was Liverpool's night and everyone on the stadium cheered loudly for the three vital points that brought Liverpool closer to their dream.
Manchester City - Chelsea 2:1 (23/11/2019)
This was a derby between two of the top teams in the Premier League that always deserves special attention. Both teams wanted the three points although for different purposes. Chelsea to make sure they maintain their position in the Champions League slots in the League table. Manchester City to send message to Liverpool that they still have not given up the fight for the title. The gap between the two had widened to 12 points so any mistake by City would have diminished further their chances to stay in the game. In the meantime Leicester had already won their game against Brighton on the previous day and for everyone's surprise occupied the second position in the table with four points in front of Manchester City. The Foxes in blue shirts are doing incredibly well since the start of this season and brought their fans back to the unforgettable moments of the 2015-2016 season when they won the Premier League for first time in their history.
The match offered us a great football which is of course what should be expected from the top teams in England. Chelsea was surprisingly somehow the better team in the opening minutes of the first half. They managed to fully deny City access to any real opportunities while at the same time they built few very well organised and dangerous runs towards Ederson. One of those gave them the lead when in the 21 minute Mateo Kovacic made a perfect assist to Kante who didn't miss the chance to put his name on the list of scorers. This was actually the turning point in the game. After conceiving a goal Manchester took total control of the events and started to built high pressure against Chelsea defense. Anyone would have thought that with a manager like Frank Lampard any team should not struggle defending.
However this wasn't the case with the team from London who only 16 minutes after they scored cracked under the pressure and in the 37 minute was already one goal down. Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez were the City players who gave their team this advantage but not as I have already mentioned without the generous help of Chelsea defense. The score at the end of the first half would have been even bigger if Aguero and Sterling managed to materialize few of the opportunities created by the total chaos in the Chelsea defense line. The break came just on time so Lampard can make the necessary adjustments in his team fixing their broken defense. I expected that in addition to that Chelsea would come out in the second half attempting to even steal at least a point on Etihad.
But just to the contrary Lampard squad not only continued to defend poorly but did nothing to threaten Ederson. Manchester felt Chelsea helplessness and launched further ruthless raids towards Arrizabalaga which lasted throughout the whole of the second 45 minutes. Only Karma and VAR kept the score unchanged until the end of this game which even though very interesting and entertaining was in truth for the most part very one sided. In any case City took their share of the pie while Chelsea will need to urgently take action on the lessons learned from this deserved loss.