The Day the Title Race Turned

The Day the Title Race Turned

By Noah Solovey

Can a title race physically, mentally, turn, in a day? Could a manager’s first loss, be it’s last? Could a team win the title 4 years in a row? Can two amazing teams, both lose at home? Could an obvious winner, become an obvious, loser? And finally, could gears shift and shock fans all around the world just like that?

The answer is yes, it can.

It all started on April 13th, 2024. It was a matchday like any other, with one difference: it was reaching the end of the season and three teams, were neck-to-neck, all with equivalent odds, racing for the Premier League title. Man City, could break a record and win the Premier League four times in a row, Klopp could end his legendary management career with a bang, and Arsenal, could get a reward for their hard season’s work.

Matchweek 33: Man City VS Luton Town; Arsenal VS Aston Villa; and Liverpool VS Crystal Palace, the first team to beat Klopp. Man City had the easiest fixture, and they would 100% win it. It was at the Etihad, and Man City were on a roll with their recent results. Liverpool played Palace at Anfield, on paper, Liverpool had all the odds to win it. Arsenal VS Aston Villa, was tougher, but it was at Emirates, and Unai Emery was an ex-Arsenal manager, so predictions were half and half, but odds said Arsenal.

As It Stood:

1st: Arsenal: 71

2nd: Liverpool: 71

3rd: Man City: 70

4th: Aston Villa: 60

14th: Crystal Palace: 30

18th: Luton Town: 25

There was everything to fight for. Each team equally wanted the 2024 title, and it wasn’t worth dropping points this late in the season. But, against all odds, Liverpool and Arsenal did. Enabling the gears of the league table to shift, shock, and shatter.

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It started with Man City VS Luton Town. This was just like any other game for city, and Man City did what they usually do to teams: Beat them and make them lose miserably. 5-1. An own goal in the first minute, then an amazing volley into the top corner, then a mean penalty, next a dribble from Doku, and finally a screamer from Gvardiol. They ended up beating Luton 5-1. This game was the game when fans started to see, city were the real deal. This match brought them temporarily to 1st place. Temporarily, soon to be, deserved.

The next day brought Liverpool VS Crystal Palace in the morning. Liverpool had all the odds, but in the 13th minute, Eze fired the ball into the net and that was it. That was all it took to beat the Big Reds. Jurgen Klopp had to deal with serious PTSD after that fixture, because Crystal Palace was the first team Klopp had ever lost to as a Liverpool manager, and it could now be the last.

Next, at 12:30 on the same day, as Liverpool dropped points, Arsenal did the double. The fixture was against Aston Villa, and halftime ended nil-nil. But in the second half, Ollie Watkins scored in the 80th, and Douglas Luiz in the 87th, and Arsenal were taken down too.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The tables turned?” Well this time, the table literally turned upside-down on April 15th. Now, Man City had easy fixtures remaining, and Arsenal and Liverpool had harder ones. It’s up to the players and teams now, to see if this tectonic shift in the table made a major effect, or not.