Manchester City climbed to within two points of the summit of the Premier League table on Monday as Phil Foden scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win away to Brentford.
A trip to the Gtech Community Stadium can be a banana skin for any title-chasing team, but City’s Monday night clash with the Bees went petty much to plan, that was after Neal Maupay had given the hosts a surprise lead. It was their only real effort of the first half as keeper Mark Flekken made nine saves in the opening 45 and had an assist for the Brentford goal.
Thomas Frank’s team almost made it to the break, but City drew level in first-half stoppage time when Foden controlled superbly and fired a low shot past Flekken.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne had only played 23 minutes together all season, but they both started this game, and De Bruyne put in a trademark killer ball into the path of Foden and the midfield star headed the Sky Blues into the lead on 53 minutes.
He completed the second hat-trick of his career with 20 minutes to go when he collected a lay-off from Haaland and calmly slotted home his third.
It was Foden’s night as City laid down a marker to their rivals, and the Premier League 2024 betting odds on the title returning to the Etihad are shrinking day by day. Pep Guardiola’s team have the eye of the tiger, and they will take some stopping.
Alisson and Van Dijk are the new Laurel and Hardy
My sub heading is meant in jest of course, and I hope the famously humorous Liverpool fans can now see the funny side. But the performance of the Reds’ two defencive legends was more like a comedy act on Sunday as they handed Arsenal a 3-1 win, a victory which dragged the Gunners back into the title race.
With the score at 1-1 midway through the second half, Virgil van Dijk guided a long ball back towards Alisson, but then the Dutch defender cramped his keeper’s space.
And when Alisson took a swing at the ball, he missed it completely, and it settled for Gabriel Martinelli to pass into the empty net. And then, as the league leaders tried to get back into the game, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard broke free and fired his shot between the legs of Alisson, but I’m sure it took a slight deflection off van Dijk on the way.
To make matters worse van Dijk’s centre back partner, Ibrahima Konate had been sent off, and he’ll miss next week’s clash with Burnley, a match we’ll be previewing here at SBOTOP later this week.
And the Gunners’ celebrations must have irritated the Liverpool players too. Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta’s ran wildly down the touchline, while skipper Martin Odegaard took a picture of the club photographer as his teammates continued to celebrate.
The Gunners haven’t won anything yet, and Alisson and van Dijk will never have another afternoon like this, but it was a huge result.
Lisandro Martinez out for eight weeks
Manchester United picked up an eye-catching 3-0 win at home to West Ham United on Sunday, but it came at a cost as centre-back Lisandro Martinez suffered an injury which has ruled him out for at least eight weeks.
The 26-year-old World Cup winner damaged his knee ligaments, and manager Erik ten Hag said the situation could be bad and it was a personal disaster.
In a team sometimes devoid of strong characters, Martinez is a key figure with charisma and leadership qualities in spades, as well as being a tough tackler who is superb on the ball.
But his clash with the Hammers’ full-back Vladimir Coufal has put him out for upwards of two months, and that’s a serious blow for the Red Devils.
Chelsea are simply not good enough
And that’s the view of Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is coming under mounting pressure after his team was slapped 4-2 by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. On the back of a 4-1 loss at the hands of Liverpool, it’s been a horrible week for Chelsea fans, who must be starting to wonder when things will improve.
The Blues seemed to have a post Christmas spring in their step as they registered three consecutive league wins, progressed in the FA Cup, and reached the Carabao Cup final.
But after Wolves dispatched his side on Sunday, a downtrodden Poch admitted: “I think we are not good enough, that’s the reality. Myself also, as the first person responsible. We are not good enough. 100 per cent.”
Chelsea need a big uptick in Premier League 2024 results or they’ll be missing out on Europe again next season.
Wolves leapfrogged the Blues into the top half, thanks to their first win at Stamford Bridge in four decades, and they face Brentford next, who is another West London scalp they’ll fancy taking.
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