The 2019/2020 Premier League season is already shaping up after the 10th round of matches was played over the weekend. Matchweek 10 delivered just like any other Premier League weekend, but it was not without controversies.
Leicester City kicked off the weekend’s action in brilliant fashion, scoring nine times at the St Mary’s as they thrashed Southampton on Friday night.
Saturday round of games saw Man City stay on the tails of Liverpool with a comprehensive win over Aston Villa, while Brighton pounded more misery on Marco Silva and Everton with a come from behind victory. West Ham and Sheffield United shared the spoils at the Olympic stadium, while Watford played out a goalless draw with Bournemouth.
Chelsea completed the day with a brilliant win over Burnley at the Turf Moor. On Sunday, Newcastle kicked off proceedings with a 1-1 draw against Wolves at the St James’ Park. Action concluded with Liverpool seeing off the challenge of Spurs, Man Utd going past Norwich and Arsenal playing out a 2-2 draw against Palace.
Having taken a look at the results over the weekend, Soccernet.ng dissects the talking points of Matchweek 10.
United Finally Turn The Screw?: The Red Devils finally got their first away win in the League on Sunday. Coincidentally, it was also the first time since the opening day win over Chelsea that United will score more than once. Goals from Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial ensured United took their first three points on the road.
However, while the win was impressive, it is hard to say if United have finally turned the screw given it’s against Norwich. But there are signs they are picking up their form back again. With Rashford and Martial combining perfectly well against the Canaries, United fans may actually get to see their side playing exciting football again.
Nevertheless, United’s next two matches against Chelsea and Bournemouth will tell if the team have actually turned the screw.
Liverpool Maintain Unbeaten Start: Just like in the game against Man Utd, Liverpool’s unbeaten run was threatened against Spurs. Harry Kane put Pochettino’s side ahead in the opening 60 seconds, but Liverpool responded with goals from Henderson and Salah after the break to take home the full points.
The result meant Liverpool haven’t lost at home in over 40 league matches with the Reds last home defeat coming in a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace in 2017.
The Reds have also not been beaten in the League since January and having played five of the traditional big six, it won’t be far fetched to say the Reds could go unbeaten till December at least.
Although it is important to note that they face Man City in the next fortnight. The Citizens are ironically the last team to beat Liverpool in the League and will be eager to do the same again.
More VAR Controversy: Ever since it was introduced in the Premier League this season, the Video Assistant Replay has brought more problems than solutions. But that’s not to say the issue is with the technology, rather the problem lies with the officials handling it.
VAR in the PL is a joke! Works so good in any other league, but PL having a nightmare with it
— John Arne Riise (@JARiiseOfficial) October 27, 2019
After all, the technology is being used successfully in the Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga and Bundesliga. The way the technology has been used in the EPL has raised questions on whether the officials are trying to sabotage it intentionally so as not to show how incompetent they are.
Trouble For Emery: After what many see as a decent first season, Emery is under intense pressure at Arsenal in his second season at the Emirates. The Spaniard who replaced Arsene Wenger last season is feeling the wrath of Arsenal fans this season. Although the Gunners are not far off the top four places, Arsenal faithfuls believe Emery should be doing better with his talents at his disposal.
Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace did not help Emery’s situation. The Gunners blew a two-goal lead against the Eagles, while Xhaka who Emery named the club’s captain against public opinion had some sort of clash with the fans.
The Swiss international was jeered off by his own supporters but then decided to respond by cupping his ears to those who mocked him, before walking off the tunnel.
Emery’s ongoing refusal to play Ozil has angered Arsenal fans who believed the former German international could help a team currently suffering from identity crisis.
With this and many other issues, Arsenal’s situation has almost reached the boiling point, and Emery will need to act fast to solve the problem.
Chelsea and Leicester City Maintain Fine Form: The Blues made it seven straight wins in all competitions with a 4-2 win over Burnley. Christian Pulisic who’s had a tough start to life in England but has shown a glimpse of his talents in recent games, scored a hat-trick to show he has indeed adjusted to life in the English topflight.
The win is also a proof of the work Lampard has done despite the constraints he faced when he was given the job. Having started the season with a 4-0 loss, the Blues have turned a corner and now sit in fourth place with 20 points. They are only in fourth place because of Leicester’s superior goal difference.
The Foxes have been tipped to break the stronghold of the top six this season and they’ve shown that so far. Managed by former Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City showed they are the real deal on Friday night after they put nine past Southampton at the St Mary’s stadium.
They currently sit in the third position and it won’t be a surprise to find them in that position come May next year.