Liverpool leads – Manchester City clueless
By Our Resident Football Expert
The current edition of English Premier League reaches halfway mark.
The teams seem to be firing on all cylinders despite playing non-stop football.
Whatever the results, the teams come back stronger for the next match.
This is a specialty of the 24/25 season.
New inclusions Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton have played insipid games and settled down at the bottom of the tally.
The season started with a positive outlook for Manchester City, the reigning champions and winner for the past four seasons.
Wins against the rising Chelsea, the newly introduced Ipswich Town and The Hammers (West Ham) gave Manchester City some momentum. However, they soon lost steam. A 12 winless match streak occurred. It followed losses to Liverpool, Bournemouth, Tottenham, Fc Sporting, and Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. Unnecessary draws also played a role. Consequently, Manchester City is out of the title race at 7th place on the table.
Manager Pep Guardiola apparently ‘wanting to hurt himself’ created a controversy.
Manchester City fans shall have a harsh time. The club will soon have to answer to the 115 charges against them. This could lead to their titles being removed and deduction of points.
Liverpool started with a routine squad and its homebred graduates. Liverpool experienced a shock loss to Nottingham Forest. This happened because of a brilliant long range shot by Callum Hudson-Odoi of Nottingham Forest. It served as a wakeup call for Liverpool.
Arne Slot, the Liverpool manager is improving at mind games. He developed a distinct style at Feyenoord that often drew criticism. He has ensured that Liverpool stays at the top of the table since late October.
Manchester United have followed their declining form from last season despite new signees Zirkzee and De Ligt along with their new manager, Ruben Amorim.
Tottenham Hotspur remains inconsistent at 15th place. Heung Min Son is upfront without his usual partner. Harry Kane has left to opt for a career in Bayern Munich.
Arsenal shuffle between the second and third position, challenged by a much stronger Liverpool.
Chelsea seems to have improved from last season, following the youngster, Cole Palmer’s outbreak. The 22 year has scored 14 goals (as of 18/1/2025) and has been the key to Chelsea’s sudden rise from the heartbreaking 6th place finish from last year.
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest continue to breathe down Liverpool’s neck.
Nottingham Forest is at the 3rd position not too far away from Liverpool’s lead.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo along with the players’ efforts has led to this shocking eruption of Nottingham’s form.
Newcastle United have also improved from their last few seasons after the takeover of their new owners.
The season hasn’t been too bright for Brentford, Brighton, Fulham, Crystal Palace, and Everton. They sit in the mid-10s, too far from qualification for European football. Wolves have declined form from last season and totter at the boundary of the relegation zone.
Our take-
This season has brought out a more constructed form of play among all the teams. The season has shown us box-to-box play and more controlling and balanced football.
New players introduced into the Premier League include Ricardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Federico Chiesa, Savinho, De Ligt, Zirkzee who keep up to their worth in gold.
Liverpool is due for challenging times ahead. Anchor players like Mohammed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander Arnold have contracts set to expire at the end of the 24/25 season.
Some nail biters this season include Liverpool against Brighton. Another is Chelsea’s derby against Tottenham. Chelsea’s match versus Wolves is also notable. A relatively recent one is Bournemouth vs Newcastle.
Shining stars
The top scorer and assister has been Mohammed Salah with 18 goals and 13 assists. Alexander Isak is not too far behind in terms of both goals and assists. Erling Haaland is continuing his usual goal-scoring spree.
Ollie Watkins has a spectacular season alongside the underrated Bryan Mbeumo. Luis Diaz has improved and his English rival Anthony Gordon has too.
Youngsters Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are promising for the shining Arsenal eleven.
Players who have dropped to their all-time lows include Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Kai Havertz.
We have also seen some beautiful goals this season. These include Cole Palmer’s free-kick against Brighton. John Duran scored a screamer against Everton. Alexander Isak scored against Liverpool.
Appreciate the goalkeepers of the Premier League. They put their entire body on the line. This is due to this position being arguably the hardest in football. Emiliano Martinez won Save of the Month against Newcastle in December.
Final word
Kopites (Liverpool supporters) hope to seize their 20th Premier League title this season.
Standings as of 18th Jan 2025
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