England: Liverpool Still Recovering, Aston Villa Shining Bright
England: Liverpool Still Recovering, Aston Villa Shining Bright
Liverpool narrowly avoided disaster on Wednesday against Sunderland (1-1), the relentless promoted team that continues to dream big in a Premier League dominated by Arsenal, while Aston Villa keeps on winning.
The standings reveal many surprises after 14 matches. Aston Villa (3rd, 27 points), previously in the relegation zone in September, now finds itself on the podium in early December, closely followed by Crystal Palace (5th) and Sunderland (6th), each with 23 points.
Liverpool, the reigning champion, sits in eighth place (22 points) after yet another disappointing performance at Anfield. They could drop another position if Manchester United avoids defeat on Thursday against West Ham.
Sunday’s 2-0 victory against the “Hammers” was merely a flash in the pan for Arne Slot’s team, which still struggles.
On Wednesday, the specter of past defeats haunted them again when Chemsdine Talbi opened the scoring for the visitors with a deflected shot by Virgil van Dijk (67th, 0-1).
Fortunately for the "Reds," Florian Wirtz caused an own goal by Nordi Mukiele after two feints and a powerful shot (81st, 1-1), and Federico Chiesa made a crucial defensive play during a counterattack led by Frenchman Wilson Isidor (90th+4).
Sunderland once again displayed collective discipline and exemplary courage at Anfield, virtues that will be essential against Manchester City and Newcastle, their next two opponents.
In the meantime, the “Black Cats” coached by Régis Le Bris have amassed an impressive 23 points, a remarkable haul for a promoted team.
Chelsea Falls
Ten points ahead, leaders Arsenal (1st, 33 points) maintained their title dream by defeating Brentford (2-0) at home.
The “Gunners” scored early with a header from Mikel Merino (11th) and extended their lead late with a goal from winger Bukayo Saka (90th+1), who came on during the match.
The only downside for coach Mikel Arteta was the injury to Cristhian Mosquera, the center-back who filled in for the usual starters Gabriel and William Saliba, both injured.
The London leaders (1st, 33 points) will head to Aston Villa (3rd, 27 points) on Saturday with a five-point lead over Manchester City (2nd, 28 points), who triumphed over Fulham (5-4) on Tuesday.
Unai Emery’s “Villans” extended their remarkable climb in the standings with their eighth victory in nine matches on Wednesday against Brighton (4-3).
After trailing 2-0 for half an hour, they leveled the score before halftime with a brace from Ollie Watkins (37th, 45th+7), who hadn’t scored since September 28.
Amadou Onana (60th) and Donyell Malen (78th) made it 4-2, Brighton pulled one back (83rd, 4-3), and they nearly equalized in stoppage time, but keeper Marco Bizot, a last-minute starter replacing Emiliano Martinez, made a crucial save (90th+4).
The evening's misfortune belonged to Chelsea (4th, 24 points), who dropped off the podium after losing 3-1 to promoted, low-ranked Leeds.
Chelsea had only lost once in their last seven Premier League matches, but they were coming off a demanding week against FC Barcelona (3-0) and Arsenal (1-1), prompting Enzo Maresca to rest several starters at kickoff.
The West London club now has just a one-point lead over Crystal Palace, who returned from Burnley with a narrow but valuable win (1-0).
Nottingham Forest also secured a victory by the same scoreline at Wolverhampton, who remain winless this season (2 points).
