English players shine for Tuchel
England boss Thomas Tuchel watched from the stands of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
On his fourth day in work, the German opted to attend Tottenham vs Newcastle as his first game in charge – before traveling to see Brighton host Arsenal – and he was not disappointed.
Newcastle's entire English contingent shone, especially Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento. The former finished off the equalizer superbly for the visitors and was a constant threat, while the latter put in a fine performance as right back.
Spurs England international Dominic Solanke also impressed with an exceptionally well-taken goal, while his exceptional work rate and pressing were on display.
Tuchel's presence had a positive effect in North London and other clubs across the country will be hoping his performances can inspire such positive performances. Declan Olley
Savinho shines for Man City
Manchester City have had to be patient with Savinho since his arrival in the summer, waiting until the final game of 2024 to score his first goal for the club, but supporters – and opponents alike – are now seeing what makes the young Brazilian winger tick. special.
Pep Guardiola had suggested that Savinho prefers the right wing and deployed him there regularly early in the season, but it was on the left that he did his best work for Girona. When he took up that space against West Ham, he was the best player on the pitch.
It was Savinho who provided the spark needed during a tricky opening for his confidence-stricken side in what turned out to be a comfortable 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium. Mohammed Kudus squandered his chances and Savinho punished them.
He caused Vladimir Coufal all kinds of problems for the first two goals, turning him inside out for the second time before crossing for Erling Haaland to score. His assist for the third, in which he set up the same player, showed that he can choose either a pass or a cross.
There are still issues that Guardiola needs to address at this club, and the need to build a new team is now clear. But twenty-year-old Savinho is certainly not responsible for the dramatic dip this season. He looks a clear candidate to be part of City's next big team: Adam Bate
Lack of faith is costing Chelsea
When Enzo Maresca says no one expected Chelsea to be in the race for the title, he is right. Levi Colwill echoed his manager's sentiments and downplayed their title insight. Against Crystal Palace we saw a Chelsea side relinquish control when they had the lead, pretending to have given up on their short-lived title ambitions.
The festive period can be a challenge for most teams, but it ended a run of 12 games unbeaten as things started to click under Maresca. Despite being only second before their drop-off, both players and manager refused to be drawn into a title fight.
They may not be in the hunt for the title, but now Chelsea certainly believe that is not the case. The freedom and expression that Chelsea played with has gone out the window after seemingly taking their foot off the accelerator. It seems they are now languishing due to a lack of belief in themselves, reflected in a despicable festive run.William Bitibiri
Munoz deserves his flowers
It looked like it would be a long afternoon for Daniel Munoz as he and Chris Richards were beaten by Jadon Sancho for Chelsea's opener. But he more than made up for whatever issues he had defensively moving forward.
He dragged Palace onto the pitch at times and enjoyed some space on the right wing, where he could continually pick out his teammates with balls into the box.
Much has been made of the threat Crystal Palace pose going forward and plaudits have also been paid to other members of his defensive line, but Munoz has been quietly going about his business this season as one of Palace's key performers. William Bitibiri
Depleted Spurs' season is now either a trophy or a bust
Considering that Tottenham played the second half with the defense of a third-choice goalkeeper (Brandon Austin), a full-back as a central defender (Djed Spence), a teenager as a central defender (Archie Gray) and a left back who appeared Because he last summer had no future at the club (Sergio Reguilon), Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was right to be “proud” of their performance in the 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle.
Injuries and suspensions have severely disrupted Spurs this season, although there is criticism that Postecoglou's playing style has contributed to a long list of injuries.
It meant that, against a backdrop of illness within the squad, the Australian fielded Tottenham's youngest Premier League line-up (23 years and 336 days) in almost a decade against Newcastle.
But despite their inexperience, Tottenham gave it a go against the in-form visitors and will feel unhappy they didn't get something out of the game, especially after Newcastle's controversial opener.
Ultimately, however, it is the tenth league defeat of the season, leaving Spurs twelfth and twelve points behind in the top four.
The campaign is now trophy or bust, with all eyes on Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Liverpool, live on Sky Sports.Declan Olley
Is Bailey back for Villa?
Leon Bailey ending his run of 19 Premier League games without a goal could come at the perfect time.
As evidenced by Villa's interest in versatile Borussia Dortmund striker Donyell Malen during the January transfer window, production on the right wing has been an issue this season.
Having scored ten goals and provided nine assists in the top flight last season, expectations were high for Bailey heading into the current campaign.
It's safe to say he hasn't lived up to these high standards so far, but there have been positive signs in the last two outings.
His goal against Leicester could be a much-needed confidence boost for the Jamaica winger, who could be crucial in putting his team ahead again.
If Villa can get him back to even half the level he showed last season, contributions like today could be crucial at the end of the season.Patrick Rowe
The form of Brentford's front three is crucial to any European push
There wasn't much to cheer about for Brentford in December. Injuries began to pile up and one win in five had slowed the climb to a comfortable top-10 spot. Their shocking form on the road – zero wins from nine – made the trip to Southampton a more difficult prospect than it normally should have been.
At least on paper.
In reality, Thomas Frank's side used the trip to the south coast to earn a first away win since May 11 in quite ruthless fashion, with their front three showing just how deadly they can be when they're singing.
Kevin Schade struck a stylish opener for his fifth goal of the season and first since December 7, while Yoane Wissa scored his tenth of the season with his eighth shot of the match and the unstoppable Bryan Mbeumo scored two himself. The latter pair also provided an assist each.
Together the trio scored more than 100 goals for Brentford: Mbeumo (63), Wissa (40), Schade (8). This season they have contributed 28 of the Bees' 38 Premier League goals; only Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have scored more.
If Brentford, with such a powerful attack, were to start locking things up at the back, there could be a real boost for Europe.Dan Long
Symptoms of survival for Leicester
There were signs of struggle again in their fight for survival from Leicester, but that is not enough.
Taking the lead against Liverpool, fighting to the bitter end against Manchester City and now conceding late against Villa.
It was a resilient performance from the Foxes, but it's another game in which they walk away empty-handed.
Two early results against West Ham and Brighton ushered in the Ruud van Nistelrooy era in impressive fashion, but after seeing the points dry up despite their performances demonstrably improving, it is clear that reinforcements will be needed if they are to have any chance of the victory. survive.Patrick Rowe
Kerkez cuts through Everton and delivers a blow to Dyche
If they don't keep a clean sheet, Everton don't win football games. This has been the case under Sean Dyche for almost his entire reign. A 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, their first of the campaign, was a rare example of his side being able to do things the hard way.
From the moment David Brooks smashed his volley into the far corner of Jordan Pickford's goal, the writing was on the wall. Another trip to the Vitality Stadium, another pointless excursion. Everton's inability to win in the league here predates Dyche, but their demonstrated shortcomings have been in keeping with the current incumbent's shaky reign.
Dyche could make a case for a job well done in his first full season in charge given the off-field distractions. The noise. But now with a better team and new owners above him, he is feeling the chill of January.
Dyche's side appear increasingly embroiled in a relegation battle as they failed to produce a shot on target in the 90 minutes. There has now been one goal scored in the last five games.
Their inability to trouble their hosts was made almost comical by the ease with which Bournemouth broke through them time and time again, and another confident display gave Andoni Iraola's side five wins in eight.
The winning goal was everything Everton was not. Milos Kerkez sent a precisely calibrated cross into the penalty area, where it arrived at the perfect height for David Brooks to leap into the air and, with the kind of confidence that has imbued his team's brilliant season to date, past Pickford in the far corner shot.
It's easy to understand why Jamie Carragher is so keen for the Hungarian to join Liverpool. The 21-year-old has once again excelled at left-back and if he continues to rely on his abilities, he will be the choice of Europe's elite clubs. Something that can't be said for the eight members of Everton's squad who are currently out of contract this summer.Ben Grounds
Comments