Finally, the Premier League has resumed its normal times and dates. This week was a high scoring one as 6 games had 3 goals or more. Typically, 3 goals in a football match are considered a high scoring game.

The first game that caught my eye was the battle for the top four and the mighty Champions League spot. Chelsea, the current fourth place holders, hosted Tottenham. Both teams are arguably in a poor run of form. Chelsea was all over Tottenham on the scoresheet, literally. All three goals in this thrilling 2-1 Blues victory came from a Chelsea player. After Tammy Abraham’s poor run of form and tweak in his leg, the league vet, Oliver Giroud, stepped up to clean up a sloppy mess in the Spurs penalty area. Alonso added one more right after the half to make it 2- nil. Tottenham under their new manager, Jose Mourinho, has been insurmountably unimpressive and quite toothless in attack. Although injuries have struck them, they still have quality in their side that should be filling the void. To make things interesting, Antonio Rudiger scored an own goal to make it 2-1 late on. Chelsea was able to ward off anything that the Spurs threw at them and retained a grip on the coveted Champions League position.

The second game of note was the 5-goal thriller between the two midtable teams, Arsenal and Everton. This game was exciting as you never know what you’re going to get from these two sides. Defensive errors, forwards shooting blanks in front of goal and an overall lapse in concentration have plagued these two sides all season. To make matters more interesting, they both have relatively new managers with polar opposite playing styles than the manager before them. This game started off with a bang. In the 2′ minute, Everton took the lead through an acrobatic finish worthy of a watch. After that, Arsenal responded with two quickfire goals only six minutes apart. On the brink of halftime, a goalmouth scramble saw Everton’s Riharlison sneak the ball over the line to make it 2-2 going into halftime. Arsenal said whatever you can do Everton I can do better. The start of the second half saw Arsenal’s in-form Aubameyang score just one minute after play resumed. His second goal of the day saw off Everton moving the gunners 5 points off of European football.

This week was blessed with high scoring games, but the most anticipated game was between second-place Manchester City and third-place Leicester City. This was not a goal-fest, in fact, it was quite a cagey affair. The two sides were locked in and did not want to give up the first goal. In the 62′ minute City was awarded a penalty as a result of a Leicester handball- after being reviewed by VAR, of course. City’s penalty woes continued as Sergio Aguero stepped up and missed it going down the middle. City has missed 5 of their last 7 penalties which is nothing short of a calamity. Luckily, Jesus their second striker was subbed on late in the game and received a perfectly timed pass from the former Leicester city man, Mahrez, and beat Schmeichel at the near post. Jesus was only on for 3 minutes before finding the net. City completed the double over Leicester this season giving them a vital 6 points against the closest team in the standings.

That’s all for this week’s roundup! Let’s see what next weekend brings…

Hi all- this past match week was a little unsettled. The games were not played at their normal times as they are finally getting into the busiest time of the season.

As a result, we were gifted a game on Friday between Wolverhampton Wanders, Wolves for short, and Leicester City. This game particularly was a snooze fest and ended 0-0. Leicester went down to ten men as a result of two yellow cards to their midfielder Hamza Choudhury. Luckily for the city, they were able to ward off the Wolves and share the spoils.

Saturday saw the league leaders, Liverpool, take on the bottom feeders, Norwich. Now Liverpool has been unbeaten all year with only dropping two points. Their tear of the Premier League continued by winning 1-0. But have they started to show cracks? As of late, they haven’t been as convincing in their wins. More and more 1-0 and 2-0 wins are a result. Yes, they are winning, but will they burn out and fall short of being crowned only the second-ever “invincibles?” The only other team to complete this feat was Arsenal back in 2003-2004 season winning 26 games and drawing 12 games. Currently, Liverpool is one game off of tying the “Invincibles” on wins in a single season. This is a miraculous feat in itself, but can they go until May without losing? I don’t think so, but that’s just me.

Sunday did not hold back and blessed us 9 goals in two games. Arsenal won by a fantastic score of 4-0 over struggling Newcastle United. Tottenham Hotspur, better known as Spurs, is looking for a spot in the Champions League Qualifications for next year, was given a temporary boost by beating out Aston Villa by a score of 3-2. After Alderwireld gave Aston Villa the early lead by conceding an own goal, he quickly corrected his mistake by putting it in Villas net the next time around. Son Heung-Min netted two goals, but at what cost? Son fractured his forearm and may be out until the end of the league in May. More injury woes for Spurs as Son is the latest star to go down with a long term injury alongside Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko.

On Monday we saw Manchester United play Chelsea. A top table battle. United ended up winning the game 2-0, but not after controversy. Video Assistant Review, better known as VAR had its handprints all over this game. VAR is new to the sport and is far from perfect. As a result, dodgy calls were made as Harry Maguire escaped a red card early in the game when it was a clear and obvious red card offense. Manchester United benefitted heavily from VAR in this game. Chelsea had two goals ruled out, one for a foul in the buildup to the goal and an offsides call. To make matters worse for Chelsea, Harry Maguire, who escaped a red, went on to score the match-winning goal- his first after his mega-million transfer to United making him the most expensive defender in the world.

Lastly, Manchester City won neat and tidy at home to West Ham United by a score of 2-0. City has been in the spotlight a lot this week as they recently were banned 2 years from the Champions League for breaking rules within UEFA and the financial rules that are in place. Certainly, this puts a damper on all of the incredible feats that they produced over the last two years. City is set to appeal the ban and aim to be back in the Champions League next season.

Overall, another busy week and nothing short of pure entertainment in one of the most entertaining leagues in the world.

As it stands after 26 matchweeks, the table looks as such. Will there be changes? Can Liverpool go unbeaten? Who takes the Champions League spots? Keep watching and reading next week to find out more twists and turns!

https://www.premierleague.com/tables

With great timing, the Premier League is on its winter break this weekend. This allows for a great segway into what exactly is the Premier League?

The Premier League is the top division of English Football. Below is a graphic of all the leagues in England, this blog will focus solely on the top division.

They do things quite a bit differently in England, and all of Europe, when it comes to structuring the league. For one, they do not have a playoff and finals match. Instead, it is an accumulation of points acquired from the entirety of the season. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins.

How do you get points you ask? You play each team twice, one home and one away, and have the opportunity to pick up 3 points from a win. You get one point if, after the 90 minutes, or a full game, you are tied with the opponent. In this circumstance, both teams get one point. Lastly, if you lose, you get zero points.

One of the most intriguing things about the Premier League and football, in general, is the fact that there is no bad season, no “restructuring” or “tanking.” The term “relegation” means that if you are the worst teams in the league, you get kicked out. So, the bottom three teams at the end of the year, with the least amount of points, would get sent down to the Championship division below the Premier League. As a result, there are three open league spots for the following season. The top teams in the Championship would be promoted to the Premier League. This ensures that it is the best of the best in the top leagues around the world.

That’s all for this week’s blog, check back next week for the first official Premier League Roundup post!

This blog is based solely on the Premier League, which takes place in England. This is the best league in England for soccer, otherwise known as football.

The Premier is one of the most competitive leagues for football and is conveniently the most accessible football league to watch in the United States besides the MLS.

This blog will cover the major games taking place on the game week, the most exciting game and just any news and updates that are relevant to this blog. On weeks that there are no games, I will cover what the Premier League is, the rules that are in place, and some history within the league.

There may be a few words or phrases that do not make sense, please feel free to ask for clarification! I will do my best to make this blog welcoming and inviting for all readers.