Manchester City are only two numbers ahead, there are six games left to play, but we know we’ve noticed this movie before.
By the time the final whistle blew, the Emirates Stadium was already empty, with crowds flocking in the darkness of Sunday.
Mikel Arteta could be seen strolling around the pitch to applaud the pink and empty seats, or at least the ones that had remained in his until the end of an afternoon that had begun with hoarse club anthems, tongues of fire on the touchline, choreographed Victory Vibes.
At the other end, Aston Villa players hugged, clapped and waved in an incredibly lush away camp, a glorious moment from their own season. Their 2-0 win here will go a long way in ensuring that the club is among the best in Europe. next season. Otherwise, as the softness faded into the bloodless spring pewter over the edge of the booth, it felt as if the day had taken on a decisive shade of sky blue.
This is not the end of the race for the three-way name in the Premier League. This is not the beginning of the end of the race for the three-way name in the Premier League. Except, let’s face it, it’s probably either. a few things. After all, I noticed this movie before.
It’s hard to believe a more satisfying weekend for Manchester City, who kicked off on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Luton, scoring at will, key players without delay and three days ahead of Real Madrid.
Fast forward to Sunday and Liverpool and Arsenal lost at home, within two hours of each other, and they did so painfully. From kick-off, Ebereche Eze scored the only goal of the game at Anfield, a superbly crafted combination with just 14 minutes remaining. After which, Liverpool controlled 427 shots towards Crystal Palace’s goal, but it never seemed likely that they would score. In the Emirates, Arsenal started brilliantly but were overturned by a muscular and well-trained Aston Villa. who, instead of holding on, almost dominated the last 20 minutes.
In the end, Manchester City are just two points ahead at the top. But it also has, and we can’t stress this enough, two huge, intimidating points at the top, with the feel of a team heading for something of an end. , now 12 games away from a double treble, having never run away from the draw this season or reached the next point so far.
There’s a lot to be said in any painting simply to walk away, to let the other blink. That has been the nature of the race for City’s name this time around, an act of will as much as fluidity or patterns of play. the process. A kind of mechanized chase in all terrains, the degrees of which never go down. It’s very hard to see that this is the point, of all the past points, where they start to look down.
Here, Arsenal started well and may have taken the lead from the first hour. They simply bounced back after halftime, with Villa generating the kind of heart-wrenching and stressful performance, highlighting their mistakes with a bit of ruthlessness.
The first goal came in the 84th minute, but it was already half an hour in. It was a goal, a moment when Arsenal’s perfect defence simply cracked.
John McGinn played a smart game at the base of Villa’s midfield. Kai Havertz was available but not involved, allowing Digne to whip in a low cross that crossed the Arsenal penalty area past William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, unexpected Declan Rice, and then caught up with Leon Bailey, who controlled to slap him on the goal, with David Raya also caught off guard. An inconsequential pass had knocked five Arsenal players out of the game.
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After the Promotion
Two minutes later, the score was 2-0, this time he finished brilliantly through Ollie Watkins, who broke free with a single direct pass. Watkins pulled away, late enough to then send the ball, through a deflection, out of Raya’s reach. and to the farthest corner.
It seems to be arguably the toughest game Arsenal have left in the league, not so much in terms of form, but because of Unai Emery’s willingness to adapt his team to its conflicting parties, to be informed of the tactics used during Champions League matches to alter Arsenal’s form. Sit deeper. Play during half-time. Don’t be surprised by what happens around corners.
Of course, Arsenal will be accused of bottling it up here or reducing it on the spot. But it is not the effort that is missing, perhaps only a lack of merit, of malice, of luck, of know-how, of the feeling of inevitability that champions defend. have.
Ødegaard was perfect in the first half, making tackles, dribbling, passing, pulling strings. But what was at the end of his line?Kai Havertz spends one of his most confusing afternoons, drifting like a ferry waiting to dock. Gabriel Jesus was a familiar mix of super soft, sharp feet and all the precision of a croquet mallet.
None of that is an issue when the team is performing as best it can. But those draws have been lost here. Now there are six games left, with enough time for that image to change. This is not the end. It’s like that.