United drew to Bournemouth at home in a game you’d really expect them to win. Especially when you consider they were up a goal, and later were playing against 10 man Bournemouth. Zlatan had a penalty saved to add to Mourinho’s misery. This United team is hard to defeat but they don’t score many goals, having scored only 2 more than Bournemouth themselves this season. The real story of the match was the feud between Ibrahimovic and Mings though as each were involved in a posthumous banning. Mings made a dangerous stamp on Ibrahimovic’s head while Zlatan returned the favor with an elbow smack to the head. Although common in the streets of Edinburgh, such violent acts were apparently not tolerated by the FA and Mings was given a 5 game ban while Ibrahimovic was given a 3 game ban.
A Crystal Palace win ensured that things just keeping worse at the bottom of the table. Loanee Sakho once again proved his worth as Palace kept a clean sheet. For the first goal Zaha outsmarted Chris Brunt as Brunt was caught not watching the ball. Then Townsend, moving about as fast as your nan after her bowel movement, went the length of the pitch and scored the second. More importantly this result was damning for the bottom three as Middlesbrough, Hull City, and Sunderland now sit firmly in relegation all having lost.
The huge matchup of the weekend was two worst best teams of 2017 so far: Liverpool and Arsenal. Liverpool go from relegation fodder one week to champions quality the next. Unfortunately for Arsene Wenger this week it was top quality. Although he may have done himself in by leaving Alexis Sanchez on the bench, a move that baffled most as he can score out of nothing. Sanchez made his feelings known by smiling from the bench as Arsenal slowly capitulated throughout the game. In an age of mercenaries Wenger may be a dying breed; he has few friends among the players at Arsenal. For Arsenal this brings huge questions on their future not just the rest of the season but heading into the summer. For Liverpool the unpredictable is becoming all too commonplace and predictable. Which of course means a loss to Burnley next week.
Like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in ’75 it was a matchup of two of the best strikers in the league. Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaka simply cannot be contained and their quality was on full display. Like the cheeky Englishman he is, Kane scored the opener from much too far out and it eeked in the corner. Lukaka showed why he might be too good for Everton as he was about the only thing that kept them in the match. For Tottenham it means they’re that much closer to locking down 2nd place for a 2nd consecutive year. For Everton, it means they are still a few key pieces away from competing with the big boys. Keeping Lukaku will be a win for them this off season.
West Ham showed exactly what you don’t do against Chelsea. For their first goal they were completely beaten on a counter attack after Chelsea absorbed pressure. Once it was in Hazard’s hands there was never any doubt. In truth the scoreline is flattering to West Ham as they didn’t strike until late. Seeing as it’s all but their trophy now, what do you reckon Chelsea will do on Holiday this summer? Will Diego Costa get skin rejuvenation in Germany to once again look like the world’s oldest youngest man (Google pictures for ‘young Diego Costa)? Will Hazard ménage with Wenger and Giroud bubblebath style? Stay tuned for the summer edition of this blog to find out all the exciting details.
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