In this week’s Premier League review we lose the first team to the Championship after Aston Villa’s defeat away at Man Utd, and referee Jonathan Moss steals the show at the King Power after sending Jamie Vardy off in controversial circumstances.
Aston Villa’s 28-year stay in the Premier League is over after losing by a goal to nil at Old Trafford. Only Everton has played in the top flight for longer than the West Midlands side. They hurtle into the Championship like a paving slab. They will lose out on £100m in television money. They don’t even have a manager.
There must have been a few poor decisions for a team to be relegated so early in the system, but three stand out like a sore thumb. The sale of Fabian Delph to man City, and Christian Benteke to Liverpool, coupled with the sacking of Tim Sherwood left behind a team without an engine, steering wheel and no fuel. Quite what the board was thinking when they hired the charming Remi Garde is beyond rational thought. Perhaps, they got what they deserved?
It was Man United’s fifth home in on the trot without conceding a goal. Once again the result will spray a fake mist over another mediocre performance. Once again it was Marcus Rashford who was the difference scoring with a sublime finish in the 32nd minute. It was the 18-year olds seventh goal in 12 games since Louis Van Gaal found him kicking the ball about in the youth side.
Two questions remain. The first – who will manage Aston Villa when they make their Championship debut (Nigel Pearson is currently odds on favourite)? The second – who will join them?
The perennial relegation dogfight is between Newcastle, Norwich, and Sunderland, and there is no separating them after Sunderland finally pieced it all together in a storming performance at the Carrow Road.
Sunderland has looked the more accomplished of the three for a few months now, but there has always been something missing that has prevented them from securing more points than they have.
The Black Cats secured their first clean sheet in 16 games a few weeks ago, and that confidence spilled over in this vital six-pointer. With the defence rock solid, and a player like Jan Kirchhoff breaking things up in midfield, it falls to the strike force to put the ball in the back of the net, and they didn’t disappoint.
Fabio Borini scored the first goal from the penalty spot after an ugly foul by Andre Wisdom sent the Italian to the grass in agony. 12-minutes later and Borini turned provider as he laid the ball on a plate for Jermaine Defoe to score his 13th goal of the season. The industrious Duncan Watmore sealed the points with a splendid goal in injury time. Victory for Sunderland means they are now a single point behind rickety Norwich with a game in hand.
A Sunderland win was also good news for their North East rivals Newcastle. Rafa Benitez welcomed Swansea to his 56th birthday party, and they rather generously gift wrapped him three points.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Welsh side was in the bottom three themselves. That was at Christmas, a time when Benitez was still in charge of Real Madrid. He must wake up in the morning, look outside at the grey clouds, and think he is still in the midst of a nightmare.
The Newcastle hierarchy brought Benitez into the fold hoping his title-winning mentality would inspire the Newcastle players into some form of unity. It hasn’t quite gone to plan, but things are looking a little brighter after goals from Jamaal Lascelles, Moussa Sissoko, and Andros Townsend handed Benitez his first victory with a little cherry on top. They are now three points behind Norwich and two behind their fierce North East rivals.
Jonathan Moss Steals The Show
We know a referee has put in a sterling performance when you never mention his or her name. A fact, someone forgot to tell Jonathan Moss. Leicester welcomed West Ham to the King Power knowing three more wins would secure them the title irrespective of whatever type of run Spurs could put together between now and the end of the season.
It was a tie that showcased four of the six players shortlisted for the Professional Football Association’s (PFA) Player’s Player of the Year Award in Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, and Dimitri Payet, and yet Moss decided that he wanted to hog the limelight from them all.
Leicester did what Leicester do well by taking a one-goal lead thanks to Jamie Vardy’s 22nd Premier League goal of the campaign. The England striker has now been involved in more goals than any other Premier League player with 22 goals and 6 assists.
Despite West Ham having more of the possession, Leicester always looked in control until Moss decided to become the star in the 56th minute. Vardy was clean through on goal and looked likely to make it 2-0 when he was sent tumbling to the floor by a West Ham defender. Vardy has won more penalties than any other Premier League player, and he thought he won another one when Moss put his whistle in his mouth and blew.
Unfortunately, his decision was not to award Leicester a penalty. It was to award West Ham a free kick and to book Vardy for diving, meaning he had to send him off because it was his second booking of the match (he shouldn’t have even been booked the first time).
It doesn’t matter how many times you watch the replay; you cannot make a reliable judgment as to whether Vardy dived, meaning, the referee decided to be a hero. It was the wrong call in a critical time of the season, and Leicester will now lose their star man through suspension.
Moss was not finished.
Leicester held the fort well until a corner in the 84th minute saw Moss admonishing several Leicester defenders for being a little too aggressive with their hustling. The ball eventually came over, and Moss blew instantly to award a penalty against Wes Morgan for a challenge on Winston Reid.
Did Morgan manhandle Reid?
Yes, he did, but you see that sort of behaviour at every corner, and in fact, Robert Huth was the victim of the same kind of treatment later in the game. On that occasion the whistle stayed in Moss’s pocket, but not for Morgan’s challenge. It was a penalty, and Andy Carroll duly slammed it into the bottom of the net.
Leicester looked forlorn, and their faces would look even shallower after Aaron Cresswell scored a peach of a goal from the edge of the box to give West Ham the lead five minutes from time. The whole football world was waiting for this moment. How would Leicester react with their backs against the wall? They ticked all the boxes.
As tired as they must have been they pushed forward in search of an equaliser, and an idiotic challenge by Andy Carroll on Leonardo Ulloa saw Moss pointing to the spot for the second time. Ulloa swept the blades of grass from his shorts and rifled the equaliser into the back of the net. It was the last kick of the game. Moss needed bodyguards to get him off the pitch.
Spurs can reduce Leicester’s lead to five points if they can beat Stoke on Monday night.
Here are the rest of the results:
Results
Chelsea 0 v 3 Man City
Man Utd 1 v 0 Aston Villa
Norwich 0 v 3 Sunderland
Newcastle 3 v 0 Swansea
West Brom 0 v 1 Watford
Everton 1 v1 Southampton
Leicester 2 v 2 West Ham
Bournemouth 1 v 2 Liverpool
Arsenal 1 v 1 Crystal Palace
To Be Played (Mon 18 April)
Stoke v Spurs
Premier League Title Winning Odds
Leicester 1/4
Spurs 4/1
Champions League Qualification Odds
Arsenal 1/25
Man City 1/8
Man Utd 7/2
Premier League Relegation Odds (To Join Aston Villa)
Newcastle 2/11
Norwich 1/2
Sunderland 8/13
Premier League Standings (After 34 Games)
1st. Leicester – 73 pts.
2nd. Spurs – 65 pts.
3rd. Man City – 60 pts.
4th. Arsenal – 60 pts.
5th. Man Utd – 56 pts.
6th. West Ham – 53 pts.
7th. Southampton – 51 pts.
8th. Liverpool – 51 pts.
9th. Stoke – 47 pts.
10th. Chelsea – 44 pts.
11th. Everton – 41 pts.
12th. Watford – 41 pts.
13th. Bournemouth – 41 pts.
14th. West Brom – 40 pts.
15th. Swansea – 40 pts.
16th. Crystal Palace – 39 pts.
17th. Norwich – 31 pts.
18th. Sunderland – 30 pts.
19th. Newcastle – 28 pts.
20th. Aston Villa – 16 pts.
