Week 19 of the English Premier League sees Liverpool open up a six point lead at the top after beating Newcastle at home as Man City lost to Leicester away.
I’ve found a new friend.
I sit next to him every day.
His name is Joe, and he’s 80-years-old. He’s a former movie star, dancer and lawyer. Today, during a conversation about alcohol he slipped this one into me.
“I wasn’t born on this planet. I have had previous lives, and remember them all. More than 2,000 aliens have visited earth, and they will reveal themselves shortly. We have had the ability to travel in space, and reached the Moon and Mars in the 1930s. The Germans got their first (they always do), and the back of the Moon looks like Manhattan. A number of prominent reptilian families run the world.”
And that’s nothing when you consider that Manchester City are third in the English Premier League (EPL).
Barely a bitten tongue ago football pundits were talking about Man City being one of the best teams the EPL had ever seen. Odds on to win the EPL, Champions League and the Eurovision Song Contest, it seemed for all the world that the rest were just making up the numbers.
And.
Now.
Liverpool have opened up a seven point lead.
Madness.
Reptilian, moonbase madness.
Liverpool’s 4-0 win over neutered Newcastle was their 16th EPL win in 19 games and a 12th clean sheet. The opening goal came on the 11-minute mark when Dejan Lovren smashed a half volley into the net after a weak Newcastle clearance, but had to be patient before adding more ticks in the goals scored column.
Two minutes into the second half, and Mohamed Salah scored his 12th EPL goal of the season from the penalty spot after being upended by Paul Dummett. Xherdan Shaqiri scored his fourth in as many games from close range with ten-minutes remaining, before Fabinho rounded things off with a header in the 85th minute.
It was Newcastle’s third defeat in six games, but fortunately for them Fulham, Huddersfield and Burnley are even more shocking. And while Liverpool was hammering Newcastle at home, Man City was losing for the second time in five days away at Leicester City.
City had taken a 14th minute lead when the returning Sergio Agüero set up Bernardo Silva, but the lead only stayed intact for five minutes when Marc Albrighton headed home the equaliser from a Jamie Vardy cross. Ricardo Pereira earned under fire coach Claude Puel another vital three points after a stunning late strike, meaning Leicester have now beaten Chelsea and City in successive games. City also finished the match with ten men after Fabian Delph received his marching orders for a lunge on Ricardo.
City drop to third after Spurs scored their 11th goal in two games with the five nil thrashing of Bournemouth. Son Heung-min was the star of the show with his second brace in five days. Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane were once again on the scoreline, and Lucas Moura added his sixth EPL goal of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are on a run of seven without defeat in all competitons since losing 4-2 to Arsenal at The Emirates, and are now an 8/1 shot for the title.
Chelsea strengthened their Champions League hopes after an Eden Hazard double shrugged off Watford in a tough encounter at Vicarage Road. Arsenal lost ground after drawing away at Brighton. The only saving grace is Unai Emery seeing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving to the top of the EPL Scoring charts with his equaliser, 20-minutes from time for his 13th EPL goal of the season. Man Utd shortened their Champions League qualification odds to 5/1 after beating Huddersfield 3-1 at Old Trafford thanks to a rare Nemanja Matic strike and a double for a rejuvenated Paul Pogba.
Here are the results in full.
Results in Full
Fulham 1 v 1 Wolves
Burnley 1 v 5 Everton
Liverpool 4 v 0 Newcastle
Crystal Palace 0 v 0 Cardiff
Liecester 2 v 1 Man City
Spurs 5 v 0 Bournemouth
Man Utd 3 v 1 Huddersfield
Brighton 1 v 1 Arsenal
Watford 1 v 2 Chelsea
To Be Played (Thu 27 Dec)
Southampton v West Ham
Premier League Table
1. Liverpool – 51 points
2. Spurs – 45
3. Man City – 44
4. Chelsea – 40
5. Arsenal – 38
6. Man Utd – 32
7. Leicester – 28
8. Everton – 27
9. Watford – 27
10. Wolves – 26
11. Bournemouth – 26
12. West Ham – 24
13. Brighton – 22
14. Crystal Palace – 19
15. Newcastle – 17
16. Southampton – 15
17. Cardiff – 15
18. Burnley – 12
19. Fulham – 11
20. Huddersfield – 10
Odds
To Win
Liverpool 8/11
Man City 7/4
Spurs 8/1
Top 4 Finish
Liverpool 1/1000
Man City 1/500
Spurs 1/10
Chelsea 1/3
Arsenal 9/4
Man Utd 5/1
Relegated
Huddersfield 1/4
Burnley 1/3
Fulham – 8/15
Cardiff 4/6
Newcastle 9/2
Top Scorer
Harry Kane 5/2 (12 goals)
Mohamed Salah 11/4 (12 goals)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 11/4 (13 goals)
Sergio Aguero 9/1 (8 goals)
Next Manager to Leave
Claude Puel 2/1
Sean Dyche 5/1
David Wagner 5/1
