SB Nation English Premier League
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The league-leaders stumbled in England, while a packed middle of the table continued to keep the league's Big Three within reach.
Over 180 minutes of football this week at Eastlands and Manchester City failed to score. They also failed to allow a goal, meaning the Citizens got two points from the week where they failed to play good football.
As Danny Pugsley at Bitter and Blue points out, Manchester City is a relatively better place than they were at this time last year. Though the point total is the same, their league positions is higher, making him question why there are so many supporters critical of Roberto Mancini
Of course, when you take off Carlos Tévez for Gareth Barry in a tie match, you're bringing a lot of criticism upon yourself, as Pugsley notes in his thoughts on Saturday's match against Birmingham City:
The big talking point from the game though is centred around the substitution of Carlos Tevez for Gareth Barry with minutes remaining that signalled widespread boos and calls for Craig Bellamy. Given the support Mancini received at West Brom following speculation over his future this was surprising to me.
After two 0-0 results, West Brom seems so long ago. For now, Mario Balotelli has one more match left on his suspension while Manchester City remains fourth in the Premier League.
For more on the Citizens, you can go to Danny Pugsley's Bitter and Blue, SB Nation's Manchester City blog.
Arsenal beat Everton 1-6 at Goodison last year, but with Everton climbing the table ahead of Sunday's rematch, the Gunners looked to have their hands full. But although the scoreline ended close (1-2), Arsenal again controlled the Toffees.
Over at The Short Fuse, SB Nations' Arsenal blog, Ted Harwood has the match report, where he summarizes the match's closing moments.
They started in their quest much as they had finished, [Jack] Rodwell's effort blocked, before Tomas Rosicky shepherded the ball out of play for a goal kick in the 93rd minute. Arsenal finally reasserted control, keeping Everton at bay for the last minute. Howard Webb blew for full time, three more valuable road points on the board for the Gunners. Now if they can start improving their home form, things will be looking pretty good, as Chelsea were defeated 3-0 at Stamford Bridge later in the day by Sunderland.
Two points off the pace, in second all alone. Time to keep marching forward.
And after Chelsea lost the weekend's final match, Arsenal stayed within two, bringing back speculation as to whether they can make a title run. This Arsenal team looks stronger than the last year's vintage, but these are still early times, as the title race's concerned.
For now, Arsenal has their convincing victory at Goodison, which you can read more about at The Short Fuse.
What an up-and-down morning it was for Villa fans on Saturday. Their match with Manchester United started with trepidation, but their kids settled in quickly and held through the first half, after which Villa dominated for almost half-an-hour, scoring twice while shaking the woodwork two more times.
By now, we all know what happened next. Manchester United showed a complete lack of imagination in coming back, just as they always do. It's sickening, it's admirable, but it's also predictable how United always goes this.
It also leaves a Villan conflicted on how to feel about their 2-2 draw, but over at 7500 to Holte, Aaron Campeau elected to half-full it:
The whistle blew minutes later and Villa were left in an odd position, they deserved to be proud of their efforts and were truly the better side, but in the end a dramatic charge from United was enough to deny Villa the three points. I get the feeling I should have been crushed and angry and frustrated by the result, but it just wasn't in me. Villa didn't deserve to be in this game at all and yet they were the better team by a sight.
At least in that crucial period after half, Villa was by far the better team. And as Aaron alludes, Villa's injury situation meant they should have been dominated. But they weren't. While before the match Gerard Houllier was seen trawling the crowd for somebody to play in central midfield, at match's end Villa was able to survive the debut of Jonathan Hogg and get a point. Aaron's wise to keep the bigger picture in mind.
But there's more - a lot more - of Aaron's match report at 7500 to Holte, SB Nation's Aston Villa blog.
It's been a frustrating season for Fulham fans, seeing eight Cottager draws in 13 matches send last year's Europa League finalists toward the bottom of the English Premier League table. Fulham is now in 16th place, one point above the drop, facing a visit from Manchester City, and while their 0-0 at Newcastle can be seen as a positive, an accumulation of draws is threatening Fulham's survival.
As for the match itself, Russ Goldman at Cottagers Confidential has the recap, and as with any draw, there's almost equal amounts good and bad.
I left this game impressed with the play of Newcastle. This was a tough match and Fulham should be happy to get the draw. I also watched a future star in Andy Carroll for Newcastle. He is such a physical presence, and luckily Hangeland did a great job on him.
For Fulham, the back four did a great job controlling the strikers of Newcastle. Mark Schwarzer was again in top form. Danny Murphy played great in central midfield. Up front, I think Dembele is so close to really breaking out. He was very impressive today.
So, Fulham again show that they can compete on the road, but can't figure out a way to win. Next week it doesn't get much easier for the Cottagers. Manchester City come to Craven Cottage to face Fulham. The Cottagers will need to score next week if they plan on winning.
They will need to score, they will need to keep defending well, and Mark Hughes is going to find some edge. Fulham's lost Bobby Zamora until 2011, an absence that can't be overlooked, but when you have a team that's coming close enough to get eight draws, it's hard not to ask if there's a tweak the manager could implement to get three where his team is otherwise getting one.
But for another view on all things Fulham, you can visit SB Nation's FFC blog, Cottagers Confidential.
The hours after Chelsea's 0-3 loss to Sunderland were dominated by missives on the English Premier League leader's vulnerabilities, but with a day's reflection, it seems like we learned more about the Black Cats than the Blues. After all, we already knew that Chelsea's midfield was thin and (until they see the returns of Micheal Essien and Frank Lampard,) weak. A defense which last year went through spells of both dominance and inconsistency also seems to lack depth. These are things we knew at the start of the season, with Sunday serving as a rare convergence of weaknesses. Don't expect it to keep happening after November drifts away.
Unfortunately for Blues supporters, the team's struggles look set to extend for a couple more weeks, after which their schedule finally catches up to them. Chelsea faces two more matches without Essien and Lampard, road fixtures at St. Andrew's and St. James'. After that they return home to face Everton, a team whose size gave healthy Chelsea teams problems last season. Then, Chelsea gets Spurs, Manchester United, and Arsenal before closing the calendar year against Bolton. Oh, wait. That's fifth place Bolton.
We knew the fixtures would even out for Chelsea, putting the impetus on the Blues to claim as many points as possible before a tough December schedule. But with their midfield problems to persist through the rest of November, Chelsea will be hard pressed to get the full points they need from Birmingham City and Newcastle United. While you could see even a weakened Chelsea handling a struggling Brum and the inconsistent Toon, you could also see those matches ending 0-0 and 1-0, Newcastle having already beat Chelsea in the League Cup.
That combined with the threat of a slide gives Chelsea their first pressure of the season. They may need full points from their next two matches to maintain their lead through Everton. Arsenal is second, only two points back, but with upcoming matches against Spurs and Aston Villa, their schedule is actually tougher than Chelsea's. The real danger is Manchester United, still magnanimously undefeated, who get Wigan, Blackburn and Blackpool before getting Arsenal at home on December 13.
With United only three points back, their easy schedule could see them in a dead heat with Chelsea when the teams meet at Stamford Bridge on December 19. While that wouldn't be so bad - being in the middle of the title race come mid-December - allowing United to catch-up would mean Chelsea's roaring start will have gone for naught.
But let's not overlook Sunderland's accomplishment. While it's natural to worry about the implications on the title race, consider the last time Chelsea suffered a loss like this. In recent years, the Blues have lost at home to the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, but the last time a club like Sunderland came to the Bridge and won was 2003. That's when the Blues lost to Bolton 1-2, the beginning of a six match stretch where Chelsea won only twice at home. The last time Chelsea lost at home by three goals was the year before, when Manchester United won 0-3 at the Bridge. Credit to Sunderland for pulling off something we haven't seen for seven or eight years.
It was a famous win for Steve Bruce, who saw so much scrutiny after the Black Cats lost 5-1 at St. James' Park, but it may be premature to suggest Sunderland is ready to push-on and qualify for Europe. While that may seem a strange claim considering the club sits sixth, on Sunday they were the beneficiaries of a very weak Chelsea side. Though they've only lost twice in 13 matches, their relatively strong start has failed to see them put significant distance between themselves and Spurs, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Everton - clubs we thought would compete for Europe at the season's onset. Sunderland is capable of joining that group of contenders, but to do so, they will have to improve upon their good start.
Arsenal has an 0-3 win at Eastlands under their belt, but there was something more impressive about Sunday's win at Goodison. Their 1-2 victory was decisive, even if a late Tim Cahill goal kept it from being obviously so. In addition, they played against a full side, something they did for only four minutes in Manchester. While the Toffees seemed to have lost the quality that had stared to emerge in the last few weeks, Arsenal deserves credit for some uncharacteristically decisive play in the final third. Great finishes from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas have the Gunners in second place, two points behind Chelsea.
That standing was held by Manchester United coming into the weekend, but their inexplicable stumble at Villa Park required a late, two goal comeback to draw a depleted Aston Villa, 2-2. Perhaps Villa deserves more credit than I'm implying, but it's not as if the claret and blue saw a number of stand-out performances. Stephen Warnock was great, Stewart Downing typical and reliably good, and Ashley Young had a great moment mixed in with one of his worst performances of the season. But this was far from a great Villa performance. It was decent, and this is a team United should have dominated. Instead, Villa was harshly done by the result, with Manchester United left with further evidence why they're undefeated but still in third place.
But you would rather be Manchester United than Manchester City, whose terrible performance against a limping Birmingham City led fans to verbally abuse Roberto Mancini post-match. The 0-0 draw, not an uncommon result for the Citizens, takes on an entirely different context then the same mid-week result against United. On Saturday, City was hosting a relegation-embattled side that, in two preceding matches, had allowed opponents to score the first two goals. Rather than use those as reasons to be aggressive, City stayed with a plan that, instead of pushing them to the top of the league, will keep them competing with Tottenham for fourth. Just like last year.
Now past the one-third mark of the season, Sunderland isn't the only surprise in the top half of the league. Bolton sits fifth after their 2-3 win at Wolves. Newcastle is eighth despite failing to get three from Fulham, drawing 0-0 at St. James'.
The biggest surprise in the top 10: Stoke City, whose seven losses are the second-highest total in the league, but because the Potters have avoided draws, their weekend win over Liverpool puts them 10th, one spot ahead of the Reds. Stoke's 16 points also has them three points back of a European spot.
But the news from that match was Liverpool, of course. With back-to-back disappointing performances after last weekend's defeat of Chelsea, the upset at Anfield is looking half-aberration, half-Chelsea's fault. Neither of those factors hint Liverpool is ready to push toward the top. Instead, it's helpful to note that if Chelsea had a full team at Anfield, Liverpool may still be in the drop. They're only three points ahead of 18th place Brum.
Rounding out the weekend's matchday:
We Ain't Got No History: Chelsea Driving Supporters To Drink
We Ain't Got No History's Graham MacAree had the right response Sunday morning when he confessed his Blues were driving him "to the drink." Note that Graham lives in the Pacific time zone, meaning his favorite club had inflicted so much trauma on his supporting heart that the hard alcohol was administered around 9:30 a.m. (perhaps precipitating this comment, something every Chelsea fan felt long before Ashley Cole's pass found Danny Welbeck).
After a day's reflection, Graham has collected his thoughts, reactions which center around injuries, (lack of) midfield, and perspective:
Graham has more thoughts on Chelsea's Sunday loss at We Ain't Got No History, SB Nation's Chelsea blog.
Nov 15 6:13p by Richard Farley - 0 comments