There were two strong-edge clashes in the 21st round of the Premier League, with City continuing to lead the pack after a 2-1 win over Arsenal. Chelsea drew 2-2 at home with Liverpool, the difference between the top two and Manchester City was 10 points and 11 points, the chances of the Blue Moon winning the title increased, and the red and blue armies also indirectly completed Manchester City. In fact, Manchester City's win over Arsenal exposed some problems, the top team is still suspected of being guaranteed by the referee, so the team is also considered to be victorious after the end of this round of matches, because the referee's decision has many problems, Arsenal although lost, but won the respect, because they at least deserve a draw.
In the first half of the match Odegaard fell into the box and the referee's failure to give a penalty was questioned. Arsenal's lead then also revealed problems with City's defence, when Tierney's pass tore through the defence and Saka's shot was powerful. City have conceded fewer goals this season, so Arsenal were also encouraging to score in the first half.
At the end of the first half, Saka broke through on the flank, Rodri did not take a yellow card when he brought down his opponent, and the referee blew the whistle very obviously. Martinelli also threatened many times and missed some opportunities, and it was bad luck not to score in the first half, otherwise a two-goal lead would have been able to defeat Manchester City. Shortly after the start of the second half, Bernardo fell to the ground in the penalty area and the referee refused to award a penalty, but VAR decided it was a penalty, so City benefited. In fact, this fall to the ground and the first half of the penalty area fell to the ground has some similarities, are can be judged or not, if the two teams are fair, the penalty for not giving the penalty should be consistent, but it is two kinds of penalty results. Because of the referee's decision, Xhaka became the guilty of giving a penalty, and Mahrez performed mediocrely but became a hero for hitting the penalty.
Many game results have been changed, and the referee must have handed off more than once, and this game is no exception. After City equalised, Arsenal's Gabriel was reddished with a second yellow card for a foul in the 59th minute, and the balance of the game was tilted. What is incomprehensible is that Rodri then fouled, the referee did not say, it is obvious that it is a double-bid approach, the referee also gave Saka a yellow card, because the latter protested against this unfairness. Afterwards, Holden also received a yellow card for defending De Bruyne, while Manchester City had no one to take cards during regular hours. It was only after the goal was reversed that Rodri and Bernardo received yellow cards, and the referee also used it to show their fairness, but these cards could not reverse the outcome of the game.
Puzzlingly, the extra-long stoppage time at the end of the game also benefited Manchester City, and Arsenal's ability to hold out until the 92nd minute was convincing. Sterling did miss a lot of opportunities in this game, but also became a microcosm of The inefficiency of Manchester City's attacking end, the team has been hoping to keep the big man is actually a wrong decision, this season Sterling has no spirit and efficiency, it is indeed time to send away.
In the first half, the data of the two teams showed that Arsenal had 3-4 corners and 33% to 89% of the possession, but Arsenal was not inferior to the opponent in terms of threat goals, so there were many hidden dangers after Manchester City's winning streak that could affect the record later. Arsenal's many core players are absent from the game, the manager can not command on the sidelines, the team can have such a good performance does show that the strength and play have improved, this season's Premier League four battles will be more intense. In this game, Martinelli, Lacazette, Saka and Odegaard have all threatened the opponent's goal, and if it were not for the stable performance of manchester citymen, the team may have conceded more goals.
Judging from the recent performance, de Bruyne may continue his previous strength in this game, unfortunately, his teammates have missed the opportunity he sent, so De Bruyne has no goals and no assists, and the Belgian's play in the case of strict defense still has some impact. The core players of this manchester City starter are Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez, De Bruyne, and in the second half, Guardiola only made a substitution adjustment, he replaced Jesus with Kindogan, and the depressed Sterling played the whole game, such an arrangement is also problematic. In the 93rd minute, Laporte's shot was blocked, Rodri made up for it, and the other attacking players did need some reflection.
This season Manchester City have had a good record against league title-winning teams, with teams 0-1 Tottenham, 5-0 Arsenal, 1-0 Chelsea, 2-2 Liverpool and 2-0 Manchester United. During this period, the team only conceded goals in two games, and the number of clean sheets was relatively large, which did show the team's advantages, but the recent performance may indeed lead to the loss of points in subsequent games, because the team has more problems, but Guardiola has not solved these shortcomings.
Arsenal were once in the relegation zone this season and are now in fourth place, which also shows that manager Arteta is strong, and this young team will have more improvement next season. Xhaka is also the team's double-edged sword, although there are threats on the offensive end, but there are also some rash and uncontrollable emotions, resulting in the team falling into passivity. His protests also stirred up the emotions of his teammates, Gabriel was the second yellow card after his protest, as a leader really needs to be in place in every way. In the past, Arsenal often sent away the captain, but now several captains can not satisfy the fans, and the influence on the team is also lacking, so the rise of the team must go through the baptism of time and let the young team grow.
From the process of winning the championship in previous seasons, it can be concluded that the number of consecutive wins has reached more than 10 games, and it is a team that can still win consecutively after the half of the season, and the probability of winning the championship at the end is very high. Since Conte won the title in his debut season in charge of Chelsea for 13 consecutive wins, Premier League teams have 10+ consecutive wins, and they basically won the championship that season, so the rest of the season may be a group of men.
The next 4am on January 8 is the FA Cup match, Manchester City will play away to Swindon, and the next round of the league will return home to face Chelsea, so there will be multiple rotations in the Cup of Guardiola to make it easier to win Chelsea. For the Blues, the next round of the league is also a good opportunity to narrow the point difference with the top team, and the last time to force the opponent to draw, so it is necessary to have more planning. Chelsea's subsequent fixtures were devilish, with the team playing the League Cup home game against Tottenham On 6 January, then the FA Cup home match against Chesterfield on the 9th, and the away game against Manchester City four days later.
Arsenal and Chelsea have basically the same schedule, the League Cup against Liverpool, although it is a home game but it is difficult to win, unless Klopp sends multiple substitute teams to play, Arsenal can have a winning percentage. Then the FA Cup away to Nottingham Forest, and 4 days later away to Liverpool, is also a very devilish schedule, so Manchester City, which is only a two-line battle, may benefit again, because other teams are third-tier.