The Premier League reappeared in the two-man competition, Guardiola welcomed back to the core, and Klopp lost his trump card
With the leader Liverpool picking up the little cherry Bournemouth 4-0 away from home, the 21st round of the Premier League that was played at the wrong end was also over.
In the standings, there is still a stalemate: Liverpool in first place, 48 points, Manchester City in second, Arsenal in third, and Villa in fourth, all with 43 points, and Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, with 40 points. The title and the fourth, it is still the same as before - the title, Liverpool against Manchester City, the fourth, Villa against Tottenham.
Although Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium in this round, setting the biggest Premier League London derby victory in team history, and tied Manchester City with one more game, there is one thing to say, in terms of Arsenal's performance this season, it is still difficult to join Manchester City and Liverpool in the title battle.
From the Christmas championship to the battle for the four, Arsenal only took 2 rounds, before facing Crystal Palace, the British authoritative media "Sky Sports" gave a score prediction of 0-1 before the game, and was not optimistic about Arsenal.
However, with Gabriel's two hammers in the first half and Leandro Trossard's powerful shot in the second half, Arsenal managed to dominate the London derby, but that's all, Arteta's tactical setup and on-the-spot scheduling still make people lose hope of winning the title, at most it can be regarded as a companion.
Of course, there is more than enough to be below than above, and Arsenal is still not too much of a problem to win third.
Therefore, the melody of the Premier League's championship this season has returned to the familiar main theme - the Red Army vs. Blue Moon, Gua Shuai and Uncle Scumbag. This is also the business card of the Premier League in recent seasons, think of the 2018/19 season, 2021/22 season, the suffocating title battle between the Reds and the Blue Moon, which is still a topic of conversation among fans after dinner.
Manchester City's away comeback to beat Newcastle, the process and result are not unexpected, but the shock to the Premier League powerhouses is indescribable - Manchester City's real core, attacking thrusters, De Bruyne is back from injury.
With Kevin De Bruyne's Manchester City, it's the real Manchester City. After De Bruyne came off the bench, Manchester City's attack was obviously silky and smooth, Newcastle's offensive and defensive transitions could not play at all, and after continuous blows and pressure, De Bruyne dominated the defending champions' first game of the new year - a crotch-close slash and a God's view assist, a comeback that swallowed mountains and rivers.
After surviving the injury wave in the first half of the season, Manchester City have a valuable opportunity during this winter break, and when Haaland returns from injury, the defending champions will officially launch a general attack on the fourth consecutive Premier League title.
Manchester City welcomed back their ace core, but Liverpool lost their number one star at this juncture.
The Africa Cup of Nations kicked off, Salah returned home to participate and will miss at least 3 rounds of Premier League matches, just when the Reds fans were expecting the Egyptian pharaoh to return as soon as possible, Salah was injured in the match between Egypt and Ghana, it is reported that Salah's injury is more serious than expected, and he has withdrawn from the Africa Cup of Nations and will miss 3-4 weeks.
I'm really afraid of something, but fortunately, Nunez stood up in this round, and the team's all-time standard king scored a long-lost brace to help Liverpool beat Bournemouth and continue to maintain a 5-point lead.
Next, the Reds will face the Gunners and the Blues, which will be a huge test for manager Jurgen Klopp. Considering that Manchester City has one game less, once Liverpool loses points, it is very likely that they will be caught up by Manchester City, or even overtaken.
Looking at the lineup and configuration alone, Manchester City is undoubtedly still stronger than Liverpool, and with the psychological advantage of winning the previous two championships, Manchester City still has a slight advantage. Of course, football is round, and if Liverpool can survive the fixtures in Salah's absence, they can still fight Manchester City to the end.
The Premier League dishes are served, welcome to taste.