LONDON - Manchester City have shown themselves in a league of their own, so the Premier League should be grateful that Chelsea and Liverpool are still able to entertain us all. Sunday's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge neither helped the team nor cemented City's vice-like hold on top spot, but football is about overcoming danger, risk and flaws, and when When it all comes together, you get an unforgettable game like this. ,
This second-versus-third clash always left both sides looking to maintain bleak hopes of capturing Pep Guardiola's winning machine, before City went 11 points clear at the top of the table with a 2-1 win at Arsenal on Saturday. needed to win. , City's victory at the Emirates was their 11th consecutive Premier League victory and they have all won with such drab ease, scoring 33 goals and conceding just seven, that every three points is now met with little more than a shoulder to shoulder with the imperative. Huh.
Barring an unexpected collapse in the second half of the season, City will win their fourth league title in five years and you'll struggle to count on the fingers of one hand, digging deep into their reserves to weather adversity during that time. Was lying Duration. Guardiola has produced one of the all-time great teams in English football history during his six years at the Etihad, but he may be too good to contribute to games like this.
Chelsea and Liverpool gave us such an exciting match because they both have weaknesses that can be exploited by their opponents. And as a result, they both had to take risks in an attempt to secure a significant victory.
And he also had to get into the game with unwanted distractions looming over both clubs.
Chelsea, with three of their last eight wins in the league, were without £97.5 million striker Romelu Lukaku, who was ruled out by coach Thomas Tuchel due to an outspoken interview since returning to the club from the Internazionale at Stamford Bridge. Their failure to impress has been reported. Heat. And Liverpool were without manager Jurgen Klopp, goalkeeper Alisson, defender Joel Matip and forward Roberto Firmino - all isolated due to COVID-19.
In contrast, City have enjoyed remarkably quiet successes since losing to Crystal Palace in October, which is why they are free-rolling for another title. But the Premier League is considered one of the most exciting in world football because of the kind of game it plays, and the teams like Chelsea and Liverpool, and the plays they make.
From the first minute, when Sadio Mane was lucky enough to avoid a red card to strike Cesar Azpilicueta in the face with an elbow after only 14 seconds, the game was full of incident. Azpilicueta later said it was an "obvious red card" during interviews after the game.
Christian Pulisic, playing center in Lukaku's absence, missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring on seven minutes when, only beating stand-in keeper Kaomahin Kelleher, he was inconclusive and allowed the youngster to press the ball. It proved to be a costly omission when, two minutes later, Mane took advantage of his lucky escape by sending off a foul to score by Trevoh Chaloba.
Chelsea were in disarray and Liverpool looked like the team that won the title in 2019. When Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 on 26 minutes with a surprising near-post finish leaving Marcos Alonso behind, it looked like Liverpool were about to deliver. The kind of attack Chelsea did at Manchester United earlier this season in their 5-0 loss at Old Trafford.
However, Liverpool were unable to score a third, and Chelsea's two goals in the space of three minutes at the end of the first half turned the game on its head.
When Kelleher punched Alonso's in-swinging free kick on 42 minutes, the keeper did well to deny the Chelsea defender. But the ball dropped Matteo Kovacic over the edge of the penalty area and, as he was backpedaling, the midfielder somehow directed a volley ahead of Kelleher and into the net. It was a brilliant display of technique by the former Real Madrid player and helped Chelsea gain a foothold in the game.
And it took them only three minutes to equalize when Pulisic atone for his previous mistake by latching on to N'Golo Kante's pass before hitting Kelleher at the Republic of Ireland international with a precise left-footed shot. Did. As the chaos continued on the pitch, Mason Mount nearly put Chelsea up 3-2 in stoppage time of the first half, with a swaggering volley that bounced right over the post.
When a game is so eventful in the first half, it rarely delivers a second half of the same quality as the coaches closing the holes that caused excitement in the first. But when the flow of goals stopped, the entertainment did not.
Salah forced a crucial save from Edouard Mendy with a 25-yard lob on 57 minutes and Mane was also denied by the Chelsea keeper. Kelleher, not to be dismissed, then made a surprise save to prevent Pulisic from scoring his second of the game.
In all, there were 25 chances in 90 minutes, with both sides registering six points on target. However, no winner could be found.
"It was quite a good game for the outside world to see, but we came here for three points and didn't get them," said Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Even if a team had tried hard enough to score all three points, it is hard to imagine that they would be able to bridge the gap for City, who are destined for another title. And the challenge for both chasing clubs only gets more difficult in the next month, with Salah (Egypt), Mendy and Mane (both Senegalese) now leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
But the Premier League still knows how to cheer, even though the title is already a foregone conclusion.