Whether or not the circumstances of the teams involved make this a fair assessment, April 14th may become known as the day title contenders held their breath.
Liverpool were at home to Crystal Palace, Arsenal were at home to Aston Villa, and despite the pre-race favorite, horse number 115, running around, two of them lost their way to victory. Two heartbreaking losses at exactly the wrong times, like a thoroughbred horse stumbling near the finish line.
In some ways, both outcomes may have been predictable. Liverpool's weak defense and tendency to play second-guess has been evident, whether against Luton Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United, Manchester City or Atalanta (all of which have taken place within the last two months). ), sooner or later their title shot will be in jeopardy. .
Arsenal were significantly different in that they had never been behind in a Premier League game in 2024 (this was their 12th league match in the calendar year), but this was an energy-sapping massive It was between a double header against Bayern Munich and Bayern Munich. The fourth-best team in the country, and Unai Emery's story, meant it was anything but easy.
All logic in English football these days says the title race is probably over. Manchester City are the easiest team to beat, have won three titles in a row, have the best manager in the country/world, are the top scorers in the league, Arsenal were struggling this time last year, and so on.
This is why the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium (which started emptying out immediately after Villa's second goal, despite the addition of eight minutes of stoppage time) and at Anfield yesterday was so depressed.
This is why Mikel Arteta said that in any other league they would be six to eight points clear at the top of the table by now.
This is why the odds of Man City winning the league are already 1/3 and Liverpool are already as high as 6/1 to lose.
but please wait a moment. The lead was only 2 points. two! There are six games left… Anyone new to English football, someone who doesn't follow the league that closely, would think it would be foolish to feel that the title is over.
City still have to travel to Brighton to face Tottenham Hotspur, a league game they haven't scored or won since 2018. Like their title rivals, they have a big game in Europe scheduled for midweek, but they also have an FA Cup semi-final next weekend. The pressure could be on again when Arsenal and Liverpool face each other in the league, as they have both played twice.
Arsenal underperformed… but still only two points clear (Sean Botterill/Getty Images)
This season has probably been City's weakest of the past four seasons. Last weekend, Erling Haaland was compared to a Ligue 2 player and Kevin De Bruyne's superpowers are fading.
Yet there is still a feeling that perfection is needed to beat the Manchester City car. It's a far-fetched idea, but it's probably true.
All Arsenal and Liverpool can do at this point is end the season. Even if Manchester City drop a point, it would be sacrilege not to take advantage of it.
This requires an extremely high level of mental strength. Both have shown that repeatedly over the past few months, but what really matters is now. As City have shown us time and time again.
Alonso's Leverkusen title is a truly great achievement.
The excitement and obsession with the trajectory of Xabi Alonso's career, mulling over when he might leave the club where he is doing such a great job, has perhaps taken away what Bayer Leverkusen have achieved. unknown.
Not only did they win the league for the first time in club history (you can read the story behind the season here), they also devastated the competition. They lead by 16 points and the champions have five games left.
They crossed the line with 10 league wins in a row and were unbeaten in 43 games in all competitions, ending Bayern Munich's 11-year monopoly on the Bundesliga title in the year Bayern signed with one of the world's leagues. Ta. Harry Kane is the best striker, scoring 32 goals in 29 league games.
athletic Although it is the style of this house not to use exclamation marks, it feels appropriate here to have one at the end of every sentence.
Fans storm the pitch at the end of the match (Andreas Lenz/Getty Images)
And they had to carry the burden of Bayer's “Neverkusen” tag, having never won the German league before. Furthermore, they have only the fourth highest wages (Borussia Dortmund's wage expenditure is double and Bayern's more than four times), and they have the fourth highest expenditure this season (third highest in terms of net expenditure). ). Oh, and last year I was in 6th place.
What they have achieved is amazing and ranks alongside the most impressive achievements in Europe's big leagues over the past few decades.
Leicester City in 2016 are the obvious standard-bearers for an unlikely title win, but other examples include Napoli last year, Deportivo La Coruña winning La Liga in 2000, and La Liga in 2012. For example, Montpellier became the only French team to win the title.
However, none of these teams are undefeated, and if Bayer Leverkusen continue to avoid losing in all 34 Bundesliga games, they will be able to match the great AC Milan team of 1991-92 and the 'invincible' Arsenal of 2003-2004. You will elevate yourself to greater heights. And Juventus, coached by Antonio Conte from 2011 to 2012, are the only unbeaten team in Europe's major leagues in the past 40 years.
It's not Bayer Vorverkusen for Alonso, but this could be the best thing of his career.
Tembabaa's unruly students
There was always one teacher at school that all the children loved.
You probably know the type. They were easily distraught, unable to fully integrate in the classroom, and unable to properly discipline unruly troublemakers.
Ten Hag struggles to assert his authority at an exorbitantly expensive school in Manchester.
When principal Cristiano Ronaldo moved to a new private school in Saudi Arabia, he may have thought it would be easier to manage the classroom.
Instead, we're undermining the authority of the daydreamer Anthony Martial, the little pest Jadon Sancho who struggled to readjust from his previous school, or Erik ten Hag (we've now switched to real life). Concerned factions, such as Alejandro Garnacho, are emerging one after another. He criticized the manager's decision to substitute the Argentine at half-time during the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, tweeting that Ten Hag had thrown Garnacho under the bus in his post-match comments. I liked it.
“There was a big gap on the right side… that was obvious,” Ten Hag said. “We had to repair the right side (at halftime). We had to get a sub there.”
Ten Hag added that Garnacho did not train that week, but said United needed “cooperation and cohesion” on the right flank, adding that Bournemouth's back-to-back attacks (and Diogo Dalot in two) The criticism was doubled in places where the government was isolated. the goal).
Garnacho liking a tweet is stupid. Is he unable to accept criticism? This is not the first time United players have taken a passive-aggressive approach to criticizing Ten Hag on social media. Garnacho did the same last week in a tweet criticizing Ten Hag after he was sent off at Chelsea. And Amado posted a compressed mouth emoji on Instagram after Bournemouth.
They may think they're being clever or clever by not making their dissatisfaction obvious, but especially in Garnacho's case, well, Ten Hag was totally right right?
Dalot was completely exposed as Garnacho failed to track down and provide support to his runners on numerous occasions, and the presence of inexperienced youngster Willy Kambwala next to Dalot made matters worse. Garnacho was a threat going forward and may have set up Bruno Fernandes to equalize 1-1, but Ten Hag's biggest problem was that Bournemouth were exploiting the right side of his defence. Ta.
Garnacho was criticized for failing to track runners (Mark Atkins/Getty Images)
Regardless, regardless of which side you're on in that particular debate, this weekend gave us a sense of, if not a revolt at United, then something approaching widespread discontent to the point of potentially irreversibility. had.
Whether it's Garnacho and Diallo swiping on social media, or Dalot hitting back at Ten Hag about United shooting too many shots (too much difference between defense and midfield), or getting upset over a press conference question about United. The Hague are facing their worst result in Premier League history… everything feels unpleasant.
After all, if the players didn't have ten hags, and instead this Dutch player could not control the unruly children in Kindergarten Cop Arnold Schwarzenegger character, he is more likely to finish on target than he is to take 300 shots per game. Europe's position is perhaps the most worrying for his INEOS.
contemporary art
Hell hath no fury like a soccer fan's lashing out at a despised former player.
There's no love lost between Wolves fans and their former academy star Morgan Gibbs-White – and after Gibbs-White scored against Nottingham Forest and was celebrated in front of the away end. Well, there's no love at all in this wonderful photo. .
Fans react to Gibbs-White's provocative celebration (Getty Images)
It's worth zooming in on different faces and gestures and choosing your favorite. Some people can see the funny side of it, but the guy in the fluorescent orange jacket a few rows above Gibbs-White's head definitely won't.
good luck Louvre Museum Nottingham's contemporary art gallery.
Coming this week
- Tonight's Premier League is awesome. The visitors, Everton, are terrible at scoring (Sheffield United are the only team with fewer than 32 points). The hosts, Chelsea, have been terrible defensively (they have conceded at least two goals in their last seven games against the likes of Burnley, Leicester, Sheffield United and Leeds). It is an easily stopped force on a constantly leaking object.
- Media personnel (bloody media, Honestly) And although broadcasters in particular have a very unusual tendency to exaggerate the importance and appeal of soccer matches, Wednesday's Champions League quarter-finals between Bayern Munich (2) vs. Arsenal (2) and Manchester City (3) ) vs. Real Madrid (3) was perfectly poised. ) — very attractive. It's a shame that I can only see it live once.
- Tuesday could be a similarly good match as Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain look to overturn their deficit to Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
- Speaking of overcoming the deficit, Liverpool need a footballing miracle to beat Atalanta 3-0 in Bergamo on Thursday. But even though West Ham United are at home and losing 2-0, they face an even more difficult prospect against a great Leverkusen side.
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
