Premier League Sunday Week 14 a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
December 5, 2016
1,553 Views
- Well we certainly saw a surprise result at The Vitality Stadium yesterday as Liverpool twice let a two goal lead slip against Bournemouth to somehow lose a game that were almost coasting in at one point
- Bournemouth’s miraculous comeback means that Liverpool have lost ground on league leaders Chelsea with the gap to them now sitting at four points
- With Chelsea being an all conquering machine as of late Liverpool needed to win just to keep pace with them and after their early dominance you felt that was to be the case
- After going 2-0 up thanks to goals from Sadio Mane and Divock Origi they were in complete control and it looked like Bournemouth were going to be in for a long afternoon
- But the game seemed to turn on it’s head with the introduction of Ryan Fraser
- He made an immediate impact as he drove into the box and was then clattered by James Milner to earn the home side a penalty
- Callum Wilson stepped up and gave Bournemouth a glimmer of hope
- But that glimmer looked soon to be evaporated when Emre Can’s neat curling effort from the edge of the box made it 3-1
- Game over?
- Well not quite
- Ryan Fraser once again was in the thick of things as this time his low drive found the back of the net to restore some slight hope for Bournemouth
- Although it was hit hard and low you got the feeling that Loris Karius should have down better in his attempt to keep the ball out
- Just two minutes later the game was turned on it’s head completely
- Steve Cook who was at fault for Arsenal’s opener last Sunday atoned for his error by scoring an effort worth of an international striker
- His quickfire turn and shot left Karius with no chance and it was now 3-3
- The momentum of the game had swung in Bournemouth favour there was now the dichotomy of holding out for a point or going for the jugular and bidding for a win
- Eddie Howe’s men kept surging forward and they would get their just rewards with dramatic fashion
- Steve Cook had a speculative effort from the edge of the box which was spilled by Liverpool keeper Karius
- The ball was then straight at the feet of Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake
- It may have taken him two touches but he eventually slammed the ball home to give Bournemouth an unlikely comeback victory
- Karius is going to have to take a lot of the blame for this one and Jurgen Klopp will now have to decide whether or not to call back Simon Mignolet for their home tie against West Ham at the weekend
- Klopp was gracious in defeat in front of the cameras but you get the feeling that will not have been the case in private
- If Liverpool are to win the title they cannot afford slip ups like that especially when in such a dominant position
- Already at this stage of the campaign it is three points dropped
- And it was two more points dropped for Manchester United after they had to make do with another draw
- This time it was at Goodison Park as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw
- In fairness it is a result that does neither side any favours. United now find themselves 9 points off the Champions League places while Everton stay in 8th place with West Brom moving ahead of them
- It was a feisty encounter as this game always tends to be with the rugged nature of the tackles being the main talking point in the first half
- Marcos Rojo was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for his wild lunge on Idrissa Gueye
- But luckily for him he was just shown a yellow by referee Michael Oliver
- It took 42 minutes for the first shot on target but it also led to the opening goal of the game
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic was met by the onrushing Maarten Stekelenburg and managed to loft the ball over him
- The ball dropped off the bar and just the right side of the line to give United the lead going into the break
- Everton changed their approach in the second half in the search for an equaliser and played a much more direct game
- The onslaught really started in the last ten minutes or so and Jose Mourinho felt best to counter act by bringing on former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini
- Just two minutes after Fellaini came on he probably would have wished he didn’t bother
- The Belgian’s very clumsy tackle on Idrissa Gueye meant that Michael Oliver had no hesitation in pointing to the spot
- Up stepped Leighton Baines who has only missed two Premier League spot kicks and he duly obliged as his penalty edged past the streched arm of David De Gea to draw Everton level late on
- So another draw and another frustrated post match press conference from Jose Mourinho
- For United it is once again failure to close out a game and the run of form is now just one win in their last eight
- While the outlook isn’t much better for Everton who have now only one once in their last night
- Also of concern will be the fact Romelu Lukaku has failed to find the net on in his last four matches
- It’s no coincidence that Everton’s league position has worsened during Lukaku’s goal drought
- Everton need more of their players to be able to pick up the slack
- Perhaps it may also edge Ronald Koeman into the transfer market next month
- United play host to Tottenham on Sunday in an all important game. Defeat there and you could almost say that the top 5 places in the league will be locked out this season
- They simply can’t afford to give away anymore ground on the quintet of teams above them
- I think it’s now fair to say that Jose Mourinho will not be delivering the league title in his debut season at Old Trafford
- While Everton will look to return to winning ways when they travel to Vicarage Road on Saturday to face Watford
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