The ManicaPost
IN a 4-2 English Premier League win over a shorthanded Manchester City last Saturday at King Power Stadium, the Foxes were full of life, clinical and deadly on the break pretty much everything they haven’t been so far this season. But with qualification for the Champions League knockout round out of the way, and two months until their next competition in it, the Foxes seemed to flip a switch and turn back to the giant-slaying Leicester we got to know so well last season.
And the most impressive part is that it was never in doubt. Leicester scored twice in the first five minutes of the match. Seconds after the two-minute mark, Islam Slimani played through Jamie Vardy, who slotted
home to break a 16-game goal drought. It was the first goal of a hat trick in a resurgent performance by the Englishman.
Minutes later, Andy King belted in another to double the score and put City in a giant hole. It was clear that Pep Guardiola did not pick a lineup with an onslaught on goal in mind. Bacary Sagna played through the middle and was largely ineffective, and there was no steel to stop the Leicester break in midfield. And when Leicester is allowed to break with no repercussions, the result can be lethal.
Vardy scored his second on a break started with a long ball from deep in defense. Vardy simply outran a plodding and uninterested City defense to give the Foxes a 3-0 lead after only 20 minutes. In the second half, Vardy completed his hat trick and City scored two consolation goals after going four down, but that was all window dressing. Even though the match had barely started, after Vardy’s second it was already over.
One major caveat on Manchester City’s performance is that it was without Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi, the spine of the team, after all the three were suspended in the wake of a donnybrook with Chelsea last weekend. That doesn’t excuse this performance in any way, though.
Things may get worse before they get better for City. The Sky Blues will have to play Arsenal without Aguero and Fernandinho. Guardiola has a lot to figure out with his squad, and he needs to figure it out fast, otherwise City won’t sniff a title.
It’s a huge win for Leicester, which had been in a relegation fight up to this point. Foxes fans will have to hope the team was too preoccupied with the Champions League, and now that they don’t have a European match for two months, they can focus on their domestic standing.
After such a poor first half of the year, it is safe to say Leicester will not be shocking the world a second time, at least not with another EPL crown. But Saturday showed they still possess all the quality from that title-winning campaign. If they can tap back into that, the Foxes are going to be a much tougher out in the second half of the season.
Arsenal tenacious in comeback win
Arsenal’s run of form continued on Saturday, as the Gunners battled back from a goal down to beat Stoke City 3-1 at the Emirates. Although he didn’t get a goal, Alexis Sanchez was his typical hard-nosed, highly skilled self, and it seems his work ethic and desire to win is spreading to the rest of the team. Arsenal only dug in and asserted itself more after falling behind, and ended up winning handily.
Stoke took the lead just inside the half-hour mark when Granit Xhaka glanced Joe Allen with an elbow. It certainly wasn’t intentional, but it certainly was a foul. And since it was in the box, it was also certainly a penalty. Charlie Adam stepped to the spot to put his club 1-0 to the good on his 31st birthday.
But Arsenal poured forward and kept the pressure on for the remainder of the half, and was aided in its pursuit for a goal by the inclusion of Hector Bellerin. The Gunners started the match with Gabriel at rightback, and the Brazilian looked lost when trying to attack. Shkodran Mustafi injured his hamstring, making way for Bellerin on the right as Gabriel moved to the middle.
It was Bellerin’s first appearance in more than a month, and he quickly showed how important he is to Arsenal’s attack. In the 42nd minute, the Spaniard received the ball wide before finding Theo Walcott with a cross, allowing Walcott to squeeze a shot in for the equalizer.
Arsenal kept its foot on the pedal to begin the second half and doubled its lead just a few minutes after the break. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain — who seems to have turned a corner this season and is contributing to Arsenal in almost every game — lofted a weighted ball into the box as Mesut Ozil charged in from a deep midfield position. No Stoke defenders caught Ozil’s run, and a simple header looped over the keeper for the 2-1 lead.
Stoke had opportunities to level the match at two apiece, most notably a header on goal from Peter Crouch only seconds after he came on the pitch that was saved by Petr Cech. In years past, Arsenal may well have conceded that equalizer. But the Gunners all had that Sanchez-esque tenacity, and they finally killed off the game in the 75th.
Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi has been exceptional this season, especially for a 20-year-old. But his excellence hasn’t come with an end product. At least until recently. Iwobi scored his first goal of the season midweek against Basel, and he doubled his tally to make it 3-1 against Stoke.
The wins draws Arsenal level on points and goal differential with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, however the Gunners get top billing thanks to their head-to-head win over the Blues. Chelsea can take first place back with a win or draw against West Brom on Sunday.
Bob Bradley, Swansea get much-needed win
There were rumblings that Bob Bradley’s tenure at Swansea could be a short one following a 5-0 dismantling by Spurs last weekend. But the American has steadied the ship, for now at least, with a 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Liberty Stadium, giving Bradley and his Swans two wins in their last three matches.
Bradley was rewarded for a consistent attack-minded lineup, and one fairly consistent with the one he deployed versus Spurs. Bradley has been criticized for experimenting to much with personnel this season, so it’s important that he’s settling on a certain group of players.
It’s also important that he’s finally realizing who his best players are. One change he did make from last week was to start Fernando Llorente, who scored twice in a 5-4 win over Crystal Palace. Against Sunderland he bagged another brace.
Gylfi Sigurdsson opened the scoring for Swansea shortly after halftime, and Llorente doubled the lead just a few minutes later on a training ground corner. Sigurdsson drove the ball low to an on-rushing Llorente, who swept a shot in for the goal.
He bagged his second goal with an assist from the excellent Jefferson Montero.
It’s hard to understate how important this win was for Bradley after that loss to Tottenham. Yes, it was against the worst team in the league. But in relegation fights, wins are wins, and three points is three points, no matter who you get it against. He’s starting to identify the players he can rely on week in, week out: Sigurdsson, Llorente, Montero. And they seem to be buying into Bradley. After a rocky start, hopefully Bradley has figured out to navigate Premier League waters.
Jeff Hendrick’s wonder goal
Burnley defeated Bournemouth 3-2, but all you really need to see from this match is Jeff Hendrick’s goal, the best of the weekend so far, and one of the best of the season. — Sports On Earth
