Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa secured victories on Matchday 13. These are the five things we learnt Action from Matchweek 13 of the English Premier League dominated this weekend as Steven Gerrard secured a second consecutive victory 3 in his new job at Aston Villa. Liverpool ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over Southampton while Manchester United picked up an impressive draw away at Chelsea in the blockbuster fixture of the weekend.
Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool remain huddled at the top justifying their hype as early season contenders for the title. Newcastle United, Norwich City and Burnley also remain rooted to the bottom of the table as the famous hectic December beckons with midweek matches making a return as from Matchweek 14. Here are five things we learnt from the Matchweek 13 fixtures in the English Premier League.
Emmanuel Dennis is shining in the Premier League
Despite his Watford side going down to Leicester City 4-2 at the King Power Stadium, Nigerian star Emmanuel Dennis shone like a million stars. He was at the centre of every attacking move by the hornets, building on his impressive against Manchester United last week in a difficult match against another Top 4 hopeful.
The former Club Brugge forward had a hand in both goals scored by Claudio Ranieri’s side, winning the first-half penalty that Joshua King converted. He then grabbed one goal for himself, briefly putting the Hornets within striking distance when he made it 3-2 in the 61st minute.
The 24-year-old now has five goals and five assists in his first 12 matches in the EPL, a record feat for the Nigerian man. When Ranieri hooked him in the 71st minute, it was a testament to his importance to the team as the Italian sought to bubble-wrap his prized asset ahead of other fixtures with the Leicester game well and truly over at 4-2 at that point.
Liverpool’s Premier League hopes rest on Diogo Jota
Portuguese star Diogo Jota continued his imperious form with another two goals at Anfield Stadium when Southampton came calling. The 24-year-old continues to perform in the absence of Roberto Firmino, showing just how unfair it is that the Brazilian gets into the team ahead of him when he is fit.
However, Jota is set to get an extended run in the side due to the impending departure of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for the African Cup of Nations in January. This is perhaps when his real worth to the Merseyside club would be realised.
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Roberto Firmino would be just back in the squad and gaining match fitness when January rolls around but Jota has proven that he is an able deputy anywhere across the front three. More importantly, his unerring finishing abilities will be very important due to Firmino’s rather low scoring stats.
Jurgen Klopp has to replace Salah’s and Mane’s goals if he’s to stay in contention for the league till February when they return and those hopes rest squarely on Jota’s shoulders.
Aston Villa will prop up Steven Gerrard for Liverpool upgrade
The iconic midfielder secured consecutive victories in his first two matches as manager of Aston Villa. Four goals scored, none conceded, whilst showing a mastery of both the attacking and defensive phases; music to Villa fans but more so to the Liverpool faithful.
Without understating Gerrard’s abilities, the Aston Villa job is one of the better jobs outside of the Top 6 and it is set up to make him succeed. Villa was never bad, a run of five defeats under Dean Smith was an anomaly, the perfect storm to disguise the club’s desire to bring in a more charismatic figure in Gerrard.
A worst-case-best-case scenario at Villa Park still favours Gerrard. At the worst, the quality of the players at his disposal guarantees a genuine push for the European spots, hence a Top 10 finish which still looks good on him. A best-case scenario would present itself if the Kop legend can get his side to overperform – a distinct possibility if he signs a few more quality players.
A Top 6 finish and a deep run in a familiar Europa League within the next three seasons would prop up Gerrard’s image and reputation and almost guarantee that he would be sitting in the Liverpool hot seat the moment it is vacant.
It will not be Manchester City’s season
Pep Guardiola’s side has won three of the last four Premier League titles but on the evidence of the first 13 matches this season, they would not be lifting a fourth. Whilst they sit second on the log, their displays have not shown they have what it takes to outlast Chelsea or Liverpool in the race for the top spot.
Much of this is down to the lack of a proven goalscorer and more sterile performances where they have most of the ball but cannot finish off the chances. Fernandinho’s 90th-minute finish proved the matchwinner for Guardiola’s side in a 2-1 victory on Sunday, a match that would have ended in a draw if the Brazilian had not scored shortly after coming on and Manuel Lanzini had still gone on to score his goal at the death.
Their spirited – albeit limited – performance against Chelsea was in stark contrast to the disjointed showings against Liverpool, Manchester City and Watford. It is also the perfect reference point for Ralf Rangnick to build on when he finally takes charge at the Theatre of Dreams.
United showed they can fulfil one part of the requirement – keep a solid structure and defend in numbers. They now need to learn to not sacrifice their attack whilst still maintaining a solid defence. This would be Rangnick’s brief. Considering the attacking talent that the squad possesses and the expertise of the German tactician, this should not be a tall order. United might be down but they are not out.
