Chapter 17: The League Leaders
Xiao Qing is indeed crying and laughing, in the third round of the league, Xiao Qing is not without a chance, but it is a pity that he is always a little away from the goal; However, Xiao Qing provided an alternative assist in this game, and Da Sixi helped the team beat Portsmouth 4-1 to win two consecutive league wins.
In the 69th minute of this big victory, Xiao Qing's through ball in the front of the penalty area tore through the Portsmouth defense, Ramsey inserted a close and calm shot, Arsenal 4-1 completely shattered Portsmouth's Zuihou's hopes, at this time they had no power to parry.
Arsenal, who have won two consecutive league games, are very happy because after this game, even if they have one less round, they are still at the top of the table. However, although Arsenal have a huge goal difference of 10-2 in two league games, they cannot afford to be careless at this time, as their main rivals are now starting to make a difference.
In this round of fixtures, Liverpool, who were at Anfield Stadium, suffered a 1-3 defeat at home to Aston Villa before suffering a second defeat in three rounds, ending their 31-game unbeaten run at home in the league since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester United in December 2007. Losing to Tottenham in the first round and losing to Villa in this round, Liverpool have looked a little lacking at the start of the season.
Despite sweeping Stoke City by four goals in the last round, the loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the first round still made Gerrard very aware of the crisis before the game against Villa, especially the home loss to Villa, Liverpool seemed to be at the bottom; Oddly enough, the tall Liverpool defence has been repeatedly victimized by set-pieces, having played just three games this season. Liverpool conceded five goals alone.
Especially in this game. Liverpool flag Steven Gerrard made a big mistake. A fatal penalty for a foul in the box was awarded to Fernando Torres after a goal was pulled back, ultimately leading to a second defeat in the first three rounds.
However, although it was only three rounds of fighting, Gerald and the officers and men of the "Red Army" suffered heavy losses twice; Although Liverpool look to have lost at the starting line, Gerrard is still very confident. 'The opening game showed that it will be very difficult to win the league this season and we have to do better than last season because the Premier League looks like a very competitive league. It's difficult to win every season, but we're ambitious. ”
Liverpool lost, but the other teams weren't necessarily losing; Especially for those teams who want to win the title, now is the time for them to start building some advantage. Especially now Liverpool seems to be falling behind, so other teams are coming hard.
In the third round of the 09/10 Premier League season, Chelsea travelled to Fulham. After 90 minutes of intense action, Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 on the back of two goals from Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba to make it three league wins in a row.
Chelsea are really in great shape right now, Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea won the first three games of the new season tepidly, although not as frenetic as Arsenal's attack, but these three games still let people see the Italians' skills, the most obvious is the constant change in the squad.
Now I have to admire Anelka, thinking that the "problem boy" of the year has been mixed into a player who follows the rules; There were assists, there were goals, and that was a bit of what Chelsea had expected of him.
Drogba is back in top form. Once again, it has become a compass for Chelsea's victory, a nightmare for opponents. Three goals in three league games. Didier Drogba has already made an early start in the race for the league's top scorer in the new season. Chelsea have been distinguished by the presence of Didier Drogba and have already made an early push in the title race for the new season.
Chelsea's impressive record of winning all three games is something to be proud of, they are now top of the table and now they are leading the Premier League. Although they seem to have lost to Manchester United in the league in the past two seasons, no one dares to underestimate this terrifying Blues team, because they are definitely a rather headache, even if you look at the whole of Europe, no one will underestimate Chelsea's ability.
Liverpool is one win and two defeats and almost fell to the bottom, while Chelsea are at the top of the table with three wins; As for the remaining two giants, Arsenal have one less round, but they are still in second place in the standings; Although many teams now have two wins, they may not have the crazy goal difference advantage of Arsenal, even if it is Manchester United, who have just won 5-0, they are still suppressed by Arsenal with one game less.
Because Manchester United unexpectedly lost to Burnley in the second round of the league, the defending champions Manchester United defeated Wigan 5-0 at DW Stadium to achieve two wins and one loss and six points; With the exception of Chelsea, who are behind all three games in the table, and Arsenal, who have a better goal difference, Manchester United are temporarily third in the table.
In this game, Wayne Rooney scored twice, Beba and Nani both made a pass and a shot, and this summer's new signing Owen scored his first official goal after joining Manchester United; While the results may not seem particularly experienced, this is the best start to the last three seasons (the first three rounds) for Manchester United; And they don't seem to have been affected too much by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, perhaps as the old man Alex Ferguson said, there are no indispensable players at Manchester United.
In the first three rounds of the new Premier League season, Liverpool's form is a bit sluggish and still needs to be constantly adjusted; It's just a pity that the former Premier League giants have lost more competitiveness due to the financial crisis, and it is really difficult for them to challenge for the league title in the Premier League now. Although they have always been aiming for the title, like Arsenal before them, they have always lacked the temperament and quality of a champion.
Of the other three Premier League giants, although only three games have been played each (Arsenal have Champions League qualifiers); But it seems that this is the time to start a re-evaluation and scoring of these teams.
In the third round of the league, Arsenal's four goals were spectacular; Among them, Edward crossed after breaking into the penalty area with multiple balls, Xiao Qing knocked horizontally, and Diaby rushed to the first time to push and hang the net, which fully reflected Arsenal's decisiveness in the last goal this season; The same is true for the second goal, Cesc Fabregas passed straight behind the opponent in reverse, and it was Xiao Qing's assist that Arshavin pushed the big corner without adjustment. So if you grasp the opportunity well, will anyone still murmur that Arsenal need to buy this and that?
However, the white is slightly flawed, Arsenal goalkeeper Almunia made a low-level mistake, the opponent has a high ball into the six-yard area, he misjudged the landing point, maybe affected by the sun, Portsmouth player Cabul has jumped over his head, he is not ready to jump, Arsenal conceded the first goal of the season is not worth it, I hope this is not the slack that the winning streak makes Arsenal breed.
After Manchester United's inexplicable defeat in the last round, they regained lost ground at Wigan in this round, and after a half-time tug-of-war, Wayne Rooney finally opened the door with a hammer to the door of Corkland. In the last round, Manchester United had a chance but dealt with it sloppily, and could not find the opponent's gap on the front and wing, and this round was corrected in time and finally released. Wayne Rooney now looks ready to be the team's new top name and he's helping the team to great results.
However, despite the big win, United's attack still looked jerky; After all, they are accustomed to Ronaldo's impact and passing again and again; But now the little chubby Rooney has worked hard, but he still seems to have the impact and containment of Ronaldo on the court.
Although Arsenal has a certain advantage in the current Premier League standings, Xiao Qing and Arsenal's players dare not have any carelessness at all, because they can understand the strength of their competitors, and they will not get too carried away because of some small advantages now.
Arsenal's players know very well that compared with other teams, the current Arsenal players have little experience in winning the championship, and they lack enough veterans to press the lineup, of course, this is also related to Arsenal's habitual stinginess and the signing of 30-year-old veterans a year, which also has a lot to do with Arsenal's annual sales over the years.
In short, Arsenal really doesn't have much advantage now, although the young team will be very impactful, but they may not be able to withstand the pressure very well, they may not be able to maintain a stable performance in this long season, especially for Arsenal, which may be slightly flawed in the squad compared to other teams, they may still suffer more challenges.
Arsenal's backline is looking good right now, and although they have only conceded two goals in three games in the new season, that doesn't mean that Arsenal have peace of mind at the back; At least compared to those teams competing for the title, Arsenal really lacks a single defensive pillar at the back. Manchester United have Rio Ferdinand, Chelsea have John Terry, and even Liverpool's Jamie Carragher and others are far better than Vermeyron.
However, although they seem to be lacking in the backline, Arsenal are not worried about their current results at all, and they are still quite confident about this season; They are second in the table now, but let's not forget that they have a game in hand and they are sure to beat their opponents in the replay and are at the top of the table, so the current Arsenal players think they are the league leaders! (To be continued......)