A full slate of Premier League games brought a ton of headlines for soccer fans but not all of it was good news. Transfer rumors continued to swirl around, Chelsea was surprisingly smacked around and Liverpool caught wind of an impending breakup. Meanwhile, it seems as though Manchester City is bound to survive the loss of Sergio Aguero after all while Chelsea’s recent form suggests they are not nearly as invincible as once thought. Here are three things we learned from the Premier League this week.
Chelsea Is Not Invincible After All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Z4r4KCiNE
Once deemed invincible, Chelsea has now proved to be a somewhat flawed team. An embarrassing 5-3 loss to Tottenham combined with a Manchester City win finally forced the Blues to release their grasp on sole possession of top spot in the Premier League table. The underlying issues that have been a big part of their recent form suggest they aren’t nearly as unbeatable as we once thought.
The loss marked the first time that Chelsea had allowed even four goals under manager Jose Mourinho – let alone five –and as a result, it was enough to allow City to also draw even with them in goal differential. Eden Hazard showed off his world class skill with a wonderful goal and the Blues attack showed flashes of its brilliance, scoring three times, but the fact they still lost by two in a game where their offense looked good is testament to the other underlying issues. Good thing the transfer window is upon us. Mourinho will have to address moving forward.
City Will Survive The Loss Of Aguero After All
It wasn’t long ago that all seemed lost for City when it was feared Sergio Aguero could miss the rest of the season thus ending any chance they had at challenging Chelsea for a Premier League title. However, the Citizens found contributions from Yaya Toure, Stevan Jovetic, and former Blues midfielder Frank Lampard to more than fill the gap left by Aguero during a relatively mediocre stretch in their schedule. Not only did they manage to stay above water, they actually wound up closing the gap for top spot without him.
News that Aguero is back on the pitch and practicing with his teammates came following this week’s 3-2 win over Sunderland and there is a very real chance that by the time the superstar striker is ready to make his return, City could already be ahead of Chelsea in the table. Next up for Manchester City is contests versus Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea. That matchup with the Blues on January 31st will be a crucial one in the race for top spot in the table. Hopefully the Blues have Aguero’s services back by then.
Liverpool Is In Bigger Trouble Than Expected
Back-to-back wins over Burnley and Swansea, combined with the approach of the January transfer window seemed to indicate that Liverpool was on the verge of turning things around. And then came the giant thud. Last week, news that Steven Gerrard was leaving Liverpool and heading to the MLS to join LA Galaxy. Gerrard is the team captain and is the heart and soul of this squad. He’s still a very effective player and one that will be hard for Liverpool to replace. On top of that, Adam Lallana was injured and took another bite out of the team’s spirit. Suddenly, they look to be in bigger trouble than expected.
Gerrard has played every game for Liverpool but, with news of his move and the club’s eighth-place standing in the table, the start of 2015 has been a real downer. With Lallana expected to miss a month with the calf injury, even if Liverpool is active in the transfer period, they will not be able to make up for the losses they have suffered over the past 12 months. This team is in bigger trouble than expected and it could get worse before it gets better.
