Premier League successes and mistakes: Manchester City make winning football matches look easy, is Fulham doomed? | Football news

The Man City Machine Advances

2:49

A trip to Turf Moor is often an uncomfortable task for visiting teams, but Manchester City could hardly have made it look easier on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola’s team is walking through the games right now.

The 2-0 victory, achieved thanks to first-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, put Pep Guardiola three points ahead of second-placed Manchester United, one game short.

The city has now won 13 consecutive games in all competitions. It’s the longest winning streak by a Premier League team since Arsenal in 2002 and I wouldn’t bet against extending it at Anfield on Sunday.

City do not have their best player in Kevin De Bruyne or their best scorer in Sergio Agüero and yet they look imperious all over the field. Against Burnley, they created chances with ease and could easily have scored five or six, all with hardly a sweat.

What’s most impressive, though, is the way they keep their opponents out on the other end. They have only conceded one goal in their last nine Premier League games and that was a pointless consolation goal by Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Their defensive determination will be tested more severely when they face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. But after all the talk of an open title race this season, City looks more and more like they could get away with him.
Nick wright

Liverpool’s flaws exposed

3:01

For the first time in just under four years, Liverpool failed to have more than one shot on goal in a game.

It wasn’t even a memorable goal effort. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s speculative attempt from range went straight to Robert Sánchez. It was a loose effort, which summed up Liverpool’s attacking problems.

348 minutes have passed since Jurgen Klopp’s men opened the net at Anfield. Just when it seemed the real Liverpool had risen once again with successive away victories at Tottenham and West Ham, the heavy play returned.

The lack of imagination was staggering for a team that lifted the Premier League title just a few months ago. Klopp must have thought Steven Alazate’s goal would trigger a response from his team, but there was a significant lack of leadership where it mattered in midfield and a clear lack of quality in the final third. Barely helped by the lack of game changes from the bench, the shortcomings of Divock Origi and Oxlade-Chamberlain are being exposed at a crucial time of the season where strength is paramount in negotiating rough waters.

It was about handing the ball to Mohamed Salah and waiting for a moment of inspiration.

Anfield, once a fortress, is now sapping the creative powers of Liverpool’s key men. And it is Manchester City next.
Lewis jones

Everton’s revival continues on Elland Road

2:58

Everton have had mixed results since the turn of the year. With two wins, two draws and two losses in all competitions, the Carabao Cup of Toffees campaign ended in the quarterfinals and lost ground in the race for Europe.

A premature resurgence of their fights at Goodison Park against Newcastle last weekend only added to growing frustration over inconsistency, but one area Everton has been consistent in has been on the road.

However, if Everton’s three-game road run were to end somewhere, it wouldn’t have been beyond the odds of him reaching a field where they had won in just four of the previous 49 visits.

So for Elland Road to be the scene of their latest and encouraging move in the right direction, Everton had double the cause for celebration.

Four straight wins in the top flight on the road for the first time since Howard Kendall won the title in 1985, gave more impetus to the project that Carlo Ancelotti is overseeing in Merseyside.

Everton is back in the mix for European football, if Ancelotti can replicate the success the Toffees are enjoying on the road at Goodison Park, that may become a reality.
Jack wilkinson

0:32

Lingard rejuvenated playing like he had a point to prove

Debuts aren’t going much better than Jesse Lingard’s for West Ham. It was a surprise inclusion in the starting eleven at Aston Villa, but David Moyes’ gamble paid off, with the Manchester United loaned forward scoring two goals and producing a man of the match performance in West Ham’s 3-1 win.

Judging from Wednesday night’s tryouts, it’s hard to believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only gave Lingard three knockout matches in the national cup this season. Despite being banned from Manchester United’s first team for most of this season, the 28-year-old looked strong, fit and energetic at Villa Park.

During the first half there was also a clear air of intention in his game. This was a player with a point to prove. His bonding game with Tomas Soucek, Said Benrahma, and Michail Antonio was exciting and dangerous. He was full of confidence and eager to shoot on sight. In the second half, he showed his quality in key moments, beating Emiliano Martínez twice.

In both teams, only Soucek ran further than him, only Benrahma did more sprints. This is a motivated Lingard in good physical condition, and it looks like he’s going to be a real advantage for West Ham in the second half of the season.

“Not just the goals, it made the team play better too,” Moyes said afterward. “I felt we were a little short in areas where we can make opportunities, and he already made a difference.”

Lingard is an exciting addition for West Ham fans. One wonders what England’s boss Gareth Southgate made of his performance …
Peter smith

Fulham time is coming

Scott Parker admitted that people “might think I’m angry” when he said that he sees victories in his Fulham team. After all, they have only won two all season and, worryingly, were toothless again against Leicester on Wednesday.

Results are increasingly important to Parker’s team with 17 games remaining to save their Premier League season, but a shot on goal in 90 minutes tells a family story and one that doesn’t end with their survival.

In fact, one of the most important results of the campaign to date may have come later that night at Anfield.

Already seven points from safety, that gap widened to eight with Brighton’s surprising win at champion Liverpool, with Burnley and Newcastle now both directly above the drop.

Steve Bruce’s team is in sorry shape, but Burnley has Brighton, Crystal Palace and West Brom in their next three games after two tough losses to Chelsea and Manchester City. Back in the effort to take on the teams around them, they could be almost safe by the end of February.

Also, Fulham could be on the verge of falling. Parker downplayed Fulham’s six points with Brighton and West Brom last week, but not winning either has hurt the Cottagers. Newcastle may already be his only hope of redemption by the end of the month.

Certainly, with Sheffield United at Craven Cottage before then, anything below the maximum points that day can be the death sentence.
Ron Walker