It is tight on the higher reaches of the Premier League because the title race and Champions League races within the league have been on show on Wednesday. Julian Alvarez’s brace in Manchester Metropolis’s 3-0 victory over Burnley wasn’t sufficient to achieve tempo on league leaders Liverpool who dispatched Chelsea 4-1 however a brand new staff has entered the highest 4, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham. Stage on factors with Aston Villa, Spurs are actually within the Champions League hunt by advantage of targets scored as solely Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis have scored greater than the North London facet.
Wednesday’s Premier League scores
Manchester Metropolis 3, Burnley 0
Tottenham 3, Brentford 2
Liverpool 4, Chelsea 1
Let’s check out some takeaways from Wedsday’s motion
Not a terrific day for Darwin
A missed penalty, 4 posts hit, 11 pictures, 5 of which have been heading in the right direction and one help was Darwin Nunez’s day for Liverpool. It has been a season the place Nunez has achieved every little thing attainable for Liverpool however put the ball into the again of the online and it continued to an agonizing diploma in opposition to Chelsea. The Reds nonetheless went 5 factors clear atop the Premier League scoring 4 targets in opposition to Chelsea however they might’ve had so many extra if Nunez’s pictures have been a millimeter in the wrong way. He stored Chelsea’s keeper Djordje Petrovic busy in internet because the Serbian needed to make 9 saves regardless of conceding 4 targets however for Liverpool’s assault to hit prime gear, one thing wants to present with Nunez’s ending. Solely scoring seven targets from an anticipated targets complete of 10.79 would counsel that Nunez has been unfortunate however with how he can end the robust possibilities with ease, it is time to simply preserve it easy.
Bradley impresses for the Reds
Why Liverpool have been capable of rating 4 targets is because of younger Conor Bradley scoring his first whereas helping two extra. Solely 20, the younger proper again will give Jurgen Klopp choices in the case of resting Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bradley now has 5 assists in his final 4 begins as a run of 5 consecutive begins in all competitions has seen him develop in confidence. With Alexander-Arnold’s passing capacity, may this be a time to see what the Englishman can do in midfield relying on the matchup?
Fairly a birthday for Julian Alvarez
On the day that Erling Haaland made his return from harm for Manchester Metropolis, it was one other ahead that shined as Julian Alvarez scored a brace within the first half of play in opposition to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. Turning 24, Alvarez was capable of acquire his seventh and eighth league targets for Metropolis this season to go alongside six assists. After solely scoring 9 targets in all the league marketing campaign final season, that goes to present how Alvarez’s function has expanded as he is develop into a key man in Pep Guardiola’s assault alongside Haaland.
It was anticipated for Metropolis to defeat Burnley within the match however with the stress of the title race on, it makes these matches even harder as there is not any room for error as a consequence of Liverpool’s kind. However Metropolis are assured within the face of nerves which may see the title race go all the way down to the ultimate day of play.
Timo Werner the supplier shines
Whereas the match in opposition to Brentford could be handled as a story of two halves, it is higher to have a look at it as a story of two Timo Werners. Within the first half, with out area to function, he took two pictures, not notably difficult Brentford however every little thing modified within the second half after Postecoglou’s changes bringing on Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur. With a top-four spot inside attain, Postecoglou performed 4 forwards and was awarded instantly as Spurs scored three targets in eight minutes with Werner helping two of them.
It is a signal of issues altering at Tottenham as Postecoglou is not content material with a draw or taking part in conservatively. For higher or worse, they are going to go for matches and with Werner within the facet now, it permits taking part in Heung-min Son at striker upon his return from the AFC Asian Cup. Spurs now are constructing depth, and after it was anticipated to be a season the place they completed midtable after promoting Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, they’re within the thick of the hunt for Europe.