The battle of the two best teams in England lived up to the hype, with all of the ingredients you want from a game of this calibre.
There was solid play from both sides, great goals and some lasting controversy to boot.
You’re not going to believe this, but yet again VAR was a talking point in a crucial decision that impacted a big game.
The game’s opening goal — an absolute banger by Fabinho from outside the box — very well could have been reversed and been given as a penalty at the other end. Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to handle the ball in his own box, but the appeal was dismissed by VAR. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was predictably unhappy.
The class of the Reds’ outstanding fullback duo was on full display for Mo Salah’s goal. Both Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson made cross-pitch, perfectly weighted passes to get the Reds on a break. Almost impossible to defend and a tremendous showing of skill.
But City never lay down. Guardiola’s squad remained relaxed and kept up the pressure on the hosts. The final ball and the finishing couldn’t come through against the league’s best.
The result puts the defending champs nine points back and in fourth — a place that you rarely see a team like this. We’ll still tell you that the race is far from over, with 26 games and six months to play. But it’s starting to look more and more like the Reds could run away with this one, despite what City is capable of.
The fallout from the match wasn’t quick to fade, either, spilling into English national team training on Monday. Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez went at it again after arguing in the closing moments of Sunday’s match. Sterling reportedly put a hand on Gomez’s throat and gave him a scratch under the eye.
Sterling has since been ruled out for England’s Euro qualifier in Montenegro on Thursday, which has actually caused even more drama. Many of his fellow players want him to play and are upset with manager Gareth Southgate’s decision. Some guys just can’t win.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Runs of form don’t come much hotter than the one that Jamie Vardy is on right now.
With a goal and an assist against Arsenal on Saturday, the Leicester City striker is up to 11 goals this season with six in his past four games.
Vardy has been a fox in the box, converting an astounding 45.5% of his shots into goals. That’s 19.2% better than the trio of players tied for second on the charts, Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, and Callum Wilson.
We don’t see that rate holding up, but even so, Vardy has been a big reason why Leicester is sitting second in the Premier League heading into this international break.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
With its win over Norwich, Watford became the 91st and final team in England’s top four divisions to win a league match this season … Anthony Martial makes such a big difference in the Manchester United lineup. When the young French forward is on the pitch, he makes the players around him — especially Marcus Rashford —much better. It’s just a shame that he struggles so much to stay healthy … Through 12 games, Arsenal sits on 17 points in sixth place. That’s five points worse than its output from any of the past four seasons and the Gunners’ -1 goal differential is its worst mark through 12 games by far. In fact, last season, Unai Emery’s team was on 24 points with a +11 GD. But the Spanish gaffer has received encouragement from management this week, with reports saying that his position will be reevaluated only in the summer … Should Spurs be happy or upset about this week’s result? On one hand, drawing at home against Sheffield United may not sound impressive, but on the other, the Blades currently sit fifth in the table, while Tottenham is 14th … Wolves have been pegged as underachievers this season after a slow start, but after their win over Villa on Sunday, they’re eighth in the league. Somewhat surprisingly, Wolverhampton has lost just twice this season — the same as Chelsea and Leicester. The big difference is that Wolves have just three wins to go with a league-leading seven draws.
THE LAST WORD
The Pukki party is certainly over.
One of the funnest stories at the beginning of the season was Norwich’s hot start, led by free-scoring striker Teemu Pukki and attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell. The Canaries shocked the world by dealing Manchester City its first defeat of the season, but it has been all downhill since then.
This weekend, Norwich fell to previously winless Watford, which played the final 25 minutes with 10 men. This is just the latest in a string of disappointments for promoted side.
Since beating City on Sept. 14, Norwich has collected just one point and now sits at the bottom of the table with seven points and a -17 goal differential.
The goals aren’t coming any more and the back line hasn’t improved at all so far this season. When you build a team based on trying to outscore your opponent instead of outdefend them, these sorts of slumps lead to disaster.
How manager Daniel Farke turns this around remains to be seen, but if he doesn’t act quickly, the Canaries will be singing back in the Championship next season.