The second round of Premier League fixtures took place over the week, and what a momentous week it was for Jordan Henderson and Liverpool. Liverpool are now champions!
Just into the first full week since the restart of the Premier League, football fans across England saw the Premier League title finally decided. Also, Champions League qualification took another twist and relegation intensified.
At ExtraTimeTalk, we looked at four talking points from the Premier League’s matchday 31.
Four talking points from the Premier League
Liverpool are Champions
Thursday, June 25, 2020 – A date that will be remembered by Liverpool fans. The day they ended the 30-year wait for a Premier League title. Liverpool are champions.
In March, football fans across England were talking about the potential of null & voiding the league and Liverpool fans were fearing the worst. However, after three months, and another two Premier League games, Liverpool are champions. (Sky Sports)
Although, it wasn’t the ideal situation by playing behind-closed-doors and not being able to celebrate with fans inside the stadium. Supporters still took to the streets and Anfield to celebrate through the night.
The title was fully deserved after only losing one Premier League game. Liverpool only conceded 21 goals and went on an 18-game unbeaten streak. But it was thanks to Chelsea to hand Liverpool the title earlier than expected with a 2-0 victory over Manchester City.
Chelsea creep closer to Champions League qualification
Whilst every media publication and football fans celebrate Liverpool winning the title, it has gone under the radar on how impressive Chelsea’s win over Manchester City actually was.
With Manchester United and Wolves just two points behind them, Frank Lampard knew how important it was to capture all three points. Now, Chelsea sits one point behind Leicester City. It seems the Blues have taken one step closer to Champions League qualification.
Especially when you look at Chelsea’s remaining fixtures against Wolves, Liverpool and Leicester City, many supporters would have taken the loss due to City’s brilliance. However, Chelsea capitalized on City’s mistake and will be full of confidence to secure the top three.
Leicester City’s Problems
If football wasn’t suspended back in March, many would have expected Leicester City to cruise to Champions League qualification.
However, Brendan Rogers’ men are one of the clubs to have struggled since the restart after failing to beat Brighton or Watford. When the season was in full-flow, Leicester City would have no problems beating either of those two sides. But a late goal at Watford and bore-draw at King Power meant Leicester only took two out of possible six.
To make matters worse, the Foxes still have to face Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United before the end of the season. With just six points separating Leicester and Wolves in 6th, Brendan Rogers has to make sure his side don’t drop any more points.
Relegation Scrap
With just seven games left, the relegation battle is intensifying with four clubs fighting for Premier League survival.
Norwich City seems certain to drop back down to the Championship after losing 1-0 to Everton, making six points from safety. On the other hand, Brighton is just one win away from potentially securing Premier League football for another season. After their impressive win over Arsenal, Graham Potters’ men also grabbed a vital point away to Leicester City.
However, it was an awful week for the other sides involved. On Tuesday night, West Ham was beaten by Spurs and fell into the relegation zone. Bournemouth has since replaced them again due to their 1-0 loss over Wolves. Watford was also on the wrong side of the scoreline with a 1-0 loss over Burnley.
Aston Villa was the only side out of the four to grab anything with Elmohamady to score the late equalizer. Despite drawing 1-1, Villa still remains 19th in the league due to their worst goal difference.
With the Premier League title confirmed, the relegation battle is one to keep your eye on in the coming weeks.
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