PL MATCHDAY 17 REVIEW: Liverpool on top at Christmas, United devoid of Jolly

By Esosa Osa

The weekend presented a chance for teams to give their fans Christmas presents, but some remained naughty.

Pep Guardiola will certainly not be singing along to Christmas songs as his side fell to a 2-1 loss against Aston Villa, making it nine defeats in 12 games. Jhon Duran opened the scoring from a beautiful team move starting with a defence-splitting pass from Youri Tielemans. Morgan Rogers made it two in the 65th minute to erupt, Villa Park, as Phil Foden’s first league goal of the season in stoppage time proved inconsequential.

Brentford suffered their first home defeat against Nottingham Forest in a Saturday afternoon encounter. In-form Ola Aina opened the scoring in the 38th minute and Anthony Elanga scored his second goal in as many games to secure three massive points as his side remain fourth on the table.

In a cagey affair at London Stadium, West Ham and Brighton played out a 1-1 draw. Mats Wieffer scored his first Brighton goal six minutes after the break but his joy was short-lived by Mohammed Kudus header seven minutes later. Scores remained the same at the final whistle thanks to a crucial last-minute block by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Alexander Isak grabbed his first Newcastle hat-trick in a superb away performance against Ipswich Town. He opened the scoring inside one minute with a powerful right-footed effort. Jacob Murphy doubled the lead with a thunderous shot past Arijanet Murić.

Isak got his second in added time of first-half after a season-high, fifth error leading to a goal by Muric. Not long into the second-half, the Swedish international earned the match ball.

Arsenal were relentless on Saturday evening putting five past Crystal Palace. Goals from Gabriel Jesus who netted twice, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli were enough to make Ismaïla Sarr’s equaliser look like a waste of time. But sadly for the Gooners, Bukayo Saka tore his hamstring and will be out for a while.

Fulham were held at home to a goalless draw against last-placed Southampton. The Saints displayed a holy performance with new boss, Ivan Juric watching from the stands.

Three first-half goals for Wolves by Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha put Leicester City on the naughty list and two points from the relegation zone. Chelsea missed out on an opportunity to go top of the table, albeit for a few hours as they were held to a goalless draw by Everton at Goodison Park.

Manchester United were completely deflated at home losing 3-0 to a chilled Bournemouth side. Dean Huijsen flicked in the first just before the 30th minute to the dismay of the Old Trafford faithful. United conjured up a couple of chances, a few falling to Captain Bruno Fernandes who failed to find the back of the net. In the 61st minute, Justin Kluivert slotted home his spot kick for 2-0 after he was initially brought done by Noussair Mazraoui. Two minutes later, Antoine Semenyo sealed the three points.

A Tottenham game never disappoints and they were at it again, this time losing 6-3 at home to Liverpool in an unforgettable 9-goal thriller. Even without starting centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristain Romero, Spurs continued to play the ‘Ange way’ which involves deploying a highline and pressing intensely without regard for the scoreline. And on Sunday, they were made to pay again.

Luis Diaz made it 1-0 after a delightful cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister headed home the second. Spurs pulled one back with a fine finish from James Maddison but ended the half two goals behind after Dominic Szoboszlai scored Liverpool’s third.

Mo Salah made it 5-1 with two goals after the break. The Egyptian has been directly involved in 70 percent of Liverpool’s goals and is the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas.

What looked comfortable for Arne Slot’s men changed as Spurs looked to pull an unlikely comeback with goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke making it 5-3. Thankfully for the Reds, Luis Diaz fired home what proved to be the final goal of a highly entertaining game just before Christmas. Merry Christmas!