Before today’s Premier League showdown between leaders Liverpool and defending champions Manchester City, a tweet from The Guardian’s German football correspondent Raphael Honigstein was shown a lot of love, and, in hindsight, for incredible reason.
They say money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you the existential dread of being a football fan, if these English Premier League cash figures are any indication.
It’s not hard to figure out that the Premier League is the best in the world at generating and spending money. And while it’s also not hard to argue that other leagues or teams are better on the pitch, when it comes to finances, there’s only one king.
Manchester United defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening, and that’s all anyone will remember on the night. But the ramifications of victory are again rosy for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — the win moves them within three points of Arsenal in fifth; Romelu Lukaku scored for the second-straight game; the maligned Alexis Sanchez came off the bench and got an assist on Marcus Rashford’s strike (the Englishman’s third in four games).
Welcome to 2019, where we hope every goal is commemorated as perfectly as the Jamie Vardy celebration after his goal against Everton on Tuesday.
Leicester City defeated Everton 1-0 in the first Premier League match of 2019. The lone strike came from Vardy in the 58th minute.
Christian Pulisic had a difficult year. From missing out on the World Cup to dealing with injury to not being a consistent starter for Borussia Dortmund, you can’t blame the 20-year old for wanting a little change of scenery. Pulisic has been on the radar of big European clubs for quite some time now, and a summer move seems inevitable.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s message as interim manager of Manchester United has been simple: Enjoy yourself. It’s not an earth shattering ethos, except when diametrically opposed to Jose Mourinho’s philosophy of “respect my authority.”
A lot has been made of the fact that without Eden Hazard, Chelsea would resemble nothing more than a strange, amorphous tribute to Yokohama Tires out on the pitch. That criticism is mainly aimed at Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud leading the line, where the two have combined for only six Premier League goals.
Arsenal shook off a shaky opening minute to take a surprise lead against Liverpool on Saturday at Anfield. Then one moment of madness — and a Bobby Firmino no-look goal — opened the floodgates for Liverpool’s 5-1 victory over Arsenal.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s Egyptian King: incredible pace, dribbling ability and an eye for goal. Something he shouldn’t add to his box of tricks, however, is diving.
Salah has been wrapped up in a few diving cases in his Premier League career, most recently in yesterday’s match against Newcastle. Liverpool hosted Newcastle on Boxing Day, drubbing the Geordies 4-0. It was a routine win for Liverpool, but an important talking point of the match surrounded Liverpool’s second goal.
The holiday period is a crazy time for the Premier League. Many of Europe’s top leagues take a break until the new year, but England continues its fixture list with a plethora of matches. The Christmas period is considered one of the toughest periods of the season, as the calendar for England’s top clubs is packed to the brim.