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OPINION: WHY MANCHESTER CITY’S RECENT SLUMP IS HANDING ARSENAL THE PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE
Chelsea’s late draw at Man City leaves Arsenal clear at the top. Explore the fallout for Liverpool, Man Utd, and the title race.
Chelsea did Arsenal a big favor in the title race, with Enzo Fernandez smashing in a stoppage-time equalizer that kept Manchester City from closing the gap at the top. City took the lead in the first half through Tijjani Reijnders and looked set to pick up three points, but Fernandez stepped up and grabbed a late 1-1 draw for Chelsea—just three days after they sacked Enzo Maresca.
That late goal, on a freezing night at the Etihad, means Arsenal finish the busy holiday stretch six points clear. They’ve collected 48 points from 20 games, while City and Aston Villa sit on 42.
Draws were the theme of the day. Liverpool stretched their unbeaten run to eight league games, but they let in yet another late goal and had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Fulham. Cody Gakpo looked like he’d won it for Liverpool deep into stoppage time. Then Harrison Reed unleashed a 30-meter rocket in the 97th minute to snatch a point for Fulham.
City are still fourth with 34 points, just three ahead of both Chelsea and Manchester United. United had Matheus Cunha to thank for a point after his equalizer earned them a 1-1 draw at Leeds.
Pep Guardiola’s City had built up pressure on Arsenal with six straight wins and were right on their heels at Christmas, but they’ve lost momentum with back-to-back draws—first at Sunderland, now at home against Chelsea.
As for Liverpool, their title hopes are all but done. Their habit of conceding late goals is starting to threaten even their top-four chances. They went behind to Harry Wilson’s early strike at Craven Cottage, but Florian Wirtz—who’s finally finding his feet at Liverpool—leveled things up. Gakpo’s late goal looked like a winner, but then Reed stunned them with his screamer. Liverpool have made a habit of letting in late goals: they did it against Crystal Palace and Chelsea in October and again at Leeds last month. Arne Slot summed it up: “Unfortunately, I’ve been experiencing this for months now.”
Manchester United under Ruben Amorim have only lost two of their last 14 league games, but too many draws against weaker sides are holding them back. After Tuesday’s embarrassing draw at home to bottom club Wolves, they dropped more points at Leeds and were lucky to escape with a draw after Brenden Aaronson put Leeds ahead. Cunha’s equalizer—just his fourth since his £62.5m move from Wolves—rescued a point, but it did nothing to lift the mood around Amorim, whose job security is still a talking point.
Tottenham’s home struggles continued with a 1-1 draw against Sunderland, piling more pressure on Thomas Frank. Ben Davies thought he’d delivered a rare home win, but Brian Brobbey powered in an 80th-minute equalizer.
Newcastle finally found some form as captain Bruno Guimaraes headed them in front against Crystal Palace, and Malick Thiaw sealed a 2-0 win that nudged Eddie Howe’s side into the top half.
The Premier League keeps rolling with a full slate of midweek games: Arsenal hosts Liverpool on Thursday, and City takes on Brighton on Wednesday.
LONDON DERBY: CHELSEA AND TOTTENHAM TO BATTLE FOR BAYERN’S KIM MIN-JAE THIS SUMMER
Kim Min-Jae is back on the radar! Discover why Chelsea and Tottenham are racing to sign the Bayern Munich defender this summer.
Are Chelsea and Tottenham about to scrap over a top defender this summer? It’s not out of the question.
Both clubs have different priorities right now, but things could get interesting if Bayern Munich decide to let Kim Min-Jae go. That would put two London rivals on a collision course, each desperate for defensive reinforcements.
Chelsea, under Liam Rosenior, appears to be a different team, boasting eight wins from eleven games in all competitions. Rosenior’s barely had time to settle in, and he’s already been tested on four fronts. They’re hungry, and the mood around Stamford Bridge has shifted.
Tottenham, though, are in a very different place. They’re flirting with the relegation zone, and this time the threat feels real. West Ham, Leeds, and Forest are all clawing for survival. Spurs have Igor Tudor in charge until the end of the season, and managing in England for the first time while juggling a pile of injuries isn’t exactly a dream start. If they stay up, and right now, that’s still a big "if", they’ll need to strengthen fast.
That’s where Kim Min-Jae comes in. Both Chelsea and Spurs are eyeing him up, according to reports. Bayern paid £43 million to bring him in from Napoli last year, making him the most expensive Asian player ever. He helped Napoli win the Scudetto before that, and he’s won titles in Germany and South Korea, too. The guy knows how to get over the line.
But things haven’t clicked at Bayern. Kim was excellent in their 3-0 win over Bremen last weekend, but he’s mostly been third-choice behind Upamecano and Tah. Ten Bundesliga starts, just two in the Champions League. Not exactly what he signed up for. Bayern insider Christian Falk says Chelsea and Spurs have both shown interest, and Kim’s on their shortlist. Liverpool have been linked to, but right now, it’s the London clubs circling.
Chelsea have a hole at the back ever since Thiago Silva moved on. Kim, at 29, would instantly become the oldest player in the squad – not a bad thing for a team packed with young talent that sometimes looks a bit lost under pressure. They need his experience.
Spurs, on the other hand, have a solid pairing with Van de Ven and Romero, but if they lose one, things get thin pretty fast. Kim would be an upgrade on their depth and could slot straight into the starting eleven. And let’s be honest, the Son Heung-min effect is real. Kim would draw huge support from South Korea, just like Son has.
Kim isn’t agitating for a move just yet, but if Bayern decide to cash in and the right offer lands on the table, don’t be surprised to see him in the Premier League next season. Whether it’s in blue or white, that’s the part nobody knows yet.
PGMOL SIDELINES CHRIS KAVANAGH AS REFEREEING STANDARDS COME UNDER INTENSE SCRUTINY
Chris Kavanagh won't referee this weekend! Analyse the PGMOL decision and Wayne Rooney’s "worst ever" handball claim at Villa Park.
Chris Kavanagh won’t be refereeing any Premier League games this weekend, and honestly, that’s no surprise after all the drama in last Saturday’s Aston Villa vs Newcastle FA Cup match.
Kavanagh and his assistants, Gary Beswick and Nick Greenhalgh, got hammered by critics for how they handled that fourth-round tie at Villa Park. There was no VAR in play; none of the matches in that round had it, so the officials had to make the big calls themselves.
They missed Tammy Abraham standing offside for Villa’s first goal. Then Lucas Digne put in a high challenge on Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy, the sort of tackle that usually gets a red card, but nothing happened. Later, Digne got penalised for a handball, but he was clearly inside the box, and somehow the ref gave a free-kick outside instead.
This weekend, Beswick is working as an assistant for the Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool game on Sunday, but Kavanagh and Greenhalgh are nowhere to be seen on the official appointments list.
Referees are judged on their performances. The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) decide who gets which games based on a bunch of factors, including independent assessments after each match.
Still, Kavanagh is well-regarded among refs. He just made it onto UEFA’s top officials list and often gets Champions League matches. Earlier on Monday, Wayne Rooney chimed in and said the mistakes from Saturday showed just how much refs have come to rely on VAR.
On BBC’s live coverage that night, Rooney called the handball decision “one of the worst” he’d ever seen. Later, on his podcast, he said, “I think there’s over-reliance on VAR. Now the officials are used to it; they wait for VAR to bail them out. With no VAR, they have to make the call themselves, and they’re so used to keeping the flag down that it cost them yesterday.”
Graham Scott, who used to referee in the Premier League, joined the podcast too. He pushed back against the idea that refs hide behind VAR. “I work with them closely; I know these guys, and they’re not like that,” Scott said. “That’s not how they think or work. I spent half my career with VAR and half without it – well, actually, without it first. Even when I was in the Premier League, I’d sometimes ref in the Championship with no VAR. You’re in and out, but your process doesn’t really change.”
VAR comes back for the FA Cup from the fifth round. In the Premier League, officials are told to trust their own judgement. The English top flight actually has the lowest rate of VAR interventions in Europe’s major leagues. Here, they only overturn a call if it’s clearly and obviously wrong.
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