Premier League declines

THEY ARE BOTH LOSING CONTINUOUSLY

There are many notable similarities between the defeats of Man.City, Arsenal and Aston Villa. Starting point: they were all unexpected defeats. Man.City not only lost, but also lost heavily 1-4 to Sporting Lisbon. Arsenal lost to strong opponents Inter, which means this result also seems normal. Villa lost to Club Brugge - a weak opponent in all aspects.

Arsenal (left) lost to Inter Milan after a controversial penalty

A more notable common point: these were all consecutive defeats, on different battlefields. Man.City lost to Tottenham in the League Cup, Bournemouth in the Premier League, Sporting in the Champions League. Also in those 3 tournaments, Villa lost to Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Brugge in turn. Arsenal fell to Newcastle in the Premier League and Inter in the Champions League. People still say: what happens 3 times in a row is always more scientific than coincidental. The story here is clearly problematic. There must be a reason why the 3 strong teams Man.City, Arsenal, Villa lost absolutely in their last 8 matches?

Liverpool are the only English team that has not lost in the last round of matches. A 4-0 win over German champions Leverkusen has made Liverpool the only team to have won all four of their opening Champions League games this season. This is a contrast, but also a similarity to the results of the other three English teams. The other teams are losing on a losing streak, while Liverpool are winning on a winning streak, to simultaneously lead both the Champions League and the Premier League. The similarity is that, if you look closely, this is a matter of pure form, and the winners and losers are showing that their victories and defeats are not accidental. These are results that accurately reflect their current professional status, even if the individual problems of each team may be different.

THE HOLE LEFT BY R ODRI AND O DEGAARD

In top-flight football, there are few things more obvious than Man City failing without Rodri. All three of last season’s Premier League champions Man City’s defeats were in games where Rodri was absent. This was reiterated long before Pep Guardiola’s side went on a three-game losing streak.

In fact, Man.City is losing quite a few good players due to injury, not just Rodri. But the best player of EURO 2024 is the most important. He is the central link in Man.City's entire tactical system. Without a leader in the middle of the field, Man.City players were completely disoriented when Sporting - in theory a much weaker team - changed their way of playing and turned the situation around, winning big in the second half (after losing first and showing "underdog" in the first half).

As important as Rodri is to Man.City, Martin Odegaard is to Arsenal. The only difference is that Odegaard (injured in the "FIFA Days" series in September) will recover soon and will not be out for the rest of the season like Rodri. Observers once praised Arsenal for "still winning without Odegaard". As it turns out, that is not the case.

Coach Mikel Arteta (and everyone who cares about Arsenal) criticized the referee's penalty decision, which allowed Inter to score the only goal to win at San Siro (Italy). At best, it was considered a controversial penalty. The problem is that without Odegaard, Arsenal's attack lacked ideas, creating very few significant chances. They failed to score in the last 2 consecutive defeats.

For Aston Villa (group 4 in UEFA’s Champions League draw this season), it’s pure class. They’re not good enough to be a force in both major tournaments. It would be strange if Villa never lost in the Champions League!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/champions-league-ngoai-hang-anh-tut-doc-185241107195711922.htm