Premier League declines

THEY ARE ALL LOSING CONTINUOUSLY

There are many noteworthy similarities between the defeats of Man. City, Arsenal, and Aston Villa. First, they were all unexpected losses. Man. City not only lost, but lost heavily 1-4 to Sporting Lisbon. Arsenal lost to strong opponents Inter, meaning this result also seems normal. And Villa lost to Club Brugge – a weak opponent in every respect.

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

The most striking commonality is that these were all consecutive defeats, in different competitions. Man City lost to Tottenham in the League Cup, Bournemouth in the Premier League, and Sporting in the Champions League. In the same three competitions, Villa lost to Crystal Palace, Tottenham, and Brugge respectively. Arsenal, meanwhile, succumbed to Newcastle in the Premier League and Inter in the Champions League. It's often said that things happening three times in a row are more a matter of science than coincidence. The situation here clearly indicates a problem. There must be a reason why these three strong teams – Man City, Arsenal, and Villa – have suffered such a perfect record of eight consecutive defeats.

Liverpool is the only English representative to remain undefeated in the recent round of matches. Their emphatic 4-0 victory over German champions Leverkusen made them the only team to win all four of their opening Champions League games this season. This contrasts sharply with, but also mirrors, the results of the other three English teams. Those teams are consistently losing, while Liverpool are consistently winning, simultaneously leading both the Champions League and the Premier League. The similarity lies in the fact that, upon closer examination, this is purely a matter of form; both winners and losers are demonstrating that their victories or defeats are not accidental. These results accurately reflect their current professional state, even though the specific issues for each team may differ.

THE GAP LEFT BY RODRI AND O DEGAARD

In top-level football, few things are clearer than Manchester City's failure when Rodri is not in the lineup. All three of last season's Premier League defeats were in Rodri's absence. This has been a recurring theme for quite some time now, even before Pep Guardiola's team suffered three consecutive losses.

In fact, Man City are missing quite a few key 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 midfield, the Man City players completely lost their direction when Sporting – theoretically the much weaker team – changed their playing style and turned the tide, winning convincingly in the second half (after being behind and appearing "inferior" in the first half).

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

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

For Aston Villa (who were in Group 4 when UEFA drew the Champions League this season), that's pure class. This team isn't yet at the level to dominate both major competitions. If Villa have gone undefeated in the Champions League for so long, that would be truly remarkable!

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