New Year 2023 is here and for football it is getting to the best part. Premier League is back during New Year football and it came back with a bang. A few surprises on the way with Manchester City draw against Everton. Are we seeing a Liverpool strong second half push especially with their new player.
For New Year's football premier league round-up we need to start with the team of the year: Arsenal.
Arsenal might go all the way
Arsenal sent a strong message to their Premier League title rivals with a 4-2 victory over Brighton. Despite some defensive vulnerabilities, the Gunners demonstrated their attacking prowess and solid defense in the six-goal thriller. As a result, they now control their own destiny in the race for the title, even if they were to lose both of their upcoming matches against Manchester City. This is a significant turnaround for a team that was not expected to contend for the Premier League title at the start of the season and was struggling just a year ago. With the second-highest number of goals scored in the league (behind Manchester City) and the second-tightest defense (behind Newcastle), it is now clear that Arsenal must be considered a team that is capable of winning the Premier League.
Everton ready for another relegation battle
In a recent football match, Everton employed a defensive strategy that included three center backs and two full backs remaining in their own half, while the three central midfielders also primarily stayed in their own half. This resulted in limited touches for Everton's center forward, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and made it difficult for Manchester City to create scoring opportunities. Ultimately Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez made a spectacular run to set up the team's only goal. The overall match was characterized by negative, defensive play from Everton.
Spurs needs new players
In a recent football match, Tottenham was missing key players Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Richarlison, but the team's performance was poor even without these players. Tottenham appeared disinterested and lacking energy from the beginning of the match, and their performance did not improve in the second half. There is speculation that the current manager, Antonio Conte, does not have confidence in the squad's ability to succeed under his leadership, as he has not yet committed to a long-term contract with the team. This uncertainty and lack of commitment may be contributing to a sense of malaise within the Tottenham organization.
Newcastle were wasteful
In a recent football match, Newcastle missed several scoring opportunities, with Sean Longstaff's efforts standing out as particularly egregious. Leeds' defense, anchored by Liam Cooper and Robin Koch, performed well and improved further with the substitution of Rasmus Kristensen for Luke Ayling. The standout player for Leeds was Tyler Adams, who successfully contained the threat posed by Newcastle's Bruno Guimares and Miguel Almiron. Illan Mesler also made a number of impressive saves in goal for Leeds.
Liverpool having momentum on their side
In a recent football match, Leicester City defender Wout Faes scored two own goals in quick succession, first badly mishitting an attempted clearance of Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross over the head of the goalkeeper, and then inadvertently scoring again when the ball bounced off the post and back into play. The second own goal occurred when Darwin Nunez struck the ball towards the goal, but it hit the front of the post and bounced back into play, where it was struck by Faes from close range. The sequence of events was unfortunate for Faes and Leicester City.
New Year 2023 Premier League Thoughts
Heading into the New Year 2023 we are going through ways to find out that we are not in the middle of the road. Arsenal are ahead for the 2022 winner, Manchester City. That is unheard of from Arsenal fans themselves. But Arsenal are having a great team and style of play. Liverpool seems to be heading in the right directions. Can Newcastle keep it up and be more creative in front for goal.
Football fans should be looking forward to next weekend where we can find out how to find if Arsenal can extend their lead further or if Southampton can crawl back up the table. Catch up previous premier league during Boxing Day 2022.
