EPL 2020/2021
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Liverpool sneak to 3rd thanks to the teams around them completely shitting the bed.
It speaks volumes about the quality on display that City finished that far in front despite only having a points total that would have seen them smashed in to 2nd over the past few years.
Flawed teams everywhere.
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have to say, as a bit of a premier league neutral its cool to see Leicester (and west ham) up there, shows they can be semi sustainable, in leicester's case they didn't win and then plummet quickly
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2020/2021:
Liverpool sneak to 3rd thanks to the teams around them completely shitting the bed.
It speaks volumes about the quality on display that City finished that far in front despite only having a points total that would have seen them smashed in to 2nd over the past few years.
Flawed teams everywhere.
Function of the season than any inherent lack of quality across the league, IMO. It's no surprise that Man City and Man U finished in second and third given the quality in their squads - much better able than anyone else, including Liverpool, to deal with the injuries that would inevitably come from such a tight schedule. Had Chelski had Tuchel from the start of the season, I am sure they would have finished above 'Pool based on that fact alone.
It will be interesting to see what happens next season, which is expected to be more "normal". Even then, a lot of guys will not get a decent break because of the Euros and Copa America.
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Klopp can whine as much as he wants about injuries, but the main reason his squad didn't challenge is because his front 3 completely forgot how to score goals for about two months. Goals for / against went from 85 / 33 to 68 / 42, VVD loss definitely contributed the 42 to 33, but the 85 to 62 is all on the strikers.
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
Klopp can whine as much as he wants about injuries, but the main reason his squad didn't challenge is because his front 3 completely forgot how to score goals for about two months. Goals for / against went from 85 / 33 to 68 / 42, VVD loss definitely contributed the 42 to 33, but the 85 to 62 is all on the strikers.
A bit simplistic though. They did lose Jota on attack and having to play Henderson at CB affected their attack. Also TAA and Robertson both had more defensive duties.
Injuries are injuries though. They happen and other teams just have to deal with them.
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@mariner4life said in EPL 2020/2021:
Liverpool sneak to 3rd thanks to the teams around them completely shitting the bed.
It speaks volumes about the quality on display that City finished that far in front despite only having a points total that would have seen them smashed in to 2nd over the past few years.
Flawed teams everywhere.
Teams have won the league with a lot less points. United once won it with 75 points, only one more than they got this season. I think it was just a better league this season, with many more competitive teams.
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
Klopp can whine as much as he wants about injuries, but the main reason his squad didn't challenge is because his front 3 completely forgot how to score goals for about two months. Goals for / against went from 85 / 33 to 68 / 42, VVD loss definitely contributed the 42 to 33, but the 85 to 62 is all on the strikers.
It's a bit simplistic to blame a lack of goals solely on the strikers - Klopp made the call to disrupt the midfield to bolster the defence and the general lack of confidence in the defence led to the full backs not bombing forward so much. Much of T-A-A's "return to form" has been because he is a great attacker but a poor defender but the structure of the midfield recently has given him more licence to attack. I wonder also whether teams have worked Liverpool out a bit, especially when the volume of games meant the press couldn't be used full on, all the time.
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@kiwipie I’d flip thst on its head honestly. It’s far too simplistic that they conceded many more because they lost VVD. I watched most of their games jan/feb (Covid bubble eith in laws, only person could beer with massive Liverpool fan) and in front of goal they were appalling. Miskicks, off target, complete lack of killer instinct.
Their season comparison stats (shots, chances etc) are pretty similar. I watched them lose/draw at least 5 matches they had chances to win. But no killer goals.
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@hydro11 said in EPL 2020/2021:
@mariner4life said in EPL 2020/2021:
Liverpool sneak to 3rd thanks to the teams around them completely shitting the bed.
It speaks volumes about the quality on display that City finished that far in front despite only having a points total that would have seen them smashed in to 2nd over the past few years.
Flawed teams everywhere.
Teams have won the league with a lot less points. United once won it with 75 points, only one more than they got this season. I think it was just a better league this season, with many more competitive teams.
it's not the 90s any more mate
86 points was enough for the total a grand total of 5 times out of the last 20 years.
And the reason the total was that low was not a more competitive league, it's that City started the year playing dogshit. They then reeled off an incredible number of wins in a row. They dropped points again at the end because the job was done and now it's all about the Champs league.
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@majorrage said in EPL 2020/2021:
@kiwipie I’d flip thst on its head honestly. It’s far too simplistic that they conceded many more because they lost VVD. I watched most of their games jan/feb (Covid bubble eith in laws, only person could beer with massive Liverpool fan) and in front of goal they were appalling. Miskicks, off target, complete lack of killer instinct.
Their season comparison stats (shots, chances etc) are pretty similar. I watched them lose/draw at least 5 matches they had chances to win. But no killer goals.
i didn't watch any of it bar highlights, but i read a lot about exactly this. Yes, there was disruptions in the supply as midfielders moved back, and fullbacks played more defensive to cover inexperienced centre backs but
Mane was very up and down, Salah the same, and Firmino has never been a big scorer. Add in the injury to the guy who was supposed to come in and score more, and the simple fact is they misfired up front when in previous years they would have found the extra goals they needed.
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Some random facts:
It's not how you start, but how you finish
Despite finishing third and second respectively, Liverpool (139 days) and Manchester United (155) both spent more time in the top four than eventual champions Manchester City (130).Leaving in style
He left it late, but Sergio Aguero managed to bow out by breaking Wayne Rooney's Premier League record for the most goals scored with one club. Aguero netted twice against Everton on the final day of the season to take his tally to 184 league goals for City in his final appearance for the club, thus overtaking Rooney.Caught slipping... again
Leicester City suffered a disappointing end to the 2020-21 campaign, missing out on Champions League qualification by a single point on the final day.
Just to compound matters, Brendan Rodgers' side comfortably ended more days inside the top four (242) that any other club this season, only to see it slip away at the very end. The Foxes have spent 93% of the past two seasons (567 days in total) inside the top four, only to finish fifth on both occasions.On the daily
Perhaps Leicester can take some solace in the fact that striker Kelechi Iheanacho became the first Premier League player ever to score on every day of the week in the same season.Wood you believe it?
He may not be the most fashionable player, but Burnley target man Chris Wood must now be ranked among most consistent strikers in the Premier League.
Wood is one of only seven players to have reached the 10-goal mark in each of the past four top-flight seasons, joining Kane, Salah, Jamie Vardy, Alexandre Lacazette, Son Heung-Min and Sadio Mane in the club.And why this season was so different with no crowds...
No place like home?
The 2020-21 Premier League season is the first in the history of England's top-four divisions to see more away wins (153) than home wins (144). The lack of fans in stadiums certainly seems to have had an effect on the notion of "home advantage." -
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@bovidae said in EPL 2020/2021:
@cyclops Looking forward to Emery's press conference. Good ebening. He owns the Europa League.
Yet even he couldn't take Arsenal to that title.
I haven't seen the game yet but from updates it seemed Man U ran out of steam late the 2nd half/start of extra time and yet Ole didn't make any subs?
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@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
@bovidae said in EPL 2020/2021:
@cyclops Looking forward to Emery's press conference. Good ebening. He owns the Europa League.
Yet even he couldn't take Arsenal to that title.
Only works with Spanish teams.
Another interesting fact. The entire population of Villarreal could fit inside Old Trafford.
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@bovidae said in EPL 2020/2021:
Another interesting fact. The entire population of Villarreal could fit inside Old Trafford.
Yeah I read that as well. Sort of ignores the fact that there's a couple of 100K just across the river in Castellon....
Bit like the population of the City of London could comfortably fit inside Spark Arena
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@kiwipie said in EPL 2020/2021:
@bovidae said in EPL 2020/2021:
@cyclops Looking forward to Emery's press conference. Good ebening. He owns the Europa League.
Yet even he couldn't take Arsenal to that title.
I haven't seen the game yet but from updates it seemed Man U ran out of steam late the 2nd half/start of extra time and yet Ole didn't make any subs?
It was a funny old game. I think both teams only had one shot on target each. First half was pretty drab apart from the goal. Second half, United came to life and pressed for most of it. Shaw, McTominey were very dangerous and Cavani never stopped pressing. On the flip side Rashford was horrific and should have been pulled off early. Absolute 0/10 performance, didn't look interested at all.
United basically quit playing in XT and just sort of mucked around. Villareal had a few opportunities, but their striker never even looked like hitting the target. I think there was literally one save in the match, which was De Gea's penalty.
VR had clearly been working on a shootout strategy. Their defence was rock solid & when it came to the shootout they more or less hit 11 perfect penalties. Even the keepers was unstoppable. Although to be fair, De Gea must be the worst penalty saver in the game, he never even looked close.
An interesting game to watch.
As for Villareal being a small town ... well, that doesn't really make any sort of a point. It's not like all 11 players came from there. I think 1 did.
