Why Tottenham, Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal limp towards Top Four line
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/04/why-tottenham-chelsea-man-u-arsenal.html
Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all failed to
muster a win for the second consecutive Premier League weekend as the
contenders for a place in next season’s Champions League stumble towards
the finish line.
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Spurs, in third place behind runaway pacesetters Manchester City and
Liverpool, are best-placed to secure a fourth straight season of
Champions League football.
Their 1-0 win over Brighton on Tuesday is the only time in the past 10 games involving the four sides that one of them has won.
Chelsea are in pole position for fourth, two points ahead of Arsenal,
with United’s chances now looking slim — they are a point behind
Arsenal with a significantly inferior goal difference.
An analysis of why all four have hit the wall as the season reaches its climax:
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Tottenham – 70 points
A first defeat at the club’s new stadium, against West Ham on
Saturday, means Spurs have now lost 12 times in the league this season.
Yet it has still been a campaign of overachievement by Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Despite not signing a single player, spending most of the season at
their temporary home of Wembley, and losing talismanic striker Harry
Kane for two prolonged spells through injury, Spurs are still the best
of the rest in the Premier League behind City and Liverpool and have
reached the Champions League semi-finals.
“The stress and the fatigue arrived, We are competing with
circumstances that are not the best,” admitted Pochettino after a sixth
defeat in 10 league games.
Spurs’ skeleton squad have understandably ran out of gas, but thanks
to the profligacy of their rivals, one more win from their final two
games against Bournemouth and Everton will guarantee much-needed
Champions League cash again next season.
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Chelsea – 68 points
Maurizio Sarri launched an uncharacteristically staunch defence of
his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge after a 1-1 draw away to
United on Sunday consolidated his side’s place in the top four.
“We played the final in the League Cup, we are fighting for the top
four, we are in the semi-finals of the Europa League. I think we have
done a good season.”
Sarri has had his troubles this season. He publicly criticised his
players’ mentality followed capitulations on the road at Arsenal,
Bournemouth and Everton, while his demand for the loan signing of
Gonzalo Higuain in January has reaped precious little reward.
Worse could come, with Eden Hazard reportedly closing in on a summer
move to Real Madrid and the club currently banned from signing any new
players to replace the Belgian for the next two transfer windows.
Therefore, it is all the more imperative that Chelsea get back in the Champions League next season.
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Arsenal – 66 points
Much of the good work done by Unai Emery over nine months to rebuild
the Gunners in the first season since Arsene Wenger’s departure has come
undone over three defeats to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester in
eight days.
The defensive issues that dogged Wenger’s final years in charge still
need to be resolved, while Emery constantly chops and changes his
formation and personnel in midfield and attack.
A three-time Europa League winner with Sevilla, that competition may
now prove Arsenal’s best route back to the Champions League but a tough
tie against Emery’s old side Valencia awaits in the semi-finals.
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Manchester United – 65 points
Despite a run of seven defeats in nine games, United remarkably still
had a good chance of hauling themselves into the top four had they held
onto an early lead against Chelsea on Sunday.
However, United’s current malaise is personified by a dramatic dip in
form for goalkeeper David de Gea, who has so often been his side’s
saviour in recent seasons.
The Spaniard was at fault for Marcos Alonso’s equaliser, which
secured Chelsea a point and left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitting his side
now have a “mountain to climb”.
A trip to hapless Huddersfield and Cardiff’s visit to Old Trafford on
the final day of the season at least offer an excellent chance to lift
the mood heading into the summer.
“We need to focus on our two games, win games again,” said Solskjaer, but a big rebuilding job remains ahead for the Norwegian.
*Reported by AFP Sports