Premier League week 16:
Liverpool are the new leader in the Premier League after Chelsea beat Manchester City 2-0. It is the first defeat for the Citizens. Chelsea closed gap with their rivals to a 7-point margin as we have now a big 5 with Tottenham and Arsenal, Manchester United being 8 points from 4 and 5th place.
Chelsea knocked down the champions and can enjoy the performance. They have the team to battle deep in the season. Coach Sarri comments on the big win:
“We played very well in the last few minutes of the first half, and the first 20 minutes of the second, and in the end we deserved to win.
We’re very happy with the win, we know it’s not easy to beat City in this moment. For me it’s not easy to win against Pep, as you know. So I’m very happy but now we need to find this kind of motivation and play with this level of determination and aggressiveness in other matches, otherwise its useless winning matches like this.
I think Kante scored by chance because they played very close to Jorginho, more than in the other matches. He defended very well and had some good counter attacks.
Then he was in the box for the first goal, but today he played in the right position, very close to Jorginho. He played very well. I’m very happy with the win because it’s very difficult to win against Guardiola’s team. I know they are a step ahead, we have to work to cover the gap. We will try and I’m very happy.”
Man City coach gave a realistic summary of the match:
“Apart from ten minutes in the second half, we were there until the end. I feel incredible emotion to see these players do what they do every three days.
Sarri says he needs more time, but I think Chelsea are there now and can compete for everything. They have some fantastic players. We are going to try to be champions. In a season like this, with a lot of games – plus after last season – everybody wants to beat us. They put in something extra.
What is important is how we react Even if we would have won today, it’s still only the beginning of December. There are still lot of points to play for. In general, we were fantastic.
Sometimes we are upset because we lost, but we showed we wanted to win. Football is like this. You can always take lessons after winning or losing. In general, I am so glad with the way we played.
We are here to be champions, not Invincibles – I said this many times and I said the same last season. There is no sport in the world that one team or player wins always or remains unbeaten – that is how sport is.
Yesterday, we were the favorites and unbeaten, today we have lost.We are only in December. Can Liverpool win the Premier League? Yes. Ask me if Tottenham, Arsenal or Chelsea can – yes, of course.”
