Premier League week 16:
A third of the games, in the Premier League, have been played with Manchester City being the alpha team and working on winning back-to-back titles.
Well today Chelsea inflicted the Premier League champions their first domestic defeat 2-0 and get back in the title race.
On the other hand, Mo Salah lifted the Red to a crushing victory 4-1 at Bournemouth with his treble. Liverpool take the lead in the table with 43 points and remain the sole undefeated team in the League.
Coach Klopp comments on the win for Liverpool:
“Football is a game in which you will never see a perfect game. In the end when you see how it developed, especially with the scoreline at the end, it is perfect, but in the game we had a lot of things we could have done better. Second half not that much, but first half we controlled the game, which is exactly what we wanted to do. The counter-attacking threat of Bournemouth is massive. They are really good in that, even though I know Bournemouth had to replace three very important players for them today, but still we controlled it.
I didn’t like too much that we didn’t change the rhythm more often. We still have to adapt to that and improve it. We could create more but all the runs. They came all together and we benefited for the first goal. With all the little runs, we opened two gaps and then Joel passed the ball through, Bobby could turn and shoot and Mo scores the goal. We said at half-time that so far it was OK but not more. We had to do better because we can do better – the counter-press, we had to keep it up, putting them under pressure if we lose the ball.
Whatever you do in a football game, you need someone to finish it off. What Mo did around his two goals in the second half was just exceptional. I don’t know at the moment a lot of players who would have scored these two goals. The first one, it is a foul actually but he wants to score the goal so he stays on his feet and scores it. It was not the most impressive finish but I would say it was pretty surprising [for the goalkeeper]. His third goal was outstanding as well; really, how we set it up and all that stuff was good.
On how tough is the Premier League
This league is so difficult to play in, but 42 points I usually had in April and now it is December. That’s massive and it’s exceptional and it is all to the boys. They deserve all the credit for that because they really fight for each yard. That’s nice but it’s only for today. Today is the Bournemouth celebration day: let’s go home, eat, sleep and recover immediately. Then tomorrow a little session; Monday, little session; Tuesday, Napoli. That’s how it is, that’s the life [and] it’s OK. But for today, all good.”
