Chelsea's weakness is Arsenal's strength
Arsenal once again proved they are the most dangerous team in the Premier League in set pieces when defeating Chelsea 2-1 to maintain the gap with Manchester City in the championship race.
In a situation where there were not many clear chances from live balls, the difference came from corner kicks - the weapon that has become the brand of Mikel Arteta's team this season. In the opening goal, Gabriel took the lead in the dispute with Reece James, creating conditions for William Saliba to head close range. In the second goal, Jurrien Timber took advantage of Robert Sanchez's indecision to decide the match.
With those two goals, Arsenal has equaled the record of 16 goals from corner kicks in a Premier League season, even though they still have 9 rounds ahead. In general, it is no longer a factor of luck, but the result of careful preparation and methodical organization.
Chelsea is not completely inferior in attack. Reece James created a highlight with the ball leading to Piero Hincapie's own goal. However, the problem of the away team lies in the ability to defend against dead ball situations. Under Liam Rosenior, they conceded 7 goals from set pieces in just 13 matches in all competitions.
Semenyo brings positive impact to Man City
Antoine Semenyo emerged as Man City's hero in the minimal victory over Leeds, when he perfectly filled the void Erling Haaland left due to injury. The 3 points won were not too flashy, but enough for Pep Guardiola and his students to continue to put direct pressure on Arsenal in the championship race.
This is not Man City's explosive performance. They did not create too many clear chances and also had to withstand no small amount of pressure from the home team. However, the highlight is the coldness and bravery in the decisive moment - a quality often seen in champion teams.
Semenyo has taken advantage of almost the only clear opportunity to score the decisive goal of the match. His sharpness in the penalty area and intelligent positioning ability continue to prove why Man City decided to recruit this striker from Bournemouth. Since joining, Semenyo has scored 6 goals and quickly become an important piece in Guardiola's system.
With Haaland temporarily absent, Semenyo is proving that he is not only a replacement, but a real factor in The Citizens' championship race.
Liverpool overcomes difficult period on set pieces
Liverpool's transformation in set pieces came at a crucial time of the season and became the foundation for the victory against West Ham. However, Arne Slot did not want to analyze the reasons too deeply.
Everything has returned to normal" - he said when asked why a team that only scored 3 goals from a standstill as of January 1st - the lowest in the Premier League - has become the team with the most goals from a dead ball since then with 9 goals.
The answer is actually more complicated. That is both recognition for Aaron Briggs, the former free-kick coach who left the team in December, and reflects that Liverpool is better optimizing the opportunities that already exist. In the first half of the season, they performed below expectations both in attack and dead-ball defense. Since the beginning of the new year, everything has reversed.
After Briggs left, analyst Lewis Mahoney was given more responsibility. Liverpool began to take more corner kicks into the penalty area, increasing direct pressure on the opponent's defense. The change in deployment details brought immediate effect.
The results are impressive numbers. Against West Ham, Liverpool became the first team in 10 years to score 3 goals from a corner kick in the first half of a Premier League match. Not only improving in scoring, they also defended more solidly.
Oliver Glasner's ability
After frankly admitting last month that he was "not good enough" to lead Crystal Palace, Oliver Glasner responded with performances that made that statement outdated.
Palace won 2 consecutive matches against Wolves and Zrinjski Mostar, restoring confidence before the away trip to Old Trafford. Despite losing 1-2 to Man United, "The Eagles" had a time to take the lead and created no small difficulties for the opponent. The turning point came from a double shock when Maxence Lacroix received a red card and immediately after that led to a penalty that helped Bruno Fernandes equalize.
Before losing a player, Palace played organizedly and confidently. Even when there were only 10 players left, they still fiercely resisted and forced Man United to struggle to win all 3 points.
Glasner did not show any pessimism after the match: "Perfectly true. The performance was not bad at all. The way the team fought, even in such difficult circumstances, gave me faith until the end of the season.
In the context of increasing pressure, the board of directors not rushing to fire Glasner after that self-critical statement now seems to be the right decision. Crystal Palace is not perfect, but the spirit and structure of their playing style show that they are going in the right direction.
