⚽ Premier League 2024/2025 Discussion Thread ⚽

[LFC_Bitcoin]

The injuries to De Bruyne, Ederson and Walker will certainly not reduce Manchester City's performance in my opinion, indeed all three are important players in the current squad but we also cannot deny if Manchester City still have Ortega, Kovacic and some defenders who can replace Walker well, at the moment I think the game against Arsenal will be the toughest game besides Tottenham in their remaining games this season,  In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

[QueenVera]

Kelvin De Bruyne's injury may be serious given he was not even in the Belgium squad for the international game. De Bruyne did not play in their last FA Cup game against Newcastle because he had been substituted in their previous two games against Liverpool; it appears that Guardiola realized he had an injury. De Bruyne has not participated in either of their games against Arsenal this season, and he was out for their first Premier League game due to injury; we are yet unsure whether he will return before they play against Arsenal.

I only consider Manchester City as a strong squad when De Bruyne and Rodri are both fit to play; without De Bruyne, I don't believe Arsenal will have a problem facing Manchester City. Though Rodri was unable to play in their first meeting, Manchester City's midfielder was not as powerful at the time. Despite the fact that Manchester City is hosting the match, I do not believe they will easily win without De Bruyne because only Rodri can do it.

This is a Premier League game in which both clubs will fight with all of their strength to secure the three points. Manchester City will do anything in their power to surpass Arsenal for the top of the league, while Arsenal will need the three points to stay strong at the top of the league and win the league at the end of the season. I believe this match will end in a draw.

For Manchester City, they've got players that are key to them, although the team are good, but there were some leakages in the team as a result of De Bruyne and Gundogan's absence. They've still had an upper head in the contest but the team would best be in their top form when these two are present. Not loosing hope in them, they can still do the City magic.

 Kevin De Bruyne's injury was one that lasted a while and also caused him to loose form upon recovery. He's needed some time off to get back himself and his agility to match Guardiola's football. He's a quick picking player and he's going to be able to bounce back. No doubt, City misses him as he's got this special effect he gives to the team, a few things has changed since his absence and his absence is felt in a minut level. Al-Nassr got their eyes on him and no doubt it's his decision to go there or not, even though he'd cause a lot of impact in the team too.

 Al-Nassr move won't be a bad option though but the guy has still got some displays to do. His contract with City will expire soon and then we'd know his way forward in the footballing journey. By April, the quarter finals stage for the UCL will kick off and for the teams, it'll not be an easy slide through regardless of the notion of the strongest teams being the ones able to scale into this stage.

 The key men for City are back and set to run and definitely that's enough charge to weigh down their opponent. The teams would try to put up a battle but I'm certain that City will be capable to overturn them. They're way ahead in capacity and ability too. As always, the quarter finals will have as much fun as there can be in it and it's greatly anticipated. Preparations and games would definitely be intense too.

[Oluwa-btc]

The injuries to De Bruyne, Ederson and Walker will certainly not reduce Manchester City's performance in my opinion, indeed all three are important players in the current squad but we also cannot deny if Manchester City still have Ortega, Kovacic and some defenders who can replace Walker well, at the moment I think the game against Arsenal will be the toughest game besides Tottenham in their remaining games this season,  In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

Same thing happened with John Stones tonight. Could it be that, they've already planned on doing that before the game? Because I didn't see anyone hit John Stones or come in collision with the Englishman while attacking or defending during the friendly game they played tonight against Belgium.
Good to see that they could come from behind to squeeze a point out of that game, with Ivan Toney scoring his first goal for the three lions tonight

Belgium sat back to defend, only of they had attacked and contained them well, they shouldn't have shared points between themselves. Beautiful pass from Romelu Lukaku yo link up the second goal for Telemann.

[pawel7777]

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

It's a common tactic not only limited to Man City or Arsenal. No clubs are happy to let their key players play friendlies in their national teams and risk fatigue and/or injuries. Especially when both of the mentioned clubs are still participating in the Champions League quarter-finals as well as are still fighting for the league title and will be playing against each other on Sunday.
Tensions between national and club management are as old as football.

[blue Snow]

In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

Yes I admit that Manchester City is indeed a good and strong team, but there is a still have another strong team like Liverpool to shift to first position stand if Arsenal and the City will most likely don't have control on their match. Currently there are still 10 matches left for them, which I think anything possible will happen in the future, Liverpool, Arsenal, The city have a big chance to be champions for this session. when we look by experience, usually if one of their core players get the injured the team will feel lame, and usually in their performance will decline until the end of the session.

[poodle63]

The injuries to De Bruyne, Ederson and Walker will certainly not reduce Manchester City's performance in my opinion, indeed all three are important players in the current squad but we also cannot deny if Manchester City still have Ortega, Kovacic and some defenders who can replace Walker well, at the moment I think the game against Arsenal will be the toughest game besides Tottenham in their remaining games this season,  In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

The recent update says that Ederson and Walker are unlikely to play against Arsenal soon, but De Bruyne and Grealish have been actively participating in the training session again. Walker's condition is still bad, and I'm not expecting him to join the main squad against Arsenal as there is no ETA about when Walker will be able to recover from his injury.
I think that's not a serious problem to miss ederson since ortega is still performing quite well atm. The only problem is that the missing walker is probably weakening their right back.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

The return dates for all of those players in the main squad are still unknown, and it remains uncertain when they will be back to play. Saka is now doing small treatmet for his minor injury and he can play back against manchester city.
Gabriel and Martineli's return to play remains unknown, but it would be even more interesting if both of these talented players are able to make a comeback for their respective clubs in the match against city.

[klidex]

In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

Yes I admit that Manchester City is indeed a good and strong team, but there is a still have another strong team like Liverpool to shift to first position stand if Arsenal and the City will most likely don't have control on their match. Currently there are still 10 matches left for them, which I think anything possible will happen in the future, Liverpool, Arsenal, The city have a big chance to be champions for this session. when we look by experience, usually if one of their core players get the injured the team will feel lame, and usually in their performance will decline until the end of the session.

I agree that Manchester City is a strong club in the English Premier League, this is because Manchester City won the title in the last few years, but this season is different. Manchester City has 2 competitors which cannot be considered easy, as you said, anything can still happen, according to I still have several matches that are quite difficult for Manchester City in the remaining matches this season, including against Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Tottenham. These clubs cannot be underestimated, therefore the top three clubs are currently competing to show their consistency in the remaining matches this season and they also face difficult opponents too so it will not be easy for everyone to overcome obstacles in the remaining 10 matches.

Many say that Manchester City's crucial match with Arsenal will be the deciding factor in winning the Premier League title, as well as Liverpool also facing Manchester City, even though it doesn't have a big impact because they only lose points in the match at that time, but if clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool experience difficulties it's not when they play Arsenal, the three clubs still have the same opportunity. To be able to beat them also to be able to maintain consistency in order to stay at the top of the standings until the end.

[Hanadawa]

Manchester City have proven that they can still perform well without De Bruyne like in the previous few weeks when De Bruyne was absent from the start of the season for 6 months.

Manchester City still has a chance to win a very big trophy this season, and I don't even think that this weekend's match against Arsenal is everything because with the remaining 10 matches in this season the top 3 teams currently Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City still have the same percentage. to earn a degree.

I even look at the strength of the top 3 teams at the moment and I think Manchester City is a little stronger than the others, and at crucial times, mentality is needed and Manchester City has that.

Without De Bruyne they were still able to perform well but City couldn't dominate the match. Several times they struggled to create chances and they didn't really dominate the game. City can perform well without KDB but they cannot perform optimally. Because KDB has the creativity to distribute the ball forward and create several golden opportunities for City.

Yes, I also see City as having a bigger chance than Arsenal and Liverpool. They really have a solid squad. But I hope Liverpool or Arsenal win the EPL title. It will be a memorable farewell gift for Klopp. I also like seeing a team like Arsenal win the title after a long time when they were only able to finish in second place in the final standings.

[len01]

In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

Yes I admit that Manchester City is indeed a good and strong team, but there is a still have another strong team like Liverpool to shift to first position stand if Arsenal and the City will most likely don't have control on their match. Currently there are still 10 matches left for them, which I think anything possible will happen in the future, Liverpool, Arsenal, The city have a big chance to be champions for this session. when we look by experience, usually if one of their core players get the injured the team will feel lame, and usually in their performance will decline until the end of the session.

these three teams do have a chance to win the season title and I wouldn't be surprised if anyone would favor these three teams, but for some reason I still doubt Arsenal and exclude Arsenal from the list of candidates for the EPL title this season.
the reason is quite simple, since several seasons ago, Arsenal have always failed in terms of competing with popular teams towards the end of the season and the example that was clearly visible at the end of last season clearly showed that Arsenal was very close to getting the EPL title but in fact Arsenal failed to maintain their consistency and ended with failure.
and on the one hand I actually think that Liverpool can get this opportunity even though they still have to fight against Man City, but from experience I know that Liverpool is able to take advantage of the end of the season to finish at the top of the standings.

[Google+]

Without De Bruyne they were still able to perform well but City couldn't dominate the match. Several times they struggled to create chances and they didn't really dominate the game. City can perform well without KDB but they cannot perform optimally. Because KDB has the creativity to distribute the ball forward and create several golden opportunities for City.

Yes, I also see City as having a bigger chance than Arsenal and Liverpool. They really have a solid squad. But I hope Liverpool or Arsenal win the EPL title. It will be a memorable farewell gift for Klopp. I also like seeing a team like Arsenal win the title after a long time when they were only able to finish in second place in the final standings.

Manchester City chances of winning the game are still very big even though KDB is doubtful to play in the game, what you said is true, so far KDB has a tremendous influence on every Manchester City game but that does not mean Manchester City has a dependence for KDB, when the game against Liverpool in the FA, KDB was replaced by Kovacic and I think Kovacic can also perform better if he does get the opportunity to play Against Arsenal and replaced the position left by KDB.

De Bruyne's ability is beyond doubt, as a midfielder he is able to explore every area of the pitch well, and even in tight areas he can make good chances for Haaland and Phil Foden so far in scoring, at this time I think Guardiola must still maintain his team's performance even if he has to replace KDB with Kovacic,  Because after all, the situation in the league at the moment is very tight, and it is necessary for Guardiola to minimize mistakes in order to be able to maintain their chances of competing to win the Premier League this season with Arsenal and Liverpool.

[TastyChillySauce00]

It's strange that the city won't be able to take the trophy this season, given that they've won it several times in a row. The EPL is becoming even more competitive than I expected.
The previous season was relatively easy for Manchester City because it only had Arsenal as a competitor. This time is even tougher than before. It appears that Liverpool is a strong club capable of winning the trophy at any time.

Man City's chances are still great, the match against Arsenal could be key. If they win of course Man City will be ahead of the points, then it's a tough task to keep maintaining by continuing to get points in the remaining matches. But if the final result later draws or loses, then Man City will be more difficult, because they only hope for Arsenal and Liverpool's mistakes in the rest of the next match. De Bruyne's injury does not seem to be a big problem for Pep, they have to maximize the existing players.

According to the latest report if de bruyne has been joining in the training session again. It indicates that if de bruyne is slowly but surely going back again to the his best performance. It's only a matter of time till he will be coming back in the match against Arsenal.
I think Pep has fully prepared him for this match. This could be why Pep did not give him permission to participate in the Belgium match, considering that Brüyne holds a very important role in the club.

This is also the reason Pep keeps him in the club instead of sending him to play in the international match. The city gets two players as its victim, which is Kyle Walker and Stones. I hope that Bruyne will be able to play soon against Arsenal.
The club needs to ensure it will be able to use the main squad against Arsenal, considering that it is still at its peak performance. It will be a disaster for Manchester City if it loses three points against Arsenal soon.

The game will not so entertaining with some star players like de bruyne and walker. Many people have been waiting their actions. I hope that bruyne and grealish will able to perform again in the main squad.

[Sunderland]

In addition, I don't see there is another team that might be a strong opponent for Manchester City in the remaining of their matches this season.

Yes I admit that Manchester City is indeed a good and strong team, but there is a still have another strong team like Liverpool to shift to first position stand if Arsenal and the City will most likely don't have control on their match. Currently there are still 10 matches left for them, which I think anything possible will happen in the future, Liverpool, Arsenal, The city have a big chance to be champions for this session. when we look by experience, usually if one of their core players get the injured the team will feel lame, and usually in their performance will decline until the end of the session.

I think there are still 3 matches where Mancity might fail to get full points:
Tottenham vs Mancity
Mancity vs Aston
Brighton vs Mancity

I wrote Brighton above because from their last 14 matches at home, Brighton has only lost once and it happen back in August 2023.
Even big teams such as Liverpool could only get a draw, Tottenham and Newcastle even didn't get any points from there.

[Hvdv]

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

It's a common tactic not only limited to Man City or Arsenal. No clubs are happy to let their key players play friendlies in their national teams and risk fatigue and/or injuries. Especially when both of the mentioned clubs are still participating in the Champions League quarter-finals as well as are still fighting for the league title and will be playing against each other on Sunday.
Tensions between national and club management are as old as football.

For critical matches, the risk of injury is the worst possible scenario when players play in national teams. That's why I agree that the mentioned teams do not want to send the players. Would you want your most important player to go to the national team and come back injured? Of course, this may not happen, but if it does, it will cause big problems.

[RockBell]

Yes I admit that Manchester City is indeed a good and strong team, but there is a still have another strong team like Liverpool to shift to first position stand if Arsenal and the City will most likely don't have control on their match. Currently there are still 10 matches left for them, which I think anything possible will happen in the future, Liverpool, Arsenal, The city have a big chance to be champions for this session. when we look by experience, usually if one of their core players get the injured the team will feel lame, and usually in their performance will decline until the end of the session.

People give Manchester City too much credit, and they're no different than any other club. Simply said, they know how to take advantage of situations. If not, Liverpool is there, as is Arsenal, who is presently topping the standings before they resume. And we're hoping Arsenal plays well throughout this resuming phase. Everyone is aware that the three clubs will perform well and have a better chance of winning. And with the remaining games. And everyone is saying Manchester City will win lets wait and see what will happen in the next 10 games because am sure everyone will not want to take chances even does that want to escape religation. Its a tight corner for everyone. All most all of them have the experience already. And any club can not afford any injuries at this point in time.

[Oluwa-btc]

I think there are still 3 matches where Mancity might fail to get full points:
Tottenham vs Mancity
Mancity vs Aston
Brighton vs Mancity

I wrote Brighton above because from their last 14 matches at home, Brighton has only lost once and it happen back in August 2023.
Even big teams such as Liverpool could only get a draw, Tottenham and Newcastle even didn't get any points from there.

Having games like;

Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City and  Aston Villa against Manchester City is reason enough why nobody should write off Manchester United from qualifying for that top four position.

Roberto De Zebri has done well for Brighton and even them first year in the European Europa League Competition, he brought them that far in the competition and I must give him his regards and also his flowers. They'd be up against Liverpool who will be at home as they failed to progress to the next round of the FA Cup Competition against Manchester United.
I'm sure Brighton would fight them since they won't be playing any further European Europa League games no more.

Manchester City are tops sides. I won't write off Josep Pep Guardiola until its done and over. I have come to see reasons with some of the things said by Joào Cancelo, there's got to be two sides of every story even more.

[QueenVera]

I agree that Manchester City is a strong club in the English Premier League, this is because Manchester City won the title in the last few years, but this season is different. Manchester City has 2 competitors which cannot be considered easy, as you said, anything can still happen, according to I still have several matches that are quite difficult for Manchester City in the remaining matches this season, including against Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Tottenham. These clubs cannot be underestimated, therefore the top three clubs are currently competing to show their consistency in the remaining matches this season and they also face difficult opponents too so it will not be easy for everyone to overcome obstacles in the remaining 10 matches.

Many say that Manchester City's crucial match with Arsenal will be the deciding factor in winning the Premier League title, as well as Liverpool also facing Manchester City, even though it doesn't have a big impact because they only lose points in the match at that time, but if clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool experience difficulties it's not when they play Arsenal, the three clubs still have the same opportunity. To be able to beat them also to be able to maintain consistency in order to stay at the top of the standings until the end.

The competitive nature of the EPL is one that’s very dynamic as every season you see the competition for the league champion keep getting tougher. This season we’re having one great battle with 3 clubs who are just one point away from each other and with goal differences separating the 1st and 2nd place. All the clubs in this chase have been really consistent but the winner will go to the most consistent one    

 ⁠City yes have won this league for over 5 times in 6 years and they’re looking at winning it for the 4th time consecutively and yes even if to an extent you might not see Arsenal as a major competitor for City because of last season’s error. You can’t just want to write off Liverpool as thos is Klopp’s final season and the boys are ready to give their all for his boys to be able to win the league for the coach who’s sacrificed and has given his best to the club for over the past 9 years.
 
 A draw at Etihad between City and Arsenal on Sunday will see Liverpool go pretty top on the log with over 2-3 points gap and as such they’ve eased themselves off the pressure as with City and Liverpool. Yes I know City are ready to give their all in that match against Arsenal on Sunday but I’m very sure they’ll be met with strong resistance from Arteta and his boys.

 Yes City are a very good club in the league and I think they’re the major challenger and contenders but I wouldn’t want to see them winning as this will mean Pep already dominating the league and that’ll speak bad of the league. Well I trust Arteta and his boys to be able to help Liverpool clim up or rather still defeat City and make the race now between Liverpool and Arsenal. Another City winning the trophy must be fought with all resilience from Liverpool and Arsenal.

[asriloni]

I have a feeling all three will play against Arsenal. Man City have a history of players pulling out of internationals, to then miraculously recover for their club shortly after.

Arsenal are doing the same though, Saka pulled out of England camp and Gabriel is supposedly not fit to play for Brazil. Let’s see if they are all really injured at the weekend.

It's a common tactic not only limited to Man City or Arsenal. No clubs are happy to let their key players play friendlies in their national teams and risk fatigue and/or injuries. Especially when both of the mentioned clubs are still participating in the Champions League quarter-finals as well as are still fighting for the league title and will be playing against each other on Sunday.
Tensions between national and club management are as old as football.

For critical matches, the risk of injury is the worst possible scenario when players play in national teams. That's why I agree that the mentioned teams do not want to send the players. Would you want your most important player to go to the national team and come back injured? Of course, this may not happen, but if it does, it will cause big problems.

If these players were facing minor injuries, that's not a problem, but since some players must go out for months, it costs the club a lot. That's why I recall that a national match has many disadvantages for the club compared to the national club itself.
The players went to the national club healthy, but they returned to the club with serious injuries, and they must have been out for months, which also caused the club to lose the trophy. I'll take Manchester City as the best cast to explain why sending players to the international team will be able to give the city big losses.

Having some players who played at the national clubs is good since it shows that some players have been valued so highly by their national teams. The only problem is when the players are injured, and it's the responsibility of the team to recover their important players who were injured due to the national match.
Im not fully cons about this but sometimes, preventing the players to join in the national club is good when team must have faced some very important matches this season.

Manchester city has lost RB and CB which are very bad for the club. These players have contributed a lot to ensure the city always has a strong defensive line. What we can take from city's case if sometimes coach needs to prevent their players.

[Marvell1]

Manchester City have proven that they can still perform well without De Bruyne like in the previous few weeks when De Bruyne was absent from the start of the season for 6 months.

Manchester City still has a chance to win a very big trophy this season, and I don't even think that this weekend's match against Arsenal is everything because with the remaining 10 matches in this season the top 3 teams currently Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City still have the same percentage. to earn a degree.

I even look at the strength of the top 3 teams at the moment and I think Manchester City is a little stronger than the others, and at crucial times, mentality is needed and Manchester City has that.

Without De Bruyne they were still able to perform well but City couldn't dominate the match. Several times they struggled to create chances and they didn't really dominate the game. City can perform well without KDB but they cannot perform optimally. Because KDB has the creativity to distribute the ball forward and create several golden opportunities for City.

Yes, I also see City as having a bigger chance than Arsenal and Liverpool. They really have a solid squad. But I hope Liverpool or Arsenal win the EPL title. It will be a memorable farewell gift for Klopp. I also like seeing a team like Arsenal win the title after a long time when they were only able to finish in second place in the final standings.

I tell you what, Kevin De Bruyne is indeed one of the best midfielders in the world but he is not the most important player in Manchester City either. Some would say Haaland is the main man for the current Manchester City squad but I would say he is not the main man, the key player of the Manchester City team.

The key player in the Manchester City team is Rodri. Just look at the statistics of the match when he started the game vs when he did not. You would see a huge gap in the win-loss ratio here. Rodri, despite being a  Centre Defensive Midfielder, is the key player of Manchester City.

I think Manchester City has the best chance of taking the Premier League this year as well. I would have said Arsenal if their team were more experienced. But we have seen last year how they have choked the trophy from such a huge lead. Manchester City also fell behind in the middle of the season, but after Rodri returned from injury, they made a good comeback. The upcoming match between Manchester City and Arsenal might decide a lot of things in the Premier League trophy run.

[piebeyb]

Yes, I also see City as having a bigger chance than Arsenal and Liverpool. They really have a solid squad. But I hope Liverpool or Arsenal win the EPL title. It will be a memorable farewell gift for Klopp. I also like seeing a team like Arsenal win the title after a long time when they were only able to finish in second place in the final standings.

There is nothing impossible for Arsenal and Liverpool to win the EPL title this season, because Manchester City could make a mistake at the end of the season, no one knows but anything can happen, so both clubs still have a chance to win the EPL title this season Arsenal have certainly learned a lot from the previous season where they always failed in the EPL title race, and Liverpool also want this season's EPL as a special gift for Klopp before leaving Liverpool after this season.

I am sure that the competition at the end of the season will be even more interesting considering that there are 3 clubs competing closely in the race for the EPL title this season, however Manchester City will not let either of them win the title, because Guardiola will of course put pressure on his team to maintain consistency in the EPL title race. This season, apart from the UCL, Manchester City is a club that is difficult to get rid of at the top of the standings, therefore it is difficult to compete with them unless they make mistakes, but we will see the results of Manchester City's meeting with Arsenal this week.

[ILuckyGuyI]

It is a season defining game for Arsenal as they have got bigger gons to play in the premier league while also playing Bayern Munich in the champions league as well. Who do you reckon Arsnela would defeat amongst their top fixtures? Chelsea? City? or Manchester United?

Add the Aston Villa game also there. Because it can also be a tricky one depending on Emery's strategies. They beat Arsenal once home as a reminder. 

Yeah, there are really tough games waiting for Arsenal in the remaining part of their fixture. Combining the tough PL games with the CL games against Bayern Munich makes things really terrifying for them.

I don't feel like Arsenal will collect maximum points in those big games in the PL. But I would really like to see them surprising me. Because it has been just 20 years since they became the champions here. I wouldn't say no to their breaking a leg and finally lifting the trophy!