⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Different patterns]

Aston Villa beat Arsenal at home with a last-minute goal and reduced the point gap with the leaders to three.
This was a very bad loss of points for Arsenal, as the gap between them and their rivals has narrowed.

Man City beat Sunderland 3–0 at home with a clear scoreline and reduced the gap with the leaders to two points.
Man City made very good use of Arsenal’s dropped point and took a very important step towards the title.

Chelsea drew their match and continue to drop points.

Liverpool drew 3–3 away against Leeds United, and Leeds United crushed Liverpool’s dream of three points with a last-minute goal.
For the last two weeks, they have been picking up very important points against strong opponents.

Aston Villa Arsenal game was very good. Premier League is really another level, those guys don't quit the fight until the last minute even seconds. If Arsenal keeps losing points like this Manchester City is coming from behind to take the championship 

This is the time where Arsenal need to fasten their seatbelt because premier league is on another level right now, the battle for the title is now very fierce and we now have aggressive title contenders. In this coming matches, anything can happen. My advice to Arsenal is to not lose any match whatsoever because losing a match might crush their dream of winning the title this season.  They need to remember they have contenders and they are aggressive and no team is too small. Manchester city is just two points away from topping the table. They have been unbeaten before Aston Villa came to stop that but they need to keep that unbeaten record at least till when they are very convinced of winning the title.

[Bigjoe33]

I just woke up and saw Arsenal's rematch and they lost, it was very disappointing, especially since they had high hopes for this season, 2-1 against Anton Villa, this was a blow for them sadly, but I know they lost today because Arsenal had a lot of injured players in their squad, and some of their players experienced a decline in performance so Emery, who was in good condition, was able to win the match.

Actually not, because they are currently only missing 4 players but indeed losing Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães in midfield in the last few matches still provides a difficult condition.

In this match they lost because they were not too focused on defensive marking players where in the 2 goals that Aston Villa managed to get in this match we can see in the first goal they let go too much of the Aston Villa players who moved without the ball. Eze was late to close the movement of Matty Cash which ended in a goal.
For the second goal it was not too much different because the chaos that occurred came from a movement without a ball that was less guarded which made Arsenal fall behind again and had to give up points this week.

There was one goal disallowed for offside if in the end this condition was successful then it could be that 1 point was still acceptable but it looks like they have to let go of unbeaten in the last few months stopped in this match.

That first goal with Eze and Cash? I've seen exactly that mistake a hundred times when teams lose their defensive leaders. Eze's just standing there ball-watching, then Cash runs past him like he ain't nothing there. Gabriel would've been screaming at him 10 seconds before that cross was even coming in. Without those voices bringing order to the chaos, everybody's just... lost.

And second goal, mate, eight Arsenal players in the box and Buendia (a fresh sub!) reads the second ball before all them? That's being tired and having a panic attack. They're all watching the ball, where it is, not where it's going. Classic indication of a team being physically fried and mentally cooked.

The offside goal stings but they had four offsides in the first 30 minutes. They knew the defense wasn't going to be able to hold, so they were forcing everything, trying to get some early on to get a cushion. When you're that terrified of your own backline, you rush, and suddenly nothing clicks in.

Arteta knew this was coming. The schedule was brutal, the depth was non-existent and he couldn't even keep them compact. Emery saw the gaps and designed the perfect plan with those decoy runs and now the "invincible" run is over. Sometimes football just punishes you for your weaknesses and Arsenal got absolutely exposed.

It was indeed a huge blow on their face I wasn't expecting such poor performance from the Arsenal team had it been it ends in draws it would have been quite preferable than this lost and it's now two points difference from Manchester City whom are seated in the second place of the table, and it is not really nice for the point moving from 7 points to two points I really sense danger here I fear for Arsenal once again this season if they can actually make it happen, I know they've got lots of injured key players but at least Mikel Arteta should try to maintain the this top spot till they're back, that should be his number one priority else he will still bottle the league title.

Indeed, it was a poor performance from them. Aston Villa were everywhere, dorminated the game, especially in the second half. I think got tired, and they couldn't match Villa's strength. Maybe Arteta started the game wrongly, playing all his midfield all at the same time, and when he needed strength, no one was there to play.

He started Eze at the flank, which I think was wrong when you have Martinelli and Trosard on the Bench, started Odegaard as well, started Merino too,, and later removed Eze and merino at once, now when Odegaard got tired or rice, there was no one to bring in that would have strengthened the team. If he had rested Eze or Odegaard and started one, maybe at the second half, he would have introduced another. It was a bad game from them, and they should learn from that loss

[Robinrex77]

I blamed Sallah for putting himself in this condition. There's a saying that a good dancer should know the right time to leave the dancing stage. Sallah had the opportunity to leave this club for good at the right time but he ignored the opportunity thinking his loyalty would pay off. We've seen several cases to know that your loyalty means nothing to the club and you should always move when chances come your way.

Slot probably thought sallah is the problem and dropping him might change things for them. For two consecutive times he dropped him, there's nothing good that comes out from it but he still hasn't done with unproductive experiment. I don't care what the club management decide to do with him but it's unfair they allow him to treat one of their legend like this.

Agree. Even after Kloop left Liverpool, Salah should have looked for a new club. He has been with liverpool for a long time. And  he has been successful with Liverpool. So Salah needed to go to Bundesliga or La Liga before his  performance dropped. But he didn't do it. And this season Salah is not able to do well with the help of manager Arne Slot.

Arne Slot has faced big problems with his squad this season. Liverpool has spent a lot of money to build a squad, but Slot has failed to stabilize this squad. Liverpool's performance is very bad. And as usual salah is not able to perform well either. Arne Slot's  match strategy is also one of the reasons for Salah's poor performance.

Salah is a legend in the EPL, he has broken and set records himself, 1) this season age is a major factor for his decline in performance, 2) also being surrounded by too many unfamiliar players that do not understand him, 3) the class of players in has declined losing jota and Diaz is also a major factor,  van dijk is a shadow of himself, that is affecting the all round play of the team

[X-ray]

I'll try to raise a discussion here about how Manchester United could have won the title this season if their manager wasn't Ruben Amorim with his signature 3-4-3 formation.

Manchester United currently has 22 points from 14 matches.
Not losing to Everton and not drawing against West Ham United is their main opportunity to secure a top-four finish, strengthening their chances of catching up with Arsenal, as Manchester City is currently doing.

No, no it's totally wrong. Even if it was not Amorim, i don't think MU can perform better. Amorim's sytem is not entirely wrong. The players also need to be blamed as they don't have quality to blend with Amorim's system, thought some players being bought by Amorim himself.

Don't you aware how lazy their players are? They played too many individualism like they have no chemistry each other. Even if you bring Pep here, but with their current player, i don't think they can perform well.

[Ruttoshi]

A magnificent goal from Mark Giehi on the 87th minutes wrapped up the victory for Palace after playing tirelessly since the beginning of the game. Palace is currently on the 4th position with one point ahead of Chelsea and four points behind Aston Villa after a 2-1 victory against Fulham.

Fulham performance was unable to give them a second goal after the cancelation of Smith Rowe goal which was ruled out because Chukwueze was on offside. However, they played with passion and even threatened Palace defense several times. I enjoyed the game.

[Mr Reporter]

I blamed Sallah for putting himself in this condition. There's a saying that a good dancer should know the right time to leave the dancing stage. Sallah had the opportunity to leave this club for good at the right time but he ignored the opportunity thinking his loyalty would pay off. We've seen several cases to know that your loyalty means nothing to the club and you should always move when chances come your way.

Slot probably thought sallah is the problem and dropping him might change things for them. For two consecutive times he dropped him, there's nothing good that comes out from it but he still hasn't done with unproductive experiment. I don't care what the club management decide to do with him but it's unfair they allow him to treat one of their legend like this.

Agree. Even after Kloop left Liverpool, Salah should have looked for a new club. He has been with liverpool for a long time. And  he has been successful with Liverpool. So Salah needed to go to Bundesliga or La Liga before his  performance dropped. But he didn't do it. And this season Salah is not able to do well with the help of manager Arne Slot.

Arne Slot has faced big problems with his squad this season. Liverpool has spent a lot of money to build a squad, but Slot has failed to stabilize this squad. Liverpool's performance is very bad. And as usual salah is not able to perform well either. Arne Slot's  match strategy is also one of the reasons for Salah's poor performance.

Salah is a legend in the EPL, he has broken and set records himself, 1) this season age is a major factor for his decline in performance, 2) also being surrounded by too many unfamiliar players that do not understand him, 3) the class of players in has declined losing jota and Diaz is also a major factor,  van dijk is a shadow of himself, that is affecting the all round play of the team

you’re coming from  Mo’s still a legend, but this season he’s definitely feeling the weight of age and a reshuffled squad. The stats back up a dip in his numbers, especially over the last six games where his goal‑involvement has dropped off the charts At the same time, losing key creators like Jota and Diaz, plus Van Dijk not being his usual rock‑solid self, doesn’t help the team’s balance.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

A magnificent goal from Mark Giehi on the 87th minutes wrapped up the victory for Palace after playing tirelessly since the beginning of the game. Palace is currently on the 4th position with one point ahead of Chelsea and four points behind Aston Villa after a 2-1 victory against Fulham.

Fulham performance was unable to give them a second goal after the cancelation of Smith Rowe goal which was ruled out because Chukwueze was on offside. However, they played with passion and even threatened Palace defense several times. I enjoyed the game.

What is going on in the Premier League, the underdogs are gradually climbing up the table while the teams that are expected to do well are gradually declining or  is it because some of those big teams playing in major competitions are suffering from injuries or fatigue from numerous competitions? I really can't tell cause it's kinda surprising and makes we feel an underdog might win the trophy this season.
 Anyways both teams performed very well buy I I'm more impressed with Crystal Palace, they kept their hopes high and fought till the end, thanks to the wonderful goal by Guehi, it reminds me of Maguire who saved Manchester United with a late hour goal on several occasions last season.

[PremiumcryptoHub]

Brighton and West Ham presented us with another dramatic game because Brighton's Georginio Rutter's late goal earned them a point at the Brighton & hove American express stadium, in my opinion they had to work very hard to get that point and  they were ahead of their rivals in shots on target. In this game West Ham Football Club, that is the visiting team tried in various ways to protect their lead but then Georginio Rutter scored a goal in a very elegant manner but West Ham still managed to get a point in this match but they are still in the relegation zone, however we saw that Brighton moved up to seventh place today after getting a point from West Ham at home.

[Zaguru12]

Fulham performance was unable to give them a second goal after the cancelation of Smith Rowe goal which was ruled out because Chukwueze was on offside. However, they played with passion and even threatened Palace defense several times. I enjoyed the game.

Watch the game until the last 20 minutes where I didn’t. Seriously the game was a much balance game between two opponents, both had the defense and also the attack to actually go with, I saw the one team actually pressing the other and next thing the other team is hitting back at a very good counter, Fulham came back the second half as the better side in the first 20 minutes I feel they were seriously left undone with that goal ruled out for Offside after only very minimal boot of Samuel Chukwueze been ahead, this was even coming from a protest by Max Guehi who was protesting that the palace players were relaxed thinking the referee had awarded a free kick earlier due to the foul on Raul Jimenez but it wasn’t called off for that reason, so that goal cancellation was justified

My assessment of Fulham in this match is that they need to start playing Chukwueze in his favourite position which is the right wing because today on the left wing he was just making crosses without taking on any player, for me he would have took on players on the right wing and that’s his biggest asset so for me and Fulham haven’t utilized that his talent

[reefsea]

Actually not, because they are currently only missing 4 players but indeed losing Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães in midfield in the last few matches still provides a difficult condition.

In this match they lost because they were not too focused on defensive marking players where in the 2 goals that Aston Villa managed to get in this match we can see in the first goal they let go too much of the Aston Villa players who moved without the ball. Eze was late to close the movement of Matty Cash which ended in a goal.
For the second goal it was not too much different because the chaos that occurred came from a movement without a ball that was less guarded which made Arsenal fall behind again and had to give up points this week.

There was one goal disallowed for offside if in the end this condition was successful then it could be that 1 point was still acceptable but it looks like they have to let go of unbeaten in the last few months stopped in this match.

That first goal with Eze and Cash? I've seen exactly that mistake a hundred times when teams lose their defensive leaders. Eze's just standing there ball-watching, then Cash runs past him like he ain't nothing there. Gabriel would've been screaming at him 10 seconds before that cross was even coming in. Without those voices bringing order to the chaos, everybody's just... lost.

And second goal, mate, eight Arsenal players in the box and Buendia (a fresh sub!) reads the second ball before all them? That's being tired and having a panic attack. They're all watching the ball, where it is, not where it's going. Classic indication of a team being physically fried and mentally cooked.

The offside goal stings but they had four offsides in the first 30 minutes. They knew the defense wasn't going to be able to hold, so they were forcing everything, trying to get some early on to get a cushion. When you're that terrified of your own backline, you rush, and suddenly nothing clicks in.

Arteta knew this was coming. The schedule was brutal, the depth was non-existent and he couldn't even keep them compact. Emery saw the gaps and designed the perfect plan with those decoy runs and now the "invincible" run is over. Sometimes football just punishes you for your weaknesses and Arsenal got absolutely exposed.

I who even watched this match was a little confused about what the Arsenal players were doing even though if we see when the pass is made there are Calafiori and Eze who should be quicker to realize the movement without Matty Cash's ball but indeed because their focus is more on the area precisely this makes the situation worse.

For the second goal it is also not much different no matter how many players they have in the defense area but their focus is only on the defense area at a crucial time where concentration is getting shattered faced with a situation like that then they lose with their own performance.
In terms of conditions on the field, Arsenal also in terms of their performance are not too bad here, it's just that Aston Villa is indeed a much more attractive game, especially when utilizing the momentum available for them to maximize into goals.

Emery seems to be returning to his initial mode where with this mode Aston Villa always looks much more special even though they are only filled with players of equal quality.

[Rengga Jati]

you’re coming from  Mo’s still a legend, but this season he’s definitely feeling the weight of age and a reshuffled squad. The stats back up a dip in his numbers, especially over the last six games where his goal‑involvement has dropped off the charts At the same time, losing key creators like Jota and Diaz, plus Van Dijk not being his usual rock‑solid self, doesn’t help the team’s balance.

Actually, it's not just Mohamed Salah, but Liverpool, almost as a whole. Which of the newcomers to that club is good considering the high price they paid in the last transfer window? No, perhaps you could say, Ekitike is quite consistent, but the others have all failed.

And with Liverpool's current condition, is it due to the fault of the players, including Mohamed Salah's age, or is it due to the strategy and tactics orchestrated by Arne Slot? Because they've failed time and again, trying with new players, failing, and old players, and failing, and that's undeniable. Liverpool's defeat even rivals what Man City experienced a few seasons ago.

Just imagine, Liverpool could only draw against Leeds United. Leeds, the 16th-ranked club, is almost in the relegation zone, and even conceded 3 goals, meaning Liverpool's defense is really that bad.

[SatoPrincess]

I'll try to raise a discussion here about how Manchester United could have won the title this season if their manager wasn't Ruben Amorim with his signature 3-4-3 formation.

Manchester United currently has 22 points from 14 matches.
Not losing to Everton and not drawing against West Ham United is their main opportunity to secure a top-four finish, strengthening their chances of catching up with Arsenal, as Manchester City is currently doing.

The inconsistency of Manchester City and Chelsea would have been a challenge if Amorim wasn't the manager, but rather Ruud van Nistelrooy, with his signature 4-3-3 formation. He once brought the best out of the Manchester United squad during his interim tenure, with Mainoo a key player in midfield.

Is this for laughs or you’re being serious? Let’s see, would Manchester United have made it this far if they still had Erik Ten Hag? Definitely a No. While Ruud Van Nistelrooy had a good run at Manchester United, some would argue that United were simply enjoying the new manager bounce. If Ruud was that good, he could have secured a better job after leaving Manchester United. I think Manchester United should stick with Amorim, he could be manager that turns their fortunes around.

[redhack]

Mohammed Salah crisis is escalating at Liverpool. He may not be included in Tuesday's Champions League clash at Inter. He may also be absent from the Brighton match the following week. I think Salah's career at Liverpool is over. Maybe they'll sell him in the winter transfer window without waiting until the end of the season. I don't know if any team will want him, of course. He's getting older, far from his former form and his salary is very high. If Arab clubs don't buy him, I don't think other teams will be able to afford him.

[Zackz5000]

I just saw this news on X (formerly twitter) that Arne Slot has been sacked, I’m waiting to see Fabrizio post it cos he’s the most trusted football journalist out there, this might just be rumours.

Some people are thinking it’s because of Mohammed Salah issue but Mo Salah himself has not been performing so well, so I don’t see why it should be a problem though I’m also kind of with the opinion he shouldn’t be sidelined.
Their internal affairs is what is causing Liverpool all these issues and bad results. They really need to sort out the issues but Sacking Arne Slot is it not too early?

It’s fake news. Arne Slot has not been sacked….yet. I suspect this will be the last month of Arne Slot’s managerial career at Liverpool. The fans have run out of patience and are calling for his sack combined with the press release from Mo Salah yesterday there is no way that Slot will remain at the club by next year.

Since his sack rumors has been out now I don't think they will keep him till next week he might be sack this week because Liverpool conditions now is just unbearable for the fans. Mo Salah is a legend in Liverpool he should be respected for this, I see Liverpool fans complaining about the poor performance of the Egyptian, he has not been the goal machine they know him for and with his statement i think he will be leaving Liverpool to another team yet to be disclose.

[bangjoe]

I just woke up and saw Arsenal's rematch and they lost, it was very disappointing, especially since they had high hopes for this season, 2-1 against Anton Villa, this was a blow for them sadly, but I know they lost today because Arsenal had a lot of injured players in their squad, and some of their players experienced a decline in performance so Emery, who was in good condition, was able to win the match.

Actually not, because they are currently only missing 4 players but indeed losing Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães in midfield in the last few matches still provides a difficult condition.

In this match they lost because they were not too focused on defensive marking players where in the 2 goals that Aston Villa managed to get in this match we can see in the first goal they let go too much of the Aston Villa players who moved without the ball. Eze was late to close the movement of Matty Cash which ended in a goal.
For the second goal it was not too much different because the chaos that occurred came from a movement without a ball that was less guarded which made Arsenal fall behind again and had to give up points this week.

There was one goal disallowed for offside if in the end this condition was successful then it could be that 1 point was still acceptable but it looks like they have to let go of unbeaten in the last few months stopped in this match.

Many Arsenal players were injured, this was a blow they received when they faced Aston Villa in this match, I am still annoyed with this poor defense, even though Arsenal is known as a team that has a strong defense but this match ended in defeat, I thought it would end in a draw, but Aston Villa took the opportunity when the Arsenal players were not focused in the final minutes of the second half which was successfully exploited by Aston Villa's friends and Buendia as the executor who managed to add 1 goal to Aston's victory. Villas.

They have to accept that, their unbeaten record must end at the hands of Aston Villa, and it must not happen again.

[jakdanyel]

Arne Slot is still not sacked, okay... Why does Liverpool always have to do this? They are just giving more than enough time. For what? I respect his Premier League trophy last season. But he doesn't have the exact same squad now.

There were changes last summer and it looks like there are still adaptation problems among newcomers. I should add injury problems too. Now there is new crisis related to Salah. I don't see a way out for Slot honestly but let's see if he proves me wrong.

[len01]

Actually, it's not just Mohamed Salah, but Liverpool, almost as a whole. Which of the newcomers to that club is good considering the high price they paid in the last transfer window? No, perhaps you could say, Ekitike is quite consistent, but the others have all failed.

And with Liverpool's current condition, is it due to the fault of the players, including Mohamed Salah's age, or is it due to the strategy and tactics orchestrated by Arne Slot? Because they've failed time and again, trying with new players, failing, and old players, and failing, and that's undeniable. Liverpool's defeat even rivals what Man City experienced a few seasons ago.

In the end, the conclusion is pretty simple, just look back at last season when Arne Slot continued the squad structure that Klopp had already built, and that’s what brought them success and a title. From that, we can see that Slot became too ambitious by bringing in expensive, top quality players, but he failed to build a solid foundation in terms of the relationship between the coach and the players. On top of that, Slot’s expectations don’t match his actual capability, he signed many good players, but his tactics and strategies don’t really fit them. If this continues, both Liverpool and Arne Slot are going to receive some very harsh criticism.

[Iroh]

You know even in my dreams I can't imagine leeds coming from behind to make an equalizer considering the goal margin and how far they have gone, I know for a fact that liverpool is not in their Best form but the mistake they made yesterday is a remarkable one. I never knew Leeds united is that strong, it was actually my first time of watching thier performance because I saw them drawing with bigger teams why others was having hard time in wining them it was yesterday I witnessed everything . and yeah, I would say that Leeds united has improved a lot and with what I'm seeing they may likely escape relegation this season because thier performance shows that they are willing to stay in premier league.

Yeah, I also didn't think Leeds had it in them to be able to score as much goals as they did. It was quite surprising to have them equalize and managed to hold Liverpool to a draw despite coming from behind. Liverpool isn't in their best form and they probably weren't at their best in the game with Leeds to have conceded that number of goals. If given some more time, who knows? Leeds just might have scored another goal to put them in the lead and might have gone ahead to win that game.
They just might escape relegation this season if they continue to put up that much of a fight in their upcoming games as they did in the game with Liverpool.

[FiliOrangGila]

I'll try to raise a discussion here about how Manchester United could have won the title this season if their manager wasn't Ruben Amorim with his signature 3-4-3 formation.

Manchester United currently has 22 points from 14 matches.
Not losing to Everton and not drawing against West Ham United is their main opportunity to secure a top-four finish, strengthening their chances of catching up with Arsenal, as Manchester City is currently doing.

The inconsistency of Manchester City and Chelsea would have been a challenge if Amorim wasn't the manager, but rather Ruud van Nistelrooy, with his signature 4-3-3 formation. He once brought the best out of the Manchester United squad during his interim tenure, with Mainoo a key player in midfield.

Naturally, the 3-4-3 formation is not a formation that has been established for decades since the Ferguson era. Manchester United usually uses a flat back four, in a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 pattern, and even in Manchester United's youth teams, the pattern is also the same, 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. So it can be said that Amroin insists on applying the formation and strategy he wants. If the results are good, it wouldn't be a problem, but what happens is that Manchester United often gets poor results. If poor results occur, the coach should be more flexible in applying his strategy so that the team can produce good results, which is a victory. Not stubbornly sticking to his strategy even though the results are always bad.

[MorganaX]

You know even in my dreams I can't imagine leeds coming from behind to make an equalizer considering the goal margin and how far they have gone, I know for a fact that liverpool is not in their Best form but the mistake they made yesterday is a remarkable one. I never knew Leeds united is that strong, it was actually my first time of watching thier performance because I saw them drawing with bigger teams why others was having hard time in wining them it was yesterday I witnessed everything . and yeah, I would say that Leeds united has improved a lot and with what I'm seeing they may likely escape relegation this season because thier performance shows that they are willing to stay in premier league.

Yeah, I also didn't think Leeds had it in them to be able to score as much goals as they did. It was quite surprising to have them equalize and managed to hold Liverpool to a draw despite coming from behind. Liverpool isn't in their best form and they probably weren't at their best in the game with Leeds to have conceded that number of goals. If given some more time, who knows? Leeds just might have scored another goal to put them in the lead and might have gone ahead to win that game.
They just might escape relegation this season if they continue to put up that much of a fight in their upcoming games as they did in the game with Liverpool.

The crisis this season with Liverpool is something else, as I have not been able to figure out what is exactly wrong with Liverpool, they have failed in every angle as we expected in the early hours of the season. If I may ask in this game, who may saw it coming that, Leeds United will definitely come from behind to equalize with Liverpool, no one expected it, but they did. Liverpool team this season is something that one needs to explain something that is basically missing. Right now I don't think it is the tactics of the team, and this is what I have been believing, but right now, it is something else that I don't really know the exact cause.