Gameweek 13 Review
By: Aakash Rao
Tags: Football, Sports, Review, Premier League, Soccer

Gameweek 13 occurred midweek, but remains crucial to the table standings and the teams. These few weeks have been and will be hectic for players and the teams, but it is vital for them to perform to secure important points. So, let’s find out what happened, and what the results mean to each and every team.

Wolves vs Chelsea: 2–1

Another week, and another loss for Chelsea against top 10 opposition. While this spells disaster for Chelsea, Wolves will be elated with the result, as they displayed their attacking prowess to defeat the Blues. While Chelsea as a unit weren’t dreadful, certain players were. Kai Havertz seemed lost in the Chelsea midfield, and lacked appallingly in creativity. Reece James struggled to defend against Wolves’ speedy forwards, and Mendy should have done better to save those goals. Wolves pushed on for the whole 90 minutes, which was why they deservedly got that winning goal. My man of the match is Daniel Podence, who equalised for the wolves with an absolute blinder, and remained a goal threat through out the match.

Manchester City vs West Brom: 1–1

This result is another surprising one, but it was not enough to save Slaven Bilic’s job, with the Baggies sacking him the next day. His replacement was ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce, who is renowned for keeping teams in a relegation battel up. However, let’s get back to the result. It was a crucial point for the Baggies, and they will be satisfied with the result, having bounced back from their trashing by the Eagles last week. The Mancunians, however, will be disappointed to drop the two points. They failed to pick up points early on in the season, and really need to get on a winning streak to keep up with the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool. My MOTM is Ilkay Gündogan, who was colossal in midfield, and scored the opener for Man City.

Leicester City vs Everton: 0–2

Everton have finally recovered the great form they had at the start of the season, after they comfortably cruised to victory against the Foxes. Leicester City have been consistently good for most of the season, but this was an oddly dull performance. Despite having most of the possession and playing the most and the more accurate passes, they struggled to break down the solid Everton defence. Everton were superb as an unit, and totally deserved the win. A couple of players stood out, including Mason Holgate, who performed amazingly well at right-back, Alex Iwobi, who was an offensive threat for the full game, and Richarlison, who scored a goal after a long time. My MOTM award has to go to Alex Iwobi, even though he didn’t score a goal. Iwobi arrived at Everton with huge expectations to perform, and he is finally showing his best form. He was highly influential on the final third, and hopefully remains in form for the rest of the season.

Leeds United vs Newcastle United: 5–2

Leeds United have been decent all season, but this game could be the tipping point for them. They have a squad worthy of a top 10 finish, and this win will be crucial to a top 10 finish push. Newcastle United are also in a similar situation, where they will aim to finish in the top 10, and this game will have a drastic effect later on in the season. The Magpies weren’t horrible, but they simply struggled to handle the Leeds midfield and forwards. Leeds will be proud of the result, and this further silences doubters who thought Leeds would struggle to even stay in the PL this season. My MOTM has to be Patrick Bamford, who is on a scoring spree with 9 goals, which makes him the 6th player to reach this landmark so far.

Fulham vs Brighton: 0–0

Fulham will be very satisfied with the result, having gained an important point, but the Seagulls will be disappointed for not winning the game. Fulham have been on a good run in the PL of late, and Scott Parker will certainly be encouraged by this result to keep going and ensure the Cottagers remain in the top tier of English football next season. Graham Potter, meanwhile, will be disappointed at not taking the full 3 points, and will have to ensure his team bucks up if they want to finish higher up in the table. My MOTM has to be Alphonse Areola, who pulled off some remarkable saves to keep the game nil-nil.

Liverpool vs Tottenham: 2–1

Ah, the big game of the week. It certainly was a great match for those viewing it as there was lots of drama to enjoy. Tottenham played relatively well, but just like last week, they didn’t push for the whole 3 points, which resulted in them ending up the losers. Jose Mourinho may have felt that the best team lost, but that is certainly not the truth statistically speaking. Liverpool dominated Spurs in all aspects, and thus got a much deserved 90th minute winner. This win is certainly crucial for Liverpool’s title challenge, and could prove detrimental for the Whites. The MOTM is Bobby Firmino, who scored a 90th minute goal to win the game.

West Ham United vs Crystal Palace: 1–1

Both teams will be satisfied with the results, since the single point they both get keeps them comfortably in the top end and middle of the table respectively. Both teams had similar performances, as the Hammers and the Eagles battled hard to keep it even. Both sides had chances to win the game, but the ball was kept out of the net by both ‘keepers, who personally had great games. My MOTM is Sebastian Haller, who bagged a long overdue goal, and will be motivated to score more after that stellar goal and performance.

Aston Villa vs Burnley: 0–0

Aston Villa will be hugely disappointed at tying with a team in the relegation zone, but this is yet another crucial, singular point for the Clarets as they continue to struggle to actually beat teams. Villa have been inconsistent all season, and this is yet another less-than-satisfactory result. Burnley will not be feeling too bad, and will be more than happy to take a point. My MOTM has to be Nick Pope, who saved multiple number of shots and led from the back to keep it 0–0.

Sheffield United vs Manchester United : 2–3

Sheffield will be distraught at losing despite taking the lead early on. Manchester United, however, reacted well after going down, and scored thrice to bag the 3 points. All the Red Devil players worked well as a unit, and will be happy with the win. My MOTM has to be Marcus Rashford, who scored twice to help MUFC win the game, and was an influential attacker too.

My player of the week is Marcus Rashford for his fabulous brace against the Blades.

So that’s it. After 2 hours of writing, I have completed my review, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a great day, and I will surely write again soon.