The winner of 2021/22 Premier League is becoming predictable after the last round of new year fixtures, with one game left to be played.
Manchester City showed the stuff of champions to beat a very resilient Arsenal side who were very motivated for the game at the Emirates even in the absence of their manager Mikel Arteta after testing positive for Covid-19.
Pep Guardiola’s men were not at their best on the day as the young Gunners side took the game to them and opened the scoring in the first half via Bukayo Saka. The Citizens were overwhelming favorites for all 3 points but Arsenal were having none of it and were clearly the better side by a mile at the end of the first half.
Regardless, Man City showed their title credentials and came from behind to win even on a day that they were far from their best, although it had to take a penalty conceded by Granit Xhaka and a red card to the same player which gave the Citizens the advantage on the day.
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A win was a very good result for Pep Guardiola and his men as Chelsea would welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge the next day. These are the two sides that have shown intent in chasing for the title but seem to have fallen away in recent weeks with Chelsea’s case being the worst.
Pep Guardiola and his men would have been hoping that both sides played out a draw and this was the case at the blast of the final whistle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s men raced to a two-goal lead in the first half through Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah but couldn’t hold on and lost the two-goal cushion as Chelsea fought back through Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic, and these all happened in the first half of the game.
Therefore, the Citizens currently lead second-placed Chelsea with 10 points and third-placed Liverpool with 11 points although the Reds have a game in hand. It appears all things are working in favor of Man City as these teams will also lose key players from their teams due to the Africa Cup of Nations which commences this January.
Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper will represent Senegal at AFCON while Sadio Mane, Naby Keita, and Mohamed Salah will leave for Senegal, Guinea, and Egypt respectively. These absences will affect the sides involved while the Citizens will look to continue their winning streak.
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Man City’s chasers have to go on a run to put pressure on the Citizens and hope that the table-toppers falter or suffer a bad patch but i don’t see this happening as the chasers also have more points to drop due to their inconsistent performances in recent weeks.
The 2021/22 Premier League title is obviously Manchester City’s own to lose. They have their destiny in their hands and I trust the Pep Guardiola-led side to make the best out of it.
Therefore, just maybe, we should start celebrating Manchester City’s 2021/22 league triumph unless a very Premier League unpredictability situation occurs.
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.