Seventeen game weeks into the Premier League season and the title race is finally settling down with Chelsea leaving their rivals behind sitting at the top of the table with a seven-point lead. However, the Premier League never really fails to surprise and even a seven point gap could seem very small within a few months.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United are the other teams still very much in the title race with only six points separating Manchester City who is second on the table with Manchester United who is sixth. Southampton, Everton and West Brom are fighting hard for a spot in Europe next season – yet another battle worth looking out for.
At the bottom of the table, Hull City and Swansea are slowly looking like the favourites to be relegated while Sunderland is looking to make yet another fantastic escape. All this and more as here are the ten things we learned from game week 17.
#1 Chelsea’s defence and Costa continue fine form
Antonio Conte’s men made it 11 wins in a row with a solid performance against Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace. At the back, Chelsea was as solid as they have ever been but found it extremely difficult to break through Alan Pardew’s defence. Not only did Crystal Palace make it difficult for the Blues to break through their defence, Chelsea were nothing special going forward.
However, Costa netted the only goal of the game just before halftime. The Spaniard is having the season of his life and it looks like it all comes down to his discipline after all. Marcos Alonso was fantastic throughout the game and also came close to scoring one.
#2 Swansea City is a sinking ship
The sacking of Francesco Guidolin was clearly a sign of chaos at Swansea and the situation looks worse than feared. New manager Bob Bradley has done very little differently and Swansea looks like one of the clubs certainly facing relegation. Despite showing signs of revival in the past few weeks, the Swans are back to square one again.
Against Middlesbrough their squads quality or rather the lack of it was clear. Losing out on their best players season after season and not replacing them has put them in this state and even an overhaul of the squad in the winter transfer window might possibly not save their season.
#3 Leicester show character after Vardy red
The talks about the possibility of the defending Premier League Champions Leicester City being relegated have been increasing in the past few weeks but a stunning win against Manchester City put rest to those talks. However, a loss to Watford midweek and now a 2-2 draw against Stoke City leaves Leicester City only 3 points above the relegation zone.
Jamie Vardy’s red card was a controversial decision and Leicester City struggled for the first half. However, the Foxes showed fantastic character in the second half and ensured they came out with at least something from this game. Their grit, determination and character are traits that usually separates the bottom three from the teams that survived the relegation battle.
#4 Sunderland are an improved team with Anichebe
After a brief hiccup where Sunderland was humiliated by Swansea City, the Black Cats put in a great performance against Chelsea only to lose 1-0. Their fine performance was rewarded this weekend after they sealed a well deserved 1-0 victory over Watford City which now gives them four wins in their last seven games.
Victor Anichebe was missing for both of their losses and it is not merely a coincidence that Sunderland has won now that he’s back. The striker teams up with Jermaine Defoe to form a deadly duo and terrorised the Watford defence. Defoe still looks good enough to play for most of the Premier League teams this season and bagged a good assist on Saturday.
#5 Zlatan proves himself yet again
He’s proven himself in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and France, but could he do it in the Premier League? Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be 35 but he is showing no signs of ageing as he put in a fantastic performance for Manchester United against West Bromwich Albion to give them their third win in a row this season.
A well-taken header from a fantastic Lingard cross followed by a clinical and strong finish for the second goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Manchester United the victory. With a settled midfield and a dependable defence, Zlatan has the responsibility to lead the line of attackers and Manchester United to seek to cover up the gap between them and the other title contenders.
#6 West Ham United look much better
The new season was going to be the start of something special for West Ham United after moving into the Olympics stadium but what has gone down so far this season is far from special. The Hammers have only picked up 19 points so far but things were far worse when they were sitting dangerously close to the relegation zone with a quarter of the season gone.
West Ham United have improved considerably in the last six weeks picking up vital points to move to the 13th spot. Andre Ayew return has revitalised the team and takes a bit of pressure off Dmitri Payet and Michail Antonio. However, with Payet likely to leave in January, West Ham need to accumulate as many points as possible to guarantee a safe finish.
#7 Tottenham bank heavily on their fullbacks
In a team with Hugo Lloris, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane and Dele Alli, there are only two players the Tottenham can always count on. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose have always been brilliant for Spurs and the left back Danny Rose proved his class once again with a stunning goal to give his team the victory.
The left back's ability to pass the ball has been fantastic while his crossing has improved over time. He created the chance for Dele Alli’s equalised. On the other side, Kyle Walker is a major threat for the opponents – solid as a defender and threatening while he makes his lightning fast runs down the wing when they attack. Both players have been used very well by Mauricio Pochettino.
#8 Southampton are serious contenders for the Europa League
The Saints have always been one of the most consistent mid-table clubs of the Premier League ever since their promotion and have once again announced themselves as a prime favourite for the Europa League spots with a stunning victory over Bournemouth.
Despite losing out on yet another important player in Sadio Mane, Southampton has been brilliant this season and Charlie Austin's injury did very little to stop their fantastic form. Jay Rodriguez stepped in and scored two brilliant goals to give Southampton a 3-1 victory after trialling by a goal very early in the game.
#9 Nathan Ake is a great centre-back
Eddie Howe has been lauded for his performance as the coach of Bournemouth linking him to the roles of England manager and Arsenal manager. He has played positive attacking football that fans love to watch, but his best move this season has been that of playing Nathan Ake at centre-back.
The tall, strong former Chelsea midfielder has previously been deployed in the same role but with the freedom under Eddie Howe, Nathan Ake has grown into one of the best Bournemouth players. With three goals in six games, Chelsea will be smacking their lips at the prospect of recalling their talented youngster.
#10 Arsenal lose the game rather than Manchester City winning it
It's that time of the year again when Arsenal fans bury their heads in their palms in disbelief as Arsenal have thrown away yet another fantastic start to their season. The Gunner had a chance to go three points clear of Liverpool and four points clear of Manchester City with a win but lost their game 2-1 despite taking an early lead via Theo Walcott.
Pep Guardiola’s defence looked a shaky as always and the team certainly missed Aguero, Gundogan and Fernandinho’s presence but an inspired performance from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, combined with a little bit of luck from the referee's decisions gave Manchester City a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. Did they deserve it? Probably. But did Arsenal deserve to lose? Certainly.
