Rampant Reds continue to run riot

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have been on red-hot form this season, already winning the Carabao Cup, despite missing some of the their key figures at certain crucial moments this season.

Players like Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, and Cody Gakpo, whom have in a sense been demoted to secondary figures in the squad, rose to the occasion at certain points and took the mantle to ensure that the boys in red took the win. (Harvey Elliott’s stoppage-time winner against Crystal Palace comes to mind)

Furthermore, during a 4-1 win against Brentford in which Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones had to be substituted due to “worrying” injury blows, the Reds marched on without their three key men, with Salah scoring one and assisting another before Cody Gakpo put the icing on the cake for a 4-1 win.

Still riddled by injuries, Liverpool made lightwork of Luton as they rammed them 4-1 despite the absence of some integral names on the teamsheet.

Gunners almost drop the ball

The festive period proved to be a bleak one for the Gunners as they went into Christmas on top, then dropped to third by New Year’s and almost fell short of the title race. A win against league-toppers Liverpool pulled them back though as they once more went within reach of their title contenders Liverpool and Man City.

On the eve of new year’s, the Gunners were fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Liverpool, after suffering back-to-back defeats against Fulham and West Ham. A further 2-0 loss to Liverpool in an FA Cup fixture proved to be detrimental to Arterta’s cause as Arsenal’s other chance at silverware diminished in front of their eyes.

Wins against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and West Ham were a necessity for them to not be written off the title race and Arsenal made sure to thump the aforementioned teams not only to get the required points tally but to write a statement too.

As we speak, the gap from first to third is just two points with 9 to play and squeaky bum time is upon us. Arsenal are showing no signs of letting up despite their winter wobble, and have reeled off five wins in a row with 25 goals being smashed in during the process. Their fellow title contenders aren’t willing to put their feet off the pedal though, thus setting us up for an exhilarating ending to the season.

KDB returns in style

Three-time defending Premier League champions Manchester City just got a whole lot scarier, after Kevin De Bruyne returned on Sunday from the hamstring injury that had kept him out for five months, since the opening day of the season.

While the blow proved to be huge for City, who desperately need KDB’s midfield leadership after losing Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez in the summer, KDB came back to score a pretty routine outside-the-box KDB goal then rounded things off with an assist to Man City youngster Oscar Bobb.

The likes of Kovacic, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, and Jack Grealish have attempted to fill the void left by KDB’s absence, but he is an irreplaceable player due to his incredible unique quality, which is why City has struggled to control and close out many games in recent months.

Since coming back, Kevin De Bruyne has amassed a total of 2 goals and 6 assists in 6 games, thus helping Man City get within a points reach of Liverpool.

Klopp says his goodbyes

Elsewhere, the footballing world was left in shock as Fabrizio Romano, then a formal announcement by Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, announced that the former Mainz defender will be stepping down from his post as the Liverpool manager at the end of the season.

This news sent waves through the footballing world, with many fans wondering where Liverpool is going to go from here onwards, and many coaches reeling at the possibility of succeeding the German at Anfield.

While the news of Klopp’s departure came as huge knock mostly to Liverpool fans, Klopp had this to say to them “My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big. Of course, I know myself, I cannot just sit around. I will find something else maybe to do. But I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to.”