T
H
E
B
R
EA
K
D
O
W
N CUPFINAL
Foronlythe second
timeinhistory, the
LeagueCupand
FACup finalswere
bothcontestedby
thesameteams,
Liverpooland
Chelsea.Evenmore
remarkably, thetwo
matchesproduced
identicalresults,with
JurgenKlopp’s side
winningonpenalties
after 0-0draws.
EUROPEAN
QUALIFIERS
Tottenhamedged
outrivalsArsenalto
joinManchesterCity,
LiverpoolandChelsea
inthe Champions
League,while
ManchesterUnited
heldoffWestHam
toreachthe Europa
Leaguealongwiththe
Gunners.TheHammers
insteadgointothe
ConferenceLeague.
RELEGATEDAND
PROMOTEDTEAMS
NorwichCity
andWatfordwent
straightbackdown
witha whimper, while
Burnleyendedtheir
six-yearstayinthe
topflight.Fulham
bouncedstraightback
upasChampionship
winners,joinedby
Bournemouthand
play-off winners
NottinghamForest.
PLAYEROF
THESEASON
MohamedSalahmay
havetoppedboththe
goalandassistcharts,
butKevinDeBruyne’s
performancesgothis
teamovertheline.The
highest-scoringseason
ofhiscareer, including
fourgoalsagainst
Wolves,the Belgian’s
assistforGundogan’s
winneronthefinalday
wastypicallyprecise.
Therewere 8 4 minutesonthe
clockandMohamedSalahhad
justputLiverpool2-1 up against
WolverhamptonWanderers,when
anextrawaveofcelebrationbegan
tospreadaroundAnfield.AstonVilla,
itwas said,hadjustequalisedagainst
ManchesterCitytomakeit 3-3, and
Liverpoolfanshadthe Premier
Leaguetrophy in theirsights.
Except,theydidn’t.Whetheritwas
a falserumourora misunderstanding
thathadgotten outofhand, thedream
ofManchesterCityconcedingagainto
handthe Redsthetitlewas just that,
a fantasy.
Inreality,PepGuardiola’ssidewere
still ridingthewaveof momentumthat
hadseen themscorethreegoals in
a crazyfive-minutespell– twofrom
substitute IlkayGundoganeitherside
ofa coolRodrifinish– andwerevery
muchintheascendency. City had
waivered, butthetrophy wasnow
firmlybackintheirgrasp,andthey
weren’tabouttoletitgo.
Itseemsfittingthatten yearson
fromManchester City’sfirstPremier
Leaguetitle,sealedinthe most
dramaticmannerpossiblethanksto
SergioAguero’slategoalagainstQueens
ParkRangers,theyshoulddeliverthe
mostdramaticfinaldaysincethen.
Iftheirintentionwas to tryto
recreatethatlevel of excitement,they
certainlywentaboutittherightway.
Whetheritwas thepressure of the
occasion,complacencyorsheer
Forthesecondtimeinfouryears,
ManchesterCitypipJurgenKlopp’sside
tothetitlebyasinglepointonthefinalday
Cityedgeout
Liverpoolagain
fatigue,Citywerenot themselves
for 7 5 minutes.CaptainFernandinho,
inhislast-ever gamefortheclub,was
givena torridafternoonatcentre-back,
BernardoSilva andRiyad Mahrezfailed
tooffertheirusualinvention, while
GabrielJesusmisseda chanceinside
thesix-yardboxthatwouldhave
convincedmanyCitysupporters
itwasn’ttheirday.
WhenPhilippeCoutinhoputVilla
2-0upon 69 minutes,itseemedthat
thescripthadbeenwritten:Liverpool
legendandAstonVilla managerSteven
Gerrardwouldhelphisoldclubtothe
title,withthe assistance of hisformer
Anfieldteam-mate.
Butaftersubstitute Gundoganhad
headedinRaheemSterling’scrossto
getthemback in thegame,City looked
wellontracktoclaimtheirfourthtitle
infiveyears.
Meanwhile,over at Anfield,Liverpool
weregivingtheirown demonstrationof
nervousunder-performance,followed
byruthlessefficiencyandincredible
strengthindepth.Trailing1-0 inside
three minutes,MohamedSalah’s goal
offthebenchhelpedsecure a 3- 1
win,takingLiverpoolto 92 points, the
ninth-highest tallyinPremierLeague
history. Yetjust like 2 01 8- 19 whenthey
collected 97 , it wasone short of City.
JurgenKlopp’s side haddonewell
enoughtogosoclose,winning 16 of
38 WORLDSOCCER
Falsealarm...
MohamedSalah
thoughthehad
putLiverpoolon
courseforthetitle
TEAMOFTHESEASON
JoaoCancelo
(ManchesterCity)
Virgi(LvilveranpooDijkl)
JoelMatip
(Liverpool)
Trent
Alexander-Arnold
(Liverpool)
Sadio(rpMaoonel)
KeviannchDeestBruyneerCity)T(ottHarrenhyKmaneHotspur
MohamedSalah
(Liverpool)
Ederson
ancesterCi)
JAMIEEVANS
ENGLAND
SonHeung-min
(TttenhamHotspur)
(eDeclsanamRiUcenited)
