Liverpool solidifies top spot, Barcelona disappoints again

Liverpool leave all opponents behind

Coach Arne Slot's team showed that they are truly the brightest candidate to win the Premier League in the 2024 - 2025 season. Against a stubborn Brentford, Liverpool were held back until the final minutes of the match with a tight and reasonable defense. Coach Arne Slot's change when he brought in the out-of-favour striker Darwin Nunez at the end of the match turned the whole match around.

Darwin Nunez scored a late brace to help Liverpool turn things around dramatically

The Uruguayan star scored 2 goals in the 90+1 and 90+3 minutes to help Liverpool beat Brentford 2-0. Thereby, they firmly established the top position in the table with 50 points and 1 match left to play.

Liverpool's efforts paid off. Meanwhile, rivals Arsenal led Aston Villa 2-0 at home thanks to Martinelli and Kai Havertz scoring in the 34th and 54th minutes, but eventually let their opponents level the score at 2-2 (Tielemans and Ollie Watkins scored in the 59th and 67th minutes).

This draw, which cost Arsenal 2 points, left them 6 points behind Liverpool at the top. Behind them, Newcastle also lost steam after losing shockingly to Bournemouth 1-4. This will be an opportunity for Nottingham Forest (ranked 3) and Man City (ranked 8) to rise up, if these teams beat Southampton and Ipswich respectively in the 22nd round taking place on the evening of January 19.

The 5th ranked team Chelsea will play the latest in this round when they host Wolverhampton at 3am on January 21. Meanwhile, MU will host Brighton at home (9pm, January 19) with the hope of continuing to win to improve their immediate position, returning to the top 10 from the current 12th position.

Spanish Super Cup title does not help Barcelona

Barcelona just won big when they defeated rivals Real Madrid 5-2 to win the Spanish Super Cup. They also beat Real Betis 5-1 in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. But when they returned to the most important tournament, La Liga, they played inconsistently, drawing 1-1 with Getafe on January 19.

Barcelona disappoints again in La Liga

This result leaves Barcelona in 3rd place with 39 points after 20 matches, behind Athletic Bilbao (36 points, 1 match left) who can completely level the score.

At the top, Atletico Madrid slowed down when they unexpectedly lost to Leganes 0-1. Atletico Madrid currently has 44 points and could lose the top spot if Real Madrid (43 points) wins Las Palmas at 10:15 p.m. on January 19.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/liverpool-xay-chac-ngoi-dau-barcelona-lai-gay-that-vong-185250119081943619.htm