😬 More twists

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Head Start

More twists and turns

Well, well, well… where do we start. 

City started the title race with a comfortable 5-1 win over Luton. But… Liverpool lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace and Arsenal lost 2-0 to Aston Villa.

Yup. You read that right. 

You know what that means… Manchester City are top of the league.

It also means City are major favourites (70.1%) to win the league. Arsenal’s chances have gone from 30.3% to 18.3%, and Liverpool’s lower from 29.1% to 11.7%. 

Here are the current standings…

Upcoming fixtures for table leaders:

• Brighton vs Manchester City - Thurs 25 April

• Arsenal vs Chelsea - Tues 23 April

• Fulham vs Liverpool - Sun 21 April

Side note… 

On Friday, we asked you: Who is going to top the table after this weekend?

The results are in… and, well, some readers spotted that we included Manchester United and not Manchester City in the poll.

So, while we tried (and failed) to think of a justification, many of you decided to play along and voted for United…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Arsenal (38%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Liverpool (29%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Manchester United City (33%)

Well, at least we know our readers have a sense of humour.

Safe to say… that’s Routers 1, Route One writers 0.

Matchday 33 Stats Summary

Newcastle 4 - 0 Spurs

→ Each of Tottenham’s last three Premier League defeats by 4+ goals have come against Newcastle at St James’ Park.  

→ Alexander Isak is only the fourth player to score in six consecutive Premier League home games for Newcastle, the last person to achieve this feat was Alan Shearer. 

Liverpool 0 - 1 Crystal Palace

→ This was Liverpool’s first Premier League defeat at Anfield since October 2022, they were unbeaten in 28 home league games before Sunday.

→ Liverpool recorded their highest expected goals (xG) without scoring (2.87). 

→ This was Palace’s first Premier League away win since November against Burnley, ending their 10-match winless run on the road.

Arsenal 0 - 2 Aston Villa

→ Unai Emery has lost just one of seven games as a manager against his former side Arsenal (W3, D3). 

→ Arsenal have failed to score in two of their last four league games, having gone goalless in only three of their first 28 games this season.  

For Matchday 33 results click here.

Don’t forget Chelsea vs Everton is tonight at 20:00 BST on Sky Sports.

Bayer’s Bundesliga

Style & substance… Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen have made history: they’ve won the Bundesliga for the first time.

Xabi Alonso’s men have achieved this feat with five games to go after beating Werder Bremen 5-0 yesterday. And if you haven’t seen the highlights of the match… well, you’re welcome. 

That’s put an end to Bayern Munich’s 11-season monopoly.

But Bayer didn’t just win the league, they did it in style…

• Bayer have set a new record for the most unbeaten games (30) in the Bundesliga.

• They’re unbeaten in 43 games in all competitions.

• Their 38 wins this term is also a club record.

So, how did the German side go from ‘Neverkusen’ to a momentous title win? 

Well, there are a couple of reasons: the coach and the players. Duh… but seriously let’s take a look…

1/ Alonso’s tactical versatility

In just one season, Alonso has taken his side from an average of 51.8% possession to 63.4%. Rather than relying on counter-attacks, Bayer regularly controls games.

But, Alonso’s side is tactically fluid. Take their recent game against Bayern Munich…

• Instead of looking to dominate the ball and play a high press (like they’ve done this season), he asked his men to sit deeper and counter-attack.

• So, Alonso dropped star men including right-back Jeremie Frimpong to suit the style of play.

• This meant he caught Bayern off guard and countered well.

… hence the 3-0 win over the German giants. 

2/ Star players

Take your pick: Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo, Piero Hincapie, Jonathan Tah.

But let’s focus on striker Victor Boniface, who Opta view as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the world…

Boniface has better non-penality expected goals (xG) than Kylian Mbappe, and only slightly worse open-play expected assists (xA) per 90 than the Frenchman. 

Then there’s attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz who at 20 years old can’t be matched for his 70 chances created and 10 assists in open play… 

Just as they won the title in style, you’ll be pleased to know they’ve already celebrated in style… 

• Pitch invaders (Watch & Watch)

• Alonso’s beer throw (Watch)

• Frimpong’s beer chase (Watch)

Off The Pitch

⛳️ World number one Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for a second time after a commanding performance at Augusta National (More)

😬 Squatters take over Gordon Ramsay’s £13m London pub (More)

👹 The Loch Ness Centre urged Nasa to help hunt for the Loch Ness monster (More)

😲 ITV is considering taking paid ads from political parties for the first time during the upcoming election (More)

🤺 Conor McGregor will return after almost three years out against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on 29 June (More)

🌿 Come Dine With Me winners convicted of a plot to import cannabis (More) 

Around The Football World

🇬🇧 Wrexham sealed promotion to League One after a 6-0 win against Forest Green Rovers. The Welsh side owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have now secured back-to-back promotions (More)

🇺🇸 Lionel Messi’s outrageous goal in Inter Miami’s 3 - 2 win over Sporting KC (More)

🇹🇷 Besiktas has sacked manager Fernando Santos after just three months. The Turkish side’s 1-1 home draw with Samsunspor meant they were winless in their last five league matches (More)

🇮🇹 Udinese vs Roma was suspended following Evan Ndicka being stretchered off the pitch after experiencing chest pains. There were 18 minutes left on the clock and the game was at 1-1 (More)

🇪🇸 Real Madrid continues to lead La Liga by eight points. At the same time, Barcelona manager Xavi admits that his decision to resign at the end of the season has ‘been good for us’ (More)

Extra Time

Jurgen Klopp “feels really really rubbish” whilst Crystal Palace dressing room music drowns his interview.

Thierry Henry explains why Spanish footballers are the smartest in the world.

Paul Merson thinks Jaap Stam is Ranger’s manager.

Dan Burn uses sign language to celebrate with deaf fans.

There are three players that the Argentines love the most.

Who do you agree with? What counts as the English double?

Game Face On

Question: Which team won the first Premier League title?

Hint: Don’t overthink it.

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Premier League: Chelsea vs Everton (20:00 BST, Sky Sports)

Seria A: Fiorentina vs Genoa (17:30 BST, TNT Sports 1)

Seria A: Atalanta vs Hellas Verona (19:75 BST, TNT Sports 1)

La Liga: Osasuna vs Valencia (20:00 BST, LaLigaTV)

SNOOKER

World Snooker Championship Qualifiers (10:00 and 13:00 BST, Discovery +)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer: Manchester United

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