Barring a Manchester City disaster, the 2021-22 Premier League title race appears all but sorted as City defeated second-place Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday. The victory was City’s 12th straight in the league as the defending champions look set to win a fourth Premier League title in the last five seasons.
Despite the close score Manchester City looked the clear favorite throughout the 90 minutes. I apologize to my fellow Americans, but the attack force of Christian Pulisic, Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech was as dangerous as a dandelion.
It could have been the early morning fatigue and my eyesight wasn’t working, but I honestly forgot Pulisic was playing in Saturday’s game. I’m willing to guess he touched the ball a maximum of 20 times before being taken off in the 69th minute.
At least he wasn’t as bad as Ziyech who showcased his 14 pace and was entirely ineffective on Chelsea’s counterattacks.
If I can find one biased American take, the Blues immediately conceded seconds after Pulisic was taken off.
The sole goal of the game was a beautiful hit from Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian had a sizzling run that ended in him blasting the ball from 20 yards out past a helpless Kepa. This goal has Manchester City with one hand on the Premier League trophy.
STUNNING GOAL BY KEVIN DE BRUYNE!
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 15, 2022
The Premier League table foreshadows a lackluster final four months for the “title race.”
Manchester City move 1️⃣3️⃣ points clear in the Premier League table
Is there any way back for Liverpool and Chelsea? pic.twitter.com/CeukyIshZe— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) January 15, 2022
For a third-straight season neutral fans won’t see an exciting finish for the top of the league. That 2018-19 season where one point separated City and Liverpool feels like a long time ago.
The only hope now is that Liverpool does have two games in hand and could narrow City’s lead down to eight points. Even that wasn’t enough to convince every NBC pundit after the game that the title race was done.
For us fans who love parity, come on Liverpool!
