Reds roll into 2025 looking imperious S6 E18

Welcome dear listener to the latest episode. I’m Paul and I am joined by Daz. The Reds beat Leicester 3-1 last Thursday and played another tough one against West Ham on Sunday - just the 5 goals this time. We are at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand - 14 points clear of City, 9 from Arsenal (same games) and 10 from Chelsea. We’ll review those games and then talk about the upcoming Premier League game against Man United plus a look around the league.  Part One - Leicester City at home - xG 1.91 vs 0.34 Conceding early again, but it felt different. Lot of pressure, didn’t necessarily count in xG ‘Abject’ said James Pearce in the first half. Really…  Maybe too many crosses, maybe a little too rushed. Second half - so much movement, Jones! 17 fouls against us to 5! With 68% possession. Szobo yellow card. Darren Bond doing a solid Coote/Oliver/Tierney impression. The VAR stuff was weird CSI in its intensity. Gakpo 2nd, Nunes doesn’t touch the ball. Cody Gakpo and Mo’s goals - woof! Part two - West Ham away - xG 3.09 to 0.32. 7 shots from West Ham, Sean Rogers tells us that title winning teams concede less than 10 on average. Difficult fixture for us this one - well at least on paper. Surprised the ground was so full at the end - assume they expected this. Started great, but West Ham were easy to play through. Areola started like Yashin and eventually reverted to the mean Luis Diaz finish, Joe Gomez injury, Kudus at 1-0, Then some Mo magic. Mac Allister with the most pressures (regain led to Mo’s goal). Second half, unusually low key - Trent. Mo’s 10 chances, the Jota goal….  Word on Antony Taylor - no cards, 10 fouls against us, and 7 against them.  Part three - elsewhere and look ahead Man United on the horizon… they were actually abject in the first half against Newcastle, More on Mo Salah -  Passed Beckham and Henry to be 10th for the all time EPL assists. One behind Thierry Henry for goals - 8th, could get to 4th by the end of the season. 8 games with a goal and an assist - most ever in the Premier League and he’s got 20 games to go. NBC’s Rebecca Lowe insistent that Mo is nowhere near the best player in the Premier League era - WTF But is he as good as Cole Palmer?  Contracts - Bascombe, La Marca, AS  We will be back January 13th ish  with a review of United at home and the various cup games, looking ahead to 2 potentially season defining away games at Forest and Brentford. Thanks to Daz for joining me, Paul. And most of all, thank you dear listener for joining us. Wishing you all a Happy New Year If you enjoyed the pod, please share it with a friend. Follow us @FirstStateKopites on Twitter  – we only tweet and retweet from sources we think are credible. Music is courtesy of Hypenotic – they are a Welsh electro-pop band – https://hyperfollow.com/hypenotic