I remember them being above mid table but after they beat Tottenham theyre now fourth and only 2 points off the top of the league. That means that if they didn’t lose to Nottingham forest or Everton they would be first. Ik they really haven’t had difficult match ups but it’s still very impressive.
They’ve been “this good” for the past year really. Since Emery’s arrival, they’ve been great. Though they won today, their away form has been poor, but at Villa Park, they look unbeatable.
If they go on like this, they will secure a Europa League finish at the least and could even get a good shout for finishing in the top 4 come the end of the season.
They have decent squad depth and if Spurs’ injury crisis worsens and continues, who knows? Unai Emery’s boys might be playing UCL next season.
That would honestly be great to see. Happy for them if they do make it.
Did you watch the game?
They aren’t that good. Offside traps and playing on the counter.
Jamie Carragher on Erling Haaland’s few shots outside the penalty box: “That’s a positive. When people are scouting players, do they take bad shots? We often talk about bad shots from outside the box. We don’t see as many screamers or great goals as we used to in the past because of that reason.”
Jamie Carragher on Erling Haaland being in the 131st place among all Premier League players when it comes to number of shots from outside the penalty area since the start of 2022-23 season (Haaland with only 10 shots)
That’s a positive
And people may find that strange but when you look at analytics now and when people assess strikers, it’s easy to assess Haaland. You look at his goal record, he’s an amazing player.
But when people are now scouting players, where they take shots from, do they take stupid shots? And more often than not we talk about silly shots being from outside the box. We don’t see as many screamers or great goals as we used to in the past because of that reason.
And that is a big part of analysis now. When you’re looking for a striker, who you’re going to bring in, who you’re going to buy, that is actually his strength. He doesn’t take silly shots, we see where he scores his goals from, the six yard box and the second six yard box, that’s where he gets his goals from.
Even though he’s Erling Haaland, maybe at times he might be able to think “I’m going to have a shot from 30 yards, I’m going to shoot from 25 yards, I’m going to do what I want because I’m Erling Haaland”.
He always plays for the team and he always waits for the right moment to get his shot off.