Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa are vying for gold in the English Championship.

One of the distinctive features of the current European football season has been the increased competition in the fight for victory in the English Premier League (EPL). After 18 rounds completed so far, the difference between first and fifth place was only four points, which is a record high for at least the last ten years. In addition to the current champion Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa are also vying for gold to one degree or another.

This European season is marked by a series of surprises. These include the leadership of Bayer Leverkusen in the German championship, and the confident performance of Girona, which in the Spanish championship is on a par with Real Madrid, which leads the standings. As for the English Championship, it is marked by increased competition in the dispute for gold. Leading Liverpool are only six points ahead of fifth-place Tottenham, who have played a game less. If we take the 18 rounds that have completed completely at the moment, then the density at the top of the table will be even higher. The difference between the first and fifth positions, which were occupied by Arsenal and the same Tottenham, was only four points.

The last time a similar situation at the same tournament cutoff was exactly ten years ago, when Arsenal had five points more than Everton, which was in fifth place.

True, the champion, which is significant, was still Manchester City, which was in second.

Whether the same thing will happen now is unclear. Of course, in terms of the strength of the squad, the main favorite of the Premier League remains Manchester City, which over the past six seasons only once, in 2020, lost the championship to Liverpool, and last spring finished first, five points behind Arsenal after 30 rounds. However, the current density of clubs at the top of the table hints that in the second round there will be a bitter struggle for first place, in which more than two teams will take part. Liverpool is stable, which, having played the entire first round, suffered only one defeat – in September from Tottenham. Arsenal probably dreams of rehabilitating themselves for the disastrous finish of the previous championship, and Aston Villa has become the main troublemaker in recent weeks.

This typical middle peasant, who last won medals two decades ago, is the only club that defeated Manchester City and Arsenal in the first round, and in two rounds in a row.

However, with the recent defeat to Manchester United, he interrupted his unbeaten streak of seven matches.

Meanwhile, Manchester City, which played flawlessly in the group stage of the Champions League and last Friday scored four unanswered goals against Brazilian Fluminense in the World Team Championship final in Saudi Arabia, won its first victory in the Premier League in three weeks. The away match against Everton was not easy. Having conceded first as a result of a defensive error, Pep Guardiola’s men were forced to fight back after the break, although they solved this task quite easily. First, Phil Foden fired a powerful shot into the near corner with his left foot, which the hosts’ and England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford failed to react to. Then Julián Álvarez gave the visitors the lead after a penalty awarded for handball in his own area by Everton’s Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana. And Bernardo Silva secured the winning result shortly before the end of the game, taking advantage of an obvious mistake by Pickford, who, trying to start an attack for his team, gave the ball to the opponents.

The result was 3:1, and Manchester City, which had scored 37 points after 18 matches, returned to fourth place, losing two points to Aston Villa, who had played one match more.

Before the start of the game day, Liverpool was in the lead with 42 points, while Arsenal, which had a game in hand and played West Ham late on Thursday evening Moscow time, had 40 points.

This year, it seems that no serious tests are expected for the Manchester City players, even despite the absence of top scorer Erling Haaland, who continues to heal from an injury. They will play their next match against bottom-placed Sheffield United on Saturday at home. And immediately after the two-week New Year’s break, the English champion faces a difficult trip to Newcastle, and the next game involving two clubs from the current top five, Arsenal – Liverpool, will take place in early February.

Evgeniy Fedyakov