Crystal Palace 0, Man City 0, Liverpool 1: Premier League title race now in two sets of hands – The Warm-Up
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Updated 15/03/2022 at 09:00 GMT
It was a very good night for Liverpool after Crystal Palace held Premier League leaders Manchester City to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park. Elsewhere, Real Madrid and Karim Benzema continued their supreme form heading into El Clasico, while the Monday Night Football team discussed ownership in football. There’s also some Champions League to look forward to tonight.
Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola talks with Crystal Palace's Spanish goalkeeper Vicente Guaita
Image credit: Getty Images
TUESDAY'S BIG STORIES
It's in their hands. Who's? Both!
Vicente Guaita cares not for xG. 0.73-2.33? Pah. There was no getting past Crystal Palace's goalkeeper last night, while two more efforts licking the post told you it wasn't going to be Manchester City's night – that and the six more shots blocked and another six off target.
And so, without even playing, the night belonged to Liverpool. The title race that was over is now back on, and now it is in both of their hands. Is that possible? Can City and Liverpool share such possession? Well, in this case - they can.
If Liverpool win every remaining league game, they've won the league. If City win every remaining league game, they've won the league.
That's mainly down to a meeting between the two at the Etihad on April 10, and while typically there would be dropped points elsewhere as well, it is worth remembering what these two sides are capable of. Back in their remarkable 2018-19 race, City finished first with 98 points, winning their final 14 games to finish a point ahead of Liverpool, who went their last 16 games unbeaten but crucially drew four of those matches.
Who's to say it won't be that close again, although all of a sudden Liverpool's trip to Arsenal tomorrow doesn't seem so certain, with the Gunners on a mission of their own.
But for now it is City who will be wondering how they haven’t left London with all three points. Boss Pep Guardiola - who somehow opted against making a single sub - looked a little peeved with Guatia, Jack Grealish was getting vexed by Nathaniel Clyne, but after several big missed chances they’ll just have to file it under ‘One of those nights’. One they can ill-afford to repeat.
Chelsea's 200 options
Sky's Monday Night Football team tackled ownership in football last night, with Gary Neville hopeful that a reckoning is on the way during a fascinating 12-minute discussion on the Chelsea sale.
"Football's got a big problem, because I don't think it'll be accepted anymore," he said. "I think there'll be an independent regulator put into football, I think it was coming anyway.
"But Super League, Saudi money, Russian money, Bury, Derby, lack of sustainability, lack of real-time financial monitoring, lack of fit and proper persons test, football is absolutely coming under huge scrutiny. And it's not just a football problem.
"Russian money has washed its way through London; it's washed its way into political parties. So it isn't just football. But football is a massive part of this country's fabric, and it will be the centre of a lot of the sort of things that happen and how it deals with it.
"It's going to be an issue in the next couple of years. And I'd suspect if you’re Abu Dhabi at Manchester, if you're Saudi Arabia at Newcastle, you're going to be doing your risk assessments, I would suggest as we speak thinking what's going to happen."
The one club you would hope that can get it right are indeed Chelsea.
With their own chance to reset, to start afresh in terms of ownership – who will no doubt benefit from the foundations left by Roman Abramovich – they have an opportunity to set a new standard. That makes any Saudi Arabian-backed bid difficult, reports suggest, but with a mere 200 potential offers, they certainly have huge scope to get this right.
A fascinating few days await, with the deadline reportedly Friday.
Real Madrid - still purring
No better way to follow up a Champions League comeback than with an impressive win on the road in the league, and now Real Madrid have a Clasico to prepare for with the club flying high and Karim Benzema on fire.
Another two for the forward in the 3-0 win at Mallorca saw him become the highest scoring Frenchman ever, surpassing Thierry Henry and further cementing his legacy as one of best strikers of the modern era.
The fact he is doing so at a time Real are linked with both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland does make you wonder what the future holds for Benzema, but his presence has Real leading the way in La Liga and suddenly a side that teams will want to avoid in the Champions League.
Oh, how Barcelona would love to knock the stuffing out of them, but with Real at home on Sunday they could take some stopping.
IN THE CHANNELS
After allegedly receiving racist abuse from some fans at Mallorca, this is how Vinicius Jr opted to celebrate his opening goal. Fair.
RETRO CORNER
A goal so confusing, on this day, 13 years ago, we had to watch it quite a few times.
Take it away, Michael Essien.
COMING UP
Another Champions League double. Manchester United host Atletico Madrid with the tie finely poised at 1-1, with Ajax against Benfica poised just as simply after a 2-2 draw in Portugal last time out.
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