It’s been about two months since the start of the 2021-2022 season in European soccer. In this issue, we will score the European mega clubs on how they have started the season. We will analyze their performances since the opening of the season in detail, as well as predict their future prospects.
In this first installment of our series, we take a look at the Premier League, which is now arguably the best league in the world. In a league that is becoming more and more competitive every year, have the mega clubs been able to make a dash for the top spot? Let’s take a quick look.
Grading Chart of the Premier League Mega Clubs
This time, I’m grading the so-called “Big Six” – Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Arsenal. The following is the scoring table.
| League | position Score | |
| Chelsea | 1st | 90points |
| Manchester City | 3rd | 90points |
| Liverpool | 2nd | 85points |
| Manchester U | 4th | 75points |
| Tottenham | 8th | 60points |
| Arsenal | 11th | 60points |
Let’s move on to the detailed analysis of each club and the reasons for their scores.
Chelsea
Score: 90 points
Last season’s European champions, Chelsea, came out on top with a score of 90 points. With the acquisition of Romelu Lukaku, who helped Inter Milan win their first Serie A title in 11 years as their ace striker, Chelsea has steadily improved their points tally since the start of the season and is now at the top of the league table. This is the first time in three years that Maurizio Sarri has been at the top of the table since September 2018 when he was in charge.
While the Belgian international’s arrival has added depth up front, Chelsea’s strongest point is in the defensive line. The Blues have conceded just three goals in their 41 league games since Thomas Tuchel took over, and they have kept 24 clean sheets, more than half of them without conceding a goal.
So far, the Blues have looked good, but if there is one thing that worries me, it’s the fact that they are playing against the big clubs. In order to win the league title for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, the Blues will have to get their attackers going, especially against the big clubs. In order to win the league title for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, their attackers will have to step up, especially against the big clubs.
Manchester City
Score: 90 points
Along with Chelsea, last season’s Premier League champions, Manchester City, scored 90 points. They lost their opening game of the season for the first time since the 2008-2009 season when they were beaten 0-1 by Tottenham, but since then they have come back with four wins and two draws to finish third in the league. Considering that four of their seven games were Big Six games, this is a good result. As long as they don’t lose to lower-ranked opponents, they should be able to pick up more points in the future.
One of the concerns is the lack of a pure center forward. Sergio Aguero, who has been a part of the team for many years, has left the club, and Gabriel Jesus, who played most of the games as a center forward last season, has moved to the wing this season. Jack Grealish have been playing center forward.
While the tactical flexibility of having so many players up top is appealing, the fact is that they don’t have a goal scorer who can force a goal in a difficult situation. In fact, they were held to a scoreless draw against Southampton on the fifth day of the season. How will the lack of strikers affect the team, especially against a lower-ranked team that defends tenaciously deep in their own half? This will be one of the key points.
Liverpool
Score: 85 points
Although Liverpool did not make any significant additions to their squad this summer, with only center back Ibraima Konate joining the club in the transfer window, their destructive attacking force is still intact. The team’s 17 goals scored so far are the most in the league. In addition to the familiar top three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota has been getting more opportunities this season. The Portuguese international has succeeded in gaining the trust of manager Jurgen Klopp and has scored three league goals so far, second only to aces Salah and Mane. The Portuguese international has scored three goals in the league so far, second only to the aces Salah and Mane, and has added a new attacking style to Liverpool.
The only thing to worry about is the defensive line, which has conceded five goals in the last two games. Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip have been the CB duo for most of the games so far, but Van Dijk has been out of action for a long time, and his partner Matip has been injured and lacks continuity. The key point for the future is how quickly the newcomer Konate will fit in. Klopp’s policy has been to gradually acclimate newcomers to the Premier League, but with the number of goals conceded, the defensive line will need to be strengthened. If Konate is fit, it will be a big advantage for Liverpool.
Manchester United
Score: 75 points
Manchester United spent £140 million this summer to bring in the likes of Jayden Sancho, Raphael Varane, and former ace Cristiano Ronaldo. With that momentum, they got off to a flying start, winning four and drawing one of their first five games.
But then they lost to Aston Villa and drew with Everton. The momentum from the beginning of the season seems to be waning. The worst of all is the content of the soccer. There is little variation in their attacks, and they have become all about crossing from the side. Sancho, who joined the club with much fanfare, has failed to fit in, with no goals or assists, and Bruno Fernandez is the only one who can add an accent. To add insult to injury, Varane and Maguire, the backbone of the defensive line, are both out with injuries. With Leicester, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester City as their opponents in the next four games, this will be a huge blow. It will be interesting to see what kind of soccer Manchester United can produce in their next four games against the big boys.
Tottenham
Score: 60 points
Tottenham got off to a great start under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, winning their opening match against last season’s champions, Manchester City, followed by back-to-back wins against Wolverhampton and Watford. However, their momentum from the start of the season has been completely destroyed by three consecutive losses in their next three games.
More importantly, their losing streak has not been good. They lost 0-3 to Crystal Palace, 0-3 to Chelsea, and 1-3 to Arsenal, scoring only one goal and conceding nine in the three games. What became apparent during the losing streak was the degree of dependence on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Harry Kane has been in poor form since the start of the season, with no goals or assists so far. When Son Heung-min was shut down, the team was unable to form attacks. This issue has not improved since the time of former coach Mourinho, and I wonder if new coach Nuno will be able to come up with new attacking tactics. Either way, Tottenham’s fate will depend on the performance of their two aces, Kane and Son.
Arsenal
Score: 60 points
Arsenal, who made a big splash in Japan with the arrival of Takehiro Tomiyasu, faced an unprecedented crisis from the start of the season. They lost to the promoted team Bledford in the opening game, and then they were completely defeated by the big clubs Chelsea and Manchester City. Their attack was monotonous, their defense was fragile, and their performance was the worst since Mikel Arteta took over.
The following games against Norwich and Burnley were also less than stellar, with 1-0 wins. Things turned around in the 6th game against Tottenham. Arteta’s team played fast, high-pressing soccer and defeated their North London rivals 3-1. Goals were scored not only by the ace striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but also by the promising youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, giving the team momentum.
The challenge for the future will be to sustain the performance. When they are playing well, they have the ability to beat the big six, but can they continue to do so in every game?
In fact, in the game against Brighton in the 7th round, they were pushed around by the home team from start to finish, and could barely bring home a point.
It will be interesting to see how the Gunners can keep up their good performances, including dealing with the injuries that have plagued them for years.
Are there any Premier League player cards available on Sorare?
Fantasy Football Sorare has sold cards of several Premier League players so far.
For example, Roberto Firmino of Liverpool has been sold as a rare, super rare and unique card, but he sold out immediately. Even if a limited card is sold, it will probably fetch a high price.
As I said, the Premier League is very popular, so most of the popular players will be sold at a high price. But on the other hand, if you can buy them, you may be able to resell them and make some money.
I guess you need to check out the players you are interested in in the Premier League now.
That’s all for “Diagnosis of European mega clubs’ opening start dash [Premier League edition]”.
