The traditional top six in the Premier League season look forward to the future

The Premier League Warring States came again, and nine teams climbed to the top one after another. When the dominance of "BIG6" is declining, the midstream is swarming, coquetry, catching up and challenging, ready to repeat the fantasy ending of 20 15- 16 season?

Arsenal, Everton, leicester city, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City ... This is not a random ranking of Premier League teams, but a list of teams that topped the Premier League standings in 2020-2 1 season. If you calculate the standings after a match day, Southampton and Chelsea will take the top spot. Nearly half of the teams in the league have experienced the taste of topping the list for a long time or a short time. After 22 rounds, the top three are only 5 points short, and the top seven are only 1 1 minute short. The Premier League and the Warring States are full of weather.

What caused another scuffle in the upper reaches of the Premier League? This is because "BIG6", which originally dominated the top six in the league, lost its dominance, and more importantly, because of the appearance of showstopper, pursuers and challengers. They didn't start it alone, but killed it in droves, prompting chaos in the world.

Quite compact Premier League standings.

Take turns to be superior

Everton was the first to escape. Under the debugging of coach Carlo Ancelotti's skills, "Toffee" won all the competitions in seven games, and the attack was wide open. The momentum of "opening the door" was unparalleled. After the winning streak was ended by Merseyside derby rival Liverpool, Everton suffered a three-game losing streak and added more injuries. However, An Shuai quickly closed the defense line, adjusted the personnel and formation, and the team changed its face. He scored three points with small victories of 1 and 2- 1 for many times, and still ranked seventh in the Premier League in 22 rounds (two games less). Carlo Ancelotti's skillful hand in tailoring clothes during the long season makes people optimistic about Everton's prospects. Leicester city also had an excellent start, beating Manchester City 5-2. After encountering setbacks, Rogers' adjustment was also in place. The four-guard system was changed to 342 1, and he won a wave of six consecutive victories. At the same time sprint in the Europa League. When the tactics were too old to be contained by opponents, Rogers changed back to 423 1 and returned to the unbeaten track again. In the last battle of the first half, leicester city beat Chelsea 2-0 and topped the league again in advance (within 24 hours, Manchester City overtook Leicester to reach the top, then Manchester United overtook it, and the top three changed hands one day). Still in the top three after the whole round, "Fox" can look forward to the Champions League seat and even relive the old dream of winning the championship. Of course, Rogers should be psychologically prepared for the status quo after the crash last season. He won't get carried away. Last season, Les played for a long time as Liverpool's number one challenger, but he ruined the game halfway. After the season was stopped and restarted, it was a cliff landslide. After New Year's Day in 2020, the league only won four games, and the result was that it was squeezed out of the Champions League at the last moment.

65438+ 10 19, McGrady scored before Edward Mendy and Rudiger blocked, which contributed to leicester city's 2-0 home defeat of Chelsea. The victory of "Fox" accelerated the dismissal of Lampard, the then "Blue Army" coach.

Southampton was beaten 9-0 by Fox in Leicester last season and learned a painful lesson after that fiasco. Hassan Hurtl gave up 352 completely, returned to the parallel midfield 442, stuck to the high position, quickly switched between attack and defense, and hit the flank. The team was able to look brand-new, not only successfully relegated, but also played the first half of the season in good condition. After winning earlier in the eighth round, Saints once surpassed Liverpool by goal difference and became the top of the league for the first time since September 1988. Southampton quickly took a photo with the standings. The official Twitter account also mischievously borrowed the stalk of Trump in the US presidential election and showed a sentence "Stop counting votes!" Twitter. Of course, "Saint" only sat at the top of 1 day, and then was pushed to the middle reaches. Although they defeated the Red Army, 5438+0, with 1 after the opening in 2026, they began to lose in a row and were bloodied by Manchester United 9-0. ...

On June 4th, 20265438, Liverpool was upset by Southampton in the first game of 202 1. Opening 1 1 1 sec, Ingrid laid the foundation for the "Saint" 1-0 surprise with a difficult volley. After Southampton was hit hard, the general trend of the "Red Army" has gone.

There are other mid-stream teams that failed to reach the top, but their performances are equally eye-catching. Aston Villa shocked the Premier League by beating Liverpool 7-2 in the fourth round of this season. Then, although the status of 5438+0 1 declined in June, they remained unbeaten in February 65438, only because of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and the cluster infection in the team. After Villa entered 202 1, the game was greatly postponed and the pace slowed down. However, compared with last season, this has been a significant progress: after the upgrade last season, Aston Villa was repeatedly entangled in injuries. In the first half of 2020, the Premier League 10 round was invincible, and it only returned to the relegation line at the end of the season. This season, their performance is simply a makeover. We can't ignore west ham united. They silently climbed to the fifth highest position in the process of not being optimistic. They have drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, and they have the typical characteristics of moyers leading the team. They are best at "surviving" 3 points. This season, the Premier League has won seven games with one goal, including 1-0 four times!

Everyone has their own unique skills.

Thanks to the superior financial resources of the Premier League, midstream teams generally have the capital to hoard a few first-class stars and rely on an excellent coach to strategize. Several teams that have sprung up this season have the hard power of the generals as a guarantee. Last summer, Ancelotti added several generals, such as James Rodriguez, Alan and Du Kulei, to increase the creativity of the attacking group and strengthen the hardness of the midfield. The new aid is seamlessly connected with the original team, especially on the offensive end. Center Calvit Levin is the biggest beneficiary. Thanks to J Ronaldo's organization and scheduling and Richard Ellison's rib impact, he became the first double-digit player in the five major leagues this season and was elected the best player in the Premier League in September. Carlo Ancelotti was also elected as the best coach in September, and then An Shuai changed his style under the condition of limited use of troops, allowing the sharp-edged team to protect themselves, and central defender michael keane and others continued to make progress. The quality of Everton's offensive and defensive ends finally deserves the club's investment for many years and the ardent expectations of fans.

The reunion of Ancelotti and James Rodriguez has brought a catalyst for Everton's excellent performance this season. Under the teacher's account, J Luo played 17 times and handed over 4 goals and 7 assists.

Leicester city still relies on the lethality of Valdi's quick charge. "Golden Boot" is really brave and contributed 1 1 goals and 5 assists in the league. But when his goal rhythm slows down, the main skeleton transformed last season can also ensure combat effectiveness. The young winger Harvey Barnes has grown into the second attacker who scored twice in total, and the much-anticipated front waist Madison has returned from injury and regained his firepower. 202 1, he scored four goals in a row. In addition, Wesley Fofana, the new centre-back, has become a great discovery, and James Justin, the grass-roots full-back, has made remarkable progress ... all these make this team a trustworthy team. Especially in the strong dialogue: Lester played against the "BIG6" team six times this season and got 13 points. Rogers' control between grades, styles and academic qualifications is likely to pave the way for his return to the giants in the future. Although Aston Villa were relegated only last season, they dare to put in offensive power-whether it is a quick counterattack or a head-on attack. The brave style of coach dean smith enabled Captain Grealish to display his talents. In addition, the new signing Watkins solved the long-standing problem of the center, and the team's offensive team was able to create a 7-2 Liverpool 3-0 Arsenal upset. In addition, the goalkeeper emiliano Martinez, who was introduced from the Gunners, played well, which added protection to the defense line led by Mince and others. Vera is not top-heavy. Dean smith won the award of the best manager in the Premier League in June+February, 5438, which is actually a testimony to the overall combat effectiveness of the team.

Aston Villa's active attack also caused headaches for the giants. Last year 1 1.8 away against Arsenal, Villa will attack Renault several times and finally win 3-0.

Champion judge

It is not surprising that giants scuffle and attack in groups. 20 15- 16 season, Chelsea and Liverpool fell out of the European war sequence, Manchester City duo could only compete for the Champions League seat, and North London duo also faltered. In the end, this rare season of collective weakness of giants gave birth to a fairy tale that leicester city won the championship with a chance of 1 losing 5000 in chaos and won it miraculously. This ending is a shame for the giants. Since then, "BIG6" has invested heavily in famous players, and Shuai Shuai has regained its dominance, thus establishing a stable pattern of dominating the top six in the Premier League standings for three consecutive seasons. The internal forces of the top six teams have changed, but compared with the remaining 14 teams in the Premier League, the overall advantage is monolithic. It was not until last season that Arsenal fell to eighth place and Leicester reached fifth place that the pattern was slightly shaken. This season, history seems to provide another opportunity for showstopper.

In the special period of COVID-19 epidemic, the influence of transfer, schedule and injury may be magnified, and the dominance of the "BIG6" giant shows signs of decline: the defending champion Liverpool lost 20 points at half-time compared with the same period of last year, and suffered from employment difficulties and low state; The warmer Manchester United is not stable enough, and Manchester City, which has won in a row, has not resumed its iconic offensive firepower; Tottenham lost his mind after Kane was injured; Arsenal couldn't stop the landslide, and once worried about relegation, Arta heard the call for class; After spending 200 million pounds on signings, Chelsea did not become the best team, but fell to the middle of the standings. Lampard, whose DNA rumbled, lost to "DNA for coaching change". Unfortunately, after class, Tuchel scored 7 points in the last three games, and did not draw with his opponent. However, it is uncertain how long the "chicken blood effect" and "honeymoon period" can last. Although all giants have difficulties, their strength is still there. Guardiola and other coaches are experienced. Expect them to fall behind and miss the final championship, and let the miracle of 20 15- 16 season be staged again, which is only a very small probability. In particular, the "fox" has top players such as Kantai, Valdi, Mahaliz and Schmeichel Jr., and has formed a wonderful fit under Ranieri's wonderful hand. Generate is strong and stable, and teams such as Leicester and Everton can't achieve the reappearance of that scene for the time being this season. However, for the showstopper community, European seats are still a long-awaited goal. One or two teams, with their accumulated teams and momentum, seize the decline of the Blue Army and the Gunners and have a good chance to enter the top six or even the top four at the end of the season. There is still a glimmer of hope.

In addition, Lester and Everton can be the "referees" who decide the championship even if they don't necessarily win it. They have beaten and tied the top six teams more than once this season, and they showed strong fighting spirit when they were strong. At the end of the season, most of them have to talk directly with the top six, and the result at that time is likely to further disrupt the championship situation and make this season's Premier League more dramatic. Don't forget, in addition to these teams, there are several "hard bones" in the Premier League that cannot be underestimated. Wolves, ranked seventh for two consecutive seasons, were injured after losing raul jimenez (against Arsenal) with a fractured skull. Even so, they killed the Gunners twice, 1 win 1 draw with the Blues, and they still have the strength of World War I ... Leeds United led by "crazy" Belsa "blew each other 3-4 in the first round, and then took too much from Manchester City and Arsenal. Compared with Leicester and other teams, they don't have the capital to break into the upstream, but they may continue to be snipers of giants, and the Premier League Warring States may be more beautiful!

Author: Yan Jun This article was originally published in the 807th issue of Football Weekly.