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Premier League Extra Time

December 19, 2017 — by

Another big weekend in the Premier League saw leaders Manchester City vanquish another title rival, this time crushing Spurs 4-1 at the Etihad on Saturday evening. With only one weekend to go until Christmas, City are sitting very pretty at the top of the tree, but the battle below still rages on. We took a look at the social media stories you might have missed using our amazing Sports Hub, in the last of these blogs for 2017…

Supporters Liking Lingard

Jesse Lingard has long been a polarising figure for Manchester United fans, but his performance in their 2-1 win on Sunday gave fans plenty to cheer. Ever since Lingard had the audacity to milly rock at the Emirates after scoring against Arsenal (watch here), fans have been enjoying his performances, with positivity about him soaring as a result. Sunday took him to 88% positivity, an upward swing of 36% and clear proof that United fans are starting to warm to the England midfielder who looks set to make an impact for the national team if he continues in this form.

Alli Angers Fans

One of the players Lingard might replace in the England starting 11 could be Spurs midfielder Dele Alli, who’s been having a poor season so far and was extremely fortunate not to be sent off after a horrific tackle on Man City’s star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne. 71% of emotional responses to Alli during the game were angry, demonstrating the frustration and annoyance Spurs fans felt at one of their stars and how fans generally felt about his tackle.

5% of responses were “Haha” after it was revealed that Ederson, the City keeper, completed more passes than Alli during the match on Saturday evening…

Hodgson Delivers

Roy Hodgson may not have had the best time of it during his spell in charge of England, but the former Fulham and West Brom coach has given everyone a reminder that he is one of the best managers in the business when it comes to overachieving. Fulham’s run to the UEFA cup final was nothing short of spectacular, and Roy has been reigniting some of those emotions in the last few weeks as Crystal Palace have gone on a seven game unbeaten run under his stewardship. “Wow” (43%) was the most commonly expressed emotion during his side’s 3-0 win over Leicester, with “like” (22%) in second, demonstrating that fans have taken Hodgson to heart.

A lot of that “wow” factor was down to his ability to improve a side, which had been truly awful before he arrived, without making any signings. If anything underlines his ability to coach players and make them better, this run of form might just be it.

Who’s Hot – Manager Edition

Did you know that the Hub allows you to compare levels of conversation for managers too? Well, now you do! Spurs’ poor performance away at a top 6 side yet again put boss Mauricio Pochettino at the top of everyone’s conversational agenda this week, as the conversation about him grew by 1,767%. Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe and Swansea’s Paul Clement must both be feeling the heat after more poor performances from their sides left both worrying about the exit door. On the reverse side of the conversation, Hodgson and West Ham boss David Moyes saw an increased level of conversation surrounding them for good reasons, as they both earned important victories for their respective sides.

Team of the Week

They might all be top 6 teams, but at least all 6 are represented this week. Despite Man City’s dominant performance at the weekend, defender and lead Twitter cheerleader Benjamin Mendy was one of only two players from the league leaders to make it into the most talked about team of the week. Team mate Raheem Sterling made the side, perhaps because he missed more chances than he scored, whilst Liverpool centre back Dejan Lovren scored and kept a clean sheet, marking the first time he’s been in the team of the week as the result of doing something good.

And so, the 2017 half of the 2017/18 Premier League season comes to a close as far as this blog is concerned. With plenty of Christmas action to enjoy, it’ll be interesting to see the shape the teams return in in January! Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

If you want to find out more about what Blurrt can do for your football coverage in 2018, get in touch with Ali at alistair@blurrt.co.uk