Christmas Stalemate Provides No New Answers

This was supposed to be a massive round of fixtures; the final Christmas present under the tree after feverish football fans had clawed the wrapping off the rest of 2020.

Manchester United vs. Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wolves, Arsenal vs. Chelsea. And erm, Everton away to Sheffield United.

Where some might have expected this round, played on the 26th and 27th of December, to have provided some answers and clarity on the future direction of the Premier League table, we have a few interesting topics to talk about.

Once Boxing Day brought mad results as two hungover and lethargic teams battled it out to provide the best entertainment during the holidays. Now professionalism has swept away with all of that, and in the most intense campaign in memory, a different kind of tidiness has set in.

Ardfern, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Wobbly legs and minds are now caused by inhumane fixture congestion that threatens to overwhelm the deepest squad.

As a result of this, most of the most anticipated games of this round ended in a Christmas stalemate that provided a few interesting answers. Leicester drew with Man United, Arsenal hammered Chelsea, but the Gunners are still marooned in the bottom half of the table while their North London rivals Tottenham drew with Wolves.

To top it off, Liverpool could only squeeze a point out of their clash with West Brom. As a result, the table has neither progressed nor regressed. The Reds are still three points clear at the top, Leicester and United are in the hunt while Everton has climbed up to second.

Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Spurs kicked off later than any of their rivals, could have gone second with a win but allowed Romain Saiss to score an 86th-minute equalizer and dash their dreams.

Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Brendan Rodgers would have been going into this weekend with big plans and high hopes.

This weekend might have put a pause on a prime opportunity to make a statement, but the ambition to become champions is still there for these teams.