Forget the John Lewis advert. Forget the fact this might be your Nan’s last Christmas. Forget the fact you didn’t get up early enough to get in the Boxing Day sales queue at your favourite outlet. Forget all that.
The single most tear-jerking moment of my Christmas was when Jim Rosenthal asked Jose Mourinho how his Christmas Day had been and Jose told him his beloved dog had passed away.
I tell you this for nothing, Amazon are killing it this season – getting Poch sacked, getting Spurs to appoint Mourinho and then Jose’s dog passing away on Christmas Day? If they didn’t get that on camera then someone is going to get fired.
All cynicism aside for one moment though, if you did not feel for Mou in that moment then did you even deserve Christmas in your house?
Briefly, the pantomime villain mask slipped and we saw the real Jose and you know what? He’s only human and loves dogs.
For that alone, I was delighted when Dele Alli cleverly scored the winner after Brighton had led and I like Graham Potter, I wish him well. But the thought of Jose going home, Leya not greeting him at the door, not caring less whether he’d got three points or not, and not actually having three points brought a tear to my eye.
Harry Kane scored as well, naturally. It’s a Boxing Day tradition for Kane to find the back of the net, he’s done it for the last five years.
He reckons it’s a proper Christmas dinner that helps him score the next day. If that’s the case, why didn’t Micky Quinn score more often?
Liverpool won, Trent Alexander-Arnold got an assist (and a goal, actually) and Bobby Firmino has woken from his slumber.
Sounds like a standard matchday for Jurgen Klopp’s men as they took their nearest rivals for four at the King Power. It’s safe to say all talk of Leicester City being the side that could catch Liverpool can be put to rest as the league leaders outclassed Brent-an’s men from the first whistle.
“Very, very hard to stop” said Rodgers after the game – referring to Liverpool winning the league and not his own team’s rabbit-in-the-headlights performance.
Jurgeylad is well aware that no team has ever had such a big lead and not won the title – but surely having thrown away a ten-pointer last season there is no chance it could happen again?
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are now nearer the relegation zone than they are Liverpool in the league table after getting done 2-0 at home to Southampton.
Literally since the moment CAS said Chelsea can make transfers again, the wheels have come off the team at Stamford Bridge, where they have now lost three-in-a-row.
Even Frank himself could see the performance was almost identical to the Bournemouth defeat, offering the press boys the exact same press conference.
History looked like it was repeating itself for Matty Longstaff as he fired Newcastle ahead at Old Trafford and, albeit briefly, Steve Bruce was dreaming of finally beating Manchester United at his old home.
Yeah, that didn’t last long – although Newcastle were good value for that lead for about ten minutes until they felt compelled to gift the game to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
If I’d said there was a goalkeeping howler at OT on Boxing Day, you’d have presumed it was David de Gea falling further from grace, but no. Martin Dubravka got chocolate wrists from Santa and put them to full use in letting Anthony Martial’s passback go beyond him.
Commentators raved about Mason Greenwood’s wondergoal having gone so far down the path they could not make a u-turn once the massive deflection became obvious and then Sean Longstaff showed United were on the right track wanting to sign him by beautifully assisting Martial’s second.
Oh, and Pogba looked really good strolling around the pitch against a team just looking to limit the damage, didn’t he?
Mikel Arteta made his managerial debut against Bournemouth and claimed to be pleasantly surprised at the fact they didn’t completely throw the towel in having gone 1-0 down.
That’s the level Arsenal are now at – their new gaffer is delighted to see the basic character traits of not giving up after going a goal behind.
Yo-Pierre equalised meaning Arteta has an Arsenal point on the board straight away – and they have Chelsea next and who knows what might happen in that one.
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Are we sure Carlo Ancelotti has taken over at Everton?
I just saw the goal back and it looks like a cross slung into the box and Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading home. I thought they’d moved Duncan Ferguson aside? It was the kind of goal that Burnley would recognise as well, obviously, and it was enough to beat them.
The oldest swingers in town got together at Selhurst Park and it was Uncle Roy Hodgson who saw off Manuel Pellegrini thanks to a lovely little goal by Jordan Ayew.
The son of Pele (no, not that one) weaved through West Ham’s ‘defence’ and scored one of the better goals of the festive period, dragging West Ham into a bit of a relegation battle. I’m pretty sure Hodgson danced a little too. Well, it is Christmas.
Villa needed all six points against Norwich in their cliched relegation clash and they got them.
Norwich might well have been the better side, but it was Dean Smith’s men who nicked the win thanks to substitute Conor Hourihane.
If Watford do stay up, Nigel Pearson has to get manager of the year regardless of what else Klopp achieves this season.
They are off the bottom thanks to Ben Foster and the point gained against Sheffield United. Foster pulled off a world-class save to deny John Fleck and it’s that kind of thing that could change a season.
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