Premier League No. 1 Brighton beat Brentford 2-1, but the win did not give Brighton any qualitative improvement in the rankings. Brighton currently sit in eighth place and if that position continues to the end, there will be no European competition to play next season. And judging by Brighton's form this season, they don't seem to be as consistent as last season. Looking at Tottenham, Newcastle United, Manchester United and other teams in front, Brighton really has no certainty of overtaking, let alone challenging the positions of Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
At the start of the season, Brighton played in a hot way, at one point at the top of the table, and scored the most goals in the Premier League. At that time, it was believed that Brighton would be the dark horse of the Premier League again. But now, Brighton's momentum is slipping at a visible rate, and while an eighth-place finish isn't too bad for a small team like Brighton, our expectations have been lifted by their performances last season. If Brighton wants to continue to get the script and character of the dark horse, then they will have to use their power in the second half of the game.
After Brighton exited the dark horse line, another team came to us in a similar position, and they performed much better than Brighton – Aston Villa. At the beginning of the season, Aston Villa experienced several big defeats and disappeared from everyone's sight at one point. However, in recent times, Aston Villa has quietly climbed into the first group, rising to third. In particular, Aston Villa suffered the biggest test of the season, facing Manchester City at home, I thought they would be planted in this strongest giant in the Premier League, but I didn't expect Aston Villa to play at a very high level, with a 1:0 to consolidate their position, and overtake Manchester City.
It is this 1:0 that proves a fact from the reverse - so far in the Premier League this season, no dark horses have been found.
Indeed, Aston Villa can be ranked third, which should be considered a dark horse. But the point is, this 1:0 is too one-sided from the scene. In fact, just looking at the scoreline, we would take it for granted that Manchester City laid siege to Aston Villa, and then Aston Villa played a counter-attack in a difficult defensive situation and got the three points by chance. If that's the case, Aston Villa is like a dark horse.
But the fact is that Aston Villa completely suppressed Manchester City on the field in this game, with a shot ratio of 22:2 between the two sides, and for a while, Aston Villa even squeezed Manchester City into the penalty area and played half-time offensive and defensive drills. When has Manchester City been ravaged like this?When did there only be two shots on goal in the whole game?Truth be told, what Aston Villa did against Manchester City in this game is what Manchester City have done to most of their opponents before. It's been a long time since we've seen a City like this. And how can the team that can force Manchester City to this point be a dark horse?
Although Emery has repeatedly stressed that Aston Villa is not a title contender, judging from the scene presented in this 1-0 game, Aston Villa can already be characterized as a Premier League powerhouse. I think most of the fans who watched this game must have thought the same way.
In fact, looking at Aston Villa's previous games, except for the heavy defeat to Newcastle United in the first round and the subsequent 0:3 loss to Liverpool, the other games were very stable, and it was this stability that made them come to the third place. Manchester City, on the other hand, are winless in four games. In addition, if Aston Villa's ability to grasp the opportunity is a little stronger, and Ederson's performance is a little worse, the score of this game is not just 1:0.
So far in the Premier League this season, there are no dark horses. Because, the team that can press Manchester City to the ground and rub it must not be defined as a dark horse.