Premier League Week 16: Salah Sees Liverpool Through; Chelsea Cruise; Arsenal Ride Their Luck
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Cole Palmer made a goal-scoring return to the Chelsea side in a week where City pulled up on Arsenal’s shoulder, and Arsenal got lucky, writes Manik Sharma.
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Arsenal scrape through against Wolves as form signals a dip
AGAINST THE LEAGUE'S BOTTOM SIDE at home, Arsenal were everything you’d expect them to be — dominant, threatening and capable of producing the audacious. Ironically, they were also everything that a team holding together a dip in form looks like. Mikel Arteta’s boys squandered chances, missed the goal when it would have been easier to score and often got in each other’s way. For their opponents, tragically though, Wolves scored all three — two own-goals — goals of the game, out of which they deserved at least a point. For this particular edition of throw-every-dice-you-can-find, Arsenal’s luck turned not once but twice off of familiar set-piece routines. But as was evidenced against the 10 men of Chelsea, not every squad can be opened up with long hopeful punts hurled into the box. Arteta has all the world’s attacking talent at his disposal, but he needs to reinvent how he uses them against teams intent on blocking them rather than responding. A dip in form seems imminent, and Arsenal’s title charge could rest on the manner in which a supremely talented squad overcomes a tricky period. Watch the Arsenal vs Wolves match highlights here on JioHotstar, via your OTTplay Premium subscription. |
Salah returns to help Liverpool (one last time?)
And so the king returned. Hauled on with roughly a quarter of the game gone, Salah’s premature introduction at Anfield was met with confused applause. In what the Egyptian had teased as his last game, Salah ran around the pitch as a man on a mission. He helped set up Hugo Ekitike’s second goal, and looked like one of two things: a man determined to get on the good side of his fans and the club he has so ably served, or a man trying to put on one last show for the faithful who’ve regarded him as the legend he so obviously deserves to be called. The little family parade that followed the final whistle left much to be debated by conspiracy theorists. Either way, Arne Slot will be pleased that the conversation can now return to the football, as opposed to the politics transpiring off the field. As for events on the field, Brighton, on another day, could have put 3 or 4 past Liverpool. Though a stalwart of his frontline is nearing the exit door, it's the problems at the back that Slot needs to address.
Chelsea welcome back Cole Palmer in routine win
Chelsea must be the most frustratingly decent team in the league. One week they nullify title-chasing Arsenal with a man less, and the next they get rolled over by a busy, physical Leeds side set for a relegation scrap. In the Champions League in midweek, Chelsea offered another limp display, offering more proof that this young team of talented individuals can’t be trusted to put together any run of form. Against a solid Everton side, though, Chelsea won comfortably and could welcome the return of the maverick they have sorely missed in recent games. Cole Palmer took his first goal in months, with the kind of aplomb you expect from a player of his class. Most players who are critical to their team’s success are either industrious or jaw-droppingly unpredictable. Palmer, on the other hand, is a sliver of programmed calm; they deserved at least a point, an ingredient that Chelsea’s unpredictable form and fortune could use. Not for the first time, Enzo Maresca has a chance to forge some momentum. But will his youngsters deliver? WATCH | Mo Salah's return in the Liverpool vs Brighton match, here on OTTplay. |
Man City now within sniffing distance of a title challenge
Crystal Palace are one of the hardest away games in the league at the moment. Even though the Seagulls have struggled of late, they are a team not known to roll out the red carpet for the so-called bigger clubs of the league. City found that out the hard way as they struggled get a grip on the game in the first half. The writing was on the wall — Palace were bouncing, and a goal seemed imminent. City’s in-form duo, however, had other ideas. Both Haaland and Foden got on the scoresheet and turned a potentially tough game into a canter by the end. Palace would be ruing all of their missed chances — especially in the first half hour — but Pep Guardiola can sense his season finally coming together. If he can find some solidity at the back, his attacking players are beginning to write the cheque he can dream of encashing at the end of the campaign. Sunderland cap promotion with dominant victory over rivals Newcastle
The first Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League in almost a decade served little in the way of animosity or entertainment, but offered clinching evidence of the remarkable season newly promoted Sunderland have had so far. The football wasn’t pretty, but the black cats punched their esteemed opponents into submission, in a game that seemed to always teeter on the edge of being eventful but never quite purged into one. An own goal settled the tie, and cemented Sunderland’s position as a club that probably won’t be worrying about relegation any time soon. On the other hand, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe would be worried that his superior squad couldn’t even make a contest out of what is easily either club’s most important game of the season.
WATCH | Sunderland vs Newcastle match highlights here |
Postscript: Messi’s India tour as Indian football lurches in the cold
In the footballing universe, there are leagues, tournaments, and then there are confusing prestige events that address neither. Lionel Messi is in India — and so are Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, by the way — but what that amounts to is neither product nor progress. At a time when the world’s greatest ever footballer is walking around stadiums that aren’t even known for hosting his sport, India’s two premier football leagues — ISL and IPL — sit in limbo, on the desks of administrators unwilling to ignite them into existence. Messi’s presence could catalyse funds, movements and plenty of other things, but what it has instead done is deepen unrelated pockets, platform clueless politicians and relegate India’s beleaguered footballers to the background. Premier League matches come to you live and exclusive on JioHotstar, with an OTTplay Premium subscription for only Rs 149 per month. Don’t miss a minute! |
Saali Mohabbat: A Slow-Burn Revenge Tale That Lets Women Hold The Knife & The Gaze |
In Saali Mohabbat, menace simmers, motives stay private, and women control the frame. Swetha Ramakrishnan reviews.
| ON THE HEELS of a major hypermasculine and jingoistic patriotic blockbuster, a film like Saali Mohabbat feels like a breath of fresh air. Released on ZEE5 this week, this atmospheric mystery-drama has many admirable qualities. For one, the cast feels like a warm hug. With Radhika Apte, Anurag Kashyap, Sharat Saxena, Divyenndu, a director in Tisca Chopra and Manish Malhotra as producer, you’re convinced about the quality of the film.
The story and vibe of Saali Mohabbat is quite similar to a viral short film that Chopra starred in a few years ago, Chutney. A dinner party set-up, a small-town setting, atmospheric visuals, a story of a woman fighting (aka taking revenge) for survival, and most of all, the female gaze. Neither films spoonfeed the plot or the intent of its characters to the audience. We’re left to fill in the blanks ourselves, and it doesn’t get too complex because the overall arc is quite predictable. Best of both worlds, I’d say. Stream the latest films and shows with OTTplay's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. |
The story begins with Smita, a home-bound, introverted woman married to a gambling addict, Pankaj (Anshuman Pushkar). She’s a master of plants and botany; it’s her one big passion in life. Her husband is after her to sell a piece of land that she owns in Muradabad, so he can pay off his debts to a gangster-type honcho (Anurag Kashyap). She flatly denies, knowing fully well that it’s the only asset in her name. Things change when her cousin Shalini ( Sauraseni Maitra) comes to live with them and starts an illicit relationship with the husband. On sensing her life is in danger, Smita concocts a revengeful plan so she can keep her house and get rid of her husband and cousin. A second and very prominent admiral quality of Saali Mohabbat is its female gaze. In one particularly thought-provoking scene, Smita and Pankaj are in bed, getting intimate, and he’s struggling to reach climax. He looks at a bottle of lotion on the bedside stand, with a woman’s picture on it, and finally gets there. Most films end this type of scene here, showing maybe a neglectful face of the wife before cutting. Saali Mohabbat takes this scene further. Not only does Smita go to the washroom to finish herself off (shot very aesthetically and not vulgar at all), but it also gives us a deeper understanding of her character. She may be homebound and introverted, but she gets what she wants: quietly and intently. Stream Radhika Apte's acclaimed performances in thriller drama Saali Mohabbat, the short film Ahalya, and the social drama Pad Man, all in one place with an OTTplay Premium subscription. |
In the scenes where we learn about Shalini’s affair with Smita’s husband, we also see her leading on a corrupt cop, Ratan Pandit (Divyenndu). When all these secrets start tumbling out, there’s never any judgment on Shalini for why she’s with two men simultaneously. We see this whole arc playing out from Smita’s perspective. Betrayal is given more importance than slut-shaming. Autonomy of the female characters is an understated theme that is woven into the narrative of Saali Mohabbat. ALSO READ | Divyenndu on Saali Mohabbat: 'Have again tried to experiment with narrative and character' There’s no big twist in the film, just a slow-burning of events unravelling at a comfortably organic pace. Chopra’s debut feature reminded me of a similar film, A Death In The Gunj, both of which are cerebral, thought-provoking and not interested in treating audiences like children. Radhika Apte plays well to her strengths, getting the accents and demeanour of her character right. She’s not playing a femme fatale; she’s a regular woman who will go to any lengths to protect her peace, and I found this implicit theme of Saali Mohabbat very delicious. It’s not a flawless film (also, I don’t understand why the film was named such), but this is a promising direction for Malhotra’s Stage5 Productions. |
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