Premier League Week 22: United Punish City; Spurs Hit Rock Bottom; Arsenal Fail To Capitalise
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United pummeled City in the derby, in a week where Chelsea dragged one over the line, and Spurs hit rock bottom, writes Manik Sharma.
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Carrick restores faith as United blow City away in derby WHAT A DIFFERENCE a week can make. While Darren Fletcher endured a hellish single game as stand-in manager, his successor, in the slightly longish but still interim manager role, Michael Carrick, witnessed a rousing and frankly season-turning destruction of a surprisingly dull Man City. United dominated both halves of the game, and though City expectedly bossed the possession, there was precious little cutting edge to top it off with something akin to a reward. The listlessness extended to their otherworldly striker, as Erling Haaland continued his dry vein of form. But as City, metaphorically, handed Arsenal the cake, the focus must be on Michael Carrick and his United boys. This is still one game, and United can’t be trusted with demands for consistency, but there was welcome cheer at Old Trafford, fire in the players’ belly, and the exiled Kobbie Mainu in the starting line-up. The resounding subtext here is that United could and should have won by a more emphatic margin. That in itself would be music to the United fans’ ears and a terrible omen for whatever is left of City’s title push. If anything at all. WATCH | Man City vs Man UTD highlights here on OTTplay |
Wirtz finding his feet, but Liverpool still hopeless in defence The good news for Arne Slot is that Florian Wirtz is finally starting to stamp, if not authority, then at least his presence on Liverpool’s games. His link-up play has improved, and his partnership up front with Hugo Ekitike is showing signs of blooming into a full-blown romance that Slot would prefer to count in goals and assists. The bad news is that the Reds are still woeful at the back. At home to Burnley, they remained susceptible to counter-attacks and could have, on another day, easily even lost the game if not for the heroics by their goalkeeper Alisson. To add to the ignominy of drawing at home against a relegation-threatened side, their most consistent player, Dominik Szoboszlai, has gone through a wringer of a week: an embarrassing error in the League Cup, followed by a missed penalty at home. Slot would hope his most dependable player, over the last season-and-a-half, can quickly shrug a bizarre week of lows off his shoulders. Watch Liverpool vs Burnley (1-1) highlights here. Robert Sanchez saves the day as Chelsea scrape past Brentford Liam Rosenoir took to the dugout in his first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea. Because the Blues were at home, the onus and the pressure would have been on him to offer the first template of a brand new regency. There were positives. Pedro Neto enjoyed a good game — yet another in a long list of has-massive-potential displays where he tormented defenders, made key passes but failed to be decisive in critical moments. Moises Caicedo dominated the midfield, offering bursts of creative energy that are often underwritten in lieu of the destructive side of his game. The biggest positive, though, would have been Robert Sanchez’s performance. The erratic goalkeeper made a couple of stellar saves at crucial points in the game. After making an error in his last outing, Sanchez redeemed himself with a commanding performance between the posts. The only issue for Rosenoir is that the goalkeeper is simply too inconsistent to offer any sort of calm to the rest of the defensive back line. For now, it’s a gamble the new and young manager will have to keep making until the end of the season. Watch Chelsea vs Brentford (2-0) highlights here |
Arsenal fail to take full advantage of City’s slip-up, again Can Arsenal carry the burden of title favourites? There is little doubt the Gunners are best-placed in decades to lift the league title, but every time they are asked to firmly lay their hands on the trophy — metaphorically — or wrench it free of the chasing pack, they seem to falter. Away to a dogged Nottingham Forest, Arsenal created plenty of chances, but failed to put them away. Mikel Arteta used almost the entirety of his attacking reserves, but the Gunners couldn’t break a solid Forest. It’s no catastrophe, given how out of sorts the ones chasing them are, but this would feel like another opportunity missed to place a thick cushion between them and the rest. That said, the results around them ensured that this was still a valuable point away from home. Thomas Frank on the edge as Spurs hit rock bottom Few things count for bigger state crimes than losing to West Ham this season. But things are progressively worse when you lose to them at home, in the dying minutes. Spurs played decently for a game that should have been a write-off for them, but, as is now trademark for them, succumbed at the last. West Ham will make a feast of their battle to survive relegation, but they are possibly the slowest and most uninspiring team in the league. Now, there’s an argument to be made that the Spurs are probably worse. They are acutely dull to watch, remain elusive as a structure and are now in possession of a dressing room that neither cares for the manager nor for the hierarchy above him. Speculative barbs of a possible relegation battle aside, Thomas Frank surely doesn’t have more than a couple of games left to save his job. If he can, that is. Watch Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham here on JioHotstar, now part of your OTTplay Premium subscription. |
Postscript: Has the title race ever really been on Romantics perpetuate rivalries and races because they thicken the prestige of a competition. But if you glean below the narratives, the tricks of pompous storytelling, then you’d have to argue that at no point in this season has the title race ever really been on. The City have flattered to deceive and look no closer to their former selves. The holders in Liverpool have been broken from the start. And in Aston Villa — their January transfer business a clue — there is the charming yet glum reminder that this remains a league driven by financial muscle. Below the league’s top three, things get really interesting. But not because of a beefier juicy middle, but because no one seems capable of sewing form to fact. No wonder the fiction is so tantalising. 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! |
Rahu Ketu Is An Insipid Film That Refuses To Quit |
Rahu Ketu is the kind of film that filled me with existential dread in the first month of the year and came closest to making me regret being a writer, Ishita Sengupta reviews.
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WRITING is not an easy job. There is, of course, the bit about diminishing returns, but it is also anxiety-riddled, uncertain, and a lot of it includes sitting before a blank page and hoping thoughts will form themselves without the crushing loneliness. Despite this, every self-respecting writer will admit that there is nothing else they would do. Three hours ago, I too was this person, but something inside me has broken. The one to have caused it has a name: Rahu Ketu. Vipul Vig’s Rahu Ketu is the kind of film that one imagines in a night of intermittent sleep, and instead of forgetting, goes ahead with energy and investment. It is the kind of film that gets incredulous by the minute, forcing one to contemplate their career choices. It is the kind of film where not one joke lands, and yet the viewer is reduced to being the punchline in all scenarios. It is the kind of film that filled me with existential dread in the first month of the year and came closest to making me regret being a writer. Stream the latest films and shows with OTTplay's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. |
It is impossible to describe the intricacies of the film, but this is me trying. Rahu Ketu centres around two ephemeral beings — Varun Sharma plays Rahu, and Pulkit Samrat is Ketu — sprung to life by a writer, Churu Lal Sharma (Manu Rishi Chadda). There is also Foofaji (Piyush Mishra stuck in a jungle as the storyteller since Tamasha), an old man who somehow knows it all. The main crux here is that whatever Churu writes in a special notebook comes true, and he has created Rahu and Ketu to remove corruption in Himachal. One would think someone with so much power would want bigger things, but no. This unambitiousness leaks into the film that plays out as a school skit put together at the last minute because a grant came through. Take, for instance, how Rahu and Ketu just appear before people who have sinned (Amit Sial, as a police officer, is one of them), and they crumble. There is no dialogue, no conversation and not even an exposition. All both men do, wrapped up in distinct colours of blue and red, is point to the concerned person and pronounce them guilty. Then there are dialogues that will make even ChatGPT self-combust. Here is an example: “Karma is a switch, join me and I will make you rich.” |
A lot of Rahu Ketu is about the havoc that is wrecked as both men keep colliding with regular people. And while this remains staidly unfunny, the filmmaker adds another twist by bringing an Israeli gangster (Chunky Panday) and a girl who only wants to sell weed (Shalini Pandey). Among other self-inflicted confusion, there is a recurrent bit of the book being stolen and different people wanting to write it. Honestly, writing never felt so hopeless before. |
This passing of the baton goes on till the film tires itself out. But also, it does not. It is difficult to remember the last time a Hindi film was as inert as Rahu Ketu, but like most male entities (this is a film written by a man, headlined by men and with a singular proposition that stories in the book can only be taken forward if they are shouldered by men), there is confidence aplenty. The characters hint that a sequel might be in the works, which, if you ask me, is not good news. |
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