Bournemouth fans could rub their hands with some glee again and go and get their hidden scarfs and shorts out of the dustbin, as the unlikely escape was back on after Man City thumped a demoralised Watford 0-4. There was some caution though as Bournemouth fans still had to wait to see what Arsenal would do against Aston Villa. It was a flat Arsenal performance and Aston Villa kept a 1-0 lead to also go three points ahead of Bournemouth, but we knew that the relegation battle would now go down to the last game no matter what.
There is every chance now that the 17th place in the Premier League this season could be decided by goal difference. We could have three teams on 34 points. Arguably none of these teams have played well enough to stay up, but there is a place for one of them. A 1-0 win for Bournemouth and two 1-0 defeats for Aston Villa and Arsenal would save Eddie Howe's side. But a draw or a win for Aston Villa or Watford and Bournemouth will have to adapt to life in the Championship.
Bournemouth fans could just peak from between their closed fingers again and start to imagine again what a win at Everton would mean. It is the hope that rally hurts and yet Bournemouth fans have to believe their team has been given yet another opportunity to climb out of the relegation places.
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| Destiny is not in AFCB's own hands but at least they are not out of it with a game to go. |
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Think everyone knew Watford would lose to City, it was always going to be down to how Arsenal do these last two games #afcb— Will Partridge (@AFCBWILL) July 21, 2020
Not tweeted about them before but #mancity are an absolute joy to watch when they’re not playing us #afcb— Sophie 🍒 (@sophiebmth) July 21, 2020
Not tweeted about them before but #mancity are an absolute joy to watch when they’re not playing us #afcb— Sophie 🍒 (@sophiebmth) July 21, 2020
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Regardless of what happens in the last 10 minutes, Villa have been excellent tonight. They knew it was a huge game and the players have responded. If we’d shown this level of urgency and intent against Saints, we might not be relying on others to slip up #afcb— Rob Meech (@RobMeech) July 21, 2020
So will the championship class of '15 be taking a step down together five years after making the step up? #afcb #WatfordFC #ncfc— Darryll Brewer (@djbsleepy) July 21, 2020
...if Villa win by one goal tonight but lose on Sun while we win, then again the -26 and -27 (us) would change around anyway. Any more than a 1 goal win for AV tonight and it gets complicated.— Jim Smith (@Jim_AFCB) July 21, 2020
But we're not beating Everton anyway so it will all be moot!
Top teams - like Arsenal - rarely play a complete stinker twice in succession.
ReplyDeleteHowever, can't help thinking that for these teams regrouping in the Championship may turn out the better long term option - like tennis players dropping down to the Challengers to regain form and confidence.
They would all still be favourites for relegation next season, with top players still leaving (Ake, King, Grealish) and with virtually no time to plan reinforcements or fix inherent problems.