It was a pity that Arsenal could not give Manchester City a painful blow like Chelsea.
Liverpool was still one point behind Manchester City.
After the 16th round, Manchester City took the lead with 40 points.
Liverpool followed with 39 points.
Manchester United seemed to be in third place with 38 points, but in fact, they could jump to the top of the table at any time!
Chelsea had 32 points.
Arsenal had 29 points.
Arsenal, who had been deemed impossible to compete for the title, was not far from the more realistic goal.
Return to the Champions League!
They were only three points away from Chelsea.
Starting from the 17th round, the Premier League's Christmas devil schedule kicked off, with four league games in 10 days!
One of them had to span Christmas.
Qin Xiong helped Sylvia decorate the interior for Christmas at home.
George had already grown into a young man. This year, he had brought his girlfriend to his home for Christmas. Other than satisfying some of his girlfriend's requests to chase after celebrities, such as taking a photo, signing an autograph, going to her blog, and leaving a message on social media, Qin Xiong was quite fond of this Dutch girl.
Just after setting up the Christmas tree at home, Qin Xiong sat on the sofa and thought about what kind of decorations or gift boxes to hang on the Christmas tree. If friends or teammates brought their children, it would make them happier.
Freddy came in from the backyard. He threw the phone on the coffee table and said to Qin Xiong helplessly, "The AFC is going crazy!"
Qin Xiong could not help laughing, but his eyes were still on the Christmas tree. He said, "If I were the AFC, I would go crazy too."
Since 2004, Qin Xiong had monopolized the Asian Footballer of the Year award.
There was no other way. There was a mechanism for the Asian Footballer of the Year award.
Just looking at Qin Xiong's performance in the Champions League, Europe's top league, the Asian Cup, and the World Cup, his monopoly for many years was well-deserved.
But here was the problem!
Qin Xiong did not have time to receive the award every year!
He did not go the year before last, and he did not go last year. This year, he would definitely go.
Because the Premier League's devilish schedule clashed with the AFC's award ceremony.
The winner of the most important award in an award ceremony had not appeared on stage to receive the award for three consecutive years!
It would be strange if the AFC did not go crazy!
Freddy suddenly laughed. He looked in the direction of the kitchen and said, "You know what? The AFC proposed to let Sylvia receive the award for you this year. "
Sylvia popped her head out of the kitchen and said seriously, "No, I'm going to celebrate my son's birthday and spend Christmas with my family. I'm not going. The effect won't be good!"
Even though Sylvia had been known as "Sister-in-law Xiong" by fans all over the world, Sylvia did not want to be too dazzling when she accepted the award on behalf of Qin Xiong. That would only create topics for the outside world. Good, bad, all kinds of topics. When these topics reached Qin Xiong's ears, it would inevitably distract Qin Xiong. This was something she had to avoid.
Freddy smiled at her and said, "Of course I know it's impossible, so I refused."
Sylvia smiled and continued to busy herself in the kitchen.
"This year, the national team manager will receive the award for you again."
Qin Xiong was silent and looked at the Christmas tree with rapt attention.
It was not that he did not care about the Asian Footballer of the Year award. To be able to monopolize it for so many years, this achievement was probably unprecedented.
But things were settled, things that could not be changed, and things that had been decided, he did not need to think too much.
He certainly would not ask for leave from the club at this time, saying that he would go back to Asia to attend some award ceremony, regardless of the club's results.
"Let's hang some candy ball gift boxes."
Qin Xiong clapped his hands and made the final decision. Freddy immediately got up to help Qin Xiong decorate the Christmas tree.
.....
The 17th round of the Premier League took place on December 22nd, the day after Qin Xiong celebrated for Sylvia and Qin Ye.
Except for Liverpool and Chelsea, all of the top five teams in the Premier League had won!
Liverpool's game against Wigan Athletic was met with frantic tackling and cutting tactics by the opponent. With Christmas just around the corner, Wigan Athletic wanted to give the fans a big gift at home.
They did it!
Liverpool had two injured players, Mascherano and Suárez!
Gerard, who could not hold back his anger in the game, used both feet to tackle the opponent and asked for a red card to be sent off.
Lucas was also sent off after accumulating two yellow cards in the game.
Liverpool suffered the most tragic game of the season.
Two players were injured and two were sent off.
In the end, they tied with Wigan Athletic 0: 0!
After the game, Comain was furious and claimed that Wigan Athletic was a group of criminals playing football on the pitch!
The Red Army fans also provoked the Wigan Athletic fans after the game to express their anger.
Qin Xiong did not get many chances in the game. Most of the time, he was watching the hand-to-hand combat between the two teams in the midfield.
He was also a little helpless after the game, but he was still optimistic.
"We are not even halfway through the league tournament. We don't have to be impetuous. Today's game is a little special. If the Premier League's enforcement level is still so low, allowing the opponent to turn a football game into a rugby game on the field, then it will cause a huge loss to the Premier League."
Liverpool's loss of points was something that the other powerhouses were happy to see.
Arsenal defeated Aston Villa 2: 1 in a close call at Villa Park.
Van Persie was once again the star of the game.
Manchester City defeated Stoke City by 3: 0 at the Etihad Stadium and won the league tournament's Christmas title.
Manchester United swept Fulham by 5: 0 in the away game and overtook Liverpool in the league table!
Chelsea and Liverpool were in the same boat in this round of powerhouses. At White Hart Lane, the Blues and Tottenham Hotspur shook hands 1: 1 and made up.
The first game of the devil's schedule was over.
Manchester City had 43 points on the league table.
Manchester United had 41 points.
Liverpool had 40 points.
Chelsea had 33 points.
Arsenal had 32 points.
The defending champion had slipped from second place to third place!
The devil's schedule had always been a watershed in the Premier League title race. Playing well might not necessarily mean winning the title, but playing poorly could mean falling behind early. In the past years of Premier League competition, only Manchester United had achieved a reversal of a huge disadvantage in the league table after the devil's schedule. The other teams had never staged a similar performance.
Just three days after the end of the first devil's schedule, the second devil's schedule of the Premier League began on the second day of Christmas.
The continuous intensive schedule of games was a huge test of the team's overall strength and ability to continue fighting.
Although Liverpool had many players injured and suspended, the fans still believed that Qin Xiong would carry the team forward at this time.
Qin Xiong did not let the fans down. He, Raúl, and Kuyt formed a forward combination with the midfield Alonso, Cabaye, Tiote, and the two full backs, Baines and Johnson, to beat Blackburn Rovers by 4: 1 at home.
Qin Xiong scored twice in the game, which put him in the lead on the goalscoring chart. At the same time, as 2011 was coming to an end, his goals in all competitions were about to break the annual record of 85 goals set by Gade Muller in 1972!
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