Aston Villa's midweek hangover, Newcastle have a goalscoring problem, and some absolutely classic Bournemouth-ing
Aston Villa's midweek hangover, Newcastle have a goalscoring problem, and some absolutely classic Bournemouth-ingremains extraordinary and will hope to lead Chelsea back into a title challenge with his magic left foot. The only other team to win in the top eight were… erm,lost again to ramp up the pressure on his own position, but it’s the promoted clubs who should panic most after they all lost again.
Mikel Arteta says he prefers “dominance” to control, but Arne Slot doesn’t seem to mind it. When Arsenal sat back with a 2-1 lead he urged Liverpool to stay patient and Van Dijk’s touch count kept going up, without much reward. When a frustrated Trent Alexander-Arnold tried an impossible vertical ball with almost no room in behind a set defence, Slot whirled his hand above his head, seeming to indicate the need to recycle the ball and wait for an opening.
When he went down with a left knee problem just after half-time, cameras quickly cut to the stands where William Saliba, Gabriel’s centre-back partner in 42 of their last 46 Premier League games, sat wearing a cap and a worried expression, unable to help while serving a one-game suspension. After the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, Unai Emery insisted that any conjecture of a midweek hangover was a myth. You can see his point: Villa created the majority of the chances and would have been out of sight were it not for the exploits of Mark Travers in the Bournemouth goal. Had they scored even one of those chances, we would not be having this discussion.
They play football to thrill, blessed by a freedom and innocence to their attacking play without parallel across the top flight. If only their youth could provide equal benefit at the back.Against Newcastle, there was the sense Chelsea could have won 4-0 or drawn 2-2, such is their fragility and flashing brilliance.
“We lost two points and we failed today in our development. We were not mature enough, not professional enough to win this game. We have to learn quickly from this.” Brighton’s team at the end of the game, when they conceded the equaliser, contained three 20-year-olds, a 21-year-old, a 22-year-old and three 24-year-olds. Veltman was the only player on the pitch older than 26 and the central midfield consisted of Max Wieffer and Yasin Ayari, who had previously been on the pitch together for one minute in total.
The statistics are ludicrous. As of full-time on Friday, Wood was the Premier League striker who had got the highest percentage of his shots on target this season. Of every regular starter in the Premier League, he also ranks highest for his conversion of shots to goals. Wood has taken 18 shots in nine matches, ranking only 18th by that measure despite playing at least one game more than anyone else. He has scored with seven of those 18 shots.
Want to know the silliest thing? Wood might just do his best work without the ball. Those who see him as simply a target-man striker are underestimating his range. Wood’s work rate in pressing and closing down passing lanes is astonishing, exemplified by him covering more ground than any other Forest player this season. He has become a nuisance out of possession and a killer in the penalty area.
The Kulusevski chance was an anomaly in the first 15 minutes of the second half which was packed full of Palace opportunities. It was a red and blue onslaught with everything naturally running through Eberechi Eze, the playmaker linked with Spurs last summer.Eze scored but was just caught offside by the high line, had a penalty appeal waved away after a tangle with Van de Ven and then lashed a shot just wide in the space of 10 minutes as Crystal Palace laid siege on a weary Spurs defence.
Are you ready? Because I’m going to do it again. *Taps the “Mbeumo and Wissa” sign once more for old time’s sake. Every supporter of every club has gripes about the points that got away, but at Fulham they really do have a case. We’re still in October and they have dominated at Manchester City with three golden missed chances by Traore, conceded a last-minute equaliser against West Ham, a last-minute equaliser against Everton, missed a penalty at 1-1 against Aston Villa and lost a penalty shootout 16-15 in the Carabao Cup.
What I love most about Bournemouth, from an aesthetic point of view, is that Iraola seems intent on attacking to try and win a game with his changes rather than sitting on a point. Tavernier and Evanilson may have combined to rescue a point, but both players came on the pitch at 0-0. Iraola could easily have brought on a holding midfielder or extra defender for Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert. Instead he maintained the attacking intent and it eventually paid off.
Gordon will go for a scan on Monday, expected to miss both the Chelsea cup game and Arsenal league match in the next week at least. If he’s out for any longer, we will inevitably reach the point where calls for Eddie Howe’s job escape the confines of social media and breach the walls of reasonable discourse.
Lopetegui discovered in extremis a formation that works. Let’s see what he can do with it. Although he won’t always have a team as willing as United to help him out.A penalty that made even West Ham blush settled an encounter in added time that they could have lost by a bucket load before half-time. The sense of injustice allowed Erik ten Hag to peel off the familiar excuses but the facts are as bald as his pate. He is not the man to lead Manchester United.
Until Friday, Leicester were the only promoted team that hadn’t got themselves into foolish difficulty by trying – and failing – to play out from the back. Ipswich and Southampton had both been made to look silly. So it was Leicester’s turn. It might matter that Everton were completely outplayed by Fulham at Goodison, an opponent in a position where Sean Dyche is aiming to take this team. It might matter that Everton are still only averaging a point per game after a decent run and must go to Southampton and not lose to avoid the fear seeping back in.
It’s fair to ask whether these players are of the level required for Ipswich to accumulate points. Harry Clarke has come through to the first team having been signed from Arsenal as a teenager, but gave away a penalty, scored an own goal and was sent off. Burgess played for Ipswich in League One for two seasons after being signed from Accrington. It will take these players time to get used to the Premier League.
But Maxence Lacroix deserves a mention after a commanding display at the back, albeit against an incoherent Spurs attack. The Frenchman, who joined from Wolfsburg in August, had big boots to fill following Joachim Andersen’s move to Fulham and was plonked into a struggling side. Palace’s poor form has naturally prompted an appraisal of their summer transfer business.Last week, Roy Keane pinpointed Joachim Andersen’s departure as a key factor behind their poor start.
I found that very interesting, given how effective Wolves were against Manchester City. Having come in for a fair amount of scrutiny for changing to a back four, O’Neil shifted to a five for last week’s fixture. This was him insisting that he got it right by getting it wrong. To paraphrase: “My original plan was right all along, so we’re going back to it”.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Our verdict on every Premier League club after Gameweek 7Chelsea's inevitable paradox, Liverpool's master at work, Tottenham throw away a 2-0 lead and Wolves are the first crisis club of the season
Read more »
Our verdict on every Premier League club after Gameweek 6Dwight McNeil inspires Everton again, Ryan Gravenberch continues to shine for Liverpool and Palace bought the wrong academy graduate
Read more »
Our verdict on every Premier League club after Gameweek 8Another Arsenal red card, Man Utd's gamble pays off, Postecoglou gets the big calls right and cracks are beginning to appear at Southampton
Read more »
Thomas Tuchel appointed England head coach: English coaches absent from Premier League, Champions League challengesWith Thomas Tuchel named England head coach, stats collated by Sky Sports show how under-represented English coaches are at the top end of football...
Read more »
Thomas Tuchel appointed England head coach: English coaches absent from Premier League, Champions League challengesWith Thomas Tuchel named England head coach, stats collated by Sky Sports show how under-represented English coaches are at the top end of football...
Read more »
Ex-Premier League player sacked by League Two club Swindon after just five months in charge...Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios give the latest on rumours that rapper A$AP Rocky and pop star Rihanna could buy the EFL club!
Read more »