1
Slot’s heavy hitters floor listless City
Late-2024 Liverpool are reminiscent of the late-2019 team that eventually won the club’s first league title in 30 years. Back then, a 3-1 home win against Manchester City put Jürgen Klopp’s side eight points above second place, and nine above City. In 2024, they are nine points above second and 11 above City – with, we hope, no pandemic to interrupt the season. There are eight players from that squad still at Liverpool, and if the football is more measured under Arne Slot, Sunday’s potential knockout blow was achieved in the heavy-metal fashion of a Klopp team. “I knew Jürgen left the team in a very good place,” said the diplomatic Dutchman afterwards.
While Slot is enjoying his first Premier League season, Pep Guardiola was subjected to “sacked in the morning” chants, another rite of passage for any English football man. Even Sir Alex Ferguson was subjected to it in October 2005, when Middlesbrough crushed his Manchester United team 4-1, a defeat that sparked Roy Keane’s exit. Ferguson dug himself out of the hole with a grinding 1-0 win over José Mourinho’s Chelsea. Guardiola hoped for similar at Anfield but his battered squad appears incapable of letting fly any dogs of war. At Anfield, City were punchless, while the same defensive mistakes of recent weeks were still evident. “If I don’t want that pressure, I resign, go home and I don’t have this weight on my shoulders,” said Guardiola before the match. Is a Keane-esque sacrificial victim required? Kevin De Bruyne’s fringe role continues to intrigue. John Brewin
2
Set-piece gurus face off in London derby
The cult of the set-piece specialist grows apace. One noted Premier League corner and free-kick coach was recently spied signing an autograph outside a stadium. At West Ham, Nicolas Jover’s “blitz” call for Arsenal’s opener, a move they repeated through the first half, caught the eye. And when Gabriel Magalhães nodded in, Pablo Sanz, who looks after West Ham’s set-piece detail, looked aghast. Though the NFL-style move was being shown off in public for the first time, Julen Lopetegui said he and Sanz had been fully prepared. In Lopetegui’s view, the goal should not have stood after Jurriën Timber’s block on Lucas Paquetá. And it was tough to see how the video assistant referee had missed a clear offence, even among a seething mass of bodies. It can only be imagined what Mikel Arteta’s reaction might have been had his team been the recipients. Back to the drawing board for Jover? Officialdom will surely be mindful next time. JB
3
Fernández finally shows his value
Life is better when your £106.7m midfielder finally looks worth the money. It is fair to say that Enzo Fernández has taken his time. The Argentina international joined Chelsea in January 2023, a month after helping his country win the World Cup, and struggled to live up to the hype at first. A series of underwhelming performances raised doubts over Fernández’s suitability to English football. Eyebrows were raised further when he had hernia surgery at the end of last season and Chelsea improved in his absence. This campaign has also featured a spell on the bench, but Fernández has responded. He has regained his starting spot and scored his second goal in as many games in Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa. He is listening to Enzo Maresca’s demand for him to make more forward runs and has also come up with a lot of important assists. Jacob Steinberg
4
Everton abandon Dycheian principles
In suffering a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, Everton were a quaint, anti-Sean Dyche football proposition, sloppiness allowing their hosts to mug them too often. Example: Amad Diallo’s smash-and-grab on the visitors’ captain, James Tarkowski, that led to Joshua Zirkzee’s second goal. As Dyche said: “It is a real hard one for me to take today because we were attacking for their first goal and then got countered on. I was very surprised to go 1-0 down in that way and then it was a glaring mistake. I thought in the first 30 minutes we were good in most ways. The next challenge is that final pass or finish – that is the hardest bit to change. The third goal is madness from our perspective, and it is such an important goal anywhere in the Premier League.” Jamie Jackson
5
Will Son shine again for Spurs?
Son Heung-min has scored three league goals so far this season and registered four assists. There’s no reason to panic, but two of those goals came against Everton and one against West Ham in comfortable wins. He has not been as incisive as in previous seasons. At 32, there is perhaps a sense that, while he still has much to contribute, the slow downturn has begun. “I don’t have a sense from him that he’s worried about it,” said Ange Postecoglou. “We’ve had different players go through those spells. The key is to maintain our focus and not worry too much about what’s gone before. I’m sure the goals will flow again.” What is clearly true is that Son is much more comfortable playing on the left rather than through the middle, and that the absence of Dominic Solanke and Richarlison makes it harder for Tottenham to retain and recycle possession, making them much more reliant on transitions. Jonathan Wilson
6
Repeated fouling of Evanilson fells Wolves
If Justin Kluivert’s hat-trick of penalties for Bournemouth created history, then Evanilson’s role in being fouled for all three did too, as he became the first individual to win three penalties in a single Premier League game. “Crazy … crazy … crazy,” said Gary O’Neil, when asked about his team’s defending. After an unbeaten run of four matches, and the previous week’s 4-1 demolition of Fulham, came a return to the chaotic defending and poor decision-making of earlier in the season. The manager had opted for the same formation and approach that was so successful at Fulham. “If we had the game back again we’d try something different,” he admitted, having his own, possibly fateful contribution to the craziness that sank his team. Perhaps Mario Lemina, deployed at centre-back here, isn’t a defender after all. JB
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7
Brentford build fortress without Toney
Brentford have turned their home ground into a fortress this season, dispatching opponents with impressive ease under the guidance of Thomas Frank. The manager’s ability to integrate a talent such as Kevin Schade and rotate attacking players answers those critics who attributed his previous success to Ivan Toney’s goals. Without the England forward, Brentford have now scored three or more goals in four consecutive home league matches for the first time since 1984, and sit top of the league’s home table. “I think I have some good challenges because I have a lot of good offensive players that want to play,” said Frank. “We went very offensive. We played with four wingers and strikers plus the No 10 in Mikkel Damsgaard but, because all of them play high up, they worked very hard.” Defeats at Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham highlight the gap to the top teams but Brentford, now in eighth, may even start to bridge it in the second half of the season. Yara El-Shaboury
8
Magpies misplace their shooting boots
Eddie Howe is right to be concerned. Even though the Newcastle manager seemed hopeful the hip injury sustained by Alexander Isak at Crystal Palace may not be serious, his side’s lack of goals has become a major issue. While they were almost able to snatch a victory at Selhurst Park after profiting from Marc Guéhi’s own goal, they offered little else in attack and have managed only 14 goals in 13 Premier League matches. The return of Callum Wilson should help but Howe said he may have to work on his team’s confidence in front of goal before hosting the leaders, Liverpool, on Wednesday. “In football confidence is very fragile and is something we have to protect at all costs,” he said. “I back the players because we know they have the ability and we’ve got to try and get them in their best form. That’s always a delicate thing as well, you want them in form at the same time, and we haven’t had that this season.” Ed Aarons
9
Silva stars in Forest’s cohort of wingers
After a previous scattergun approach to recruitment, Jota Silva is evidence there is a serious methodology to the way Nottingham Forest do transfer business now. The Portuguese winger arrived from Vitória de Guimarães this summer for £6.5m and has shown glimpses of having talent worthy of a higher price. Nuno Espírito Santo gave him his first Premier League start, after 11 substitute appearances, on Saturday against Ipswich. From the first minute he showed speed and energy to cause the visitors problems. He also earned the match-winning penalty, admittedly in theatrical style, but it was an indication of the threat he posed. Considering Forest’s cohort of wingers includes Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and Ramón Sosa, there is plenty of depth in a key area for Nuno as they hope to maintain momentum. Will Unwin
10
Stuttering Seagulls taint flying start
Brighton may have spent Friday evening in second place but Fabian Hürzeler was in no mood to reflect on his excellent start on the south coast after they were pegged back by the bottom side, Southampton. If there is one complaint about the German so far, it is that his side have struggled to put away teams from the lower half at home. The draw against Southampton followed similarly frustrating results against Ipswich and Wolves that could have made their lofty position look even more impressive if they had been turned into wins. “Disappointment is part of football,” said Hürzeler. “Negative experiences are part of the process and we didn’t deserve more today, so we have to keep improving, keep pushing and try to be better in the next game. It’s early in the season and we shouldn’t focus on results, we should focus on performances.” EA
