Outside90’s Matthew Ritchie breaks down the 10 major talking points coming out of the weekend’s Premier League action
Man United blunt in attack
20 Shots, eight of them on target and 69% possession, there are the type of figures that reflect superiority over your opponents. But football games cannot be won without scoring, as Manchester United found out on Saturday Afternoon. They were held to a scoreless draw against a well-organized Newcastle side and simply had no Plan B. More to the point is that for the first 20 minutes or so, the Red Devils were excellent, bamboozling the Geordies with intricate one-touch passing triangles and quick movement up the field. But no end product, a frustration crept into their play and from there Steven McLaren’s team grew in confidence. Wayne Rooney in particular, despite a better showing was still far below his best and looks sluggish. This team has the ability to play beautiful football and keep possession, there is no doubting that, but if they find it difficult to create clear-cut chances in the final third it could plague them throughout the season.
Crystal Palace back to winning ways
Crystal Palace registered another three points with a solid 2-1 win over Aston Villa. Alan Pardew’s men had to survive an early first-half scare as the visitors looked the more menacing of the two early on. The Eagles managed to steady the ship and took the lead in the second-half through Scott Dann’s towering header, but moments later a mix up in the Palace box lead to the equalizer through Pape Souare’s own goal. It would be the home side to have the last laugh though, as new signing Bakary Sako scored a late winner and sealed the three points. Palace have the potential to make Selhurst Park a fortress and on this evidence, there will be no easy games for anyone against them home or away.
Bournemouth register first win
After two extremely unfortunate results against Aston Villa and Liverpool, the Cherries picked up their first win in the Premier League with an impressive victory at West Ham. The defending may have been mediocre, but they were breathtaking in attack, Callum Wilson grabbing the headlines with a hat-trick and Marc Pugh ensuring the points went to Eddie Howe’s team. A relentless Bournemouth attack continued to press until the final whistle, even trying to extend the lead when 4-3 up. In future, however, they will have to learn from the experience as this impaitence could have proved costly against tougher opposition, nevertheless three points have been secured and with performances like these, the drop looks avoidable.
Riyad Mahrez setting the Premier League alight
With four goals in three games, it is safe to say that Riyad Mahrez is the hottest player in the Premier League right now. Against Tottenham he turned in yet another impressive performance on the flank that was capped-off with a well taken late equalizer to help continue Leicester’s great start to the Premier League campaign. Seemingly frustrated at suitors interested in his star man so suddenly, Claudio Ranieri made it his duty to declare Mahrez “not for sale” and in this form you could not argue with him. Well done to the ‘Tinkerman’.
Same old, same old for Spurs
Being a Hotspurs fan is surely quite difficult. One week they can be perfect, the next they can be awful. You can safely say that they are one of the most unpredictable sides in the league, yet last weekend’s performance outlined so much more. Although most would agree that they were unlucky in their opening day defeat to Manchester United, giving up a 2-0 lead to end up with a draw is quite a different story. It played out the same way against the Foxes, conceding within a minute of taking the lead. There is a certain naivety to their style, which is why realistically it is hard seeing Tottenham challenging the top four at all this season. As thrilling as they are at times, the manager and players have failed to find the formula to defend a lead in the dying minutes by shutting-up shop. Mauricio Pochettino needs to prevent this squad from stagnating. Reinforcements are still needed and Harry Kane needs to start finding the net.
Pedro debuts, Chelsea win
Three weeks into the season and the defending champions finally record their first win. It was far from easy, with plenty of positives and negatives for Chelsea, but nevertheless it was a result needed to calm some nerves around Stamford Bridge. After failing to convert a penalty early on, the Baggies were made to pay by two strikes from new signing Pedro and Diego Costa, respectively, in quick succession. James Morrison, who missed the spot-kick, went on to make amends and scored a brace either side of a Cesar Azpilicueta goal.
It was enjoyable seeing the way Pedro linked up with his teammates, especially Eden Hazard, and Chelsea’s general attacking play was very much improved with his presence. However, the defence has continued to look worryingly vulnerable and was breached with continuous ease by West Brom. John Terry’s malaise continued as he picked up a red card and as a result let the Baggies back into the game. Mourinho’s backline has now conceded the most shots on target in the Premier League, which must be a worry despite his side’s attacking prowess. The defence certainly needs a shake-up and the pursuit of John Stones will inevitably heighten in the closing weeks of the transfer window. The Champions must improve.
Positive showing from Tony Pulis and West Brom
Despite his side’s loss, Tony Pulis will probably quietly be impressed with their performance. For the first 15-20 minutes Chelsea were outplayed and had James Morrison’s penalty not been saved, the complexion of the game could have been completely different. Admittedly the two goals Chelsea scored after could have been prevented and their passing from the back was frequently sloppy but Pulis’ tactics ensured that his players didn’t just sit back and absorb the pressure like they did against Manchester City. They took the game to the Champions and after John Terry’s dismissal, with luck they could’ve snatched a result from this game. Had they scored that equalizer it would’ve been a deserved point. With the international break approaching the Baggies must catch up with the rest of the pack and try to hold on to the precocious Saido Berahino.
Imperious Man City kick on
Three Games, three wins, eight goals scored, none conceded. Impressive? Manchester City continued their dominant start to the campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Everton, those who thought the Citizen’s poor record at Goodison Park would have a psychological effect on them here were made to eat their words. After no goals in the first-half, City were patient and waited for their moment which duly came in the 60th minute. Raheem Sterling marauded down the left-flank, cutting inside and finding the overlapping Aleksander Kolarov. Tim Howard, seemingly caught in two minds over whether the left-back was crossing or shooting, was beaten at his near post and the goal outlined how Sterling and Kolarov are developing such a telepathic understanding between one another.
The £49 million man has come into this side and has gone about things relatively quietly so far, but he has clearly reinvigorated his counterpart on the left-flank. The second goal was the mark of pure craft and panache, Samir Nasri playing a one-two with Yaya Toure which involved the Ivorian nonchalantly returning a perfect look away pass. The Frenchman calmly lobbed the ball over Tim Howard to seal maximum rewards for the Sky Blues. The defence was again impressive, keeping its third consecutive clean-sheet with Vincent Kompany and Elaquim Mangala also developing an understanding of each other’s game. With Nicolas Otamendi in this department as well, the team has been strengthened in all areas. City’s charge on the title continues and with the magical David Silva, along with the likes of Kompany , Toure and Sterling, it is looking increasingly tougher to bet against City taking back their crown.
[interaction id=”55dbf98ff11a0e7e785b8cd2″]
Arsenal’s defensive alternatives exposed
When the starting lineups were announced, one feared for Arsenal. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker were both out, forcing Calum Chambers and Gabriel into the backline. From minute one it was clear that Petr Cech would have a lot of work to do. Their passing was sloppy and led to many chances for opponents Liverpool, the rawness of both defenders was not helped by the fact that they were playing alongside two attacking-fullbacks in Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal. They pushed forward into advanced positions and left space in the channels which Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho exploited early on.
It was this space that lead to Coutinho’s early chance, created by Benteke, which struck the crossbar to the relief of Cech. The Reds continued attacking relentlessly and just before half-time the custodian was forced into one of his many world class saves to deny a Benteke shot which seemed harder to miss. To their credit, after the break as the team improved, so did the defence. As the game entered its closing stages, Liverpool were forced back as Arsenal pressed for a winner but a breakthrough never came. Wenger will know that this could have easily been a defeat for his team if their opponents were more clinical. For all their talent in attack, their defensive back-ups are not the best, fans will want Koscielny and Mertesacker back quickly.
Liverpool look smooth in attack
For all Liverpool faithful it must have been a joy to see how their attacking options combined at the Emirates. Though it might not have been dazzling in the final-third, Benteke, Coutinho and Firmino are developing a connection with each other and linked together for some great moves, especially in the first-half. That the game ended 0-0 spoke a lot about both team’s effectiveness in front of goal, but whereas Arsenal had to rely on the sub-par Olivier Giroud , Liverpool had Benteke. The Belgian offered enough proof that he will be more than just an in the box type of strike, but more of an all-round player. With Daniel Sturridge also to return, Brendan Rogers has a lot of options at his disposal and it will be interesting to see his team selections. This is particularly pleasing considering the bluntness and lethargy that plagued their play last season and with the defence keeping their third consecutive clean sheet, an assault on the premier league’s top four is looking likely. Whether it is achieved is up to Rogers and his men, with seven points from a possible nine, the red-half of Merseyside will be beaming discretely.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
