It is rare that the build up to a new Premier League season focuses just as much on new managers as the players on the pitch.
Three modern football masterminds all found new homes in the glamorous lights of the English top-flight, ahead of what promises to be a frantic title chase.
The controversial Jose Mourinho took up the helm of a Manchester United side needing to break out of the post-Ferguson slump, their cross-town rivals, Manchester City, welcome the highly decorated Pep Guardiola, while Antonio Conte era began in West London, working under Roman Abramovic at Chelsea.
All three kicked things off with victories, and have already looked to have made significant impacts.
Outside90’s Hugh Schuitemaker casts an eye over each manager’s performance and tactics from the opening round.
Jose Mourinho (Manchester United) – 8/10
United had continued their pattern of big spending in the offseason, but the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and world record signing Paul Pogba watched from the sidelines. However, Mourinho’s decision to stick with Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini in the starting XI was an unlikely success at Dean Court.
The Portuguese manager has always been an expert with the 4-2-3-1 formation, now providing Mata and Anthony Martial in particular more space on the wings behind the striker and bringing Ander Herrera deeper back into the screening role when required.
It took some comical Bournemouth defending for Mata to open the scoring, but second-half goals from captain Wayne Rooney and new hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic will surely put smiles on fans faces and rounded out the 3-1 scoreline. It was certainly a more inspired Red Devils side than Louis van Gaal’s of 2015-16, yet the nature of Mourinho’s previous campaign with Chelsea also means that this has to be consistent in the early weeks.
Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) – 6/10
Like Mourinho, Pep is still missing a number of new signings, so the former Bayern Munich manager named Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho among his Man City starting XI. His most controversial decision was to drop England No.1 Joe Hart in favour of Willy Caballero, calling the 29-year-old’s future at the club into question.
Things on the pitch started far smoother, as City took the lead inside the first five minutes through a Sergio Aguero penalty. A spirited Black Cats side held Guardiola’s men out until Jermaine Defoe’s equaliser – though were saved when Paddy McNair nodded the ball into his own net in the dying minutes for the a slender 2-1 win.
The introductions of new signings Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan will boost the attack, and midfielder Nolito is showing promising signs since arriving from Spain.
Still a few tweaks away from what he wants the team to look like, Guardiola needs to get the best out of key players Aguero and Silva in the face of a packed early schedule, which saw them play a Champions League qualifier yesterday ahead of the weekend’s meeting with Stoke City.
Antonio Conte (Chelsea) – 7/10
The Italian had tried out various formations in the preseason and speculation surround the exact setup that the Blues would take in their season opener, deciding upon a 4-1-4-1 which placed huge responsibility upon the shoulders of N’Golo Kante.
With only two major signings made in the summer, the players that led Chelsea to their latest title would need to regain the confidence that was smashed to pieces last season. Conte’s passion and unforgiving work-rate have seemed to spark this recovery, with Oscar and Nemanja Matic enjoying new-found freedom in the final third. Eden Hazard benefited too, converting from the spot and Diego Costa looked every bit of his fiery, controversial best before netting a late winner.
Although commanding a match against a team they very much struggled against in 2015-16, questions should still be asked of the Chelsea backline, as Dimitri Payet went close to exposing some of its flaws, and might have impacted the result in a greater capacity had he played the full 90 minutes.
A favourable run in the coming weeks should also see Michy Batshuayi receive more time after registering an assist on debut, but overall, this was a solid start for Conte and his team.
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