The Good, The Bad
A new column focusing on the Premier League.
This is a new feature focusing on the Premier League, where we’ll pick out a few performances — good and bad — from across the weekend’s action.
Usually, it’ll be out on a Monday, but occasionally we’ll publish it on a Tuesday, especially if there is a Monday evening match.
So, here goes, and as ever, feedback is most welcome!
THE GOOD
Michael Keane has (at times fairly, at times unfairly) come in for some criticism from Evertonians. The issue has been that, when he plays in defence, Everton concede more goals than when he does not. Mostly, Keane is not individually at fault, but the facts are pretty clear, and they’re pretty grim. That being said, in the past two games especially, Keane has been excellent, and on Saturday against Ipswich Town, reminded everybody of one of the major benefits of having him in the team — his finishing. If only the calm he showed in his own box could match the composure he so often shows in the opposition’s penalty area. His excellent strike to put the Toffees 2-0 up was sensational. Jarrad Branthwaite will soon be back fit, and Sean Dyche should play his best player, but credit where it’s due to Keane, who has certainly made a case that he is an option, at least.
Curtis Jones was instrumental as Liverpool continued their brilliant start under Arne Slot, who has now won 10 of his first 11 games in charge across all competitions after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat of Chelsea. Deployed in a box-to-box role where his energy and bite are key components, Jones was the driving force for the Reds. Not only did he score the winner, brilliantly taking down Mohamed Salah’s exquisite cross before prodding home, but the England international also won the penalty for Salah’s opener, before winning another spot-kick that was then overturned by VAR. He may not possess the slick passing of Alexis Mac Allister, or the fierce shooting ability of Dominik Szoboszlai, but Jones is arguably Slot’s most important midfielder right now.
Bournemouth claimed just their second Premier League victory over Arsenal, winning 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday night. Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert got the goals, from a fabulously worked set-piece routine and a penalty respectively in the space of nine second-half minutes. The turning point, of course, was William Saliba’s somewhat contentious red card in the first half, though the Cherries deserve plenty of plaudits for how they stopped Arsenal playing and then ensured they capitalised on their numerical advantage. Andoni Iraola is a brilliant coach, and his team are arguably more than the sum of their parts.
THE BAD
Crystal Palace remain winless, after Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, and Oliver Glasner is under pressure. Whether Steve Parish and Palace’s owners will pull the plug on the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss — who had the Eagles soaring at the end of last season — just yet is up for debate, but with Graham Potter and David Moyes among the experienced Premier League managers out of work, Glasner might be looking over his shoulder. That being said, Palace’s transfer business over the summer seemed rather cobbled and confused. Maybe Glasner played his part in that, but the departures of Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen were clearly significant blows. And let’s not forget that, until piecing together a fine run of six wins in the space of seven games to round out 2023-24, Palace were badly out of sorts and in danger of relegation. Work to do for Glasner, then, and the pressure is on.
Southampton are another of the four Premier League sides yet to win a top-flight match this season, and the Saints had a valuable three points in their grasp at home to Leicester City on Saturday. At 2-0 up by half-time, thanks to goals from Cameron Archer and Joe Aribo, Russell Martin’s team looked in business. Yet they capitulated in the second half. Martin pointed to Ryan Fraser’s dismissal for his tug on Jamie Vardy as the crucial moment, but Southampton were already rocking by that point, with Facundo Buonanotte having dragged Leicester back into it. Jordan Ayew’s last-gasp winner completed a smash-and-grab for the Foxes, but for Southampton, the question is how long do they stick with Martin and his style of play if they want to make a fist of staying up this season.
Julen Lopetegui was the coach tasked with taking West Ham to the next level after the stability of the Moyes years. Hammers fans wanted a fresh approach and to see if a talented squad could push on. Lopetegui received the financial backing Wolves were unable to give him towards the end of his short tenure there, with West Ham spending huge money on Maximilian Kilman, Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Luis Guilherme, Guido Rodríguez, Jean-Clair Todibo (on loan with an obligation to buy) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while Carols Soler arrived on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. A 4-1 win over Ipswich before the international break suggested a corner had been turned, but a defeat by the same scoreline at Tottenham on Saturday represented a shuddering crash to Earth. For all that money, West Ham are 15th, on the same points as Everton, who went five games without a win to start the season. Lopetegui’s team look poorly organised and the camp does not seem particularly happy. Bad signs.
By Patric Ridge