The Good, The Bad
The tops and flops from the Premier League weekend.
Pep Guardiola may have signed a new contract, but that did not translate to a change in fortunes for Manchester City, who were hammered by Tottenham in the standout result of the Premier League weekend.
Liverpool did not slip up, while Arsenal and Chelsea got back to winning ways and Ruben Amorim made his Manchester United debut. Meanwhile, we saw another manager sacked.
Here, we look at the good, and the bad, from this weekend’s Premier League action.
You can get 50% OFF a year’s subscription to More Than A Game. Try it now for full access to our content.
THE GOOD
James Maddison marked his 28th birthday in style on Saturday, scoring Tottenham’s opening two goals in their stunning 4-0 rout at the Etihad. Back in the side after a tricky spell, the playmaker repaid Ange Postecoglou’s faith in style. His darting run into the area for Spurs’ opener was exceptional, as was his sensationally composed chip for his second goal soon after. Incredibly, his two goals came from just two touches inside Man City’s box, as Tottenham displayed a cutting edge they have not been able to consistently find.
Wolves have endured a miserable campaign to date, but Gary O’Neil’s team are showing some green shoots of recovery, and made it back-to-back wins by dispatching Fulham in emphatic fashion on Saturday. Matheus Cunha was the star of the show in a 4-1 comeback victory at Craven Cottage, where Wolves got five of their 10 shots on target. They are now out of the relegation zone on goal difference, and with Bournemouth at home and a trip to labouring Everton to come, Wolves are now certainly looking up rather than down.
Andre Onana has come in for a fair bit of criticism across his Man Utd career to date, and it is fair to say he has not always been convincing in between the sticks. Yet on Sunday, he proved the difference as Amorim came away from Portman Road with a point. It could have been vastly different if not for United’s goalkeeper, who made two fantastic saves to deny Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap. If Amorim is to turn United’s season around, he’ll need his goalkeeper to keep up those levels.
THE BAD
Manchester City might have hoped news of Guardiola’s fresh contract would result in an immediate turnaround in their form, but they have now lost five games on the bounce, and Saturday’s defeat to Spurs was humbling. City totalled up over 20 shots, yet their defence was consistently caught cold by Tottenham’s pace and incision. Erling Haaland is becoming frustrated up front, and there is a clear lack of energy — we all know that Rodri is a miss, but just how instrumental he has been to City’s dominance over the past four years is becoming clearer with each passing game. Guardiola will turn things around, of course, but with Liverpool next up on Sunday, at Anfield, City’s title hopes are hanging by the thinnest of threads.
“We are not used to losing so many games in a row. That’s happened. We have to do everything to change, especially the next one.”
- Pep Guardiola
Everton were handed the ideal opportunity to claim a much-needed victory when Brentford saw Christian Norgaard sent off late in the first half at Goodison Park on Saturday, for a late lunge on Jordan Pickford. Yet despite playing close to an hour with a numerical advantage, the Toffees could not find the breakthrough, and a few haphazard efforts from substitute Beto aside, never really came close. Their 27 shots for a total of 1.2 xG tells its own story — an average of just 0.04 xG per shot. Sean Dyche pointed to Everton’s run of one defeat in eight games, but it is just two wins in 12 this season in the league, for a team that on paper should be good enough to be safely mid-table. With The Friedkin Group on course to takeover in December, it seems the majority of Everton’s fanbase have had enough with the former Burnley boss’ approach.
Steve Cooper never endeared himself to Leicester City fans, and while it was perhaps initially a surprise to see news emerge of his dismissal on Sunday, when taking a step back, the writing had been on the wall. The Foxes made the wrong choice in the summer. Graham Potter was the obvious candidate to take over after Enzo Maresca’s departure to Chelsea. Potter has proved he is a club-builder, and his tactical approach is not overly dissimilar to Maresca’s. Leicester instead went with Cooper, whose pragmatic style has not suited a squad whose best attributes are going forward. If Leicester are to stay up this season, it will not be because they have been able to keep teams out with regularity. Potter is one of the names reportedly on Leicester’s wishlist, though Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Moyes have also been mentioned.
By Patric Ridge