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The game of the weekend was at the Emirates, where Arsenal’s attempt to keep on trucking was stopped by Ange Postecoglou’s new-look Tottenham Hotspur. They went to the home of their greatest rivals and played their own, twice coming from behind and at least good enough for the point they got.
But the headlines of the weekend were written by the promoted clubs. Sheffield United became the first team in Premier League history to concede goals scored by eight different players. Luton Town had an hour against ten men against Wolves and still needed a controversial penalty to take a point. Burnley also lost at home to Manchester United, meaning it’s 16 combined matches for the three who came up without a win.
Manchester City won again, this time after their own red card, meaning they still hold a two-point lead over Liverpool. Third are Brighton, who became the first non-Big Six team since 2006 to win five of their first six league games.
Read i‘s analysis on every team below (listed in table order).
This weekend’s results
Saturday
- Crystal Palace 0-0 Fulham
- Luton Town 1-1 Wolves
- Man City 2-0 Nottingham Forest
- Brentford 1-3 Everton
- Burnley 0-1 Man Utd
Sunday
- Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham
- Brighton 3-1 Bournemouth
- Chelsea 0-1 Aston Villa
- Liverpool 3-1 West Ham
- Sheffield United 0-8 Newcastle
Man City
We’re about to find out if Kalvin Phillips actually has a future at Manchester City. The cliche of Pep Guardiola’s signings needing a season to settle in didn’t really count here, because Phillips was never going to oust Rodri in the team. But his stupid red card against Nottingham Forest, for which Guardiola says that he has apologised, creates a space. Rodri will miss matches against Newcastle (EFL Cup), Wolves and Arsenal. It is that last fixture that obviously jumps out.
There are two complicating factors. Firstly, Matheus Nunes was used as a central midfielder against Forest and may keep his place. Secondly, Mateo Kovacic is about to return from injury and could feasibly replicate Rodri’s role. Until now, Guardiola has used Kovacic a little further forward – think more Ilkay Gundogan than Rodri – but he has the attributes to drop back.
If that happens, Phillips has his definitive answer. You don’t get in the team ahead of Rodri – fair enough. But if you also don’t get picked on the rare occasion that Rodri isn’t there, it makes you wholly surplus to requirements. And that means you have to leave for the good of your career.
Premier League table
Liverpool
John W Henry, the Liverpool co-owner, built his business reputation on the principles of “Moneyball” – that you buy cheap and sell at the top of the market. Thus, if you received a £250m offer for a 31-year-old footballer you bought for a seventh of that amount, you should immediately check flight times to Saudi Arabia and persuade Mohamed Salah to pack his toothbrush. However, while Jurgen Klopp was rebuilding his squad, he argued that if Liverpool 2.0 were to succeed, he would need to retain elements from Liverpool 1.0, of which Salah was the most important.
The Liverpool manager’s refusal to take the money has been repaid by this being the 13th straight game in which Salah had either created a goal or scored one. His contribution was much more than the penalty he won and converted. But for a dreadful miss from Darwin Nunez Salah would have made another.
The “investment” in Salah can only truly be judged if his performances steer Liverpool back into the Champions League. They now find themselves in a familiar position, second behind Manchester City. In his programme notes, Klopp underlined that stability was central to the club’s progress. The new midfield of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones seem more than steady.
And in that, you see Klopp’s point. Liverpool are second but far from perfect. Their matches are tight and flustered and occasionally trick you into believing that the unbeaten run is over. Mac Allister is struggling in midfield and Jones isn’t quite good enough yet to play the role of one-and-a-half. But when you have Salah, you have hope that those margins are secretly slanted in your favour. That incline might just push Liverpool into a title race. By Tim Rich and Daniel Storey
Brighton
Simple one, this. After an emotional, groundbreaking week and a disappointing home defeat to AEK Athens in the Europa League, a result to put into focus that the present is as bright as the future at the Amex Stadium.
According to Opta, Brighton have now become the first non-Big Six team since Charlton in 2005-06 to win five of their first six league matches of a Premier League season. It wasn’t always this easy and I hope every supporter understands how magical these days are.
Tottenham
If there was a move to epitomise this majestic, stunning north London derby, it came after 74 minutes. Arsenal had been applying pressure upon Tottenham, desperate to make amends and seize what they believed was their right (and usually had been in this stadium in this game). Backed into a corner, white shirts played five passes within eight seconds, all with their first or second touch. It took them 50 yards down the pitch and won them a corner. Proof had landed: this was a different Tottenham Hotspur.
We must beware of unreasonably making the narrative fit our experience, but here’s a certainty: if Antonio Conte’s Tottenham had conceded the type of goal in the type of game at the type of time as Spurs did in the first half, it would not have provoked immediate attacking intent. Heads may have dropped, on the pitch and in an away section that knew what happened next – damage limitation and a victim complex that exacerbated the problem.
Tottenham hadn’t played badly. They suffered from a young left-back on a yellow card who was unable to stay tight to Bukayo Saka and a senior central defender whose instinct forced his left leg to wave at an off-target shot. But they had rattled Arsenal’s rhythm and stuck to their plan of inviting the press and passing intricately around it.
So what does a goal change? Absolutely nothing. If anything, it renewed Tottenham’s determination and they pushed players higher up the pitch. Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski ran beyond Arsenal full-backs who had little help from wingers. Johnson had two good chances before James Maddison swivelled away from Saka’s presence and Son Heung-min made a gorgeous run between defenders.
This wasn’t just Ange Postecoglou’s first north London derby but the first start in this game for seven of his starting XI. They suffered their own pitfalls: an own goal, an unfortunate (but correctly awarded) penalty, both their central midfielders on yellow cards and their left-back, the youngest player on the pitch, booked and asked to face up to Bukayo Saka. By rights they should have wilted.
But this team, this manager, this club, wilts for nobody now; that is the message Postecoglou lays down. Destiny Udogie did not stop challenging for the ball. Guglielmo Vicario continued to pass the ball across the six-yard box to open up space, before and after being clattered by Nketiah. Pape Matar Sarr demanded the ball when facing his own goal and tasked himself with dealing with the pressure.
The star was Yves Bissouma. Much has been spoken of Brighton’s system in recent weeks, and Bissouma is perhaps the best example. He was neither a bad player last season nor a better one this. He is simply performing a role that he is training intently to perfect, winning possession and then driving forward to spark attacks. Bissouma has the most tackles and interceptions of any Premier League player this season and it’s not even close. He is the heartbeat of the new movement.
At full-time, the away end roared as if celebrating a winner. What is worth celebrating more than a change in ethos at a club that needed one so badly. Last season and before, Tottenham players made mistakes through fear of making them. Now they are avoiding those same errors because they know that making them is a part of progress. Just look at how far they have come already.
Arsenal
Arsenal will believe that they cost themselves the glory and the week spent bragging. They know too well how derbies go. You hold onto what you earn and you stifle spirit. You stop tricky players from turning in your penalty area and you are particularly careful with your passing in the aftermath of your second goal. Those streaming out of the Emirates bemoaned such slackness: “We gave them that”.
But even a victory, for as little as anyone would have cared in the aftermath, would have papered over cracks that Tottenham had pulled open. Mikel Arteta has a problem because his team are conceding goals at the Emirates far above the rate of a typical title challenger. They have now kept one clean sheet in their last 10 at home. The prodigious attack can overshadow many ills; eventually your luck will run out.
And what of that attack? Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli were both missing with injury, but that is a headache rather than a crisis. But Arsenal have also spent approximately £250m on new players since the start of 2023 and too many familiar problems remain unsolved.
Gabriel Jesus is a great link-up player but misses too many good chances – he blazed over after James Maddison was robbed of the ball nearer his own goal than is ideal. Eddie Nketiah is a wrecking ball of effort without the ball, but was anonymous for long periods on Sunday. Kai Havertz may yet come good – Arteta is desperate to insist as much – but he cost £65m and didn’t start the biggest game of the season when two attacking teammates were injured.
Aston Villa
We often talk of bellwether players, those whose performance dictates the enjoyment or endurement of their side as a whole. I think Boubacar Kamara is one of those players. Kamara has struggled a little at the start of this season (that’s understandable, he’s only 23 and this is his second campaign in England), but on Sunday he patrolled and controlled the midfield against Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez.
Kamara really can do it all. He created four chances against Chelsea – no other Villa player created more than one. He made five tackles, also more than any teammate. He is comfortable playing simple passes after winning the ball – there are several in this Villa team who can take it off him and drive forward – but also has a passing range that bigger, richer clubs would be delighted to see in their own midfield. And if he plays like this every week, Villa have a shot at the top six.
West Ham
There were reasons for West Ham manager David Moyes to take another leave of Anfield with at least half a smile. A late, close-range goal from Diogo Jota gave Liverpool rather more of a sheen to the result than they perhaps merited. West Ham began well, might have gone ahead and displayed considerable resilience throughout. If the scoreline was a familiar one, the performance was not.
West Ham deserved a goal and it came from another cross, this time delivered by Vladimir Coufal. Jarrod Bowen’s instinctively brave, low, diving header took it from the very tips of Virgil van Dijk’s boots and directed it to roughly where Tomas Soucek’s header had gone in the opening minutes. This time, Alisson could not scramble it wide.
Early in the second half, Bowen was to squander another, rather freer and more routine header which was to be West Ham’s last opportunity to take charge of this match.
But then that is Moyes away at big clubs for you, all cursed luck and what-might-have-beens. He has been managing teams at Anfield for 21 years. He has stood on the touchline and seen the Centenary Stand become the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand while tiers have been added to the Anfield Road End and he has yet to win here.
For the number of defeats against a particular club only Harry Redknapp, against Manchester United, has a worse record than Moyes against Liverpool. In 72 Premier League visits as a manager to face Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United combined, Moyes has won none (D21 L51), losing his last 13 such trips in a row. Next time, maybe. By Tim Rich and Daniel Storey
Newcastle
The thing about competing on multiple fronts, including European football, is that it does take it out of you. You fly back from a European city and have only a couple of days to prepare for your next game. That can cause a physical and emotional hango…ah. As you were.
This was the perfect day, the type of which makes Jason Tindall smile as wide as the Tyne. Eddie Howe had been accused in some quarters of overseeing a team that had the handbrake on a little in early season, eight goals in five games and a little stuttering in central midfield.
Sheffield United felt the brunt of that because Newcastle were never happy to sit on what they had, even when what they had was a commanding first-half lead. They piled forward, intent on making the most of the generosity of a broken opponent. Kieran Trippier got three assists. Eight different players scored, a Premier League record.
And this is what Newcastle have now, when they get it right. Midway during the second half, when the misery was complete and yet somehow with more potential for it to get worse, Howe brought on Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento. Those three players alone cost the club £160m to buy and represent the statement of intent that PIF envisaged when they took over.
It will never happen like this again. Saudi Arabia can spend a billion more pounds on Newcastle and they might not score eight away from home again. But if there was ever any proof needed that the Premier League’s financial Big Six has become the Seven, here it is. Sheffield United are in the same league as Newcastle by administrative technicality only.
Man Utd
There were very reasonable titters when Manchester United re-signed Jonny Evans in the summer, but an injury crisis brings out the best in the man. Evans’ description of Saturday as one of the best nights of his life provokes a little bleakness about his personal life, but you see the point. He never thought that he would be back at United, let alone the best performer in a gutsy way league win.
Erik ten Hag’s team weren’t good against Burnley. They were fortunate to win against a promoted team that had collected a single point. But they demonstrated some character amid an escalating injury (and other reasons for absence) crisis and, for now, that’s enough.
None were more vital than Evans. With Ten Hag choosing two defensive midfielders to protect a second-choice defence, Manchester United were in reactive mode. They wholly sacrificed possession and territory, but much of that Burnley possession came in their own third. Ten Hag reasoned that United have enough individual quality for a moment to be produced. When that does happen, it’s usually Bruno Fernandes.
The salient question is whether this means anything at all moving forward. Is this a blueprint moving forward, for when players return? Will United continue to sacrifice the ball and purely hit opponents on the counter attack? Do those players walk back into the team automatically at the expense of players like Evans, given the gross underperformance against e.g. Wolves on the opening weekend? And is displaying some mettle proof of an underlying fight for this manager, or simply made more obvious by a lack of quality that surrounds it?
Crystal Palace
Have Crystal Palace quickly become a little too predictable in their attacking build-up? They have a particularly small squad: nine players have started all six of their league games and it would have been 10 but for Marc Guehi’s absence against Aston Villa.
We spoke recently – after the win over Wolves – about the potential for Palace to use Jean-Philippe Mateta and Odsonne Edouard as a strike partnership, but that hasn’t happened yet. Even their substitutions, admittedly dictated by options on the bench and absentees, are formulaic.
On the pitch, everything falls on Eberechi Eze’s shoulders. Clearly he can cope – he’s a fantastic dribbler with great vision and a work ethic – but it does again threaten to make Palace predictable. Eze leads the way for completed dribbles, shot-creating actions and shots taken. Stop him and you can stop Palace.
Within one of those statistics is the nucleus of the point. Eze is Palace’s highest shot-taker this season, with 26 (six more than any other player; only three players have attempted more than five shots). But the average distance of his shots are 21.6 yards. He tries to do everything because he has to do everything. Sometimes he’s successful, sometimes he attempts a speculative shot. That’s the Palace 2023-14 attacking philosophy.
Fulham
In the five league games since Aleksandar Mitrovic last appeared for Fulham, they have scored four goals in five matches from 47 shots. Two of those goals, against Arsenal, were by midfielders from low-percentage chances. They were brilliant goals, but they were not sustainable.
Two problems have surfaced in the meantime. The first is that Fulham really aren’t creating enough chances. Only Sheffield United have recorded fewer shots per 90 minutes than Fulham this season. In 2022-23, they ranked 14th by that same measure.
The second issue is that Fulham aren’t finishing the chances that do come their way. Last season they grossly outperformed their chance value with goals, largely due to the finishing of Mitrovic and, to a lesser extent, Willian and Carlos Vinicius. That was always likely to revert to the mean, but the swap of Mitrovic for Raul Jimenez has crippled them. Fulham have traded in one of the most efficient strikers in the country over the last two years for one of the least.
After the 0-0 draw at Palace, Marco Silva stressed that it would only be a matter of time before Jimenez scored. He’s clearly right, but that’s not the point. Jimenez personifies both of these Fulham issues: he doesn’t get enough shots and he doesn’t score enough of the ones he gets. He’s not had more than two shots in a match since February and hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since March 2022. It’s time to let Vinicius have a go.
Nottingham Forest
After the defeat to Manchester City, Steve Cooper spoke about the need for greater courage from his team to retain possession and attack higher-ranked opponents. Forest were the better team in the second half (albeit against 10 men), but they shouldn’t wait until they are two goals down, as they have against Manchester City and Arsenal, before trying to make their mark.
In the meantime, we have to be patient. The ludicrously busy transfer activity of last season has overshadowed the fact that this summer was also chaotic, particularly around the transfer window. Sign seven players on deadline day and you may improve the squad in the long term, but you also create short-term upheaval and selection headaches while players settle.
In their last three games, Cooper has picked a back three of Willy Boly, Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna, a back four including two of those players and then a back three of Boly, Moussa Niakhate and Serge Aurier. The full-back/wing-back combinations have been Aurier and Ola Aina, Aina and Gonzalo Montiel and Aina and Nuno Tavares. In midfield, more change still: Orel Mangala, Ryan Yates, Morgan Gibbs-White, Danilo, Ibrahim Sangare and Nico Dominguez have all started at least once in the last three games.
This changing cast is inevitable. How else do you discover whether or not Dominguez (who was excellent against Manchester City) is going to thrive or otherwise without playing him? How do you know which is the best combination unless you try them all in a competitive environment? And so to the positive spin: Forest are learning this on the job, are still in mid-table and have already played Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal away from home.
Brentford
Probably the worst Brentford home performance in their Premier League era. Thomas Frank’s side have been beaten more emphatically (0-3 against Arsenal), but that was comfortably beaten for disappointment vs expectation on Saturday. The only rival would be the 2-1 home defeat against Norwich in November 2021, but that marked a five-game home winless run when Brentford were still finding their feet in the top flight.
Brentford were poor when defending set pieces, something that Thomas Frank and his coaches pride themselves on. More worrying was how easily Everton’s midfielders and attackers were able to disrupt Brentford’s rhythm in possession, either by blocking off passing lanes or pressing players into individual mistakes – see Nathan Collins for the third goal.
There’s no reason for any panic but, following the away defeat at Newcastle, losing to Everton at home may irrevocably shift the expectation of Brentford supporters this season. Brentford have lost their first-choice goalkeeper from last season (Mark Flekken is an adequate replacement). They have lost their best striker for at least half a season and there are suspicions that Ivan Toney is pushing for a move. They have lost their best full-back, Rico Henry, probably for the rest of the season. And they lost Kevin Schade in the warm-up with an injury on Saturday.
Brentford’s bench against Everton contained two goalkeepers, three teenagers and two fringe players (Frank Onyeka and Saman Ghoddos) who fans assumed would have been moved on by now. With all that in mind, Brentford are likely not going to be pushing for a top-eight finish this season. Anything above 15th in the Premier League will always be acceptable. After Saturday, supporters would probably take it too.
Chelsea
Midway through the first half of Aston Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge Mykhailo Mudryk was out on the left, with seemingly few options but a simple back or side, when he spotted the forward dart of Nicolas Jackson. Mudryk did not hesitate, executing a wonderfully weighted low through ball to find his teammate. Had the striker not toe-poked his effort straight at Emiliano Martinez it would surely have resulted in the opening goal.
Only, soon after, there was the other Mudryk, this time retrieving the ball inside Aston Villa’s half, without thinking taking on the nearest opponent but losing it, placing his team under pressure from the counter.
It does not help that Mudryk is emblematic of Todd Boehly’s failing project. A young, unproven player signed for a big fee on an extraordinarily long eight-year contract. More than one billion pounds has created a disjointed, inexperienced group of players that so far neither Graham Potter or Pochettino has been able to unify.
Towards the end of the first half on Sunday, Pochettino was seen actively directing how Mudryk should play. He caught Mudryk’s attention and gestured for him to attack down Aston Villa’s right side. Seconds later the player received the ball and did exactly that, roasting Matty Cash with his speed before delivering a low ball no Chelsea player was able to connect with. There were shoots of improvement.
But that is the point – shoots of improvement aren’t enough, for Mudryk or Chelsea. They have spent mansion-in-the-country money and look like a fixer-upper-in-a-questionable-area football team. And the end result always seems to be the same: positivity drowned out by the end result and the boos and the sense that nobody even knows what it is they’re supposed to be doing, let alone believes in the process of doing it. By Sam Cunningham and Daniel Storey
Everton
When we did our season previews, I wrote that Everton’s squad was worse than last season and got a bit of stick for that opinion – fair enough, the game’s the game. What I hadn’t banked on was Sean Dyche being permitted to spend £35m on two Portuguese forwards and loaning Jack Harrison from Leeds.
Suddenly, Everton had potentially one of the best groups of forwards in the bottom half. Beto was known as a committed worker when leading the line, albeit slightly raw with his finishing. Arnaut Danjuma was a winger who could run directly at defenders and create chances. Harrison had a terrific league goal record at Leeds. Dyche already had Dwight McNeil, an underrated winger, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Over the first few weeks, Everton have suffered through absentees and the uncertainty of building an attack on the hoof, but also because Dyche seemed content to play risk-averse, safety-first football. The best example was against Arsenal, when they sat back and hoped to avoid a defeat that eventually, inevitably came their way. Supporters made the obvious point that there was little good reason in buying attackers if you weren’t going to attack.
That changed against Brentford. It helped that their hosts were sloppy with the ball, but Everton showed greater intent than before. They created more chances in open play than in any other league game this season as well as maximising their set-piece threat. They had 171 touches in the final third, another season high.
Given that this came away at Brentford rather than at home to Wolves or Fulham or at Sheffield United, it reflects a change in attacking tone. Supporters will demand that it continues. Everton’s next two league games are at home to Luton and Bournemouth. They have a chance to catapult themselves into mid-table.
Wolves
First thing: the penalty decision was no way as disgraceful as reporters and pundits made it sound. I personally don’t think it should be a penalty based on our subjective assessment of what is fair, and suspect most will agree. But the law allows for a ball to strike the hand of a defending player, even after it deflects off their boot, and it still be a penalty. It comes down to the same unnatural position qualifier.
Secondly, Wolves were desperately poor against a struggling team. Any steps forward taken under Gary O’Neil were quickly passed up through their lethargy without the ball and lack of imagination with it. It reflects a general lack of intensity away from home that O’Neil must solve (the next four home games are against Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham). Here’s a not-fun fact: since February 2022, Wolves have only beaten Everton and Southampton away from Molineux in the Premier League.
But Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s red card was the turning point of the match. It was an act of complete foolishness, a lack of self-discipline and control that will cost Wolves further – a three-match ban doesn’t help. And that is another damaging theme. It was the eighth red card that Wolves have received in the Premier League since the beginning of last season, twice as many as any other club. Six of those have been straight reds and that doesn’t include Matheus Nunes’ bizarre second yellow against Brighton earlier this season.
It all means that Wolves have played six per cent of all regulation time since the start of last season with one fewer player on the pitch than their opponents (and more when you include stoppage time) and played more games without suspended players than any other club.
Bournemouth
This was always likely to be a problem. From our Bournemouth pre-season preview:
“New managers arriving at new clubs in new countries usually need a quick start to convince any doubters; Iraola does not have that luxury. Bournemouth face West Ham, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal in their first four home games and Liverpool, Brentford, Brighton and Manchester City in four of their first five away.
“Their record in those nine fixtures last season? Lost all nine, scoring just three goals and conceding 29. You have to scroll to 2 December to find a fixture from last season that Bournemouth won.”
On the fixtures, then, Bournemouth have done better than last season, taking points against Brentford, Chelsea and West Ham. We have seen flashes of Iraola’s football even against higher-level opponents. Against those in the bottom half, they surely will be able to impose themselves more effectively. Nobody at Bournemourth is losing any faith yet.
But it’s never going to feel good when your team is only above the three winless promoted sides. The fixture list makes a difference to newly appointed managers trying to enforce a message that they deserve the trust of supporters, and Iraola will be finding it tough. After Arsenal next week, finally, comes the gentler run: Everton, Wolves, Burnley. It will surely bring some solace.
Luton Town
A monumental chance to win their first Premier League game, but a performance that dictates initial focus on the positives. Rob Edward’s decision to use Alfie Doughty as a left wing-back paid off as he was able to force Hwang Hee-chan, operating off the right-back, towards his own goal. The pressure out wide without the ball forced Wolves infield, where they were crowded and gave up possession.
Luton are creating enough chances. They rank 15th in the Premier League by that measure, but then that is by design. Seven Premier League teams, including Manchester United and West Ham, are allowing more shots on their own goal than Luton. Edwards wants to keep it tight and then maximise their own chances to create chances. You can’t really say that’s not working.
Unfortunately, poor finishing is going to lead to Luton becoming cut adrift soon. They have had 59 non-penalty shots and scored seven goals from them. Their shot accuracy (14.8 per cent of shots on target) is a dismal statistic, made no better by the fact that only two teams attempt their shots closer to goal.
And, ultimately, you need to win the games that become slanted in your favour as a promoted club. Luton have played West Ham, Fulham, Wolves, a Chelsea in disarray and, admittedly, a very good Brighton team. They have taken one point and that came despite playing for an hour against ten men. They need to convert promise into points.
Burnley
Move over Kaoru Mitoma, because you’re old hat now: we’ve got a new young dribbler to get obsessed about. Luca Koleosho only turned 19 a fortnight ago and had played only five senior games for Espanyol before Burnley signed him for £2.6m in the summer. The overhaul of Burnley’s recruitment department continues to pay off. Koleosho already looks like a star.
Against Nottingham Forest last Monday, Koleosho made Gonzalo Montiel, Argentina’s World Cup-winning right-back, look deeply foolish. Montiel was booked during the first half and substituted before he could do further damage. Against Manchester United, it was Diogo Dalot’s turn to be turned inside and out.
It’s the confidence of the boy that stands out alongside the pace and skill. So far this season, he ranks second for attempted take-ons behind only Eberechi Eze. But then Eze has played every minute of every game. Adjust the statistic for “per 90” data and Koleosho has attempted two more take-ons per 90 than any other regular player in the Premier League. Now to find the finisher to make the most of this ambitious, able winger’s talents.
Sheffield United
This is as good a place as any to discuss the start to this season by the three promoted clubs, given Sheffield United’s record-breaking Sunday. Last season, all three stayed up – an unusual occurrence. That provoked some optimism about the hopes of Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton after promotion, if they could strengthen over the summer. They have now played a combined 16 matches and taken three points. It’s getting worse.
For Sheffield United and Luton, clearly the gravest concern. Paul Heckingbottom was seemingly blocked from improving his squad until near deadline day, repeatedly stressing that he needed reinforcements. Cameron Archer’s signing from Aston Villa was a smart one, but that only came after Sheffield United sold their most valuable midfielder to Burnley and lost their best striker to Marseille.
Their defence had been resolute until this weekend but then that collapsed against Newcastle. Eddie Howe’s team should have scored at least five before half-time and then made up for it after the break. This was the type of result and performance that gets a manager sacked, unfairly or otherwise. Are we going back to Chris Wilder in the Premier League?
There will be great relief amongst likely bottom-half clubs about the weaker crop of promotees this season. Tight, tense relegation battles are great fun for everybody not involved in them. But there’s also an unpleasant truth here that isn’t much fun to think about. With the vast financial gap between the Premier League and Championship, Luton and Sheffield United are well within their rights to avoid spending vast swathes of broadcasting income on new players and instead take the money, accept relegation and aim to come back stronger having safeguarded the financial future of the club. If you don’t like that, they’re not the ones to blame here.
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