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Erling Haaland might just mean business, y’know.
He has now scored seven goals in three games, has back-to-back hat-tricks and is winning games by himself as Manchester City already hit the top of the table.
Liverpool are hot on their heels after putting three past Manchester United on a day to forget at Old Trafford.
And we’re still waiting for the first victory for a promoted team, with Southampton pointless and Ipswich Town and Leicester City managing a single home point.
Still, Ipswich did look excellent for parts of their draw against Fulham and all three sides at least scored this weekend…
Scroll down for our verdict on every team (listed in table order).
This weekend’s results
Saturday:
- Arsenal 1-1 Brighton
- Brentford 3-1 Southampton
- Everton 2-3 Bournemouth
- Ipswich Town 1-1 Fulham
- Leicester City 1-2 Aston Villa
- Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves
- West Ham 1-3 Manchester City
Sunday:
- Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace
- Newcastle United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- Manchester United 0-3 Liverpool
Manchester City
It has never been a case of “no Jack Grealish, no party” at Manchester City.
After a summer which began with a speeding fine, shortly before the forward was axed from England’s Euro 2024 squad, that penny may have finally dropped. Grealish was disconsolate when he got the inevitable pre-tournament phone call from Gareth Southgate but soon afterwards announced he had been the recipient of some happier news – he was to become a father for the first time.
Even if City still thrived when he was off form, the prospect of a wiser, well-rounded Grealish is a frightening one for Premier League full-backs.
What appeared at first glance to be another iteration of the Erling Haaland show – as the Norwegian scored his second hat-trick in a week – was partly facilitated by those around him.
Kevin De Bruyne purred and Bernardo Silva teed up the opener with his 44th Premier League assist. There will be some satisfaction that he broke former Manchester United star Nani’s record for a Portuguese player to do so.
Grealish had his part to play too as City wrested back control. He has always relished his 1v1s against Aaron Wan-Bissaka, a right-back who will draw him on, and with Jeremy Doku on the right, he was able to overload West Ham on the alternate flank to allow De Bruyne greater space – offering greater technical work than Doku’s dribbles.
An impressive display followed a recall to the England squad this week under new interim boss Lee Carsley and both Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling – the Three Lions’ other wingers non grata who moved to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively on deadline day – will be taking note. Opportunity beckons with the dawn of a new season.
What needs to follow is goals. The damning statistic from last term was that Grealish managed just three of them, with a further three assists, in 36 games. Equally as chiding was a report card that has followed him for much of his career that reads: “Must try harder.”
His lifestyle has endeared him to some but this was the summer when his Instagram largely fell silent, barring a short snippet of a low-key villa holiday and some pictures with his girlfriend.
Since his £100m move from Aston Villa, he has had every right to party, and he revelled as the trophies poured in. Yet there was always going to be a saturation point and Pep Guardiola is banking on this campaign being a turning point. By Katherine Lucas
Liverpool
There are some, rather obvious, similarities between Manchester United and Liverpool’s managers this season, but when it comes to how they approach their roles, it seems the follicly-challenged Dutchmen could not be more different.
Throughout pre-season, reporters were left staring at an empty notepad time and again as Arne Slot refused to show any sign of frustration over Liverpool’s lack of transfer summer transfer activity.
Undeterred, Slot would calmly insist he has inherited an incredible squad, one which he was relishing getting to grips with, and if the club get any signings over the line then great, but he is happy with his lot regardless.
Ten Hag, however, has been at pains to insist United’s woes last season were not down to the same, easy-to-read formation he was putting out every week, one with a softer centre than anything Krispy Kreme could conjure.
He needed injured players back, and reinforcements, lots of them – more former Ajax players to be precise – to be able to see out his United project.
Slot, on the other hand, has a track record of improving the output of the hand he is dealt, by working them into his intricate style of play, where short passes are king, allowing for fast breaks when space has been engineered.
Like Jurgen Klopp before him, Slot was out on the pitch 40 minutes before kick-off at Old Trafford, surveying the warm-up with a laser focus. Unlike his predecessor, however, who loved to study the opposition, Slot was fixed only on his charges, such is his unwavering faith in his style and those administering it.
Luis Diaz, even three games into Slot’s reign, is proof of the level of work going on behind the scenes.
Last season, after making his return from injury, Diaz slowly got back to his effervescent self, sending many a full-back into a spin and he sashayed his way down the left flank.
However, his end product, in some key moments in the campaign – a glaring miss against Manchester City at Anfield immediately springs to mind – deserted him, leading to some Liverpool fans calling for a replacement to be found in the summer window.
Three games and three goals, from eight shots, this season should give rivals serious cause for concern. His header for the opener at Old Trafford was as brave as it was precise, while his sweeping finish for the second that effectively ended a contest that never was one oozed confidence of a player who has quickly banished the demons of last season’s profligacy. By Pete Hall
Brighton
Arsenal have struggled to contain a technically gifted and physically strong 22-year-old playing as a No 10 in both of their last two matches: Morgan Rogers last weekend and Joao Pedro this.
The Brazilian was in the right place at the right time to score his second goal of the season after David Raya parried Yankuba Minteh’s effort into his path, but his overall performance was superb. Pedro’s direct surges through the centre of the pitch dragged Brighton forward and put the hosts on the back foot; he matched Bukayo Saka and Kaoru Mitoma for attempted dribbles with four.
Pedro is proving himself to be a big-game player. Since joining Brighton in 2023 he has scored 11 Premier League goals, with strikes against Manchester United (2), Tottenham (2), Arsenal (1), Aston Villa (1) and Chelsea (1). If he can become more consistent against mid to lower half sides he will become one of the best forwards in the league.
Now a word on Fabian Hurzeler, who showed both his tactical expertise and inexperience on Saturday. Firstly, the good. Jack Hinshelwood was given a torrid time by Saka early on but Hurzeler reacted by instructing the teenager to invert into midfield which gave him some respite and allowed the Seagulls to gain greater control.
However, his insistence that Pedro didn’t deserve a yellow card for booting the ball away in the first-half but Rice did for nudging it a couple of yards in the second was nonsense. Managers always take a one-sided view to contentious decisions, but Hurzeler took the bias to another level and looked a bit silly as a result. By Oliver Young-Myles
Arsenal
Kai Havertz has now scored seven goals in his last eight Premier League games at the Emirates and Arsenal responded well in adversity to going a man down but the key talking point was obviously Declan Rice’s red card.
There surely can’t be many worse ways to be sent off than by getting volleyed into the air at the same time. When Joel Veltman scythed Rice down as the Dutchman “attempted” to take a free-kick, it sparked a collective head-loss as both sets of players steamed over to the corner to remonstrate theatrically with each other.
Expectation enveloped the Emirates. Something was certain to happen, but nobody was quite sure what. Few inside the ground predicted Rice rather than Veltman getting sent for an early shower by Chris Kavanagh.
Row by row Arsenal fans turned towards one another, arms outstretched in baffled bemusement, mouthing “What?” Rice is as sensible as they come but it was an avoidable sending off.
The first yellow was crystal clear, an uncharacteristically wild lunge on Veltman that incensed Fabian Hurzeler. The second was more contentious, although technically correct given the updated directive from the PGMOL to its officials to issue cautions for intentionally delaying restarts.
Rice needlessly nudged the ball away as Veltman prepared to launch it forward and ended up nursing a sore ankle. It was the first red card of his senior career in his 360th game and a costly one too. He will now miss the north London derby on 15 September, along with fellow midfielder Mikel Merino who lucklessly injured his shoulder in his first training session. By Oliver Young-Myles
Newcastle
Newcastle United may have lost the transfer window but they keep winning games.
A summer of frayed patience and recruitment regression has shaken faith at St James’ Park so this felt like a significant victory to end one of the most difficult weeks of Eddie Howe’s tenure.
“Massive” was the phrase he landed on to describe it afterwards and with club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and various other representatives of majority owners the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia present, he was not dealing in hyperbole. The manner of the victory sent a message.
Al-Rumayyan was sat between chief executive Darren Eales and director of football Paul Mitchell here, his presence apparently a visible show of support in the club’s power brokers after a testing transfer window that saw Newcastle fail to land a single player capable of lifting the level of their starting XI.
Sources, however, say that for all the noise, the feeling inside the club is “calm”.
The usual post-window review will be held over the next fortnight but it seems as if there will be no blame game in the boardroom.
Still, wins like this have the capacity to change seasons – especially when they arrive with the team still struggling to get out of third gear.
At the same stage as this last season Newcastle played well but carelessly let a lead slip to 10-man Liverpool. Momentum in their chase for the top four was never really regained. Beating Tottenham Hotspur while playing so far below their best might well have the opposite effect this term.
And make no mistake, they had to trawl their reserves of character to prevail here.
Their trademark aggression remains absent and there was little fluency about their work but they found a way even with their brightest attacking sparks continuing to flicker in and out of games. By Mark Douglas
Read more: Eddie Howe sends message to Newcastle owners after ‘tough’ transfer window
Brentford
I promise that I’ll stop talking about this soon but, with Ivan Toney finally departing it’s time for the last edition of the Yoane Wissa-Bryan Mbeumo lovefest.
There is a reason that Brentford supporters are not fretting about Toney leaving and it’s not just that they were sick of hearing him talking himself up for a move up the Premier League.
Since the start of the 2022-23 season (and this is a huge sample size), Toney has failed to start 30 Premier League matches for Brentford. Of those 30 matches, Wissa and Mbeumo started together in 25.
Their combined record in those 25 matches is astounding for a mid-table team: 28 combined goals at a rate of more than one per game.
The standout statistic is this: in 44 per cent of Brentford’s games with Mbeumo and Wissa starting (but Toney not) over the last two years, both players have scored.
The question some have asked is how Brentford would cope without Toney. The more relevant consideration may be this: were Brentford actually a better team without their most valuable asset?
Aston Villa
Had you been told that, after three gameweeks, that Ollie Watkins would be the Premier League player underperforming his expected goals figure most emphatically, you might worry about Aston Villa’s form. Watkins will come good, but there is a clear rustiness after a major tournament summer. Some managers have chosen to ease their England internationals in gently; Unai Emery has not.
Watkins’ August issue was summed up by an early chance at Leicester. Youri Tielemans’ pass was perfect, sending Watkins through on goal against a slower central defender. Last season, he would surely have controlled the ball and dinked it over Mads Hermansen. On Saturday, Watkins allowed the ball to run and then lacked the acceleration to get to the ball quickly enough to create a clear chance.
It does not matter, because Villa have the impact substitute of this nascent Premier League season. Jhon Duran has played 85 minutes vs 185 for Watkins. He has registered shots at 2.5x Watkins’ rate and shots on target at more than three times the rate.
Right now, Emery must be considering giving Duran a start and allowing Watkins to bed himself in again (particularly with their Champions League campaign beginning this month).
We knew that Duran was a smart finisher, but both his winners so far this season demonstrate his exceptional movement and have strong similarities. Because he’s very fast, central defenders tend to follow Duran when he makes a run towards the six-yard box – they won’t catch him otherwise. Then Duran stops and holds his ground, gains a yard of space and then uses that to produce a brilliant first-time finish.
Bournemouth
Saturday’s five-goal thriller at Goodison Park was the definition of a smash and grab, but one where the victims left all the doors unlocked and windows open.
Three crosses into the box, three late goals. In the space of just nine historic minutes on Merseyside, Bournemouth rose from the dead to snatch all three points.
Cherries boss Andoni Iraola was right in his assessment that this was the worst match his men had played so far this season. Bournemouth looked second best almost all afternoon and seemed destined to continue their winless start.
But there are two sides to every coin – and just as Iraola’s side “kept fighting” to take an improbable result from what was a generally one-sided encounter against them, Sean Dyche’s “threw it away”.
When Antoine Semenyo halved the deficit with three minutes left of regulation, all those decked out in blue will have thought “Surely not?”
But the visitors smelled fear and piled on the pressure. Jordan Pickford tried his best with a string of saves, but then came Lewis Cook and Luis Sinisterra in the 92nd and 96th minutes, respectively, and a shell-shocked Everton fell to their knees empty-handed while Bournemouth ran off back to the south coast with all the goods.
It’s a victory – their first of the season – that will boost morale down at the Vitality, and a potentially important three points when all is said and done. But Bournemouth will know that, the result aside, another largely lethargic performance against better opponents probably won’t be as salvageable as this one. By Alex Dakers
Nottingham Forest
There is no panic nor any cause for panic. Five points was the minimum expectation from three relatively gentle fixtures to start this season and Forest have hit that minimum target. They were the better team against Bournemouth when pushing for the winner and the same applied against Wolves on Saturday (albeit Wolves created more in the first half). They are still unbeaten this season (albeit trips to Liverpool and Brighton are to come next).
Forest’s away improvement under Nuno Espirito Santo decrees that there is no longer any existential angst about every home league game in a way that there was under Steve Cooper, when the lack of points on the road created must-win situations that Cooper, to his credit, often delivered in.
But Forest’s home record is now the thing that will stop them breaking into midtable, as their owner and manager would like. Since beating Sheffield United in their first home game of last season, Forest have played 25 matches in all competitions at the City Ground, this supposed fortress. They have won four of those matches.
For all that Nuno has improved (and he has been backed by the club in terms of recruitment and listening to his advice on squad management), Forest have got worse under him at home. They have won once at home since mid-February. The list of opponents that Forest have failed to beat on his watch includes Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Wolves (twice), Blackpool and Bristol City. It is a weird aspect of Nuno’s eight months in charge, and he will want it to change sharpish.
Tottenham Hotspur
There’s something about St James’ Park for Tottenham.
The site of Cristian Stellini’s last stand last year, it’s a stadium where Tottenham have been humbled with heavy defeats in successive seasons. But there’s an argument that this one will have hurt more than either the 6-1 or 4-0.
This was no Newcastle shock and awe, it was Ange Postecoglou’s side throwing it away with rank carelessness because for long spells against a staccato Newcastle they were in complete control. Behind against the run of play after 45 minutes, the half-time introduction of Brennan Johnson swung the game decisively in their favour and they peppered Nick Pope’s goal.
But their finishing was rushed and the final touch eluded them despite a succession of clear cut openings. Against opponents with Newcastle’s character that always left them open to a sucker punch, which duly arrived when Joelinton sprung their high line.
Is that a warning sign or an outlier to be dismissed with Dominic Solanke and company due back after the international break? Given Tottenham’s tendency to dissolve under pressure, you could argue the former. They have reshaped their squad nimbly in the transfer window, adding potential but on this evidence what was really required was a personality transplant. By Mark Douglas
Chelsea
The news that Nicolas Jackson has signed a new contract – keeping him at the club in theory for the next nine years – will no doubt conjure mixed emotions from Chelsea fans, as well as invite questions.
How many goals might a man currently aged 23 bag in almost a decade? He scored Chelsea’s in yesterday’s 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace that saw Enzo Maresca’s men start brightly but wilt in the late summer heat. A poacher’s strike, arriving at the back post to squeeze home after Cole Palmer’s square ball eluded Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
How many might he miss? Chelsea, pegged back by Eberechi Eze’s fine strike four minutes into the second half, fashioned a clear chance to win it deep into stoppage time. Jackson outpaced his pursuers but fired against the body of Henderson.
How many yellow cards might he accumulate? Jackson scored 17 goals for Chelsea last season and was cautioned 10 times. This term his tally is two and two.
And as for offsides, it is perhaps best not to think about how many the Senegal forward may accrue.
“The only thing I know is that he is signing a new contract,” Maresca said.
“Exactly how many years; I don’t know, to be honest, but I know he is signing a new contract.
“I’m very happy. Nicolas is doing a fantastic job with us, on and off the ball, he scored already two goals. He scored again today. He had another two chances, but we are happy with him.”
Chelsea had tried and failed to sign Napoli’s Victor Osimhen in the transfer window just shut, as well as courting Ivan Toney, who instead swapped Brentford for Saudi Arabia.
“I have faith, and the club also, even before,” Maresca said.
“Not because we are looking for another striker; not that we don’t trust Nicolas. We trust Nicolas.
“I said last week when the transfer window was still open – he is doing fantastic with us. I am very happy with him.” By Jon West
Fulham
The Fulham revolution is complete. In 2021-22 and 2022-23, as Marco Silva’s team first gained promotion to, and then consolidated in, the Premier League, no centre-forward in English football was more crucial to his team’s success than Aleksandar Mitrovic. Fulham scored 161 league goals across those two campaigns; Mitrovic scored 35 per cent of them and played a part in so many others through his hold-up play and general mischief-making.
Last season, after Mitrovic left for Saudi Arabia, Fulham looked to share the goals around rather than replacing their departed striker. Rodrigo Muniz stepped up admirably with nine Premier League goals, but that was still only 16 per cent of their total.
And then Muniz stopped scoring too, the opener against Crystal Palace in April his only goal in Fulham’s last 12 matches in all competitions. Silva and Fulham chose to sign two central defenders, a central midfielder, a full-back and two attacking midfielders this summer, but no striker. For all that they’re looking to solve Joao Palhinha’s absence, Fulham are also having to work out how to squeeze 50-55 goals out of this team.
The answer may lie in variety being the spice of life. If you haven’t got a striker likely to get more than 10 Premier League goals, the best you can do is look to surprise opposition teams with the range of your goal threat. You might argue that there’s no better in the division than them: Fulham’s last 16 non-penalty goals have been scored by 12 different players.
Meanwhile, Muniz’s role changes too. On Saturday, he linked play excellently, won free kicks, and deals with physical contact by persevering to go again at double effort. If you’re allowing for Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, and Adama Traore to run beyond you, this is more important than goals.
West Ham
In a game that always felt like something of a write-off, there were at least plenty of signs that Julen Lopetegui’s message is getting through. One thing David Moyes’ successor does not have is time, and understandably so after the pedestrianism of last season and a summer in which only Chelsea, Manchester United, Brighton and Tottenham spent more.
If this was really a test of ambition and mindset, West Ham can go away reasonably happy. While technical director Tim Steidten is leading the off-field reset, Lopetegui has to show that the culture on the pitch is changing, not least because fans are paying more than ever for the privilege of turning up at the London Stadium every week.
Mohammed Kudus was unlucky to hit the woodwork, Jarrod Bowen caused Josko Gvardiol plenty of problems and Crysencio Summerville forced a stunning late save from Ederson – what a signing he could be.
The sense of expectation is still a little tempered. Michail Antonio is keeping his place ahead of Niclas Fullkrug but Lopetegui is making his stamp little by little, with James Ward-Prowse, Kurt Zouma and Maxwel Cornet all heading elsewhere on deadline day. Paris Saint-Germain loanee Carlos Soler was unveiled to much fanfare ahead of kick-off and he is already drawing comparisons with Dimitri Payet. Crucially, Lopetegui showed he is not afraid to drop Tomas Soucek, who was named on the bench.
The only frustrations were that his side were not clinical enough and on occasion made things too easy for City; up against Erling Haaland that is never a good idea. Lucas Paqueta really struggled and was at fault for needlessly losing the ball to Bernardo Silva in the build-up to the opener. By Katherine Lucas
Manchester United
So much for the reset. Exposure to a proper team was all it took to leave the optimism of summer scattered about Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag’s post-match perambulation about the pitch looked vaguely ridiculous, his obvious lightness of bearing inviting questions about his role in this debacle as much as the awful Casemiro’s.
The Brazilian did not appear for the second half. It might be a kindness to him were he never to be seen again. Some will be thinking that of Ten Hag, whose retention seems as empty of wisdom as Casemiro’s. What’s left of the Brazilian appears beyond salvage. What is left of Ten Hag the autumn will tell. It simply has to get better than this.
Three of the five new signings started here, and were arguably the equal of Liverpool until two avoidable blunders from Casemiro changed everything. Such is the technical quality of the best teams, one error is all it needs to undo an afternoon’s work. Two in the space of seven minutes was unforgivable.
The Brazilian, of course, symbolises the past. Echoes of the old United resound in him, an overpriced, overpaid, physically-compromised has been. And that might be flattering him. United wanted him gone in the summer but there was no one daft enough to do what they did, shell out on the shell of a name.
Ineos have moved at pace to renew the club and set United on a different path. The lingering dependence on the old framework demonstrates how bumpy the road ahead might yet be. United trust that Manuel Ugarte is the answer to Casemiro’s emptied tank, but could not push his deal through quickly enough, assuming he would have started anyway having not played since representing Uruguay in July. By Kevin Garside
Read more: Casemiro should never be seen in a Man Utd shirt again
Leicester City
Steve Cooper has a dilemma at Leicester City. The worries about a lack of investment this summer due to previous vast overspending were surprisingly unfounded – Leicester bought nine players, including four for fees of more than £10m. But when there are doubts about your team’s prolificacy, a manager is presented with two options.
The first, and the one that Cooper has chosen so far, is to try and make his team more defensively sound than most predicted and thus looking to pick up points by scoring once or twice a game. Leicester started with Wilfred Ndidi, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks as a central midfield trio – that’s a lot of protection for the defence given that neither of the full-backs are attacking fliers.
The second option is to accept chaos football, picking more attacking players and reasoning that it may cause you to concede more goals but should see more clear chances created. Cooper has that choice available after this summer’s business: Facundo Buonanotte, Bobby Cordova-Reid, Bilal El Khannouss and Stephy Mavididi were all on the bench on Saturday.
To some extent, this is the struggle of every manager of any promoted club as the Premier League’s financial dominance over the EFL is exacerbated. Because you will naturally lose more matches than you win, the correct strategy is usually the one you didn’t pick.
Still, it was interesting to hear Leicester supporters getting a little frustrated at the shape of the team on Saturday. They saw their team improve and score after Cooper’s attacking substitutions and, not without logic, reason that this must be the plan from the start. If nothing else, Leicester having so many wingers, and so many weaknesses defensively, is going to make this the crucial aspect of this season.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are happy that Marc Guehi’s proposed switch to Newcastle did not materialise on transfer deadline day – but after his shaky performance against Chelsea on Sunday, Guehi’s suitors may also be happy that the move never happened.
Guehi was caught napping early on, allowing Noni Madueke to nip in behind him, and was relieved when the new England recruit fired across goal and wide.
Other errors followed, with home fans also upset about the amount of time he spent on the turf in the second half having been fouled.
“Chelsea reject!” was the cry from the stands, with the away end replying that “he left ‘cos you’re s**t.”
One poor performance does not a poor player make of course and Palace manager Oliver Glasner was quick to add context – injuries to other defenders has meant his back three have to play all game, every game.
“I don’t want to complain because when you always complain you look like a victim, but they had ten days pre-season,” he said.
“Since then, they played every single minute in the games, and that’s why Marc had a cramp at the end.” By Jon West
Ipswich Town
A point in their first realistic opportunity to take one, and signs that Ipswich may well, as most predicted, be the most realistic candidate of the promoted clubs to stick around. Once Kieran McKenna can convince this team that they belong here, and thus should avoid giving comfortable possession to likely bottom-half opponents, they should make hay.
There has been a huge amount of change at Portman Road this summer, a fairly astonishing investment in the squad by the American owners. As such, this is a work in progress. Ipswich’s front four against Fulham were all new arrivals, the spine of the team – goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfielder were all new arrivals. They brought on two new arrivals as substitutes.
So I wanted to give a shout out to those who got Ipswich here. When you see significant recruitment around you after promotion, players can often get a little jumpy and their confidence can slip – “one mistake and I might be out of the team”. You’re never resentful, because you know signings are necessary and should make your job easier. But it can also cause uncertainty, particularly while your manager works out his best team.
There is great excitement around Liam Delap, Jack Clarke, Jacob Greaves and Kalvin Phillips; understandably so. But on Saturday, I thought that Sam Morsy and Luke Woolfenden were two of Ipswich’s best players, while Leif Davis provided the assist. Morsy started 44 games in Ipswich’s League One promotion season, Woolfenden 41 and Davis 43. The ability of your existing core to step up allows the manager to keep a sense of identity amidst so much change. It is a vital ingredient in staying up.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Are we heading towards one of the more unlikely redemption stories in the Premier League?
In August 2022, Wolves signed Goncalo Guedes for a fee of £28m from Valencia. After only eight starts, he joined Benfica on loan during the January transfer window of the same season.
By August 2023, he was back at Benfica but fell out of favour there and so Wolves loaned him to Villarreal instead. It goes without saying: at no point did any Wolves fan miss him.
Cut to August 2024, with Guedes returning from loan and, surprisingly, staying put. Last Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, Guedes started up front against Burnley and scored twice. Against Forest this weekend, he entered the pitch for a Premier League game for the first time since Boxing Day 2022.
Like a new signing? No. But maybe a decent option off the bench? Why not.
Southampton
This is going to sound harsh, so let me offer apologies in advance. Shout at me when I get proved wrong or shout at me because you like shouting about football; entirely up to you.
Southampton signed 18 different players this summer, not quite Nottingham Forest 2022-23 levels but not far off. They have spent over £100m and that surely represents a significant gamble upon staying up.
And yet, when the transfer window opened, I reckoned that Southampton most needed central defenders (they conceded two fewer goals than relegated Birmingham City in the Championship last season) and a prolific centre forward (Adam Armstrong was their top scorer last season, but had a record of four goals in 68 Premier League appearances).
For all the money spent, I’m not sure that they have really done either. On Saturday at Brentford, Southampton started Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Taylor Harwood-Bellis in central defence. Not only were all three at the club last season, two of them were prominent when Southampton finished bottom of this division two years ago.
Up front, Southampton started Ben Brereton Diaz and Armstrong and Armstrong missed a glorious chance to give the visitors the lead. Brereton Diaz is a pest and can be creative, but he’s also got six goals in 31 career top-flight appearances. Off the bench came Cameron Archer: six goals in 39 top-flight appearances.
None of this is easy. But while Ipswich Town seem to have spent their £100m and with it got the potential nucleus for Premier League safety, with Southampton the key areas still look short. Add in Martin’s evident commitment to his way of playing and three poor results in three matches, and this late summer already needs a result quickly to stop it feeling a little bleak.
Everton
86 minutes in, 2-0 up and cruising in a home tie against Bournemouth. This was to be the weekend that Evertonian fortunes changed following a dismal start to their 2024-25 campaign. Until it wasn’t.
Surely not even the most pessimistic of Toffees fans could have foreseen what happened next; a calamitous collapse, throwing away a two-goal lead from the latest-ever point in a Premier League match.
After an embarrassing loss leaves Sean Dyche’s side winless, pointless and rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, one small positive that can be gleaned from this performance is that Everton at least looked less toothless in attack.
Before the disastrous last period the hosts were comfortably the better side, testing Bournemouth’s backline with darting runs, incisive passes and hopeful shots both before and after notching their first two goals of the season.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, perhaps jolted into gear by the late-night arrival of Chelsea loanee Armando Broja, rediscovered his scoring boots to double the Toffees’ lead after knocking down a cross for Michael Keane’s opener.
Iliman Ndiaye also impressed, earning his first league start after a midweek Carabao Cup goal and peppering the visitors with a few decent efforts before being withdrawn minutes prior to the start of Bournemouth’s comeback.
But ultimately it will be the relatively un-Dyche-like defensive fragility and utter lack of discipline, from a side that ended last season with the league’s second highest clean sheet tally, that could cause this result to sting for some time. By Alex Dakers
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