5 Lessons From Saturday's Premier League
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Tottenham Hotspur beat
Chelsea 3-1 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to move above the Blues and into
third place in the Premier League tab...
Spurs took the lead
after just eight minutes when Christian Eriksen whipped in a free-kick for Dele
Alli to head past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea had no answers
to the hosts' intensity and conceded a second eight minutes later. Harry Kane
fired in a shot from range, and the ball flew past an unsighted Kepa after
David Luiz moved out of the way.
The hosts added a third
after the break. Heung-min Son raced past Jorginho, beat Luiz and then tucked a
composed finish past Kepa.
Chelsea did pull one back late on when substitute Olivier Giroud headed home
Cesar Azpilicueta's cross, but it was to prove only a consolation as the Blues
suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season.
Kante
Wasted in New Midfield Role
N'Golo Kante is widely
regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, and Chelsea
demonstrated how highly they value their World Cup winner signing him to a
five-year deal on Friday.
However, the arrival of
Jorginho over the summer has seen Kante forced out of his preferred position
and moved further forward to make room for the Italy international.
Jorginho is a key player
for manager Maurizio Sarri after the duo worked together at Napoli, and he has
made an impressive start to his Blues career.
Yet his influence has
waned in recent games, and he put in a poor display against Spurs:
Meanwhile, the Frenchman
was having little effect in his position further forward. Matt Law of the
Telegraph explained why
Kepa
Deserves to be Doubted
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa
has had a quiet start to his career at Stamford Bridge.
He has been well
protected by the Blues defence for much of the early part of the season, but it
was a different story entirely at Wembley, and Kepa's performance will do
little to dampen doubts that he is the man to replace Thibaut Courtois in the
Chelsea goal.
He managed to get his
hands to Alli's headed opener but was not strong enough to prevent the ball
flying into the back of the net:
He was then left
stranded for Kane's second goal. Luiz's decision to get out of the way of the
ball left him unsighted, but his positioning was poor
The second goal put
Spurs in command of the game, although Kepa responded well to the setback and
went on to make some crucial saves.
He could do little about
Son's third goal but denied the South Korean and Kane with impressive saves.
Sports media company EiF Soccer felt he made up for his earlier errors:
Kepa Arrizabalaga has
been superb since joining Chelsea but that was terrible for Tottenham's second
goal.
David Luiz, who thought
this was a game of dodgeball and is having a shocking game so far, certainly
didn't help but ultimately that's on Kepa. Has to do better.
Kepa might have been at
fault for Kane's goal, but if it wasn't for him this game could easily be 5-0
in Tottenham's favor after this half. Two absolutely world class saves and
a really good one (in the Son 1v1) by Kepa in the first half, who has more than
made up for his error.
Kepa became the world's
most expensive goalkeeper when he moved to Stamford Bridge in August for £71
million, per BBC Sport. He's still only 24 and in his first season in the
Premier League, but the Spaniard still has plenty of work to do to prove he was
worth the huge investment Chelsea made to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United were
held to a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday in
the Premier League.
The hosts started the
game brightly but quickly fizzled out against an organised Palace side. The
best chances came to the visitors on the break, with Patrick van Aanholt firing
wide and Cheikhou Kouyate's effort ruled out for offside.
The hosts also had a
goal disallowed after half-time. Romelu Lukaku tapped home from close range
after Wayne Hennessey had denied Ashley Young, but the strike was correctly
adjudged to be offside.
Andros Townsend wasted
another opportunity for Palace, firing wide with only David De Gea to beat, and
the two sides were forced to settle for a point each.
Time
to Drop Matic and Give Fred a Chance
Jose Mourinho again
opted to start Nemanja Matic against Crystal Palace, despite the midfielder's
continued poor form this season.
The 30-year-old is a
regular under Mourinho, but he put in another less-than-impressive performance
as the Red Devils drew a match they were expected to win.
The Eagles have only
managed eight Premier League goals this season and were without a recognised
striker at Old Trafford, yet they still managed to carve out plenty of chances
against the Red Devils.
Mourinho kept Matic on
for the entire 90 minutes, but it's time he was taken out of the team and for
summer signing Fred to be given a chance.
United brought the
Brazilian to Old Trafford for a fee of £52 million, per the Guardian. However,
Fred has only been used sparingly so far, making just six Premier League starts
and only one in the Champions League.
The 25-year-old has only
shown glimpses of his best form since joining, but he will have needed time to
adjust to his new surroundings.
With Matic out of form,
now is the perfect time to offer Fred the chance to prove himself in the first
team and demonstrate why Manchester United were so keen to splash out on him in
the summer.
Mourinho
Must Match Pep's Use of Squad Players
One of Mourinho's
biggest issues at Manchester United has been his failure to get the best out of
his squad players, unlike Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Guardiola is renowned
for his coaching ability and the way he develops players. For example, Fabian
Delph has become an important squad player for both club and country after
previously appearing to have no future at the Etihad.
Darmian is a versatile
defender who can play on either flank, yet he appears so far down the pecking
order at Manchester United that it was a surprise to see him start.
Jesse Lingard is another
player who is not a guaranteed starter, but his match-winning impact for
England against Croatia on Sunday demonstrated he has more to offer. He was one
of United's brighter players against Crystal Palace before being replaced just
before the hour mark.
Jesse Lingard's movement
on and off the ball is absolutely glorious. would love to see him in a
genuinely creative side that could dominate the ball.
There's no doubt that
Mourinho is underachieving with his squad of players. Saturday's match
represented an excellent opportunity to gain ground on the top four, but
instead Mourinho's team are now 14 points behind Guardiola's league leaders.
Liverpool maintained an
unbeaten start to the Premier League season thanks to a 3-0 win over Watford at
Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah, Trent
Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino were on the scoresheet to help the Reds
keep pace with leaders Manchester City in the title race.
The Reds won despite
seeing Jordan Henderson sent off for a second bookable offence with eight
minutes to go.
Liverpool
Not Good Enough to Win the Title Despite Another Clean Sheet
Liverpool may be in the
thick of the title race, but the result proves the Reds aren't good enough to
ultimately capture the title this season. It's a case of one step forward and
two steps back for Jurgen Klopp's side.
Klopp's team is winning,
but there are reasons to doubt the Reds' title credentials. The step
forward is obvious in a defence that's gone from one of the more suspect in
England's top flight to one of the toughest.
A stingy unit buoyed by the big-money signings of centre-back Virgil van Dijk
and goalkeeper Alisson Becker earlier this year has surrendered just five
goals, the joint-fewest in the division with City.
Klopp must rue his luck
when he thinks of how the attack has gone off the boil just as things at the
back have settled. Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are still an
effective front three, but they are nowhere close to the prolific heights they
reached last season.
As good as Ben Foster
was in the Watford goal, it's fair to say many of the chances the Reds created
would have gone in last season.
While Salah eventually
got his goal six minutes after the hour mark, it only came after several instances
of the front three struggling to combine with the same ease and fluidity as
last season:
It was a far cry from
when Salah hit four when Liverpool last played Watford back in March. It was
also no surprise it took a special free-kick from a defender, right-back
Alexander-Arnold, to double the Reds' tally and make this result safe.
In fairness to Salah and
Co., their efforts are hardly being helped by a midfield lacking the necessary
craft. A workmanlike group led by Henderson lacks the vision and flair to
supply enough chances for the match-winners in front of them.
It means the creative
burden is equal to the scoring responsibility facing Salah, Mane and Firmino.
A midfield lacking ideas
and a forward line not quite as potent as it used to be will ultimately keep
the title out of Liverpool's reach.
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