1
Rogers and Emery combine for heist
Can results be misleading? That is the question. Aston Villa’s winning streak continued against Manchester United, but so did the nagging doubts. They were the lesser team by several measures – fewer shots (12-15), less possession (43-57), fewer big chances (2-3). As usual, the victory was a slender one. As usual, our friend xG was unimpressed: according to Opta, United edged it 1.31-1.02. But, as every fan knows, games are not won by xG. They are won by solid teamwork, shrewd management and individual talent – and Villa have all three. Morgan Rogers may be their only star, but he’s delivering like Father Christmas. Unai Emery is wily, battle-hardened, five years ahead of Ruben Amorim. If Rogers profited from Leny Yoro’s naivety, that was probably because Emery had spotted that Yoro is not a right-back, and told Rogers to start wide, cut in and torment him. Talent and management, working together. Tim de Lisle
2
Amorim continues to fall short
When Manchester United beat Brighton 4-2 on 25 October, their fans began to believe again. They had won three league games in a row for the first time under Ruben Amorim. They had risen to fourth. And the wins were all good ones – over Brighton (one of their many bogey teams), Liverpool (away!) and Sunderland (at home, against a promoted club, but still – a comfortable clean sheet). Senne Lammens was reassuring, Bryan Mbeumo was exciting and Frank Ilett was looking forward to a haircut. But then United went back to black. Eight games, two wins, six missed opportunities. At Villa Park they were the better team without ever looking like winning. Yes, Matheus Cunha scored a good goal, but he also missed a sitter. Yes, United were unlucky with injuries (to Kobbie Mainoo, then Bruno Fernandes), but they conceded soft goals. After 13 months in England, Amorim still hasn’t worked out how to win. TdL
3
Below-par Gunners get on their grind
It was an 8pm kick-off on the Saturday before Christmas but a distinct lack of quality in the final third made for a sobering evening at Hill Dickinson Stadium. For Everton, the issue came as no surprise with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye absent, and Jack Grealish unable to spark an entire team on his own. In many respects it is remarkable that David Moyes’s side sat fifth in the table two weeks earlier given they have played the entire season without a decent striker. For Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, while he savoured a deserved win and a return to the top of the table, the flaw should be equally concerning given their designs on the Premier League title. Arteta insisted that winning margins will inevitably become bigger with hard work and perseverance. But it is a little early in the season for a team that can start with Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard, while leaving Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri and Noni Madueke on the bench, to be relying on grinding out wins. Andy Hunter
4
Guardiola’s festive City investigations
On Christmas Day Pep Guardiola will monitor the scales to ensure his Manchester City players have not overdone the festive fare. “Tomorrow [Sunday] training – the players asked to take a day off and I said: ‘No, because you didn’t play good enough [in the 3-0 win over West Ham].’ So recovery, train the guys that didn’t play, and after three days off, then two days to prepare for Nottingham Forest. [Friday] they were weighed and every player made their best weight. They come back on the 25th and I will be [monitoring] how many kilos come up – if they come [back] fatty. Imagine one player arrives with three kilos more. He will [stay] in Manchester, not travel to Nottingham.” Guardiola clarified how the side can improve. “I’m good at reading what happens in the game, where are the spaces – if the players were in these positions, we could create more.” Guardiola will also enjoy a rest: “I have holidays with the family and champagne. Sunday I’m going to Barcelona – I recommend it, the food is top.” Jamie Jackson
5
Isak’s injury overshadows big moment
Alexander Isak’s goal at Tottenham felt, for a glorious few seconds, like an arrival. This was exactly what Liverpool paid all that money for him to do, to break tight games with his movement and range of finishing, and the confidence with which he clipped in from Florian Wirtz’s neat pass boded superbly. So the sight of him departing immediately, the victim of a rash Micky van de Ven attempt to retain parity, was a huge concern for Arne Slot and a shame for any neutral who would like to see an extraordinary talent hit full tilt again. Liverpool fear Isak has sustained a fractured leg and he likely faces a lengthy period on the sidelines. It would be a major blow with Slot’s team having snuck up on the top four, putting together a six-game unbeaten run bookended by Isak’s first Premier League goals in their colours. Their fortunes this season appear tied up with those of their £125m investment. Nick Ames
6
Did Chelsea get away with one?
Managers often moan about contentious refereeing decisions as a means of deflecting media attention from matters they would prefer were not talked about. The 13 points Newcastle have dropped from winning positions this season seems a case in point. Eddie Howe certainly did not seem overly keen to mention that unfortunate habit following his side’s failure to protect a 2-0 lead against Chelsea in a game they ended up drawing. Yet Newcastle’s manager was surely justified in criticising a decision made by the referee, Andy Madley, and endorsed by VAR not to award his team a penalty following Trevoh Chalobah’s blatant body check on Anthony Gordon. With the score then 2-1, a spot-kick could have changed the narrative. Was the decision to offer the Chelsea defender the benefit of considerable doubt informed by Gordon’s reputation for being very clever at winning penalties and sometimes going down too easily? The former England striker Peter Crouch was on analysis duty for TNT Sports and his take was interesting. “Gordon’s waiting,” said Crouch. “He knows the challenge is coming and he’s waiting for it. I think he’s ready to go down. But the force and aggression there … that’s not shielding the ball.” Louise Taylor
Brentford’s first away win this season spelled relief for Keith Andrews. Rather than celebrate, Andrews sympathised with Wolves, the club he joined at 16. “I spent nine years here, 20% of my life,” he said. Wolves’ situation is beyond dire; Opta state – perhaps generously – their chances of relegation at 99.17%, leaving nothing to play for beyond pride. Andrews’ fellow Irishman Matt Doherty brutally spelled out the legacy that awaits Wolves players: “Do we want to be remembered for fighting all the way to the end of season, or do we want to be remembered for being cowards and taking the easy option, maybe trying to leave in January or not fighting and training, and letting other people take your position?” Jørgen Strand Larsen’s poor late penalty added insult to injury, the Norwegian already in fans’ bad books for wishing to leave in the summer. Any bond between supporters and players is close to as broken as that with the owners. John Brewin
8
Palace paying for lack of squad depth
Oliver Glasner was unable to find almost any positives after being thumped at Leeds on Saturday night, but the club as a whole will have taken pleasure in the academy graduate Joél Drakes-Thomas coming off the bench in the 85th minute to become Crystal Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player at 16 years and 194 days, surpassing David Ozoh (17 years and 260 days). Drakes-Thomas is so young he required a sponsorless shirt because under-18s can’t promote betting companies. The No 10 played 90 minutes on Thursday in the Conference League and did not look out of place, taking advantage of Palace’s hectic schedule to show he is ready for the challenge of first-team football. Drakes-Thomas’s promotion is also an indication of the lack of senior depth within the Palace squad caused by poor recruitment last summer, injuries and Ismaïla Sarr’s Afcon departure, leaving Glasner frustrated and looking to January to help improve the situation. Will Unwin
9
Can Kostoulas be Brighton’s goal key?
As Fabian Hürzeler pointed out after the stalemate with Sunderland, Brighton are going through a “phase” of not being able to score goals that has meant they have only picked up two points from their last four matches. The continued absence of Danny Welbeck due to a persistent back injury has certainly not helped, but Georginio Rutter has struggled since being pressed into a more advanced role, having scored only once so far this season. After the sale of João Pedro to Chelsea in the summer, Brighton spent big on Charalampos Kostoulas and the Greek teenager looked lively when he came on for the last 19 minutes against Sunderland. Kostoulas is still waiting for his first Premier League start, but with Kaoru Mitoma back from injury to provide the chances, could the trip to face the leaders, Arsenal, on Saturday be the 18-year-old’s moment to show what he is capable of? Ed Aarons
10
Sour note for frustrated Cherries
There is a sense that Bournemouth are underachieving this season. Only Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have scored more goals than Andoni Iraola’s side so far this season, so why has this not translated into points? While 26 goals is a decent tally, they have been spread across 12 of Bournemouth’s 17 games; that’s five blanks, and in six of the nine games where they have scored two more goals only three have resulted in wins. To some degree that is misfortune, but if you’re scoring in clusters then you need defensive resolve to earn you points because there will be days – such as Saturday’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Burnley – when Evanilson and David Brooks waste chances. There is no harsher reminder of the difficulty of competing in the Premier League than conceding to Burnley’s only shot on target. Tom Bassam
