Premier League Week 9: Arsenal Pull Clear As Liverpool Slip, City Stall, & United’s New Boys Shine
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A fine weekend in ages for Manchester United was made with more misery for Liverpool as Arsenal pulled clear and Chelsea came unstuck, writes Manik Sharma. |
Manchester United’s new boys are beginning to click DARE YOU WHISPER IT , but Ruben Amorim’s red devils have now won three games on the trot. To road up until this welcome bend in the river has been carved by pain, misery and at times, stark hopelessness. So much so, Amorim himself won’t be getting carried away by what looks like the first speck of form his team has put together since he took over, what has become the toughest job in world football. But against a well-drilled Brighton side, United shot out of the blocks quickly, got ahead while they were on top and never looked like surrendering to Brighton’s expected resurgence. The most heartening piece of this former shambles coming together as something concrete is the form of new boys Brian Mbuemo and Matheus Cunha. Both players were in fine fettle, scoring, linking up and working backwards to protect their own goal. Following up that unlikely victory at Anfield with a convincing performance against a dangerous side must have been unimaginable for Amorim a month ago. Now, he can dream. |
Liverpool’s confidence has fallen off a cliff What’s up with Liverpool? Last season’s undisputed and largely unchallenged champions seem so short on confidence and rhythm that even games that they seem positioned to take by the scruff of the neck seem to perpetually slip out of their grasp. Their fourth straight league loss came away to a slick Brentford side. And the only surprise from that final scoreline of 3-2 was that it flattered the Reds. Brentford battered Liverpool for most of the game, and despite a near-shocking goal by Liverpool’s under-pressure left-back, Milos Kerkez (before he was subbed off again), it was Brentford who looked the likeliest to score more (and did) rather than the former champions, who had momentum, fortuitously, swept their way. Nothing seems to be going right for Arne Slot at the moment. The defence is malfunctioning, the midfield has lost its edge, and new expensive recruits up front are barely producing the kind of football their price tags warrant. The only, slim, and maybe even dire silver lining was an angrily but spectacularly taken goal by Mo Salah. Forget the title, Liverpool suddenly look like they’re in a scramble for European qualification. Chelsea’s lack of striking options exposed by formidable Sunderland Chelsea have more attacking wide players than you can count on your fingers. At home against newly promoted Sunderland, one of those wingers, Alejandro Garnacho, got Chelsea ahead with a well-taken goal within the first 5 minutes of the game. The Chelsea of yore would have, from that position onward, never allowed the opponent to turn the game into a contest. And yet that’s precisely what this version of Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea ended up doing. Sunderland have proved they are no pushovers, and at Stamford Bridge, they managed the game better than their esteemed but younger opponents. But the glaring gap in the blue half was that of a semi-trustworthy striker to send racing past Sunderland’s low block or to use as a fulcrum to thread the rest of the squad’s creative talent. Instead, Maresca started with the woefully unimpressive Marc Guiui up front before pushing Jao Pedro — a player who hasn’t looked like scoring in ages — up front. Chelsea’s talented wingers and midfield can win their battles, but without a notable focal point up front, all often seems lost. Watch Brentford vs Liverpool here on JioHotstar, now available with your OTTplay Premium subscription. |
Arsenal steer clear of the chasing pack Arsenal are making it a habit of winning hard-fought games with single-goal margins. They say a solitary goal is never safe, but with Arsenal’s backline and solid midfield, it’s become one of the surest things in club football. Goal-scoring remains a headache, and though Eberechi Eze scored an absolute peach to secure three points against resolute Crystal Palace, it was really the Gunners’ all-round solidity that shone. Considering the manner in which their so-called title competitors — Liverpool and Man City — are leaking goals, Arsenal’s greatest strength is their ability to shut out even the best of attacks. Haaland and City draw a blank How Pep Guardiola would wish, his team of stalwart central defenders could revive the feeling of defending slender leads and narrow margins. He’d borrow some from Arsenal in a heartbeat. Given these days, City can’t seem to put together a goal between them if Erling Haaland doesn’t get on the scoresheet, it’s a quality that could prove pivotal in a season where no defence is functioning to its reputation. City’s dependence on Haaland came to bite them in a game crying out for a different solution. That solution, thus far, eludes City in a season that’s increasingly looking like it’ll get away before Guardiola can work out a plan B. Watch the Aston Villa vs Manchester City match here. |
Postscript: The return of the long throw Since Stoke City’s Rory Delap became synonymous with the long throw more than a decade ago, the act of flinging the ball into the opponent's box to cause all kinds of mayhem was consigned to footballing purgatory. Only to be referred, when all else fails. This Premier League season, though, has seen a resurgence in the use of long throws, confirming a shift away from the horizontal nature of football. The only managers who haven’t resorted to it yet are the indignant snobs who continue to endure its damages. Maresca’s Chelsea have neither managed to fix nor are they willing to use what is now a contemporary, if ungainly, art form. You live by ideologies, and you die by them. But you don’t have to. Premier League matches come to you live and exclusive on JioHotstar, with an OTTplay subscription for only Rs 149 per month. Don’t miss a minute! |
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