After another exciting weekend of Premier League goals and drama, Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons, including:
- Rice's influential debut season at Arsenal
- Postecoglou's costly lack of a Plan B
- Forest's victory justifies Nuno's appointment
- Chelsea's late charge for Europe
- Why Wilson and Isak are a winning combination
- Haaland returns to form at perfect time
- Exhausted Villa need one last push
- Luton pay heavy price for defensive woes
- Brentford can take positives from draw
Rice’s performance epitomises his impact
Another immaculate performance from Arsenal in the face of increasing pressure gave us final evidence that Mikel Arteta's team are fully matured and are here to stay. For that, Gunners supporters can thank Declan Rice.
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Rice’s influence on Arsenal is difficult to quantify. He demands the ball, drives forward and sweeps up possession with a consistency that makes him the Premier League’s most charismatic on-the-pitch leader.
In fact, it’s hard to recall any player in Premier League history who stands so tall on the field or takes such a decisive grip of a game’s tempo. Arsenal play Rice’s game, not the other way round.
Even before his brilliant assist for Leandro Trossard – seizing a loose ball and flicking it into the path of the left winger – or his own late goal Rice – was the best player on the pitch both defensively and offensively.
He made five progressive carries, more than any other player, and recovered possession seven times, more than anyone else in the Arsenal team.
But Rice’s game can’t be captured in numbers. Should Arsenal win the title this season he will, in the space of 12 months, have become an Arsenal legend.
Klopp targets Spurs’ weakened left flank
Tottenham Hotspur's fourth consecutive Premier League defeat leaves them needing to win all three of their remaining matches to stand a chance of UEFA Champions League qualification.
On this evidence, Spurs won’t get close.
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Ange Postecoglou’s refusal to move to a Plan B has made it too easy for opponents to work out Spurs' weaknesses and exploit them. On this occasion their weak point was obviously going to be at left-back, where injuries to Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies meant Emerson Royal playing out of position.
Credit goes to Jurgen Klopp for going all-in on targeting that zone.
In recent weeks Mohamed Salah has looked a little stuck out wide on the right, but on Sunday he was in a narrower position and supported by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott.
Alexander-Arnold was in a traditional overlapping role, rather than inverting, and Elliott was deployed practically as a second right-winger, despite nominally starting as a No 8 - two tactical tweaks by Klopp, both designed to overwhelm Emerson.
The crucial opener resulted from Emerson losing track of Salah, which followed a series of chances built down that side of the pitch, and indeed all four Liverpool goals were created on that flank.
Postecoglou spoke last week of the need for new signings this summer, but that isn’t the whole picture.
He needs to find alternative ways of playing when the going gets tough because at Premier League level opponents are too savvy - too tactically flexible - to let you play the same style of football every week.
Hudson-Odoi double justifies Nuno appointment
It was the biggest result of Nottingham Forest’s season, and with it came justification for the decision to replace Steve Cooper with Nuno Espirito Santo.
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This season Nuno has a points-per-match average of 1.0 compared to Cooper’s 0.82, winning 19 points from 19 games after Cooper earned 14 points from 17.
Nuno’s appointment is further vindicated by the style that he has introduced; a simple, wing-based counter-attacking approach that sees Forest spring out from a low block via the wide men.
That’s exactly how they beat Sheffield United, who were caught multiple times by the rapid transitions that sought out Callum Hudson-Odoi, who twice cut in from the left to score.
And Hudson-Odoi did more than that. He proved a handful throughout, creating three chances and using his pace on the break.
He has put Forest within touching distance of safety.
Burnley, five points behind Nuno’s team, now need to win at Spurs this weekend to stand a chance of staying up, while Luton Town’s inferior goal difference means they are effectively four points adrift of Forest.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
37 | -19 | 29 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
37 | -31 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
37 | -36 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
37 | -66 | 16 |
Pochettino’s Chelsea are coming together
There once was a time when managers were given a transitional season - 12 months to get their style of football in place before they would be judged on results.
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Nobody has needed that more than Mauricio Pochettino, who walked into a club in the midst of unprecedented upheaval, and as things finally come together for him and Chelsea, we are reminded that managers need time – and patience.
Chelsea are now seventh in the Premier League table and only two points off Newcastle United in sixth. More importantly, they are playing like a Pochettino team and - aside from a rough patch mid-season - have been doing so fairly consistently.
In fact, Opta’s "Expected Points" table has Chelsea in fourth place, suggesting that with a bit more luck - or better finishing - their season would look very different.
Expected Points 2023/24
| Team | Expected Points |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | 76.45 |
| Liverpool | 72.71 |
| Man City | 71.92 |
| Chelsea | 59.89 |
| Newcastle | 58.13 |
| Aston Villa | 52.71 |
| Brentford | 50.48 |
| Spurs | 50.13 |
| Brighton | 49.74 |
| Everton | 49.70 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 49.47 |
| Nott'm Forest | 47.22 |
| Fulham | 45.64 |
| Crystal Palace | 42.65 |
| Man Utd | 42.23 |
| Wolves | 40.30 |
| West Ham | 39.71 |
| Burnley | 33.19 |
| Luton | 31.09 |
| Sheff Utd | 29.81 |
But even if we just stick to recent results, it's clear that Chelsea have turned a corner. They have won 23 points from their last 12 Premier League matches - that’s UEFA Champions League form - while Nicolas Jackson, after a number of misses early in the season, has found his form.
Jackson’s double against West Ham United takes him to 16 goals in all competitions this season, the same amount as Didier Drogba scored across his first campaign in west London.
The future suddenly looks bright for Jackson and Chelsea.
Wilson and Isak combine superbly as a front two
Eddie Howe deserves all the plaudits for masterminding what amounts to a shock result at Turf Moor.
Burnley had lost only one of their last eight matches and hadn’t conceded more than a single goal in each of their previous five heading into Saturday's contest. They were supposedly dangerous opponents, but Howe was rewarded for deciding to fight fire with fire.
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For the first time this season Newcastle United lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak starting together up front. For long stretches, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy joined them from either wing to make it more of a 4-2-4.
It blew Burnley away. They were stunned by Newcastle’s ferocity and commitment to attacking numbers, falling to a 3-0 deficit within the first 40 minutes.
The strategy wasn’t without risks, but after Newcastle had won four of their last seven matches - scoring at least four goals in each of those wins except against Fulham - Howe trusted his players’ free-flowing confidence would make the formation change work.
It certainly did, with Burnley caught over and over again by Murphy and Gordon stretching the back four as Isak dropped and Wilson spun in behind.
Burnley are left on the brink of relegation - and Newcastle in control of the final UEFA Europa League spot.
See: How PL clubs can qualify for European competitions
Haaland’s return to form comes at perfect time
Erling Haaland is back. Four goals at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday took him to 25 in the Premier League this season, and closer to a second consecutive Golden Boot award.
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Manchester City's Norwegian forward struck four times in the opening 54 minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and is now the fastest player in the competition’s history to reach 60 goals.
Fewest matches to reach 60 PL goals
| Player | Matches needed |
|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | 63 |
| Alan Shearer | 77 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 82 |
| Fernando Torres | 90 |
| Mohamed Salah | 92 |
Haaland was definitely back to his best at the weekend, not only in the goals but also improving his link-up play.
Fantastic four for @ErlingHaaland! 🔥😮💨 pic.twitter.com/WY7dWOdqtl
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 4, 2024
It’s a worrying sign for Arsenal, because with Haaland back in form it’s hard to see where Man City will drop points.
Their final three matches are against a Fulham side that have won two of their last nine matches, a Spurs team who have lost four in a row, and a West Ham team without a clean sheet in 16 outings.
You would back Haaland to pick off all three teams.
Villa exhausted as Emery’s plan falls flat
“To be honest, this was not Villa today,” Roberto De Zerbi said after Brighton & Hove Albion's narrow 1-0 win on Sunday.
“I can understand it because they are competing in the [UEFA Europa] Conference League and have a lot of injuries. And because of that, they couldn't be the Aston Villa of usual.”
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Spurs' defeat at Liverpool, coupled with the north Londoners' inferior goal difference, leaves Villa firmly in the driving seat for fourth place, but they are limping over the finish line. De Zerbi’s assessment was spot on.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
37 | +20 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
37 | +10 | 63 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
37 | +13 | 60 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
37 | +21 | 57 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
37 | -3 | 57 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
37 | -12 | 52 |
Villa had only two shots against Brighton, their fewest in a Premier League match since May 2016. Nothing worked for them and with an Expected Goals (xG) tally of just 0.06, they deserved the defeat.
Sheer exhaustion is to blame. Injuries left Villa with only two central midfielders, severely limiting their ability to pass through the lines, especially with Brighton refusing to be baited into pressing the visitors.
Villa were endlessly stuck with the ball at the back, their two midfielders easily cut off and nobody else available for a pass.
But even when they did get out, their passes weren’t connecting. Villa are ready for a summer break, as Unai Emery hinted in a telling post-match press conference.
“Now the most important is to rest. Rest today, rest tomorrow,” he said. “Now we want to do a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiacos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest.”
Luton ruing defensive record without Lockyer
This was a must-win fixture for Luton Town and the draw has left them three points behind 17th-placed Nott'm Forest, with a worse goal difference, meaning Rob Edwards’ side need at least four points from their final two matches to avoid relegation.
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The penalty conceded on Friday was a silly foul by Teden Mengi and a costly one, too, although the damage was arguably done before this weekend.
If Luton are relegated, their defensive record in 2024 will be the reason.
They have conceded 46 goals in 16 matches in all competitions since the start of February - the most by any side in Europe’s top five leagues - and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of them.
Furthermore the Hatters have now conceded 78 Premier League goals, which is the most in a debut season in the competition since Blackpool conceded the same number in 2010/11.
Luton have scrapped well throughout the 2023/24 season, but they just haven’t been able to cope with so many defensive injuries – and one in particular.
Luton conceded 26 goals in the 14 Premier League games in which Tom Lockyer played, or 1.86 per match. They have conceded 52 times in the 22 matches since his last appearance in December, or 2.36 per game.
Brentford have rediscovered home form
This was a typical end-of-season match.
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The result extended Brentford’s unbeaten home run to five in the Premier League and made it three clean sheets in a row at the Gtech Community Stadium.
That bodes well for the future following a difficult third season in the top flight – as does the poor form of Ivan Toney.
Toney has now gone 10 Premier League matches without scoring. Counterintuitively, this is good news for Brentford, who are proving they can play well even without a player widely expected to leave in the summer.