Premier League weekend review: What we learned

Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons from another dramatic weekend of Premier League action.

Liverpool’s new tactical approach needs work

Another messy contest at Anfield showed why neither Liverpool nor Tottenham Hotspur are in contention for a top-four place this season, as a mixture of careless individual errors and poor collective decisions allowed goals to fly in at both ends.

LIV

4-3

TOT

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All seven goals were avoidable, and understandably most analysis has focused on Spurs' sleepy start, Liverpool’s nervous collapse, and the Lucas Moura miskick that gave this wild contest its final flourish just 99 seconds after Richarlison's equaliser.

Diogo Jota's dramatic late winner

But amid the chaos there are patterns worth exploring and tactical lessons learnt for Jurgen Klopp at least. Here was the clearest example yet of why Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new role in central midfield can recharge the Klopp era – but also why it remains, for now, a flawed idea.

Starting with the positives, it was Alexander-Arnold’s positioning alongside Fabinho that shielded against Spurs counter-attacks while allowing midfielders Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones to spread high and wide. This provided Liverpool with an interesting shape that was difficult to mark, a 2-2-6 that saw a host of attackers dovetailing across the Spurs defensive line.

Note how tough it is for Spurs' midfield to track Liverpool’s narrow attackers here, in the build-up to the penalty concession and Liverpool’s third goal.

For the first goal, Jones was able to pop up – untracked and unmarked - on the back post because of how Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold released him to lurk higher up the pitch. The second goal, built through Elliott high on the right side, was a move that began with Alexander-Arnold winning a challenge with Son Heung-min to shut down the threat of a counter-attack.

But perhaps unsurprisingly a 2-2-6 is vulnerable to counter-attacks if, or rather when, that first defensive screen is broken past. Spurs got back into the match via a long ball down Liverpool’s right – where Alexander-Arnold was nowhere to be seen.

The nominal right-back has now assisted a goal in each of his last five Premier League appearances, which is reason enough to keep him in this new role. But tweaks are undoubtedly required, because the sudden crumbling of Liverpool’s back four was intimately related to the unusual attacking positions taken up by Klopp’s team.

Contrasting Aprils for AFC Bournemouth and Leeds

At the beginning of April just one point separated AFC Bournemouth and Leeds United, both of whom looked equally likely to finish in the bottom three. By the end of the month the Cherries had moved eight points clear of them as Gary O’Neil’s side all-but sealed safety with a 4-1 win.

BOU

4-1

LEE

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AFC Bournemouth claimed 15 points in April, their most in any month this season, and their five wins were only one fewer than they managed between August and March. Leeds lost five times in April, their most defeats in a single month since 2015 and a joint-record in the Premier League. They also conceded 23 goals, a Premier League record in a single month.

Ordinarily records across an arbitrary intra-season time period aren’t meaningful, but April is the cruellest month in the competition. More often than not it is the defining period, during which time a congested Premier League table separates and a clearer narrative emerges.

That’s precisely what’s happened this year. Leeds now have a 60.1 per cent chance of going down, according to Opta, while AFC Bournemouth have surely guaranteed their place in the top flight.

Mixed fortunes of Tomas Soucek

West Ham United have really missed Tomas Soucek’s goal contributions. He racked up 11 in his first Premier League season, six in his second, and just two in 2022/23 – until Saturday. 

CRY

4-3

WHU

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Soucek's opener at Crystal Palace was his 20th Premier League goal but his first in 27 matches, and it was followed by two assists, both flick-ons from corners.

But West Ham lost the match because of a familiar difficulty controlling central midfield - and Soucek is at least partly to blame for the notable downturn in the club’s performances this season.

On Saturday, his miscontrol near the box allowed Jeffrey Schlupp to score Palace’s third, before Soucek lost Eberechi Eze when a simple one-two led to a penalty concession:

It was the best and worst of Soucek; penalty-box poaching at one end but passive resistance at the other. It’s been the theme of his season, although perhaps it is the West Ham system, rather than the players within it, that is to blame.

David Moyes’ 4-4-1-1, with Lucas Paqueta pushing higher than Soucek and Declan Rice, is regularly leaving West Ham light in the middle. It was a recurring pattern at Selhurst Park with Eze or Schlupp finding space on the outside of Rice and Soucek.

The stats bear this out. West Ham have allowed 44.9 progressive passes per match this season, up from 40.4 in 2021/22, while their opponents’ progressive carries are up from 20.9 to 22.2 per match. Most tellingly, they have allowed 2.09 through-balls per match – the second-most in the division – after ranking 12th, with 1.32 per match in 2021/22.

These aren’t drastic numbers, but it’s enough to leave West Ham more open between the lines and Soucek struggling to contribute as much defensively as he once did.

Man City lose some composure without De Bruyne

Few people thought Fulham would come this close to taking points from Manchester City. Ultimately the visitors deserved their win, restricting Fulham to 0.2 xG from four shots on goal, but it’s fair to say didn’t find the fluency we have been used to in recent weeks – and telling that it took an incredible strike from Julian Alvarez to win the three points.

FUL

1-2

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Pep Guardiola had a novel explanation for it. “On the transitions the grass was so, so long, even for them,” he said. “I’m not complaining, everyone at home can decide what they want, but when Erling [Haaland] drives with the ball some passes always stopped the rhythm, and that’s why our transitions today were not as effective.”

Whether or not that is true, it should also be noted that Kevin De Bruyne’s absence played a part. Without the Belgian’s ability to seek out space between the lines and make himself available for a forward pass, City were left playing more sideways than usual.

Their average number of progressive passes per match this season is 55.7, but against Fulham they hit only 44. They also made 11 switches of play, their joint most of the season (an indicator of needing to move horizontal to find space, rather than vertical) and recorded 11 progressive carries, their second-lowest tally of the season.

The loss of De Bruyne was clearly a factor in this. Alvarez is a fantastic player but a very different profile, hence why he could not get near De Bruyne’s usual numbers on Sunday.

After the match Guardiola said he did not know when De Bruyne would be back, and on the evidence at Craven Cottage an extended absence could give Arsenal supporters some hope.

Ten Hag goes direct to outwit Emery

There was one simple reason why Manchester United stretched their home run to 26 without defeat and ended Aston Villa’s unbeaten 10-match run in the process.

MUN

1-0

AVL

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Ordinarily it is Unai Emery whose tactical tinkering catches opposition managers by surprise, but on Sunday it was Erik ten Hag who switched things up by going far more direct than usual.

“It was definitely one of our ideas for this game, to play the ball in behind,” Ten Hag said. “The timing was not always perfect but, with our speed, we do it in the right way, we created chances from it and have to score more.”

The tactic was constant, as Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and even Bruno Fernandes sought to make runs in behind at every opportunity, with the United midfielders invariably hitting long balls over the top of Villa's defence.

In this classic example, note how alert United are to both beginning the runs and seeking the early pass, suggesting Ten Hag had worked hard in the week to prepare them for Villa’s high line. Fernandes has three runners to hit.

Villa largely did well to play United offside - their seven offsides were a season-high - but the winner, via a simple header from Casemiro playing Rashford through on goal, was the result of United’s persistent pressure.

It was also a consequence of Tyrell Malacia’s role moving into central midfield, which freed Marcel Sabitzer to join the front three in pushing against Villa’s high line - until they finally broke it.

Fernandes' winner v Villa

Enciso and Undav the latest Brighton discoveries

Last weekend it was Facundo Buonanotte who emerged out of nowhere, the 18-year-old Argentinian scoring on his first start for Brighton & Hove Albion following his January move from Rosario Central.

BHA

6-0

WOL

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In the 6-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday another two products of the club's remarkable scouting department made their names.

Aged 19 years and 96 days, Julio Enciso became the youngest South American to assist two goals in a Premier League match, while Deniz Undav, a late bloomer who arrived at Brighton in the summer, scored his first goals for them.

Both players were making only their third starts of 2022/23, highlighting Roberto De Zerbi’s incredible squad depth. Only Arsenal, with 15 different goalscorers, have had more than Brighton, who reached 14 with Undav’s brace.

Undav's emergence is intriguing, having played in the third tier of German football until two years ago before a 59-goal contribution in 56 matches for Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise saw him snapped up by Brighton.

His delicate chip for their second goal was perhaps a glimpse of what’s to come.

Undav's delightful chip v Wolves

Enciso, who scored against AFC Bournemouth and Chelsea earlier this month, is enjoying a more straightforward route to the top. His first assist was a brilliant threaded pass to Pascal Gross and began a theme of the match, as Enciso repeatedly found huge amounts of space on the left to drive at the defence.

Enciso's assist for Gross

He was heavily involved throughout, even getting two pre-assists, the pass before the assist, in the second half. Any concern that Brighton might have been faltering as the season approaches the finish line has dissipated now.

Their endless discovery of new talent is keeping things fresh right until the end.