Premier League review: What we have learned about season so far

The second two-week hiatus of any Premier League season marks the end of the beginning.

Following Matchweek 8, we are 21 per cent of the way through 2023/24. What comes next can no longer be filed under a promising or a faltering start. The narratives are set; the Premier League has taken shape.

Here’s a look at the biggest stories of a wild and eventful season so far.

Postecoglou’s fast start surprises everyone 

It seems a distant memory now, but back in June Ange Postecoglou’s appointment was controversial.

His previous experience covered only Australia, Japan, and Scotland, which many saw as inadequate for the challenge of lifting Tottenham Hotspur off the floor after their collapse under Antonio Conte.

With Harry Kane set to leave and the mood at Spurs lower than it had been for years, was this really the time to gamble on Postecoglou? Could they afford to appoint a man who had started so slowly at Yokohama F. Marinos and Celtic, almost getting relegated at the former and winning 10 points from his first seven at the latter?

See: How often do the Matchweek 8 leaders go on to win the title?

Yes, they could. Spurs are unbeaten in the Premier League and top of the table at the break, and while there has been a touch of luck along the way, Postecoglou’s side have impressed by winning in a number of different ways.

From breaking down nine-man Liverpool to squeezing past Luton Town with 10 men, from seizing the moment in an end-to-end match against Manchester United to a dramatic stoppage-time turnaround against Sheffield United, Spurs are harnessing the creative energy and the good vibes Postecoglou brings.

Those wins are a testament to the psychological boost provided by their new licence to play free-flowing and improvisational attacking football. Spring-loaded from the nadir under Conte, Spurs are playing with freedom and self-confidence.

But it is a tactical success, too. Postecoglou’s system has immediately clicked: Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr are a dynamic duo in midfield; Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro are perfect inverted full-backs, while James Maddison and Son Heung-min are unshackled in such an expansive formation.

Postecoglou has got pretty much everything right, to the extent that Spurs fans are beginning to wonder….could they?

Rodri & KDB woes hint at post-Treble hangover

The big question - after Arsenal condemned Manchester City to consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since December 2018 - is whether the champions' dip can be explained entirely by Rodri’s absence?

Man City have lost six of their last 16 matches when Rodri has been unavailable – including all three during his latest suspension. The Spaniard is essential to providing defensive cover and also to building attacks, hence why Arsenal reduced Man City to only four shots, the fewest by a Pep Guardiola team in a top-flight match since 2010.

Perhaps Rodri’s return after the break will mean Man City will bounce straight back. But it might not.

Prior to the start of the season, many wondered whether  City would struggle to go again after the high of winning the Treble. A hangover was on the cards.

Kevin De Bruyne’s injury keeps him out until January, it seems, and even before defeats by Arsenal and Wolves, his absence was felt. City rank seventh in the Premier League for Expected Goals (xG) with 14.9, compared with being ranked first last season.

Guardiola’s central midfield looks a little weaker in general. So far, neither Matheus Nunes nor Mateo Kovacic have looked convincing, and certainly not as strong as the departed Ilkay Gundogan, while Riyad Mahrez’s clinical touch in the box has also been a notable loss.

In their next seven Premier League matches Man City face four of the "Big Six", plus Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion. We will know soon enough whether their back-to-back defeats were a simple Rodri absence – or whether it was the start of something bigger.

Liverpool’s explosive rebuild still waiting to click

A dramatic overhaul in central midfield has formed the basis of “Liverpool 2.0”, as Jurgen Klopp has called it, but a patchy league record and four red cards from eight matches captures what has been a slightly chaotic new beginning.

There were high hopes for Liverpool’s tweaked formation and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new midfield position, which had led to an 11-match unbeaten run (and high-scoring, at both ends) at the end of last season.

They have continued in the same vein – electric in attack, a little sloppy in defence – in 2023/24, powered by Dominik Szoboszlai and the maverick energy of Darwin Nunez. There is plenty to be excited about, yet Liverpool still haven’t quite clicked in terms of controlling matches.

Salah's first MW8 goal v Brighton

Their Expected Goals Against (xGA) of 11.5 is only the 10th-best in the division, with Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, and Everton among the clubs having a better record.

It leaves Liverpool supporters unsure whether their team will be challenging for the title this season.

They are only three points off the pace and a point behind City. There is plenty of time for Liverpool to find their rhythm defensively.

But for that to happen they need to cut out the defensive mistakes - only Burnley and AFC Bournemouth have made more than Liverpool’s five errors leading to shots – and eliminate the red cards.

Man Utd’s poor start puts pressure on Ten Hag 

Scott McTominay’s late double at Old Trafford last weekend has kept the wolves from the door, but it could not fully mask another disappointing performance from Manchester United.

“In football, it's eat or get eaten,” Erik Ten Hag said after the 2-1 victory over Brentford. “Too many times in the first half of the season we have got eaten by opponents who are more hungry.”

There was certainly hunger from McTominay in stoppage time, his 96th-minute winning header completely changing the atmosphere inside the stadium. “It has to be a turning point - but also a restart, because we have to get into higher levels,” Ten Hag said.

United have lost six of their 11 matches in all competitions. All four of their Premier League victories have been by a single goal and none of them convincing: Brentford and Wolves were the better sides in defeat, while Nottingham Forest went 2-0 up at the end of August.

What has gone so wrong? Man Utd’s poor form has been arguably the biggest shock of the season following what was widely considered to be a strong summer transfer window and a successful first year under new management.

To name but a few of the problems: the manager’s attempts to install a high press have made United vulnerable defensively; they look weak defending the wings; and they are overly reliant on Bruno Fernandes, as highlighted last week.

All of a sudden things look as bad as they did before Ten Hag arrived; the problems worryingly familiar to Man Utd supporters.

Chelsea's wobbles not as bad as they look

Back-to-back Premier League wins has eased concerns at Stamford Bridge, in the process highlighting how wrong we are to exaggerate the significance of slow starts in such a long season: Chelsea are only six points off the top four.

Things were never quite as bad as they seemed. Between the two boxes, they were playing decent football, not only defending well against opposition attacks but creating lots of goalscoring opportunities as well. Chelsea rank third for touches in the opposition box with a total of 269, while their xG of 8.1 is third-bottom for opposition.

Nevertheless, this is a results business and Mauricio Pochettino had been under some pressure following three consecutive goalless matches against Forest, Bournemouth and Villa.

Nicolas Jackson’s inexperience at the highest level was a factor, as was the injury to Carney Chukwuemeka, and Pochettino’s apparent difficulty in finding the right balance in central midfield.

But recent performances by Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling have changed the narrative a little. In fact, Chelsea’s tactical setup already looks a lot like Spurs’ in the Pochettino years.

Sterling's MW8 highlights v Burnley

Those wins came just in the nick of time, too. Chelsea play four of the "Big Six", plus Brighton and Newcastle United, in their next seven matches. By the season's third international break in November, we will know for sure whether Chelsea’s poor start is behind them.

Brighton and Villa successfully juggle Europe

There was concern before the campaign began that Brighton and Villa – two neutrals’ favourites after their entertaining rise into the top seven last season – would find the Thursday-Sunday schedule difficult to manage.

We have only had two rounds of the Europa League and Europa Conference League, but so far Roberto de Zerbi and Unai Emery have navigated their European commitments very well.

Both have won 16 points from the first eight matches of the campaign, keeping them within touching distance of the UEFA Champions League places.

We should not be surprised that Emery knows how to juggle both competitions. He managed top-seven finishes with Villarreal in the years he won the Europa League and reached the final four of the Champions League, rotating well throughout.

Villa made five changes for their first European group match and six changes for their second, collecting three points from those two matches – and four from the two Premier League encounters that came straight after.

Villa's MW6 win at Chelsea

Brighton have only collected one point from their two matches in Europe, but like Villa have four points from the league matches that followed, thanks to their squad depth allowing for rotation.

They have made 30 changes to their starting XI this season, more than any other Premier League team, and swapped more than half of the team - 12 players in total - for each Europa League match.

It is a testament to the strength of the modern Premier League that even European newcomers have the depth of talent necessary to keep things fresh, ensuring their domestic form is unaffected.

It leaves Brighton and Villa, a fifth of the way through the season, in a good position to challenge for a Champions League spot.

Promoted clubs are finding it tough

Only once in Premier League history have all three promoted clubs gone straight back down: Barnsley, Crystal Palace and Bolton were relegated in 1997/98, the latter on goal difference alone as Everton survived by the skin of their teeth.

Early signs are that it might happen for a second time. Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United have only two wins from a combined 24 opportunities, and one of those was internal, with Burnley beating Luton 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.

Sheff Utd are in the most worrying position, collecting a single point from eight matches and losing 8-0 to Newcastle in September. Ominously, they have the league’s lowest xG (6.1) and highest xGA (19.6).   

Paul Heckingbottom has struggled after a summer in which his side failed to bring back loanee Tommy Doyle, a crucial part of their Championship promotion, and lost key players Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye to Burnley and Marseille respectively.

Burnley, on four points, have looked defensively vulnerable playing their expansive possession game under Vincent Kompany. The Clarets' 20 goals conceded are the second-most in the division, while only Newcastle and Villa have allowed more through-balls against them than Burnley's 23. 

Kompany, then, may need to adapt to a more conservative style in the weeks ahead.

Luton, whose rapid ascent from the fifth tier to the first in a mere nine years always made them vulnerable to instant relegation, are outside the bottom three on goal difference, but need a home win to settle the nerves.

Bournemouth’s winless start is the only reason the three promoted clubs are not already cut off from the rest.