After a thrilling weekend of Premier League goals and drama, Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons including:
- Liverpool being in control of their own destiny
- Arsenal proving their resilience by beating Brentford
- Garnacho's pros and cons summing up who Man Utd are
- Villa's 5-3-2 formation encouraging Spurs to dominate
- How Bournemouth and Sheff Utd were left disappointed
- Wolves entering the race for Europe
- Familiar issues leaving Glasner with a lot of work to do
- Fofana providing a ray of sunshine for Burnley
- Brighton's vital win to avoid a disastrous month
Liverpool stay in control of their own destiny
Liverpool had the opportunities in a dominant second half to win claim a crucial victory and arguably they missed their chance because Pep Guardiola got his substitutions right while Jurgen Klopp got his wrong, as we highlighted in our post-match analysis.
But Liverpool remain in control of their own destiny, just about.
Arsenal face Manchester City in the first match after the international break, which likely gives Liverpool the chance to move back to the top of the Premier League as we enter April.
Just as significant, Liverpool’s next six Premier League matches are very winnable, which should allow them to pull by the time things get trickier in May.
Meanwhile, Man City and Arsenal both have to play Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in that period as well as each other.
On the surface, a 1-1 draw at Anfield didn’t feel quite good enough for Liverpool. But the fixture list suggests Klopp can take a commanding position over the next six weeks.
Arsenal prove resilience by breaking down stubborn Brentford
Eight league wins in a row in 2024 and now top of the Premier League table on goal difference: things couldn’t be going any better for Arsenal this calendar year and their win on Saturday evening looked to be fairly predictable.
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But it was actually a significant moment for Mikel Arteta’s team. Up until Saturday, all of their wins in 2024 have been by at least two goals, except for a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest in which the hosts pulled one back in the 89th minute.
Drawing 1-1 with less than five minutes to go against the frustrating low block of Brentford was new territory. Digging deep and finding the winner proved Arsenal have the resilience and mentality to go the distance.
Arteta deserves credit for moving to an all-out 4-2-4 formation for the final 20 minutes of the match, because – eventually - it was the sheer weight of attacking numbers that led to the goal.
With Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz all crowding the box, Brentford’s defenders lost track of the floating support striker Havertz.
It wasn’t the most complex of tactical interventions, and hardly the first time Arteta has thrown the kitchen sink with Arsenal needing a goal, but it was proof that, compared to last season, Arsenal have the attacking depth required to win matches late on.
Most points won in final five mins 23/24
| Team | Total |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | 10 |
| Liverpool | 10 |
| Aston Villa | 8 |
| Spurs | 8 |
| West Ham | 8 |
Garnacho’s pros and cons sum up Ten Hag’s season
In keeping with the vibe of Manchester United’s season, this was a haphazard encounter and difficult to decipher; a clumsy performance from the hosts but a 2-0 victory.
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For large periods of the first half, Everton were the better side, dominating in the centre-left space because Casemiro frequently vacated it and Alejandro Garnacho consistently failed to track back in time.
Here is a typical example of Man Utd’s unusual shape, seconds before a Dwight McNeil shot across goal.
Note how deep Casemiro sits and that Garnacho isn’t even in picture, creating a diagonal channel of space into which McNeil, after getting the ball back, runs and shoots.
It happened again and again yet ultimately didn’t matter, thanks to two moments of brilliance from Garnacho, winning first-half penalties.
Garnacho was the best and worst of United: the source of both goals but repeatedly at fault for failing to get back.
Starting the move ➡️ Winning a penalty
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 10, 2024
That's our @AGarnacho7 💪#MUFC || #PL pic.twitter.com/BEnY5lIBdY
The contradiction captures United’s strange campaign, which is built upon fast and direct attacking interplay – but also defensive naivety.
Garnacho, still just 19, cannot be blamed for any positional errors. This is either a coaching issue or a tactical consequence of Ten Hag’s 4-2-4 formation, in which the wide forwards were expected to stay high up the pitch so that Man Utd could break quickly.
It allowed Everton to take 23 shots, the most of any away side at Old Trafford this season, although just like the reverse fixture at Goodison Park, the Toffees couldn’t take advantage.
Everton league stats v Man Utd 2023/24
| Statistic | Total |
|---|---|
| Points | 0 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Shots | 47 |
| Shots on target | 12 |
| Goals conceded | 5 |
Of course, this problem isn’t confined to matches against United. Everton have a 7.3 per cent shot conversion rate this season, the lowest on record for a Premier League team.
Better finishing and the tactical frailty around Garnacho and Casemiro, would have put Ten Hag under the spotlight again.
Villa’s 5-3-2 encourages Spurs to dominate
An injury to Jacob Ramsey perhaps forced his hand, but Unai Emery sprang a tactical surprise at Villa Park that initially appeared to work, but in the end proved to be Villa’s downfall in a damaging 4-0 defeat to Spurs.
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Villa lined up in a flat 5-3-2 formation, restricting Spurs to just one shot on target in the first half, their fewest of the campaign so far. It succeeded in funnelling the visitor’s play out wide, blocking the middle and stunting Ange Postecoglou’s usual patterns of play.
“We decided to stop them by playing two full-backs wide and defensively low and three centre-backs trying to jump and to stop them play,” Emery said after.
“We achieved the objective we had, but the second half changed because they scored two goals.”
From Emery’s perspective, the goals were not connected to the tactical plan. That isn’t necessarily true.
Spurs raced out of the blocks in the second period arguably because they felt emboldened by Villa’s cautious and defensive stance.
They would have expected a tougher and more confrontational encounter, but faced with that conservative 5-3-2, Postecoglou realised he could throw more bodies forward than initially planned.
Villa, suddenly overwhelmed, conceded two sloppy goals that killed off the contest.
Bournemouth and Sheff Utd left equally disappointed
Here was a rare sight in the Premier League: a result that suited nobody and a match both sides will have felt they should have won.
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Sheffield United, 2-0 up with 15 minutes on the clock remaining, will of course be bitterly disappointed not to have held on, especially considering they showed greater attacking intent than at any other point this season.
Their nine shots on target was their most on record in a Premier League fixture.
That both AFC Bournemouth goals came from corners adds insult to injury. The Blades have conceded 11 goals from non-penalty set-pieces this season, the fifth most in the division, and to do so twice in the final minutes is a poor way to let a comfortable lead slip.
But Bournemouth were actually on top for long periods, and had Dominic Solanke scored a penalty when the score was 0-0, the hosts most likely would have gone on to win.
They still should have. Andoni Iraola’s side had 32 shots, their most ever in a Premier League match and the third most by any side in the competition this season.
It is scant consolation that Bournemouth finally took their first point of the season when behind at the break.
ENES. pic.twitter.com/JCogmMzenx
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) March 10, 2024
This is a fixture they ought to have won and, as the second of three consecutive matches against promoted sides, was a missed opportunity to put a sequence together.
Instead, Bournemouth lost further ground on the teams above them. Sheff Utd, still 10 points short of Forest in 17th, are just as unhappy with how things ended.
Wolves enter the race for Europe
Fulham won’t believe they lost this. They amassed a 2.8 Expected Goals (xG) from 23 shots while Wolverhampton Wanderers scored twice from an xG of 0.8 and just eight shots in total.
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Wolves got lucky, but it won’t feel that way.
Winning four of their last six, Wolves are the sort of form that makes even fortunate results look like hard-fought and well-earned victories. They have earned those rose-tinted glasses.
Wolves now have the same number of points as they accrued in the whole of last season, with 41, and one more win, highlighting the incredible job Gary O’Neil is doing.
Wolves last two seasons compared
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 38 | 28 |
| Won | 11 | 12 |
| Goals for | 31 | 42 |
| Points | 41 | 41 |
| Position | 13th | 8th |
And with 10 matches remaining, there’s a genuine chance Wolves will qualify for Europe.
They are just a point behind Brighton & Hove Albion in eighth, which is likely to be a UEFA Europa Conference League spot, and only two short of West Ham in seventh.
An excellent first year at the helm could yet become an unforgettable one, especially with Coventry City at home in the FA Cup this weekend for a shot at Wembley. Nobody saw this coming back in August.
Familiar issues highlight the work Glasner must do
Overall, Oliver Glasner will be pleased with his team’s performance if not the result.
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Crystal Palace created five "big chances", their most of the season, and considering they scored three goals in three of their previous four home games, we can dismiss their wastefulness as a one-off.
But Luton Town's equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time was a lesson, or maybe just a reminder, of what Glasner needs to work on over the coming months.
Palace have conceded 20 goals after the 75th minute and 10 goals in the 90th minute or later this season, which on both counts is more than any other Premier League side.
Supporters will have seen this coming, especially given that only Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of matches than Luton, with each of those three sides scoring 24 and 15 respectively.
Glasner, however, was optimistic that the issue – which he diagnosed as a mental one – will soon end.
“You cannot deny we conceded many goals late in the game, maybe this is deep in the mind of the players but we will get it out,” he said after the match. “This was our third game together. I'm full of hope and belief in this team.”
Fofana rocket is a ray of light for Burnley
Burnley supporters do not have much to celebrate and, cruelly, even moments of optimism are quickly snatched away from them.
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Their team were 2-0 up at the break having prevented West Ham from registering a single shot on target, and yet by full-time it was another two points dropped with former Burnley striker Danny Ings, of all people, scoring a stoppage-time minute equaliser.
But there is the smallest chink of light for Burnley. David Datro Fofana is having a lot of fun, playing with a freedom and swaggering confidence that can only come with knowing that, on loan from Chelsea, his future is not tied to Burnley’s possible relegation.
Fofana’s strike at London Stadium was sensational; easily a candidate for goal of the season.
A thunderous strike from @DatroDavid ⚡ pic.twitter.com/WEj7BHhpYk
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) March 11, 2024
If Burnley are to go down without any drama, then at least Fofana’s goals – that’s three in seven for the Clarets – can provide some light relief.
Brighton get a vital win to avoid a disastrous March
This was not the prettiest of matches. In fact, the combined xG of this encounter (1.14) was the third-lowest total of any Premier League encounter this season.
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But it was a result of potentially huge significance to Brighton. They went into this on a four-match winless run in all competitions, which included defeat in the FA Cup and a 4-0 loss to Roma in the UEFA Europa League in midweek, effectively putting them out of the competition.
The return leg against Roma is unlikely to go well, and then Brighton travel to Anfield at the end of March.
Had they not beaten Forest on Sunday, Brighton would most likely have gone an entire month without victory in any competition and, in the process, would have crashed out of both cups as well as the race for Europa League football in 2024/25.
It was ugly and forgettable. But Roberto De Zerbi desperately needed that win by any means necessary.