After a thrilling weekend of Premier League goals and drama, Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons, including:
- Spurs' shock defeat to Fulham
- Berry's huge equaliser for Luton
- Emery's substitutions rescuing Villa
- How Burnley still have a chance of safety
Shock defeat asks questions of Spurs
“It is unacceptable, including me it was unacceptable. Everybody has to look in the mirror and say 'it is my fault'. It was not good enough. We didn't put in the effort we have put in this season.”
Son Heung-min’s damning assessment captures the shock of Saturday’s result to Fulham at Craven Cottage, a match that saw Spurs miss the opportunity to move into fourth and left them to stew in a poor performance for two weeks.
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Spurs have only kept two clean sheets in their last 19 matches in the Premier League, with only Sheffield United keeping fewer in that time, and indeed their form over the last half-season is a slight cause for concern.
Ange Postecoglou’s side won eight and drew two of their first 10 matches of the season, but since the end of that sequence, eight clubs – including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bournemouth and West Ham United – have won more points.
Table of top 10 since 30 October
| Team | Matches played | Total points |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 18 | 41 |
| Arsenal | 18 | 40 |
| Man City | 18 | 39 |
| Aston Villa | 19 | 34 |
| Man Utd | 18 | 32 |
| West Ham | 19 | 30 |
| Bournemouth | 18 | 29 |
| Wolves | 18 | 29 |
| Spurs | 18 | 27 |
| Chelsea | 17 | 27 |
Meanwhile, Fulham have only won one point fewer than Spurs in that time, highlighting just how impressive Marco Silva’s team have been over the last few months.
Saturday’s encounter was their joint-biggest margin of victory over Spurs in the league (and first by three goals since a 3-0 win in August 2003), and as ever these days, they had Rodrigo Muniz to thank.
Muniz’s brace took him to seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances, the most of any player in the competition since the start of February.
Berry’s equaliser a huge moment
As we predicted in our preview of this match, a Luton Town set-piece goal has had a major impact on the relegation battle.
Luke Berry’s 89th-minute equaliser was Luton’s 10th Premier League goal from a corner and their 13th from a set-piece, which is the third-most in the division. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have now conceded 18 set-piece goals, more than anyone else.
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For the hosts, it will have felt like a winning goal, not only for saving a three-point swing in Forest’s favour, but because it prevented another morale-sapping defeat a few days after surrendering a 3-0 lead at AFC Bournemouth to lose 4-3.
“To be 3-0 up and lose the game midweek was tough for us all,” Luton manager Rob Edwards said after the match. “So to come back in such a big game and for Luke Berry, who has now scored in every league, to get that equaliser is a really special moment for him and this football club.”
Still, with a little distance, Luton fans will look back on the last few days concerned by this missed opportunity.
Edwards’ side are now on an eight-match winless run and face away trips to Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City in their next four matches. Points will be hard to find.
Forest, by contrast, finally have a run of winnable fixtures. Nuno Espirito Santo has only won 11 points from 12 matches in charge, but since his first match at home to Bournemouth, the City Ground has exclusively hosted teams who finished in last season’s top five – plus West Ham, who Forest beat 2-0.
Nuno has Crystal Palace, Fulham and Wolves in the next three at home. At long last, Forest have the chance to pick up some wins on home soil.
Emery makes amends for failed tactical experiment
Not for the first time this season, Unai Emery sprung a tactical surprise that didn’t quite come off. And not for the first time, he corrected the error with smart substitutions as Aston Villa fought back to draw with West Ham.
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Emery played Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran as split strikers with Morgan Rogers drifting in from the left to act as a No 10, but the unfamiliar shape left the visitors disjointed.
In the first half, Watkins, with 14 and Duran, with 13, had fewer touches than anyone else despite Villa dominating possession, as they held 65 per cent, while Rogers struggled to get on the ball in the central column of the pitch.
Rogers' touch map v West Ham
But Emery's substitutions changed the contest completely. Matty Cash added momentum and urgency on the right, Moussa Diaby – on for Duran – dropped to become a No 10 and Nicolo Zaniolo came in off the left more effectively than Rogers had done.
Villa, now in a more familiar 4-2-3-1, had Zaniolo joining Diaby centrally to create narrow attacking lines, and therefore passing options through the thirds that just weren’t there in the opening 45 minutes.
“We didn’t control the game in the first half. We were not progressing to impose our position,” Emery said after the match. “We changed tactics in the second half and we got chances to score a goal and we did score. The second half, we deserved it.”
Diaby assisted Zaniolo for the equaliser, taking Villa’s goal involvements from substitutes up to 17 (eight goals and nine assists) in the Premier League this season. Only Liverpool, with 22, Arsenal and Newcastle United, with 18 each, have produced more respectively.
Villa, unbeaten in five on the road, are three points clear of Spurs in fourth again. It wasn’t the prettiest of contests, or the result they were after, but Emery’s side go into the break in a stronger position than was expected following last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Spurs.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
Burnley still have a moonshot at survival
This was Burnley’s last chance – and they took it. A first win in 11 matches, a first home win since 2 December, and a first home victory against a non-promoted side has given Vincent Kompany’s team a glimmer of hope.
Burnley can now spend the next fortnight basking in this feeling as they prepare for a moonshot at Premier League survival.
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They might only be on 17 points, but Burnley still have Everton, Sheff Utd and Nott'm Forest left to play, while this season as few as 30 points could be enough to stay up.
Better yet for the Clarets, David Datro Fofana shows no sign of slowing down. His strike on Saturday made him Burnley’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season with four goals, despite only playing in eight matches.
Since Fofana’s debut in January five of the club’s eight goals (63 per cent) have been scored or assisted by him, and yet despite his brilliant form, Burnley’s chances are slim.
Even West Bromwich Albion in 2004/05 – who performed what is widely regarded as the greatest of great escapes – had 21 points after 29 matches, four more than Burnley.
