After the conclusion of Matchweek 9 of the 2024/25 Premier League season, football writer Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons, including:
- Arsenal show resilience but form is a concern
- Cooper's formation has pros and cons
- Palmer can take Chelsea to Champions League
- Palace's superb press pulls Spurs out of shape
- Lopetegui's alteration changes West Ham's fortunes
- Fulham's lax moments are keeping them out of top four
- Mbeumo and Wissa instantly improve Brentford
- Ferguson's moment overshadowed by crazy ending
- Villa suffer another European hangover
- Southampton's promising display at Man City
Arsenal show resilience but form is a concern
Having ended the match with their third and fourth-choice centre-backs, a central midfielder at right-back, and 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back, this was undoubtedly a resilient Arsenal performance and a commendable 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the circumstances.
But there’s no escaping that Arsenal’s failure to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since New Year’s Eve in 2023 is a slight worry.
The Gunners are level on points with Aston Villa and just two points above Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest. They have won only two of their last five Premier League matches and just over half of their matches in total, a win ratio of 56 per cent.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
9 | +11 | 23 |
| 2 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
9 | +12 | 22 |
| 3 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
9 | +7 | 18 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
9 | +5 | 18 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
9 | +8 | 17 |
| 6 |
Brighton
BHA
|
9 | +4 | 16 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
9 | +4 | 16 |
Injuries and suspensions are a significant factor in all this, of course, and yet in an attacking sense there is growing concern that the Gunners are reliant on set-pieces and the individual brilliance of Bukayo Saka, whose 10 goal involvements constitutes 58 per cent of Arsenal’s league total.
Mikel Arteta’s side are already five points behind Manchester City and their next three matches are Newcastle United and Chelsea away, followed by a home encounter with Nottingham Forest, the team with the second-best away record in the Premier League.
There is no need for panic. Arsenal have plenty of time to make sure this is just a blip. But supporters have every right to feel a little nervous.
Cooper’s ambitious formation has pros and cons
Steve Cooper has been wrestling with the contradictions of the Leicester City job – a fanbase that want progressive football and the realities of life as relegation candidates.
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He tried something new on Friday night against Nottingham Forest, inverting Ricardo Pereira from right-back into central midfield to create a very modern "3-box-3" formation in which Pereira and Harry Winks combine in the pivot as Wilfred Ndidi and Facundo Buonanotte roam forward, forming that box shape.
It worked superbly for the Leicester goal, a beautiful team move started by a Winks-Pereira one-two that broke the Nott'm Forest midfield, before involving Ndidi in that high No 8 position.
Build-up to Leicester's equaliser v Nott'm Forest
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Leicester start their attack with Pereira and Winks in the middle of the pitch
-
Winks progresses with the ball and passes it left to Ndidi (circled), who gives to Mavididi. He then returns it to Winks, who crosses for Vardy's goal
Leicester start their attack with Pereira and Winks in the middle of the pitch
1 / 2
Winks progresses with the ball and passes it left to Ndidi (circled), who gives to Mavididi. He then returns it to Winks, who crosses for Vardy's goal
2 / 2
However, Cooper’s ambitious formation made Leicester too open. They held 65 per cent possession, by far their highest to date this season, yet Forest had 20 shots, their second-most in a Premier League match since promotion in 2022.
For now, Cooper remains stuck between a rock and a hard place.
He wants to give supporters more expansive football of the sort he deployed as Nott'm Forest manager in the Championship. But, after being soundly beaten on Friday, he may have to revert to conservativism again.
World-class Palmer can take Chelsea to Champions League
Cole Palmer is world-class. We can surely start to use that label after 45 goal involvements in just 42 Premier League matches for Chelsea.
Palmer was sensational yet again on Sunday against Newcastle United, ruthless in his finishing – both for the winner and the marginally offside goal he scored in the first half – and breath-taking in his passing.
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At least once a match, a Palmer pass draws a gasp from the crowd, and on Sunday we saw perhaps the best of his career so far: a 40-yard through ball that pierced the Newcastle defence and led to Chelsea’s opener.
Palmer's incredible pass for Chelsea's opening goal
A beautiful goal from one end to the other! 🙌#CFC | #CHENEW pic.twitter.com/UzPa6HBrUf
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 28, 2024
He didn’t get an assist for that one, yet Palmer is still top of the Premier League charts this season for goal contributions, with 12. He also ranks third for chances created, with 25, behind Saka and Andreas Pereira.
It was another slightly disordered and raw performance from this young Chelsea team – but another performance made insignificant by Palmer’s genius.
On this evidence Palmer can almost single-handedly bring UEFA Champions League football back to Stamford Bridge.
Palace’s brilliant press pulls Spurs out of shape
Oliver Glasner needed a win like this one to reset the narrative and remind everyone what a good tactician he is.
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Crystal Palace’s victory was founded on a superb high press that unsettled the Tottenham Hotspur defence and disrupted their flow. It was the perfect aggressive strategy to knock Spurs off kilter.
Most obviously, the press led directly to the winning goal, when Munoz sprinted 30 yards to tackle Micky van de Ven and cross for Jean-Philippe Mateta’s strike.
But it formed part of a consistent pattern. Palace attempted 32 tackles and completed 19, on both counts by far their most of the campaign to date.
They also completed 66.7 per cent of their attempted tackles on Spurs dribblers, with 16 out of 24, again a season-high. It forced Spurs into two defensive errors, their most in a single match this season.
Lopetegui's new formation change West Ham’s fortunes
In the first half, another passive and wide-open West Ham United performance allowed Manchester United to produce countless chances. They hit the bar twice and Diogo Dalot missed an open goal.
At that point nobody saw a West Ham win coming. Indeed, nobody would have predicted that the half-time break would be the most significant of Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham tenure so far.
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West Ham made three half-time substitutions – for the first time ever – and moved to a new hybrid 5-4-1/4-3-3 formation. They were in a back five when out of possession, but when in possession Edson Alvarez shifted up from centre-back into central midfield.
It was an interesting halfway house; a compromise between the 5-4-1 that was disastrous in the defeat to Chelsea in mid-September and the 4-2-3-1 that was too light on midfield numbers in the opening 45 minutes on Sunday.
Essentially, the new shape meant West Ham had three midfielders to compete in the middle (they were overwhelmed here in the first half) and enough defensive bodies to cope with the fast Man Utd counter-attacks.
On top of that, by bringing on Tomas Soucek, West Ham had a target to hit, so goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski went from short passes – inviting pressure – to long balls that got the hosts up the field.
It clearly worked. West Ham dramatically improved, Man Utd were confused by the positional switches, and the hosts were deserved winners despite the controversy of the late penalty.
It was a clever strategic change from Lopetegui that completely shifted the dynamic of the contest – and pointed to a much brighter future after what has been a muddled start for the new head coach.
Fulham’s lax moments are the only reason they’re not top four
Fulham were in complete control of this encounter as it headed into stoppage time, only for Beto’s header to salvage a point for Sean Dyche’s side and extent Everton’s unbeaten run to five matches.
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It was a familiar story for Marco Silva. His team have now dropped 10 points from winning positions already this season, the second-most in the Premier League behind Brentford.
Had they held on to leads in just three of those fixtures they would now be joint-third, level with Arsenal.
On the one hand it’s clearly good news that Fulham are so close to that standard, but the way they’ve dropped points must be agonising for their supporters.
Fulham missed three one-on-ones in the 3-2 defeat to Man City, missed a penalty at 1-1 against Aston Villa only to lose 3-1, and conceded a last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 draw with West Ham.
At the moment, sudden lapses in concentration are costing Fulham dearly. Learn how to hang onto leads and they can become a serious force.
Return of Wissa-Mbeumo pairing improves Brentford
It can be hard to find much sense in a 4-3 scoreline, but one clear takeaway is just how much Brentford need Yoane Wissa to stay fit this season.
Wissa missed each of Brentford’s previous four Premier League matches and returned to devastating effect on Saturday against Ipswich Twon, scoring one and forcing an own goal from Harry Clarke.
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His partnership with Bryan Mbeumo is probably the most underrated in the Premier League.
According to the i newspaper, Wissa and Mbeumo have scored an incredible 33 goals from their last 35 Premier League matches started together.
We probably should have seen a Wissa-Mbeumo goal fest coming, then, given how poor Ipswich’s defensive record has been this season.
They are bottom of the league for Expected Goals Against (xGA), with 21.5, while only Wolverhampton Wanderers have conceded more than their 20 goals.
Crazy ending overshadows Ferguson’s big moment
Of all the late goals scored this weekend none was crazier – and none more crushing – than Matheus Cunha’s at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton not only wasted a 4v1 that would have sealed the points, but just one pass from Tommy Doyle then set up an equaliser all the crueler for taking a big deflection and squeezing in off the crossbar.
Brighton's 4v1 when leading 2-1 late on
It was elation for Wolves, but what a shame for Evan Ferguson that his first goal in 19 Premier League matches was not the winner.
Ferguson, still only 20, ended a goal drought that stretches back to November 2023 with a superb finish that one hopes will help him get back on his feet.
Brighton could certainly do with a goalscoring striker to support Danny Welbeck if Fabian Hurzeler’s defence continues to be this leaky.
The Seagulls have conceded at least two goals in four of their last five Premier League matches.
European hangover again affects Villa
Unai Emery dismissed suggestions that Aston Villa are suffering from a European hangover, yet his comments were a little contradictory.
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“I think we played fantastic even when we drew against Manchester United,” he said. “We drew the home game after a Champions League game and today we played in the same way. It’s not the consequence of that result.
“Maybe we need some changes. For example Morgan Rogers has played a lot of matches and he was tired. It’s normal.”
It might be “normal”, but tiredness is precisely the point: Villa laboured to a 0-0 draw with Man Utd and then to a 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth following Champions League matches.
That accounts for half of the four matches in which Villa have dropped points this season. The results don’t lie. Emery needs to find a way to better juggle the two competitions.
Southampton will take encouragement despite defeat
“It’s a good game to learn as a manager. I am going to learn a lot [from their manager] because they did really well. We were humble and accepted that they did really well.”
If you’re reading those comments for the first time you might assume that was Russell Martin praising Pep Guardiola. It’s actually Guardiola suggesting he can learn some tactical tricks from the Southampton manager.
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“We were not sloppy, we were not flat, but we struggled to regain the ball because they are really good,” Guardiola added.
“I’m a spectator. When I see the opponent do the things I like to do with my team and they do it really well, I make a compliment. I’m sure I will learn.”
Southampton were brave in possession and clearly tough to break down, although it should be said the scoreline flattered the visitors.
They had just five shots, with an Expected Goals (xG) total of 0.21, while Man City amassed an xG of 2.95, their third-highest tally of the season.
