Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics and tactical lessons from Matchweek 11 including:
- Baleba's brilliant impact v Man City
- Set-piece mistakes costly for Aston Villa
- Fernandes makes his point to Amorim
- How McKenna outwitted Postecoglou
- Chelsea and Arsenal remain in title hunt
- Cunha inspires Wolves to first win
- How Newcastle beat Nott'm Forest at their own game
- Tough times ahead for Crystal Palace
- Brentford surprise outsiders for European spot
- Why West Ham's display will concern Lopetegui
Baleba introduction turns the match on its head
For a long time at the Amex Stadium, it looked as though Brighton & Hove Albion’s hard-pressing football and openness in possession would allow Mateo Kovacic, in brilliant form, to weave and dart through the lines and win the three points.
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That was the pattern that gave Manchester City three glorious one-on-one chances in the first half, of which Erling Haaland scored one.
But then Carlos Baleba came on at half-time – and tore up the script.
Baleba's performance v Man City
Carlos with an unbelievable second half display... 💫 Highlights in partnership with @MPBcom. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/kCkO4kyiU3
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 10, 2024
He was absolutely outstanding: making tackles, winning second balls and dribbling through the thirds to gain Brighton a foothold in the match.
By commanding central midfield, Baleba forced Man City into an increasingly deeper formation, which in turn opened up space for Brighton to play long diagonals out to Kaoru Mitoma.
The equaliser was the perfect example. Baleba wrestling control of the middle drove his opponents back and changed the momentum, meaning City were far too deep, allowing an easy pass that wasn’t open in the hard-pressing first half.
Joao Pedro's goal v Man City
"I'm back!" 🤩 @DeJesusOfiicial's return to the #PL with style! 💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/PIP5n71dKW
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 9, 2024
The second goal was even more pronounced. Notice how deep Man City have dropped, timidly allowing Baleba to fire an excellent forward pass that helps create the winner.
O'Riley's goal v Man City
Sealing the win for Albion on his #PL debut! 🙌 @MonsterEnergy ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/c7PUX2Xmt0
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 9, 2024
Man City have now lost four successive matches in all competitions for the first time under Pep Guardiola.
Worse, it feels as though heads are starting to drop. Others will have taken note. Get at Man City, take control of midfield, and they will start to retreat.
Liverpool take advantage of Villa’s repeated mistakes
Given the amount of energy expended and detail put into Aston Villa’s tactical set up, Unai Emery must have been hugely frustrated to see his side twice undone from set-pieces – and their own set-pieces at that.
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Only Tottenham Hotspur (seven) have scored more goals from fast breaks in the Premier League this season than Liverpool (five), so Villa really ought to have anticipated the opposition counter-attacking quickly from their corners.
But several times they failed to leave enough players back, including for the crucial 20th-minute opener. After Lucas Digne was drawn forward, Virgil van Dijk’s long ball left Villa hopelessly exposed.
That moment cost Villa points – and put Liverpool in firm control of the title race.
Arne Slot has earned 28 points from his first 11 matches, the joint-most of any manager in Premier League history (with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea in 2009), while Liverpool have only once before collected more points at this stage, in their 2019/20 title-winning campaign.
If Liverpool win at Southampton and Man City fail to defeat Spurs in Matchweek 12, Slot's men would extend their points lead over the champions to double figures if they beat them at Anfield on 1 December.
That would be an almost unassailable position with a third of the season gone.
Fernandes makes his case
Bruno Fernandes’s brilliant opener against Leicester City, on his 250th appearance for Manchester United, was a timely message to new manager Ruben Amorim, who officially takes charge of the club today.
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Fernandes has been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 Premier League appearances for United (56 goals, 44 assists), reaching that milestone in just one more match than Cristiano Ronaldo (169).
His influence at Old Trafford, and his importance to any incoming manager, should be obvious.
But there’s a problem. Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation favours two dribbling wingers either side of the striker. There is no obvious place for Fernandes in the team.
Most likely, Amorim will adapt the system slightly, putting Fernandes into one of those two inside-forward slots, but as the players get to know his tactical set up, how to use the captain could become an early problem for the new manager.
But what’s the alternative? As Fernandes proved with a goal and an assist against Leicester, leaving him out is simply not an option.
McKenna’s tactical surprise nullifies Spurs
The away supporters’ delirious celebrations at the final whistle said it all.
This was an outstanding performance and a thoroughly deserved victory for Ipswich Town, and a potentially season-defining moment for Kieran McKenna, whose tactical plan outwitted Ange Postecoglou.
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Ben Johnson was given a surprise start on the right of midfield in a 4-4-2 formation, where he was tasked with man-marking Destiny Udogie out of the game.
Udogie is Spurs' secret weapon, popping up as a No 8 or a left winger, but he was successfully neutralised with Johnson sticking tight.
Ipswich sat deep and narrow to stifle Spurs through the middle, before working their way out of the press with some elegant and daring in-possession work.
Both goals made Spurs look passive in midfield, but the winning goal in particular was more about Ipswich surprising the hosts with their aggression and forward intent.
Postecoglou’s response in the second half was to go harder down the wings. Dejan Kulusevski was instructed to move much wider out to the right to support Brennan Johnson while Timo Werner came off the bench on the left, with Son Heung-min leaning that way to essentially give Spurs double wingers on both sides.
It didn’t work. Ipswich held firm centrally and, with James Maddison unused until the 84th minute, Spurs didn’t have the lock picker required to open up McKenna’s compact 4-4-2.
It was a defensive masterclass from Ipswich and a richly deserved tactical victory.
Now out of the bottom three, Ipswich have proved – with the performance and the result – that they belong at this level.
Chelsea and Arsenal stay in title race
A scrappy encounter at Stamford Bridge didn’t much deserve a winner and yet the unusually compressed Premier League table means that both Chelsea and Arsenal are still in the title race.
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Arsenal have gone four consecutive Premier League matches without a win for the first time since April 2023, but Martin Odegaard’s assist on his return suggests some of their creativity issues will be resolved moving forward.
Meanwhile, Chelsea ended the weekend in the top three places for the first time since the final day of the 2021/22 season, marking their fast progress under Enzo Maresca despite a tame performance on Sunday defined by Cole Palmer getting marked out of the game by Thomas Partey.
It’s a strange situation. Arsenal still don’t look themselves, Chelsea appear naïve at times and yet both sides are just four points behind Man City.
Unless Liverpool accelerate away, it seems likely that this year’s Premier League winners won’t need to be quite as perfect as in years gone by.
That opens the door to an Arsenal revival - and even to Chelsea springing a surprise.
Cunha's brilliance inspires Wolves
When pundits say Wolverhampton Wanderers are too good to go down they are usually thinking about one player in particular.
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Has a Premier League team ever been relegated with an attacker as talented as Matheus Cunha in their ranks?
Cunha dominated the match on Saturday, not only assisting the first goal and scoring the second but popping up all over the pitch to drive Wolves forward.
Cunha's goal v Southampton
A @mathcunha20 🚀 to seal victory at Molineux! pic.twitter.com/zfjEwG7f2o
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2024
Thanks to Cunha, who now has 23 goals or assists in his last 28 Premier League starts, Wolves have finally ended their winless run.
It could be the beginning of a revival.
Wolves' next six fixtures in the Premier League are favourable, and Cunha could be the best player on the pitch in each of them.
Newcastle give Forest taste of their own medicine
Newcastle United’s second-half comeback at the City Ground was mightily impressive.
Forest were on a 13-match unbeaten run going into Sunday's encounter and looked comfortable when leading 1-0 at half-time.
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But Eddie Howe’s side pushed up, became more aggressive in midfield, and - most surprising of all - beat Forest at their own game, scoring once from a set-piece and twice from counter-attacks.
It extends Newcastle’s winning streak to three in all competitions, a sequence that has got the Magpies looking up the table again.
Newcastle are now above Spurs and Villa and are only point off third place. Their total of 18 points from 11 matches is the same as they had at this stage in 2022/23, when they qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
It goes to show that when the Premier League table is this tight, just one or two good results can flip the entire narrative.
Tough times ahead for Palace
Crystal Palace's 1-0 victory over Spurs feels like a very long time ago.
Losing 2-0 at home to Fulham has plunged Palace back into the bottom three, but worse than that, further injuries and suspensions sustained in this match leaves Oliver Glasner short of players ahead of a tough set of fixtures.
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Eddie Nketiah’s injury and Daichi Kamada’s red card add to a list of absentees that includes Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Jefferson Lerma.
Palace are low on numbers, particularly creatively, which does not bode well for a challenging set of fixtures in the run up to Christmas.
The manner of Fulham’s crucial opener on Saturday, caused by a sloppy pass from Maxence Lacroix, was a sign of Palace’s waning confidence. It could be a harsh winter.
Can Brentford dream of European football?
Brentford’s win on Saturday was like a 90-minute summary of their entire season so far: five goals, a topsy-turvy match, a weakened defence and excellent forward play from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo.
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No team has seen more goals in their matches than Brentford, who have scored 22 but have conceded the same number. Yet, thanks to Wissa and Mbeumo - who have netted 15 between them - Thomas Frank’s side are surprise outsiders for a place in Europe.
Their third successive home Premier League win has lifted Brentford to within only three points of third, putting them in the middle of that remarkable clump of teams vying for the top 10.
Can they really push on and challenge for European football? We will know by the end of November, after they have played home matches against Everton and Leicester City.
Brentford need to win both of these to enter the race.
West Ham’s performance will concern Lopetegui
The most worrying part of West Ham United's 0-0 draw with Everton was that it just didn’t feel like a Julen Lopetegui performance.
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In previous jobs, he has prioritised controlled possession football, yet at the London Stadium, West Ham held just 49 per cent of the ball and their 78 per cent pass accuracy was their lowest in a home league match this season.
Everton’s 51 per cent was their highest possession share of 2024/25, while their 18 shots was also their joint-most.
Those are alarming numbers for Lopetegui - and they accurately reflect how this encounter felt.
West Ham didn’t manage a single shot on goal until the 37th minute and throughout the 90, they found themselves in nervous retreat, sitting in a deep defensive formation.
Lopetegui needs the international break to radically alter his team’s tactical set up.
