After a sensational weekend of Premier League action, football writer Alex Keble looks at the key talking points and tactical lessons, including:
- Man City problems go deeper than Rodri
- Familiar Man Utd issues for Amorim
- Another Slot masterstroke
- Odegaard return brings best out of Saka
- Midfield injuries hurting Villa
- Joao Pedro is Brighton's star man
- Cunha driving Wolves up the table
- Brentford finally end losing streak
- Lethargic performances cost Cooper
Man City’s new low reveals problems go beyond Rodri
Pep Guardiola’s new contract was supposed to trigger a revival, but instead Manchester City found a new low.
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In fact, in losing so heavily to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium, their form has shifted from strange blip to unprecedented collapse.
Man City are the first reigning top-flight champions to lose five matches in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.
They hadn’t lost five in a row since April 2006 under Stuart Pearce, or three consecutive Premier League matches since 2016 when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge.
Worse, their 52-match unbeaten home run is over, ending any small hope this rough patch would be restricted to away games.
Losing one player, no matter how important Rodri is, cannot explain a sequence like this.
Passivity in midfield, disjointed passing, full-backs struggling to have an impact in the final third and an overreliance on Erling Haaland are just a few of the other problems facing Guardiola currently.
Guardiola will probably find a solution. He always does. But this isn’t like previous autumn wobbles, which were fixed through winter to trigger a title charge in the spring.
City are already eight points off the top. Defeat at Anfield on Sunday would surely put the title beyond them.
Amorim experiences extent of United’s problems
Ruben Amorim has never been under any illusions about the scale of the task at hand, but nevertheless, seeing Manchester United play live on his watch for the first time will have given it new emotional resonance.
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There were bright moments - the impressive performance of Amad as a right wing-back, and the United players broadly understanding their roles in the 3-4-3 - but overall, the familiar issues of pressing and midfield organisation defined a scrappy contest at Portman Road.
Too often Amorim was left frustrated by his team’s inability to press effectively, allowing Ipswich Town to bully Man Utd in midfield and take the initiative for long periods, as our tactical analysis highlights.
The clearest example was Omari Hutchinson's equaliser, when Jens Cajuste carried the ball through open grass after Ipswich beat the United press. The forwards pressed hard, but the centre-backs didn’t push up to join them, disconnecting the lines and emptying central midfield in Erik ten Hag-like fashion, as you can see below.
Radically changing Man Utd's out-of-possession structure is going to take a long time, requiring significantly improved fitness and long hours on the training ground, both difficult to do in mid-season.
Amorim has a long road ahead.
Slot’s turnaround truly the sign of champions
Winning ugly is a sign of champions, or so the cliche goes, but in the modern Premier League, we need to adjust the adage slightly.
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Teams who don’t play well but still win are unlikely to get the 90+ points tally required to lift the title. The standard is just too high now, and more often than not a team “winning ugly” will eventually fall away, not pull clear.
A modern sign of champions is taking an ugly game - windy conditions, a slow pitch, and bullish opponents - and finding a way to adapt to the tactical landscape in front of you.
Arne Slot changed his approach quickly after Liverpool fell behind, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz in the 62nd minute and seemingly instructing his players to take a more direct approach to goal.
From the double substitution onwards, Liverpool’s pass accuracy dropped to 83 per cent from 90 per cent, and their possession fell to 49.4 per cent from 68.8 per cent, yet they created 10 chances in this spell, more than the seven they managed over the the opening hour.
Liverpool creativity comparison
| Match mins | Possession % | Pass accuracy % | Chances created |
| 1-62 mins | 68.8% | 90.0% | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63-90 mins | 49.4% | 83.0% | 10 |
Mohamed Salah’s brilliant equaliser was courtesy of a long ball over the top from Ryan Gravenberch, before Salah went on to score from the spot after a spell of late pressure.
Slot, once again, found the in-game change required to control the variables. That is the true sign of champions.
Odegaard’s return frees up Saka to shine
Martin Odegaard’s return to the team has rejuvenated Arsenal in almost every phase of play and every part of the pitch. We knew his impact was significant, but we didn’t quite realise how much he was influencing indirectly.
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Odegaard’s patrolling of the right half-space draws attention towards him and away from Bukayo Saka, freeing the latter to work more effectively, where previously he was shut down by two or three defenders.
Add to this the clever one-twos between Odegaard and Saka - including the exchange to set up the 15th-minute opener that calmed nerves and set the tone of the match - and unsurprisingly Arsenal get an improved right flank.
In deeper areas, Odegaard’s classiness in possession helps Arsenal to keep firm control of the ball, push up the pitch and pin their opponents.
There is a causal relationship between Odegaard’s 83 touches (the third-most of anyone on the pitch, behind the Arsenal centre-backs) and Nottingham Forest failing to have a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since April 2023.
Villa’s injury-hit midfield leads to more dropped points
The defining sequence in Saturday's draw at Villa Park was Youri Tielemans’ penalty miss and Crystal Palace breaking from Aston Villa’s resulting corner to make it 2-1.
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The most obvious place to point the finger, then, is at whoever decided Tielemans should take the penalty after missing three of his previous five, and at set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, after Villa conceded a goal from their own corner for the second successive match.
But this contest was won and lost in central midfield, where Tielemans and Ross Barkley were predictably too slow to cope with Palace’s fast transitions.
Counter-attacks are a crucial part of Oliver Glasner’s tactical approach, yet injuries to Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara forced Unai Emery’s hand. Predictably enough, Tielemans and Barkley didn’t have the legs to deal with the counters.
Tielemans was too slow in getting to a loose ball in the build-up to Palace’s first goal, as indicated below.
Crystal Palace first goal
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Tielemans is slow to loose ball
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Mateta passes forward to goalscorer Sarr
Tielemans is slow to loose ball
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Mateta passes forward to goalscorer Sarr
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Barkley was then outpaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta for the second; Onana would have kept up with him, allowing Tielemans to cover the goalscorer Justin Devenny.
Crystal Palace second goal
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Mateta outpaces Barkley
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Mateta prepares to assist Devenny
Mateta outpaces Barkley
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Mateta prepares to assist Devenny
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Joao Pedro is the new star of Hurzeler’s system
Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion are the real deal.
Four wins from their last six Premier League matches have given them the same record as Arsenal and Chelsea after the first third of the season. Victory at home to bottom club Southampton on Friday will lift them into second spot.
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The secret to Hurzeler’s success is variety. Brighton frequently shift between formations and move their forwards into different roles, confounding opposition managers, although the foundation remains the same - narrow attacking lines and fast, forward surges when the ball is won back.
Joao Pedro is revelling in the system. Hurzeler’s tactical approach allows two narrow wingers to make penetrative runs into the box, drawing defenders away from Pedro while also giving him through-ball options.
The Brazilian's phenomenal assist for Kaoru Mitoma’s winner was the perfect example.
Mitoma's goal v AFC Bournemouth
The pass from Joao, the finish from Kaoru... 🤤 pic.twitter.com/3j2bLkPsQg
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 23, 2024
Pedro has now netted in three consecutive Premier League starts for the first time, and he's the first Brighton player to both score and assist in back-to-back games in the competition.
Cunha puts Wolves in a strong position to keep climbing
Wolverhampton Wanderers are back on the up - and in a very strong position to pull clear of the relegation battle altogether.
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Two Premier League wins in a row for the first time since February have lifted Gary O’Neil’s side out of the bottom three, ahead of a five-match run leading up to Christmas that looks favourable for an in-form team boasting Matheus Cunha in its ranks.
AFC Bournemouth (H), Everton (A), West Ham United (A), Ipswich (H), and Leicester City (A) await in a sequence that might allow Wolves to string together three or four wins and leave the rest of the relegation candidates behind.
That should happen if Cunha keeps up his current form. The Brazilian has netted in four successive Premier League away matches and has scored or assisted 50 per cent of Wolves’ 20 league goals this season.
Seven of Cunha's goal involvements have come in the last four matches, an unbeaten run for Wolves (W2, D2) in which they’ve netted 10 times.
If Cunha stays on song, Wolves will keep on winning.
Brentford finally end their losing streak as Everton’s problems mount
It isn’t often that a 0-0 draw against a club in the bottom six can be deemed a good result, but Thomas Frank will be fairly pleased with what he saw on Saturday.
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Brentford finally got their first away point of the season - and their first Premier League clean sheet in 2024/25.
Those are two nagging issues the Bees have put to bed, making their forgettable draw at Everton a valuable one.
Sean Dyche won’t be feeling so positive. Everton have now failed to score in three consecutive Premier League matches and have taken only six points from six games at Goodison Park this season, scoring a meagre five goals.
They had 27 shots on Saturday in a familiar story. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto both missed chances, yet again, as Everton’s winless run was extended to four.
Hopes that Dyche’s side had turned a corner are well and truly gone. Worse still, the current top four - Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal - are among their next six opponents.
It could be a long winter.
Cooper’s final match was typical of his tenure
To casual onlookers, Leicester’s decision to part company with Steve Cooper on Sunday might have been a surprise.
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After all, a narrow defeat at home to Chelsea is hardly disastrous, and the fact it was only the second time this season Leicester have lost consecutive Premier League matches suggests Cooper had made them tough to beat.
But their points tally and league position don’t tell the whole story and supporters have been disappointed by a style of football that lacked creativity. Leicester rank bottom for non-penalty xG (10.8).
Cooper’s final match in charge produced more of the same.
Leicester managed only four shots on goal and one on target, and with Wilfred Ndidi as the most advanced midfielder, they frankly never really looked like getting back into the game.
Fans will be hoping the tactical approach of the next manager is a little closer to the aesthetic football of Cooper’s predecessor Enzo Maresca.