Premier League best and worst: Brilliant Liverpool, Crystal Palace with Cenk Tosun and shortages for Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester
Alex Keble runs through the best and worst of the tactical decisions from the weekend's latest round of Premier League games.
Best
- Firmino, Henderson and Wijnaldum lead brilliant Liverpool performance
Before kick-off nobody was billing this as the final hurdle in Liverpool’s title charge, and yet the nature of their victory meant a chorus of ‘we’re gonna win the league’ rang around Anfield for the first time this season.
It will be looked back on as a momentous day thanks to way they won; the way the tension built over the final 15 minutes before that ecstatic release as Mohamed Salah scored a late second.
Man United generally performed well, with the outstanding Fred upping the tempo in short bursts to feed Anthony Martial and Daniel James – who picked up the ball in interesting positions either side of Jordan Henderson. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unconventional 5-2-1-2, a repeat of the system deployed in the reverse fixture, certainly had its moments.
But ultimately leaving Nemanja Matic and Fred alone to cope with that majestic, swirling Liverpool midfield was too big an ask.
The most important player was Roberto Firmino, who dropped off the front line to overload the middle of the park and sew things together.
He got the hosts charging at a back five that became increasingly terrified - and increasingly disorganised as a result.
- Tosun arrival helps Crystal Palace maintain brilliant Etihad record
Crystal Palace attempted 73 long balls at Man City on Saturday, up from a season average of 56, reflecting their immediate tactical shift now that Roy Hodgson has the target man he’s been craving all season.
Cenk Tosun scored on his debut, but as important was his ability to bully the Man City defenders, leading to another nervy display from John Stones.
The England international was beaten in the air by Gary Cahill ahead of Tosun’s opener and then was beaten in the air by Conor Wickham ahead of the late equaliser …before failing to properly track Wilfried Zaha as he dribbled to the byline.
Thanks to Tosun, and thanks to City’s recruitment error, Crystal Palace continued their incredible record at the Etihad.
- Traore inspires Wolves comeback at Southampton
Another superb performance from Adama Traore suggests we need to stop referring to the winger as ‘in-form’ and instead accept that he has simply moved up a notch; this is no longer the young player who lacked direction in his dribbling and was missing a final ball.
Traore, 23, grabbed two more assists in Wolves’ comeback win at Southampton, has simply matured into a very good footballer.
Traore started the game out on the left wing but after a quiet 20 minutes swapped over with Pedro Neto, allowing the former Barcelona man to take advantage of Saints’ own focus on that flank - Ryan Bertrand is expected to overlap frequently while Nathan Redmond doesn’t track back, hence why Southampton attack down the left more (43%) than any other team bar a Zaha-centric Palace.
Worst
- Arsenal and Chelsea both lack a creative winger
Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard face strikingly similar problems at Arsenal and Chelsea if their respective performances this weekend are anything to go by.
Both lack a winger with guile, a playmaker who cuts inside and does the subtle things on the edge of the penalty area – reflecting a wider Premier League trend this season.
Perhaps because of Jurgen Klopp’s influence with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea have too many fleet-footed traditional wingers and not enough intelligent passers.
Arsenal are back to heaping creative pressure on Mesut Ozil. Against Sheffield United they predominantly dribbled down the flanks without much conviction or cohesion, although individually strong performances from Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka meant Arsenal did find some joy.
Chelsea were even more flat, Willian’s scampering diagonally across the width of the pitch and Callum Hudson-Odoi’s one-directional dribbling failing to pull a well-organised Newcastle defence out of shape.
Both teams could do with a Riyad Mahrez type; a dying breed in English football at the moment.
- Dull games highlight an oddly low quality Premier League season
Five of the eight games on Saturday ended in a draw. There were only 22 goals in total, or roughly two per game.
Frankly it was all rather dull, and while some of this can be attributed to the winter cold, the exhausting Christmas schedule, and long injury lists, it also just might be because the Premier League just isn’t very good at the moment.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Man United are all struggling to find a coherent vision or consistent form - which is unprecedented in itself.
But even weirder - and perhaps tellingly – only Liverpool, Leicester, Wolves, Sheffield United, and Crystal Palace can be said to be having a ‘good’ season.
By their own standards and measures the remaining 15 clubs are underachieving. Which almost sounds statistically impossible.
There haven’t been many narratives this season in which managers or teams are praised, and with VAR getting in the way – plus Liverpool running away with the title – it might be time to admit 2019/20 is a year to forget.
- Leicester’s decline continues with Vardy and Maddison off form
Even during their peak months of October and November there were suggestions Leicester weren’t quite as good as they looked.
The xG statistics told a story of Jamie Vardy scoring half chances during team performances that were a little meh, and so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see Brendan Rodgers’ side collect seven points from seven Premier League games.
The 2-1 defeat to Burnley follows a 2-1 loss against Southampton, two relegation candidates flourishing as James Maddison and Vardy significantly slow down.
On Sunday these two looked sluggish, lashing at shots and making the poor decisions of confidence-stricken players.
Youri Tielemans has likewise dropped off and, with Rodgers using the same shape all season, the Foxes have started to go stale.
There is no need to panic, of course, Leicester being 11 points clear in the top four. Nevertheless Wednesday’s home game against West Ham has suddenly become one of the most important of the season.