Category: English Premier League

With late goals a major factor, the four major players for the trophy saw their narratives crystalize over the weekend

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There’s always a danger this early in the Premier League season of reading too much into a single set of games. Titles may be lost in September but they are very rarely won. This past weekend, though, did feel like one where many of the prevailing narratives crystalised as Arsenal dug deep to win the sort of game they’ve become used to losing, Liverpool’s defensive shortcomings were exposed as they lost for the first time this campaign, Manchester City swept aside lesser opposition in the manner of old and Chelsea fell apart again.

Liverpool have looked defensively shaky all season. Having been the team of control in the last campaign, making the unremarkable 2-0 win a trademark, they have become the side of the late winner, clinching games this season in the 88th, 94th, 100th, 83rd, 95th, 92nd and 85th minutes. That was never going to be sustainable, but the question was whether general performances would improve, or whether the late strikes would dry up.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

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Mikel Arteta proves he may have changed his ways while Eddie Nketiah shows off his worth for Crystal Palace

St James’ Park has done strange things to Arsenal. It had become Mikel Arteta’s bogey ground, defeats the last three visits, his team unable to score. Each time, bright beginnings had given way to becoming bogged down by refereeing controversy, Arsenal pulled into the rolling maul football that better suits Newcastle’s muscle. Sunday’s attacking team selection and Arteta throwing the kitchen sink in chasing a win when a point had already been rescued hinted at a change in mentality. Arteta’s team eventually wrested control of the physical battle to push for three. If the dimensions that Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres have added failed to pay off, the Premier League’s deepest squad found the aerial power within itself, via Arteta’s attacking substitutions. An early overturned penalty and missed chances felt all too familiar. Arsenal’s response to those reverses, overturning their St James’ mental block, suggested a fresh determination that will serve them well in the title hunt. John Brewin

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Match report: Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham

Match report: Brentford 3-1 Manchester United

Match report: Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool

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• Nuno is third manager since he left 16 months ago

• Moyes’ Everton host West Ham on Monday night

David Moyes has said he takes no comfort from the turmoil at West Ham with his former club on to their third manager since he departed 16 months ago.

Moyes delivered West Ham’s first trophy for 43 years in the 2023 Europa Conference League only for many supporters to demand a change of manager and more adventurous style throughout the following season. He admits that 2024 was probably the right time to leave from his perspective too.

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During a year as a Newcastle ­midfielder under Rafael Benítez, Mikel Merino struggled to settle in the north-east. He departed for Real Sociedad without offering ­Tynesiders more than a few glimpses of his best work but, when Merino trotted on as a 70th-minute Arsenal substitute here, Eddie Howe had reason to be fearful.

At that stage Newcastle were ­leading thanks to Nick Woltemade’s second goal for the club but their manager did not need telling that Mikel Arteta’s reincarnation of Merino as an emergency forward last season proved one of the triumphs of his north London tenure.

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Arsenal moved up to second after late headers from Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes gave them a precious win

Mikel Arteta’s pre-match thoughts

[On Eberechi Eze’s inclusion] We’re very happy with what he’s doing so he’s earned the right to start the game.

[On Cristhian Mosquera’s inclusion] Willy [Saliba] is coming back from an ankle injury that he is still trying to resolve. He’s played twice in six days and we have another two games coming up this week so we have to managed the squad.

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Aston Villa came from behind to record their first league win of the season, the goals coming from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Emi Buendía

Email! “Thank you for your kind, and deserved, words about Fulham and Marco Silva,” begins Richard Hirst. “As a lover of Bob Dylan you’ve always been known as a man of great discernment, other than in your support of Man Utd. On that note, I’m interested in your views of whether Marco is the kind of manager United could do with; has a clear tactical plan but is willing to be flexible and certainly won’t be pictured staring helplessly at the turf or not watching penalties? Marco’s contract expires at the end of this season and I imagine he’ll walk if he doesn’t get Fulham into Europe, and quite possibly even if he does.”

I’m not sure: managers have different strengths, and it might be that his is what he’s doing now. I think he’s got the aggression you need to manage the biggest clubs, but I’m not certain he whether he can coach a side to dominate the ball, or whether anyone in the world can turn United into anything resembling a football team.

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Wolves were seconds away from a deserved win when Joao Palhinha scored a brilliant equaliser for Spurs

13 min That Spurs lorner leads to another, which leads to a Wolves throw-in on the far side.

12 min The Spurs crowd appeal for a penalty when Udogie’s cross hits the arm of Doherty in the area. It was tight to his body to a corner is all Spurs will get.

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With its lightning ball-recycling that swept play left to right and then back into the area for a second Maxime Estève own goal, Manchester City’s third was a picture of their dominance under Pep Guardiola before last season’s decline.

Jérémy Doku raced inside from the left and found Phil Foden, whose instant turn-and-pass to Matheus Nunes scattered Burnley. The right-back’s cross was smacked in at velocity and Oscar Bobb’s attempt rebounded off Estève and past Martin Dubravka.

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Could things get any better for Crystal Palace? Now the only unbeaten side left in the Premier League having stretched their run to club record 18 matches thanks to this dramatic late victory over champions Liverpool, Palace are about to embark on their first European tour when they face Dinamo Kyiv in the Conference League on Thursday and have a manager that is proving to be a bit of a genius.

Arne Slot’s expensively assembled side thought they had kept up their run of rescuing late points when Federico Chiesa equalised Ismaïla Sarr’s opener. But the winning goal came from another substitute as Eddie Nketiah’s volley in the seventh minute of stoppage time recorded their first victory against Liverpool here since November 2014 and sent the home supporters wild. While Marc Guéhi put in another faultless performance against the club that came so close to signing him earlier the month and even provided the assist for Nketiah’s clincher, above all this was a triumph for the system that has been implemented by Oliver Glasner since he arrived in south London 18 months ago. On this form, Palace are a match for anyone.

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A comically inept opening 25 minutes set the tone as Ruben Amorim’s side were subjected to a thoroughly deserved defeat in west London

• Read David Hytner’s match report from the Gtech

Ruben Amorim: Manchester United have the chance to win back-to-back Premier League games for the first time on their Portuguese head coach’s watch, a remarkable state of affairs that was rasied at his press conference yesterday.

“These kind of games we need to be focused and have the feeling we will win every match,” he said. “It is really important and we talk about that in the end of the game. It is important to have that sense of urgency that we need to win no matter what. Every time you start to watch the next opponent you feel it is going to be really tough. The most important is to start the way we start against Burnley and Arsenal

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• United eyeing successive league wins under head coach

• ‘We need the sense of urgency that we need to win’

Ruben Amorim has made clear “everywhere” at Manchester United the need to record consecutive Premier League victories for the first time in his 32-game tenure at the club by beating Brentford on Saturday.

Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat of Chelsea means United have the chance to finally put two league wins together under the Portuguese when they travel to the Gtech Community Stadium for Saturday’s early kick-off. According to Amorim, this has been a consistent message at the club this past week. “It was everywhere [I said this],” he said. “I think if we as a team don’t understand the momentum now [we need], we have a big problem.

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Liverpool look to extend their 100% record at Crystal Palace on Saturday while Arsenal travel to Newcastle on Sunday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Gtech Community Stadium

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Marc Guéhi faces Liverpool, Xavi Simons wants a central role at Spurs and Arsenal must be wary of Sandro Tonali

• Premier League top scorers: latest Golden Boot race

Manchester United have shown signs of improvement this season. Though the reporting has been of a crisis, had they even a mediocre goalkeeper, they would have lost to neither Arsenal nor Grimsby, and it’s also fair to note that, with three of their first five games coming against Mikel Arteta’s side, Manchester City and Chelsea, they were dealt a difficult start. But Ruben Amorim must now start accumulating victories, with a nasty away trip a decent test. Since Brentford were promoted to the Premier League, United have lost two of four games at the Gtech, were outplayed in the one draw and, even in the game they won, were physically dominated for 45 minutes. However, their summer acquisitions have turned a team of uncommon weakness and slowness into one able to compete in duels, win headers and threaten in behind. That should mean United’s class tells in contests such as this – except no side is better at finding ways to lose matches they should win. Daniel Harris

Brentford v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Saturday 3pm

Chelsea v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

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The possession that once defined the Spanish manager’s sides has evaporated, and it’s hard to see exactly why

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We really are now through the looking glass with Pep Guardiola. Eyebrows had been raised by the way Manchester City approached the second half of their commanding derby win last week, sitting off, allowing United the ball and picking them off on the break. But their performance in drawing at Arsenal on Sunday was on a different level entirely: just 34% possession, the lowest any Guardiola side has ever registered in a game. By the end they had four central defenders, two holding midfielders and a full-back on the pitch.

But even that doesn’t get to the heart of how strange this was. In the previous five seasons there have only been 10 occasions when City did not have more possession than their opponents in a Premier League game. Only once before in the Premier League has City’s possession under Guardiola dipped below 40% – when they registered 37% in beating Arsenal 3-1 in February 2023, a decisive game in that season’s title race as it pulled City level on points with Arsenal at the top, although they had played a game more. That fixture, though, was an extreme version of the United game: City sitting deep, looking to strike on the break and, as it turned out, scoring twice in the final 20 minutes to seal their win.

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• City played in Champions League on Thursday night

• Captain says schedule lacks ‘respect’ and ‘common sense’

Bernardo Silva has accused the fixture schedulers of lacking respect and common sense, saying they put Manchester City at such a physical disadvantage for Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal that it was “not fair” and “just not right”.

The City captain said he and his teammates could not be at their best level for one of the biggest games of the season after being asked to play in the Champions League on Thursday night; they beat Napoli 2-0 at home.

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