Gameweek 11 Review
Man. City falter & Liverpool extend their lead
As the weekend comes to a close, I’m struck by the glaring reality that there are no longer any easy matches in the Premier League. 3rd and 9th place are separated by just 1 point. Competitive balance is as strong as can reasonably be expected. Neglect to bring your A-game and you will be humbled. Yes, there are still chasms in quality between those chasing trophies and those fighting for survival, but distributing the unfathomable wealth of the league relatively evenly has juiced clubs to such a degree that they all hit like heavyweights.
Let’s unpack the best of the weekend’s action that’s led me to make such a sweeping declaration.
Brentford 3 - 2 Bournemouth
Wissa (27’, 58’), Damsgaard (50’) — Evanilson (17’), Kluivert (49’)
Say it with me: Match of the Weekend. Brentford just don’t play boring games do they? Yet to draw since September 28th, and coincidentally, there’s been 28 total goals in the 6 games since. A horrendous back-pass may have set up Bournemouth’s opening goal, but the quality after that can’t be questioned. Back and forth the whole match and some sharp goals to boot. Yoane Wissa may be one of the most underrated players in the league; Wissa exhibited the full range of his finishing with a well-placed header & sumptuous chip over the keeper. Even if you could erase his two goals from your memory, you’d come away thinking he put in an absolute shift. These clubs can never be accused of not giving it their all, and it really makes for excellent viewing. Highly recommend catching the highlights.
Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Fulham
Smith-Rowe (45+2’), Wilson (83’)
Fulham, Fulham, Fulham. Playing football that could melt hearts and bring tears to the eyes of even the toughest of men, Marco Silva’s boys continued their sensational form by knocking off the resurgent Eagles. Record-signing Emile Smith-Rowe continues to stride, glide, and thrive at his new home; the Arsenal faithful may be wistfully casting their minds back to the Covid days of yore when the Croydon de Bruyne was theirs (sigh). Harry Wilson also subbed on, and by this point, you could probably guess I’m only mentioning this because he scored off the bench yet again after netting 2 in stoppage time last week. Yer a wizard, Harry.
West Ham 0 - 0 Everton
West Ham have been abysmal, and while Everton haven’t exactly set the world alight, I would have expected them to have a great shot at claiming all 3 points on offer. However, Everton were without their main creative force in Dwight McNeil, and it was painfully obvious. To be fair to the goalkeeper’s union, both Leno & Pickford had heroic moments to keep the score level.
West Ham manager, Julen Lopetegui will be grateful for two weeks to regroup and get his team firing. This squad is much too talented to be dragged into a relegation battle so I’ll be curious how patient the club’s ambitious owners are willing to be with their new manager.
Wolves 2 - 0 Southampton
Sarabia (2’), Cunha (51’)
Southampton and Wolves entered Saturday’s match occupying the bottom 2 spots in the league table. While they entered on evenly desperate footing, there was only one aggressor and that was the Old Gold of Wolverhampton. Wolves now have a fixture run that, if they capitalize on, will have them well clear of the relegation zone at Christmas.
Matheus Cunha, it’s time for your moment in the spotlight. Wolves number 10 has been the primary creative and goal-scoring force all season despite a diabolical opening run of fixtures and injuries to what seems like half his teammates. Carried and created a goal and then capped it off with a banger from outside the box. Baller behavior.
Brighton 2 - 1 Manchester City
Pedro (78’), O’Riley (83’) — Haaland (23’)
City entered off the back of 3 defeats in a row needing a result to buoy their confidence. Their early play was stilted, but they deservedly led at half with a classic bully-ball goal from Erling Haaland. Given City’s recent fragility, Brighton were not aggressive enough in the first half. After asking all the questions in the second half, Brighton hoofed in a 6-yard scramble to reestablish parity before taking the lead less than 5 minutes later. You have to make incisive passes to score goals, and City neglected making any of those in the second half despite bringing on Kevin de Brunye. The Seagulls continue to prove they are not to be trifled with and will spend the international break in the top 6. The Cityzens have lost 4 in a row for the first time under Pep Guardiola; they’ll strike back, the only question is when.
Liverpool 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Núñez (20’), Salah (84’)
Liverpool are loving life at the moment. 2 Points clear at the top of the Champions League. 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League. I know it’s still November, but Arne Slot, take a bow. To those skeptics who had doubts about whether the new manager who’s never coached in a top 5 league was capable of building on Klopp’s success, it’s time to admit we were wrong. Yes, Salah is in vintage scoring form with a goal in his last 4 games, but it’s Ryan Gravenberch’s emergence as a dynamic midfielder that has really tied the devastating fluidity Slot’s team has become associated with. If he can turn a player who has been incredibly inconsistent in Germany & England into the heartbeat of a title challenger, what else can he do?
Not too much to say about that Villa performance; they were outclassed and as cliche as it is to say, their midweek Champions League may be taking it out of them. The Villans will be pleased to rest over the international break before building on their excellent start to the season.
Manchester United 3 - 0 Leicester
Fernandes (17’), Kristiansen (38’ OG), Garnacho (82’)
It’s a pretty damning indictment of their former manager that United are experiencing a new manager bounce before their new boss has even taken charge. Since parting ways with Erik ten Hag, they’re undefeated having scored 11, conceded 3, and drawn only one match. United are playing with a structure that covers their midfield shortcomings and a verve that I haven’t witnessed in what feels like ages. The next match the Red Devils play will be under Ruben Amorim, and I expect there will be a substantial feel-good factor at Old Trafford for the first couple months; after that, performances and points will be the name of the game.
Leicester were outclassed, and while that’s not a revelation of biblical proportions, they need to get points on the board as the other candidates for relegation have begun to find form. The Foxes’ feet are to the fire with a nightmare run of fixtures from now until the middle of January.
Nott’m Forest 1 - 3 Newcastle
Murillo (21’) — Isak (54’), Joelinton (72’), Barnes (83’)
A tale of two halves. The first half may have been Forest’s, but Newcastle dominated the second and equalized soon after the break. Newcastle’s fullbacks did an admirable job nullifying Forest’s in-form wingers, just as they did against Arsenal last week. Joelinton may have been bought by Newcastle as a striker, but after a grim, goalless start to life on Tyneside he found a new calling as a box-to-box midfielder. He may be a midfielder now, but that was a striker’s goal. Forest dialed up the aggression and began risks immediately after going down which led to Barnes killing off the game with a ruthless counterattack. Forest drop out of the top 4 on goal difference but aren’t able to further cement their position. Newcastle have finally hit their stride and not a moment too soon.
Tottenham 1 - 2 Ipswich
Bentancur (69’) — Szmodics (31’), Delap (43’)
Tottenham supporters, avert your eyes. Spurs delivered newly promoted Ipswich their first win of the season. As a symptom of their high-octane counter-attacking style, Spurs often struggle versus clubs who play a low defensive block. I can’t help but feel the fullback pairing of Udogie & Porro needs to step up. They’ll need to recreate the width and attacking threat they posed last season Spurs are to build on the foundations of Ange-ball. The pair have 2 assists & 1 goal between them in 11 matches.
Hats off to Ipswich they took their chances and deserved the win. Is this a result they can build on? Resurgent Manchester United and Nott’m Forest are up next for the Tractor Boys.
Chelsea 1 - 1 Arsenal
Neto (70’) — Martinelli (60’)
Arsenal have been rudderless in attack without skipper Martin Ødegaard the last two months, and it was genuinely comical how much more fluid and aggressive they were with Ø on the pitch. Teammates making runs forward because they know they might actually get the ball—Imagine that! Arsenal nearly won with the last kick of the game and they’ll be kicking themselves for not doing just that. The Gunners will almost certainly improve after the international break (it would be hard not to), and it’s up to Arteta to ensure his side raises their performance levels to that of title challengers. The club’s title challenge has not gone to plan and if they don’t put together a serious run of wins, their hopes of lifting their first title in 20 years will evaporate before their eyes.
Chelsea have found their best side with Caicedo & Lavia holding down the midfield so their attackers are free to take risks and create chances. I’ve got to admit they’re looking a bit menacing. A draw leaves the two sides with 19 points apiece sitting 3rd and 4th in the table.
European Spotlight
Inter Milan 1 - 1 Napoli
1st vs. 2nd in Italy. Tap-in, missed pen, & a strike as sweet as sin.
That’s the weekend wrapped!
The international break is here so be sure to get some sunlight and say hi to your family before league action returns. Or feel free to stream Armenia vs. Faroe Islands—your call!