Marcus Rashford needs restoring to centre stage, Victor Moses is shining for Chelsea at last and David Moyes should be allowed to rebuild Sunderland
Everton’s Ross Barkley is back in form, Marcus Rashford should start up front, Mike Phelan and David Moyes are under pressure and could Sergio Agüero get even better? Composite: PA, Getty, Action Images, AFP
1) Liverpool’s wild ride towards a title challenge
The splurge of title-winning questions after Liverpool’s breathless victory at Selhurst Park provoked a wonderfully enigmatic response from Jürgen Klopp. Can his team conquer the league playing in this wild fashion? “I’ve no idea,” he said. “It’s my first proper season in the Premier League. I have no idea what to do to win the Premier League. I’m pretty sure it was never decided at the end of October. We feel good in the moment, that’s all.” The notion that an experienced manager with 15 years on the job – who won the Bundesliga twice and has spent more than a year in England to immerse himself in its foibles – has no idea how to win the Premier League seems to be both endearing and a shrewd ploy. Playing it all down is a sensible approach, but will be difficult to sustain the longer Liverpool keep gathering results in their own inimitable fashion. It was an emotional game. Dejan Lovren felt such a maddening anger after his error led towards one of the Palace goals he admitted he wanted to leap into the crowd (where the Palace hardcore hang out, incidentally) when he scored. The home goalscorer, James McArthur, said he felt gutted at the end of it all. Dealing with emotional games is part of the ride under Klopp. Entertaining? Absolutely. But the manager also says the way they play is rational. “We don’t do it because we want to show something, we do it because it helps us, because the best kind of defending is keeping the ball,” he explains. “It’s quite logical.” Amy Lawrence
2) Barkley delivering under Koeman’s tough love
The evidence of Ross Barkley’s entire Everton career should caution against hyping the midfielder or inflating expectations until he produces performances like that against West Ham United on a regular basis, though Sunday was a welcome reminder of how valuable he can be to Ronald Koeman’s designs at Goodison Park. Koeman has not been slow to criticise the England international in public this season but his contribution to Everton’s first win in six matches, helping to create Romelu Lukaku’s latest goal against West Ham and scoring the second himself in a more composed yet decisive display, underlined why the coach is so demanding of a player in a key role. Everton’s front three behind Lukaku has lacked “productivity”, according to Koeman, who may well seek to strengthen in that department in future transfer windows. Whether Wayne Rooney fits that criterion remains to be seen, although it seems fanciful that the boyhood Evertonian’s advisers would consider the substantial pay decrease needed to facilitate a return. Koeman has done nothing to dismiss the prospect – “Rooney is very welcome at Everton,” he reiterated on Sunday – but if the tactic is to inspire a response from Barkley then so far so good. Andy Hunter
3) Rashford must take centre stage for United
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was again conspicuous by his absence from the matchday squad, as was any semblance of the wing play that used to be a Manchester United tradition. What is keeping the Armenian out remains a mystery, but José Mourinho expressed satisfaction at the start of the season that he had strengthened in four departments with a defender (Eric Bailly), a midfielder (Paul Pogba), a striker (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) and a quick winger in Mkhitaryan. For whatever reason the last has yet to properly start his United career, yet with other quick wingers at his disposal Mourinho has been playing Marcus Rashford out wide. It is not his best position, and with Ibrahimovic and Rooney unable to buy a goal and United held scoreless by Burnley, the time has surely come to restore Rashford to centre stage, which was where he made his breakthrough last season. Paul Wilson
4) Ramírez and Traoré give Boro home lift-off
If Middlesbrough are to retain their Premier League status then making the Riverside Stadium home again was a good start. Aitor Karanka’s side had to merely turn up in the Championship last season – taking 16 wins from 23 home games – but, until beating Bournemouth on Saturday, Boro had found home comforts anything but advantageous in the top flight. It was two unlikely lads, in many ways, Gastón Ramírez and Adama Traoré, who helped Boro to a first home win of the season. Ramírez arrived at Southampton from Bologna in 2012, yet only now is the Uruguayan beginning to feel at home in England. Traoré, meanwhile, is slowly reaping the rewards of a fresh start in the north-east after enduring relegation with Aston Villa last term. If the flair of Ramírez and Traoré, the 20-year-old former Barcelona B winger, can blossom in the north-east behind the often isolated Álvaro Negredo, then Karanka’s prospects of coaching Boro in the Premier League again next season will prove significantly enhanced. Ben Fisher
5) Moses finally finding his feet at Chelsea
In two weeks, Antonio Conte has gone from laughing off rumours of the sack to clearing a space on his shelf for a Manager of the Month award. October has brought four league wins, 11 goals and none conceded. If things have moved fast for the Chelsea boss, it’s a different story for Victor Moses, who has waited four years to become an overnight success at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s upturn in form has coincided neatly with Conte’s switch to a back three of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and César Azpilicueta. On paper, it doesn’t scream solidity, but the results speak for themselves. Amid the mayhem at West Ham, a back three shorn of the protection offered by Moses and Marcos Alonso at wing-back (and with John Terry shoehorned into it) looked far less secure. Moses didn’t feature on Wednesday, but has started each of the four league wins, and has earned repeated praise from Conte for his attitude and adaptability. Wingers on defensive duty are rarely as disciplined and assured as Moses was at St. Mary’s – dropping into a back five to repel Southampton in the first half, hugging the touchline to bypass the hosts’ narrow midfield, and getting upfield to set up Eden Hazard’s opener. It has been a long time coming, but Moses may have found his place in what looks a formidable Chelsea team. Niall McVeigh
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário