Arsenal are one-trick ponies being left behind, Bournemouth's super subs, Chelsea show the mark of champions and Ruben Amorim's shaky Man Utd experiment
With the Merseyside derby off for bad weather, Arsenal and Chelsea both got the chance to make up some ground on the leaders on Sunday.
Chelsea took that chance with a comeback win against a shambolic Tottenham, who are rarely playing in any other way. Arsenal lost ground with a 1-1 draw at Fulham, while Manchester City also dropped points after a draw in London.
Below those two there is a huge scrum of teams all the way down to tenth, separated by just two points. Top of that pile are Nottingham Forest, who ended a bad week for Ruben Amorim with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford. Aston Villa have recovered some form with consecutive wins, while Brentford might be the best home team in Europe. Weird.
At the bottom, Leicester City clawed back a two-goal deficit but Ipswich Town did basically the opposite and are now slipping further behind. Southampton did some excellent Southampton-ing and Russell Martin seemed to blame the fans. Bold play.
Scroll down for our verdict on every team (listed in table order).
This weekend’s results
Saturday 7 December
Sunday 8 December
Liverpool
Saturday’s game against Everton was postponed due to Storm Darragh.
Chelsea
It has always been said that the mark of champions is the ability to win badly, and that was largely what Chelsea did against Tottenham. They were imperfect and chaotic, benefitting as much from Tottenham’s self-immolation as from their own excellence. But they ended with four goals and three points, an eighth game unbeaten in all competitions and breathing room above Arsenal in the Premier League table.
Does that make them champions elect, or even title contenders? Probably still not quite. Enzo Maresca is right in his increasingly tongue-in-cheek assertions this side shouldn’t be considered serious challengers over a 38-game season. There is a lot of learning and growing to do here.
In the first 11 minutes against Tottenham, Benoit Badiashile handed the ball to Dejan Kulusevski in space, Moises Caicedo booted a free-kick into Romeo Lavia’s side and Robert Sanchez nearly shanked a clearance out for a corner. This was all largely ignored because of Marc Cucurella’s twin slips, and forgiven entirely by the ensuing four goals. A lot of this was not good, and they still won 4-3.
There is no doubt that something is building here, and it is largely down to Enzo Maresca, who is doing a fair amount of learning and growing himself. Not unlike Carlo Ancelotti’s early years at Reggiana and Parma, he has shunned the tactical rigidity he relied upon at Leicester in favour of trusting the players in front of him. It’s working brilliantly.
With his increasing opposition-dependent flexibility and variety, Maresca resembles Ancelotti – who coached him at Juventus in 2000-01 – more and more by the day. This is about winning and making his players better, however that happens – a player-led approach rather than principle-led.
As Ancelotti’s Chelsea were in 2009-10, Maresca’s are the Premier League’s top scorers – and they even have the joint-third best defence. It almost feels unfair to burden this freewheeling cabal of footballing alchemists with title pressure, but thether this season or in the near future, Chelsea’s current Italian may just share similar success to his predecessor. By George Simms
Arsenal
Arsenal once again made their set-piece mark but games like this suggest they will have to come up with more than that if they are to chase down Liverpool.
It is not as though the Fulham brick wall came as a surprise. That’s three successive Premier League draws against Fulham. Arsenal of course bemoaned the cancelling of Bukayo Saka’s late header for a marginal offside, yet for all that, against a determined, well-organised opponent, Arsenal did not create enough despite their control.
Perhaps Arsenal’s plunder of the Seventies playbook might stretch to the long diagonal punt as well as big lads up for corners. Anything to break the monotony of their precision elegance. Arsenal’s style is so on trend the patterns are everywhere across the Premier League and, frankly, no longer surprising, no matter the class of those shaping the action.
Though it might seem absurd to aim a blow at the general excellence of Saka, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, William Saliba, et al, each exceptional again, the fact remains Fulham were a long way from capitulating.
Indeed, after ten minutes of relentless tiki-taka from Arsenal, Fulham swept through the Gunners’ highfalutin coaching manual with a welcome dose of simplicity. Remember the days when centre-forwards ran off centre-halves with pace and aggression? Raul Jimenez does, slipping off Jakub Kiwior’s shoulder to steal the lead with an arrow into the bottom corner. By Kevin Garside
Read more: Arsenal are being left behind. Time to embrace the long ball
Man City
Manchester City can’t afford to keep slipping up like this (Photo: Getty)
More dropped points. A mini Guardiola tirade at the officials on the pitch at full-time. The house that Pep built is crumbling even if a full-blown collapse was avoided.
Reports of Manchester City’s death had been greatly exaggerated, we were told as they brushed aside Nottingham Forest in midweek. What should have been a hard-fought turnaround against Crystal Palace instead left the structure looking shaky, the rain largely coming in from one side.
City ended the game a full-back down after Rico Lewis’ controversial sending off. The reality was they might as well have been earlier. It was Kyle Walker on the other flank inexplicably frittering away the line and keeping Palace onside for Daniel Munoz’s opener after four minutes. Incredibly, no other side can match the seven goals City have let in during the first 15 minutes of games this season.
The winds transported Will Hughes’ name around a bellowing Selhurst Park in tribute to the pass he had picked out. The former England stalwart could have had a chorus too.
Walker’s form was at the heart of the six losses in seven games that blew open the title race, knocked City out of a cup and undermined them on the continent.
Once, you might have pointed to Ederson’s absence; Stefan Ortega might argue differently. Though he could have been stronger for the first goal, for Maxene Lacroix’s power header that put Palace back in front he was left powerless by Walker’s inept marking.
When Palace did miss chances, City could not take advantage of that reprieve largely because of what is becoming a glaring weak spot at right-back. The difference between Walker and a resilient Ruben Dias was stark – at times the Portuguese’s blocks kept the visitors in it.
As for Lewis, he could count himself a little unlucky. Though he was late in for the challenge on Trevoh Chalobah, he had the right to try and make the clearance and it was actually the Palace defender’s boot that made the contact. It seemed Guardiola was furious despite a cryptic reply when asked what he thought of the incident post-match: “I didn’t see.”
He denied that his side were tired and suggested that one-man deficit for the last 10 minutes was decisive. He can point to the injuries that made this a makeshift back line, Nathan Ake the latest man to fall with a hamstring complaint, alongside Manuel Akanji who has an unspecified issue. Josko Gvardiol was pushed into the centre with Lewis on the left.
Lewis may have had a torrid time against Munoz but he is still just 20 and the clear area to work on is his positioning. He has made no secret of his wish to play in central midfield and it was clear he was best equipped when veering higher up the pitch. With City up against it, he took their second goal well after timing his run into the box perfectly.
The versatile full-back has long been tipped as the heir to Walker’s crown but it is time a succession plan is hurried along, when City’s squad is full enough to allow it.
What makes that headache more puzzling though is Guardiola’s reputation for meticulous planning – Rodri was signed for three years before Fernandinho’s exit. One eye was on discovering the next Sergio Aguero long before his departure.
Guardiola is still keen to lean on what he knows – he has only given four outfield players more minutes than the veteran Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva this season. When Gundogan let fly and rattled one against the post, it was the kind of effortless ooze that made you feel as if you were watching the old City. The same cannot be said of another member of the old guard. By Kat Lucas
Nott’m Forest
Go on, get carried away. Why not? A first win at Anfield in 55 years, and now a first win at Old Trafford for 30.
After just 15 league games, Forest are only seven points off last season’s total, and have the faint smell of European football wafting in their direction, making Nuno Espirito Santo the joint-frontrunner with Arne Slot for manager of the season.
Too soon, though, of course it is, for Liverpool could yet stumble and Forest could fade away, but in the here and now Nuno is working wonders, getting the best out of a squad that are no longer the butt of transfer jokes but are instead proving a cohesive unit.
And while Manchester United are suffering from the constant changes, Forest are benefiting from consistency in their line-ups.
Their back four has barely changed all season, while Morgan Gibbs-White put a poor display against Manchester City behind him when dictating the outcome of the match at Old Trafford, scoring and then assisting for Chris Wood.
That said, though, it is Elliot Anderson who continues to shine brightest. The summer signing from Newcastle is creating chances down one end and stopping attacks down the other. No player won more tackles than Anderson’s three at Old Trafford on Saturday night, and no one topped him for key passes (four) either. It was some all-round display. By Michael Hincks
Aston Villa
After two home wins in four days to simmer down any talk of serious decline, it’s worth looking at how Unai Emery is seemingly becoming more prepared to rotate his team and thus keep things fresh. For the visit of Southampton, Emery rested both first-choice full-backs, his first-choice striker and a central defender. In those circumstances, the home win becomes more valuable than its own context.
It’s important because of how Villa had performed after their midweek assignments this season, forced to marry league and regular cup football. Their last six weekend results after midweek matches: 2-2 vs Ipswich Town, 0-0 vs Manchester United, 1-1 vs Bournemouth, 1-4 vs Tottenham, 0-2 vs Liverpool, 0-3 vs Chelsea. That is what had caused the slide.
It works to rotate because Emery can trust those deputies. Diego Carlos is capable of slotting in at right-back, Ian Maatsen started the last Champions League final at left-back and the return of Tyrone Mings gives Villa a vital extra option in central defence. And then there’s Jhon Duran.
“Fantastic, he’s progressively helping us with everything, scoring goals, working,” said Emery after Duran started and scored. “We are very demanding with him, how we want him to respond on the field and today he did the work. We are happy for him and adding one more player scoring goals and doing the work we need.
“He listens and we had to try to stop his impassioned moments sometimes, but that’s natural because he’s young, he wants everything quick and the process he has we are doing. Today he scored a goal, but what was most important was how he worked.”
Given Ollie Watkins’ wastefulness when he came off the bench, Emery may consider more rotation between his two forwards. It would give Watkins a break and may persuade Duran that he should stay at Villa Park in the long term.
Brighton
Tariq Lamptey has been through some stuff. At the age of 24, he has already missed matches with ten different injuries; his potential risked getting stuck in the mud. This was only Lamptey’s 15th Premier League start since April 2022.
Lamptey’s opening goal against Leicester City was a thing of great beauty, a swing with his (much) weaker left foot that initially caught Mads Hermansen off guard and then left the goalkeeper scrambling with no hope of getting close to the ball. He will never score a better goal with either foot, let alone his left.
More pertinent was the reaction of Lamptey’s teammates. They sprinted as one, not just with delight that they had taken the lead but because they were so happy for the goalscorer. Lamptey was left in the centre of a scrum, every player wanting to rub his head and offer a hug.
Those players have seen what a young full-back has been through, a dream stopping and starting and muscle injuries keeping ambition in suspension. The hope is that he can stay fit and continue the progress to being one of the most exciting right-backs in the league.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth love scoring a late goal (or two) (Photo: Getty)
We should have known, really: Ipswich concede a lot of late goals and my goodness Bournemouth certainly score plenty. It ended with a record-breaking event, Bournemouth becoming the first team in the history of the Premier League to win two away games in the same season having trailed in the 87th minute or later. Niche statistic, but it makes a good point.
We have made the point before about Andoni Iraola and his substitutes – he is the best manager in the Premier League and making an impact off the bench. At Portman Road, both late goals were scored by substitutes. That’s no huge shock – you bring on new attacking players in search of a goal and those become the most likely players to score – but it happens too often to be a coincidence.
The numbers back that up. Bournemouth have scored eight goals in 15 games after the 80-minute mark, more than any other team. Their goal difference in that period of the match is +6, two better than any other team in the league. Write Bournemouth off at your peril.
Brentford
Brentford season ticket holders are getting plenty of value for money this season. The Bees have taken 22 points from a possible 24 at the Gtech and are comfortably the Premier League’s most prolific team at home scoring 26 times in eight matches; no other side has managed more than 17. With 14 conceded, their home games are averaging five goals per match. Now that’s entertainment.
Yet again, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were the showstoppers against Newcastle. Mbeumo scored the first and created the fourth, while Wissa netted the second. Their individual records are spectacular: Mbeumo has produced eight goals and two assists in eight home games this season, while Wissa has managed eight goals and an assist in only six, netting in every single one.
They aren’t bad as a duo either. Since the start of the 2021-22 Premier League campaign, they have each scored in the same game on 15 separate occasions, more than any other pair in the competition.
For the first time, Brentford’s devastating double act started alongside club-record signing Igor Thiago in attack. The 23-year-old didn’t score or assist but provided a reference point for Wissa and Mbeumo to work around by doing the tough, physical stuff. It was an encouraging full debut from the big Brazilian who can add another dimension to an already lethal frontline.
Brentford are easy to like. They are thrilling to watch and this week shamed their league rivals by announcing a scheme to charge young adults no more than £10 for away matches starting in the New Year. As a club, they are doing great things on and off the pitch. Long may it continue. By Oliver Young-Myles
Fulham
Marco Silva has to be happy with his lot. Fulham head into the festive period looking down on Spurs, Newcastle and Manchester United. Sasa Lukic and Berge were an intelligent match for Rice, Partey and Jorginho in the middle of the park and Jimenez willing without ball at the point of the attack.
The Mexican will have easier weekends than trying to hustle the brick wall that is Saliba and the stylish Jakub Kiwior into errors. His nous took him into the right spaces and his work rate did the rest. That’s six goals in the Premier League this season, a fine return for a 33-year-old emblem of old school centre-forward play.
They perhaps deserved their reprieve at the end for the effort and drilled discipline they displayed. However, just as Arsenal’s failing was arguably too much style, Fulham’s was perhaps too little. Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe offer a lesson to all the kids out there who think wearing the socks at half-mast signifies talent.
The lazy view is that both have plenty of it, yet neither brought whatever attributes they are supposed to possess to bear on this contest. Such a waste, especially for Smith-Rowe, a kid who set out as a plausible recasting of Arsenal great Liam Brady, but looked a long way from that here. By Kevin Garside
Tottenham
There was a dream that was Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur.
It breathed in brilliant flashes, a fragile yet unflinching vision of uniting football’s often opposing twin aims of entertainment and glory without compromising on either.
It aimed towards Son Heung-min with the Premier League trophy aloft, that infamous drought ended by Brennan Johnson inexplicably scoring in every game despite never playing particularly well.
It was a dream you wanted to believe in, a romantic vision that perfection is possible, but it died on Sunday evening with a pendulous thwack of Enzo Fernandez’s boot.
Postecoglou’s childishly naive idealism is beautiful in principle, especially for the league’s oldest manager, but in practice, it looks like this – 11 perfect first-half minutes betrayed by nearly 90 more of chaos and confusion, a team grasping at thin air to find any semblance of control or sense of self.
This was the Postecoglou experience in microcosm, played out under a rainy haze which lent this game the disconcerting miasma of an anxiety dream.
We saw the theory made reality, and we saw why it’s as utopian as it is unsustainable. By George Simms
Read more: Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham dream is dead
Newcastle
Even as Storm Darragh battered Brentford, Eddie Howe stood stoic as ever on the touchline, watching grimly on as his Newcastle side committed one unforced error after another until eventually the self-inflicted damage was unsalvageable.
Howe will have hoped that Fabian Schar’s dramatic equaliser against the Premier League’s runaway leaders in midweek would be a turning point for his team after a campaign so far dogged by inconsistency. It didn’t take long for the good vibes to vanish.
A heavy defeat in west London means that Newcastle have taken just two points from their last four games, leaving them 12th in the table.
Ignore the stirring fightback against Liverpool and the Magpies have one point from a possible nine against West Ham, Crystal Palace and Brentford. And they were very lucky to leave Selhurst Park with anything. By Oliver Young-Myles
Man Utd
At Manchester United, Ruben Amorim’s experiment is off to a shaky start. Now five matches into his reign at Old Trafford, the record reads two wins, one draw, and two defeats.
Different variables have been changed in terms of their opponent, the conditions, and most significantly team selection, with Leny Yoro the 20th player to start a Premier League match under Amorim in just four games.
But one thing, above all, remains a constant, and it is one that will only continue to wreak havoc on this ongoing experiment – much like the kid who definitely shouldn’t have been trusted with an open flame – and that is the fact absolutely no team fears playing Manchester United whatsoever.
Amorim said as much on Friday, and his point was proved on Saturday, when Nottingham Forest came to Old Trafford and won there for the first time in 30 years.
The defeat leaves United 13th in the Premier League table and no closer to finding out what their best starting XI is.
It means the experiment will have to continue, but it won’t get any easier, not only because it is a hurting Manchester City next in the league on Sunday – after a trip to Czech club Viktoria Plzen on Thursday – but because all clubs now utterly relish the prospect of playing United, with the arrival of Amorim to take Erik ten Hag’s place not changing that one iota.
It is a hangover of the Sir Alex Ferguson era to love beating Manchester United, and rival fans still relish in this club losing despite the fact it has been more than a decade since they were the dominant side, but still it is a relatively new sensation for clubs to actually enjoy playing Manchester United, almost expecting to win at Old Trafford and coming away disappointed when they don’t.
That is on Amorim to fix, but at this rate, given 13th is as low as they have been after 15 games in Premier League history, why not keep experimenting in the league, providing they can find a steelier focus and land on a more consistent team selection in the Europa League – now, easily, their best bet for playing Champions League football next season. By Michael Hincks
West Ham
Play Wolves on Monday night.
Everton
Saturday’s game against Liverpool was postponed due to Storm Darragh.
Leicester
Jamie Vardy (Photo: Getty)
It’s better to be lucky than good and Leicester City supporters will hope that Ruud van Nistelrooy ends up being both.
They chanted his first name on repeat after an improbable equaliser against Brighton. At least a quarter of Leicester’s home support had already left, a game given up as lost. Those who call this place church should know better than to believe anything is impossible.
Jamie Vardy was the difference-maker again, the master of sensing a flaw and exploiting the smallest opportunity to his own maximum gain. The ball fell twice in Vardy’s favour all match. He stabbed home a goal with the first chance and then assisted Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s equaliser with the second. An abject home defeat became another step forward.
Quite what it means in the longer term, who is to know. Van Nistelrooy has not had much time with these players, given the midweek league assignment. But he must have learnt that playing out from the back will be a risky strategy until improvements have arrived in training or new players have joined in January. The size of Leicester’s budget, given Profitability and Sustainability Rules concerns, is a topic of fevered discussion between supporters.
For all the positives of the West Ham win, it papered over cracks that were evident again on Sunday. By half-time at the King Power, Leicester had allowed 41 shots, 15 on target and almost 4.0 xG in their previous three halves combined. They are dangerously open in midfield and then the central defensive pairing – Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady – lacks the pace to fill the gaps.
The problems start with the in-play strategy to get the ball down the pitch. We are used to seeing Premier League sides pass out from the back, but there are levels. Whilst Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton were breaking presses and springing counters at will, Leicester’s passing in their final third is slow and often without obvious purpose.
It invites pressure that typically ends in one of two ways: Mads Hermansen, Coady or Vestergaard knock the ball long to clear the panic, which sometimes works out and sometimes doesn’t, or Brighton turned the ball over high up the pitch. If Leicester were lucky, they won a throw-in.
As such, the mood in the King Power is often not pleasant. We can understand why the Steve Cooper project did not work out because of who he is, who he had managed and how the football looked. Leicester supporters believed the former Nottingham Forest boss was stymying this team by being too risk-averse. Perhaps he was just scared of those defensive options. They were largely the ones who were relegated two years ago.
The other reason for Cooper’s troubles, we were told, is that Leicester’s players didn’t take to him. If there is much to solve tactically, and a solution to allowing so many shots a priority, perhaps there has been an attitude shift in these players. Van Nistelrooy will benefit from being a new face that people want around.
Most importantly of all, only the result is king when you are trying to stay in the Premier League. Leicester have allowed 56 shots in their last two matches, both at home. They have Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa in their next six matches and may have to ride their luck again.
But they have taken four points out of six to keep their heads above water and that is all that matters for now. Your home form can keep you up in your first season back up. Ask their former manager and their near neighbours about that.
Crystal Palace
“Palace do not score enough goals and Daniel Munoz does not contribute consistently enough going forward.” This was a rejection of both those ideas and a vindication of what Oliver Glasner is trying to do. It said much that Jean-Philippe Mateta looked stricken at full-time as he clearly believed his side had missed out on two more points.
There will be a frustration though that despite two goals, it could have been more. On just one of those missed opportunities, Ismaila Sarr lost his head and blazed over when isolated at the edge of the box. Palace’s attacking problems have not suddenly galloped into the distance but at least they are finding goals from other areas; Will Hughes could not possibly have worked harder to create chances if he tried.
Another forward will still be a priority in January and is just as pressing as finding cover for Tyrick Mitchell.
The man they are looking for may well be Lyon’s Rayan Cherki thanks to the club’s links to John Textor, but some serious thought is required to avoid repeating the mistakes of the summer. Glasner delivered a curt response when asked if he would consider Odsonne Edouard from his Leicester loan last week so the answers lie elsewhere.
That said, given some of the football City themselves played and the onslaught Palace withstood, this was possibly even better than the victory over Spurs, who offered nothing. By Kat Lucas
Ipswich
Oh Ipswich. Kieran McKenna tried to stress after the match that this is not the time for his players to feel sorry for themselves, but a small caveat to that: it is absolutely the time that players are going to feel sorry for themselves. McKenna will do his best, but confidence in that dressing room must be absolutely shot.
Belief is lost in two ways. The first is obvious: if your team is being outclassed every week then you lose faith that you are good enough and so heads drop and it makes it even harder to compete. See Sheffield United’s 2023-24 for details.
But losing close games can be just as dispiriting. You commit so much effort and emotion into every game because you can see a potential salvation in sight and every time you fall short it punches you in the stomach. Ipswich’s last four league defeats have been by a single goal. They have beaten Tottenham and drawn with Manchester United and Aston Villa, but it counts for nought if you cannot use those days to gain momentum.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Ipswich are collapsing in the final stages of matches having invested so much into them. Since late-October alone, they have lost a match in second-half injury time to Brentford, conceded a second-half injury time equaliser to Leicester, and now conceded in the 87th minute and second-half stoppage time to lose against Bournemouth. The spirit must be ebbing away quickly.
Wolves
Play West Ham on Monday night.
Southampton
It may well be the quote of the season from Russell Martin, even in a crowded field:
“We played out and got pressed just before that, which then makes Joe kick and it gets a cheer from the supporters, and we concede within about 10 seconds, so it is what it is,” Martin told the BBC.
“They have a right to criticise everything else but it’s really important to understand why we do things. We kick it to our two smallest players and it comes back.”
A few points, Russell:
Those fans cheered sarcastically because they had just seen – as they have dozens of times this season – their own team getting into trouble while attempting to pass it out from the back. They understand the theory: you gain more than you lose from sticking to a style. But they also have eyes and have watched their team repeatedly be appalling both ways.
If you think there was a mistake made to allow the goal to happen, a failure of process, surely your focus is on the play that provoked the cheer (and thus the goal) rather than the cheer itself? It’s a bit like blaming the oven being too hot for the chips you left in for two hours.
Those supporters have been on eight away trips this season, including this one to Birmingham in the middle of a weather warning, and watched Southampton take one point and score four goals. They have seen their team, instructed by the manager, blindly stick to the same way of playing that clearly isn’t working because Southampton have five points from 15 games. I’m not sure cheering is the reaction that you should worry about.