Carrick does it again.
THE TOP STORY
Has the Premier League title race been thrown wide open?
In this strangest of seasons, it seems there has only really been one standout team; one side managing consistency. But Arsenal lost on Sunday, going down 3-2 in dramatic fashion to Manchester United.
It is now three league matches without a win for Arsenal, whose lead at the top is down to four points after Aston Villa and Manchester City claimed victories.
There’ll be plenty more intrigue to come in the title race, though if Man City and Villa are to really push Arsenal, they need to ensure some consistency of their own — especially when opportunities to close the gap arise.
But further back in the table, in the race for the Champions League places, United have suddenly propelled themselves to the front of the queue.
Michael Carrick really has had a dream start. Two games, against the top two in the league — in a derby and against a traditional rival to boot — and United have come away with maximum points.
Carrick has provided the new-manager bounce that Ruben Amorim never quite found. He seems to have instilled a self-belief in this United team.
Whereas Amorim would rigidly stick with his system, Carrick has shown tactical flexibility. His switch to a front three, and playing Patrick Dorgu down the left, seems to have worked wonders.
Credit: Instagram - @manutd
Dorgu has rewarded him with two goals in as many matches, and his one on Sunday was a true stunner. Then again, it was topped — at least in terms of magnitude — by Matheus Cunha’s curling finish to win it; the Brazilian proving he can be equally as effective from the bench.
Perhaps Carrick has just given his players a bit of freedom, and United must not get lulled into a false sense of security. They are still a middling team, but with some quality players, and a manager who seemingly believes in them right now.
However, they will be prone to inconsistencies. The thing is, none of the other teams around them are any better.
Take this weekend: Liverpool lost (more on that to come), Newcastle United lost, Chelsea won, Sunderland lost. Fulham are up to seventh because they beat Brighton. Tottenham, who are 10 points back from United, drew with Burnley. But one or two results in either direction can still change the course of a team’s campaign. At this late stage, that is remarkable.
So United must simply stay calm and carry on. Carrick will inevitably be asked, time and time again, about his future, but the club must ensure that the only focus is the present, and then all involved can see where they end up come May.
MOMENTS OF THE WEEKEND
Bournemouth’s last-minute winneragainstLiverpool snapped the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League. Yet the Reds have underwhelmed and misfired across that streak. Four straight league draws going into Saturday’s trip to the Vitality Stadium showed where Liverpool were really at, and despite coming from 2-0 down to be drawing 2-2 heading into the closing stages, it would have been a push to say Liverpool deserved to win. Defensively, they were atrocious, even accounting for their absences. Virgil van Dijk turned in a dismal display, and Arne Slot is running out of excuses. The Reds are still in the top six, but the Cherries were well worthy of their victory.
Emiliano Buendiahas come back from the cold this season and established himself as a key player for Villa. It was his exquisite strike that set Unai Emery’s team on their way to a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday, with Argentine curling home from outside the area. It actually marked the 13th time Villa have netted from outside of the box this season, which is their best such tally in the competition since 2007-08 (when they scored 16 goals from range).
Granit Xhakamissed a league game for the first time this season, and boy, did Sunderland feel his absence. The Black Cats went down 3-1 at West Ham on Saturday, and were 3-0 down by half-time. Sunderland are still having a fantastic season, but this result shows they must take care of their inspirational captain, who is without doubt proving to be the signing of 2025-26 across the Premier League. Keep him fit and firing, and a top-half finish (at the least) is on the cards. But if he is missing, then those hopes could fade.
THE GLOBAL GAME 🌎
🇪🇸 For a night, it was all change in LaLiga, asReal Madrid went top of the table after beating Villarreal on Saturday. Kylian Mbappé marked the occasion of his 300th top-flight game by scoring both goals, with his second a coolly taken, Penenka from the penalty spot.Barcelona, though, responded on Sunday, beating Real Oviedo 3-0 at Camp Nou, with Lamine Yamal scoring a goal that Oviedo’s goal labelled as “from another galaxy”. Just one point separates the top two in a tight tussle.
🇩🇪Bayern Munich lost! 😱 For the first time since March last year, Vincent Kompany’s team suffered a Bundesliga defeat, losing 2-1 at home to Augsburg, who lodged a fightback in the final 15 minutes. Bayern are still eight points clear at the summit, despite second-place Borussia Dortmund winning, but there will be no invincible campaign from them.
🇫🇷Lens’10-game winning streak in Ligue 1 came to a shuddering halt on Saturday, as they lost 3-1 to Marseille, for whom Ethan Nwaneri scored on his debut. With Paris Saint-Germain winning on Friday, it means Lens have dropped to second, and you have to wonder now if they really stand a chance of reclaiming top spot, given who they are up against.
🇮🇹Napoli’s title defence, it seems, is coming to an end. Perhaps the injuries to key players have finally caught up with Antonio Conte’s team, who were dispatched 3-0 by Juventus on Sunday and are now nine points adrift of Serie A leaders Inter. Luciano Spalletti got one over on his former club — who he led to the Scudetto in 2023 — and in part it was down to another supreme performance from Kenan Yildiz. The youngster has been dubbed an “alien” by his coach, such is the level of his performance.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Joe Devine, of The Athletic and Tifo Football, caued something of a stir on Sunday with the below post onX.
But, he raises a valid point.
In a way, despite West Ham being five points back from safety, it is still quite hard to imagine them going down. Likewise, Nottingham Forest — who beat Brentford 2-0 on Sunday — have a strong squad and a manager, in Sean Dyche, who knows how to grind out results.
Leeds United are, though in good form. And if they beat Everton on Monday, they’ll be eight points clear of the drop.
So, the question is, is there another team that could get dragged into the mix?
Bournemouth are now on 30 points after their win over Liverpool; Andoni Iraola is just too good of a coach for the Cherries to be really in danger, isn’t he? Then there’s Spurs, on 28 points after that draw at Burnley. Thomas Frank may well not last the season, but surely they are far too good to go down…
That leaves Crystal Palace, and there is always one side who tend to go into freefall over winter and suddenly find themselves in the scrap.
Palace are now winless in 11 games in all competitions. They have sold their captain, and their coach is leaving at the end of the season. There are serious doubts over the future of their starting striker, and they do not have a particularly big squad.
Do we think Palace will go down? No. There is surely too much quality there. But let’s just assume that Wolves and Burnley are already condemned to the second tier, there is an intriguing tussle to avoid that final relegation spot. Given how close it is, none of the teams below 30 points can really be counted out yet, can they?
COMING UP
A few highlight fixtures for this week (all times GMT).
Monday: Everton v Leeds (20:00) — PL*(AKA… The DCL derby)*
Wednesday: Paris Saint-Germain v Newcastle (20:00) — UCL
Thursday: Celtic v Utrecht (20:00) — UEL
Saturday: Leeds United v Arsenal (15:00), Liverpool v Newcastle (20:00) — PL
Sunday: Spurs v Man City (16:30) — PL
MTAG’S RECOMMENDATION
Here’s the excellentMo Stewart on the importance of Bernardo Silva, Pep Guardiola’s ‘small soldier’.
[Mo Stewart
Pep Guardiola hails his ‘undroppable’ small soldier
In this era of fans supporting players more than teams, media training and manufactured images via social media, there are very few true villains left in football. Players that opponents love to hate, who are adored by their own fans because of it. Emi Martinez’ on-field theatrics generate plenty of vitriol, as does the arm-waving antics of Bruno Fernan…
Read more
a month ago · Mo Stewart](https://m0stewart.substack.com/p/pep-guardiola-hails-his-undroppable?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)
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