EPL Review: Reds school Ange, Man United get lump of coal at Christmas

Following each weekend of Premier League motion, theScore examines crucial developments and largest speaking factors to emerge from the slate of matches. Beneath, we dissect Matchweek 17 of the 2024-25 season.

Liverpool train Ange harsh lesson

Stubbornness can, at occasions, be a constructive trait for a supervisor. However complete rigidity and blind religion also can maintain a staff again. Ange Postecoglou is veering too far into the latter class – and it is costing Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou, not for the primary time, was in a combative temper with the media after Spurs’ chaotic 6-3 dwelling loss to league leaders Liverpool on Sunday. Particularly with so many defensive absentees, why did not he take a extra conservative method to the match in opposition to such an explosive opponent? It is a legitimate query. He wasn’t having any of it.

” what? I am simply going to cease answering these questions,” he mentioned when pressed about his staff’s excessive defensive position and his uncompromising dedication to a tactic that Liverpool ruthlessly exploited. “If individuals cannot see the plain, I am not going to level it out. Look, make of it what you need, sure we’re conceding objectives.”

He added: “If you wish to low cost the very fact we’re lacking a goalkeeper, two center-backs and a left-back as effectively and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing … I do not know what to say anymore.”

That is turning into an nearly weekly prevalence, and it seems like we’re about to succeed in a breaking level. Postecoglou will not final for much longer if he is not going to be taught any classes from Sunday’s shellacking, or, even worse, open his thoughts to the likelihood that Tottenham may gain advantage from some selection to their play. That is the tough actuality of the game, particularly on the highest stage. Simply ask Russell Martin, who was additionally wedded to 1 very particular type of play proper up till the second he was sacked by Southampton. Selection can assist make groups extra unpredictable and thus more durable to defend.

Distinction Postecoglou’s retort to that of Enzo Maresca who was requested about Chelsea’s efficiency after their goalless draw with Everton on Sunday. The distinction is stark.

“It was not a simple recreation and you need to discover ways to play totally different video games,” Maresca defined. Soccer will not be solely simply how good you play on the ball. It’s the way you defend and the way you take care of that.”

Amen, Enzo. Strive getting that message via to Ange, mate.

Fast free-kicks 📝

Would Saka’s absence sink Arsenal?

Arsenal cannot afford to lose Bukayo Saka. Particularly now. The star winger is crucial to every little thing the title-chasing Gunners do, so it is no marvel Mikel Arteta admitted he is “fairly apprehensive” after Saka was compelled to depart Saturday’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace with a hamstring damage. The 23-year-old was noticed shifting very gingerly on crutches after the sport.

We have beforehand mentioned the necessity for Arsenal to get extra secondary scoring, and Gabriel Jesus seems to have heeded these phrases by feasting on Palace twice this week. Can he preserve this sudden sizzling streak going? Arsenal want him to if Saka misses time. Arteta’s staff has 9 video games – throughout three competitions – on the schedule earlier than they hit February. There’s by no means a superb time to be with out your finest participant, however that is among the many worst.

Case of mistaken id

We do not have to spend an excessive amount of time discussing why VAR’s implementation within the Premier League has been a nightmare. That is already a preferred sufficient opinion. Realizing that it isn’t going wherever, although, we are able to spend time determining ways in which it may well make a constructive influence, even when it is for edge circumstances. For example: Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke was bloodied after taking a boot to the face from teammate Carlos Baleba on Saturday. West Ham defender Dinos Mavropanos, within the neighborhood and difficult for the ball inside a crowded penalty space on the play, was mistakenly proven a yellow card.

Why is not such an apparent error reviewable? Had been he proven a pink, it will have been. The VAR is all the time watching each incident, absolutely it will have been straightforward sufficient to tell the on-pitch official of the error and shortly right it? Mavropanos, on an undeserved yellow, was substituted at half-time in a transfer that maybe would not have occurred if he wasn’t booked.

‘Immature’ Brighton

It is gone underneath the radar just lately because of Manchester Metropolis’s tailspin dominating the discourse, however Brighton are mired in a droop of their very own after a improbable begin to life underneath Fabian Hurzeler. The Seagulls are winless of their final 5 Premier League video games after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, they usually have simply two victories in 10 outings throughout all competitions.

Seeing out wins has been an issue. Brighton have dropped 16 factors from successful positions this season, usually settling for attracts after leaping out to the lead. Hurzeler known as out his staff for missing maturity after its notorious collapse in opposition to Wolves, however it would not seem that message has absolutely gotten via to his squad.

Persistence pays off for Bournemouth

Many have been calling for Andoni Iraola to be fired final season when his Bournemouth tenure bought off to a rocky begin. However the membership saved the religion, assured that the poor outcomes have been tied to Bournemouth’s wildly tough schedule and never a deeper underlying subject with the Basque supervisor’s method. They’re being rewarded for it now.

The surging Cherries climbed to fifth place within the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Manchester United, their second consecutive victory at Previous Trafford by that very same scoreline. Iraola has cultivated a pleasant mixture of younger gamers with attacking aptitude and veteran contributors who do the soiled work. Among the “greater” golf equipment within the league, and all through Europe, may take a lesson from Iraola’s success story.

Star performer 🌟

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

We’ll repeat: Pay the person.

With two objectives and two assists in Liverpool’s hectic win over Tottenham, Mohamed Salah made historical past and climbed a number of ladders abruptly. He grew to become the primary participant in Premier League historical past to succeed in double figures in each objectives and assists in a single season earlier than Christmas. He additionally overtook Erling Haaland for the lead within the Golden Boot race, and now stands alone in fourth on Liverpool’s all-time scoring record with 229 objectives in 373 appearances.

His mere presence on the pitch creates room for teammates, permitting midfielders to surge ahead into harmful open areas, and any time he finds an inch of house he makes the opposition pay dearly. Frankly, the considered Liverpool with out him is inconceivable. The Egyptian goes to be requested constantly about his expiring contract till he indicators a brand new one. Liverpool should not threat that storyline turning into a distraction and doubtlessly derailing what could possibly be a title-winning marketing campaign.

Finest XI 😎

(Supply: FotMob)

Spotlight of the weekend 🎥

Alexander Isak is on a heater proper now: His hat-trick in Saturday’s dominant win over Ipswich City, the primary of his Newcastle profession, offers the Swedish striker six objectives in his final 4 Premier League matches. The ingenuity of his final end, particularly, stood out.

Stat of the weekend 🔢

It did not take lengthy for the goodwill that Manchester United generated with their dramatic derby win to completely evaporate.

Social media second 📱

Former Aston Villa star Jack Grealish had a message for his one-time adoring followers who have been goading him as Manchester Metropolis’s spiral continued with a 2-1 loss at Villa Park on Saturday.

The place we stand 👀

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