Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
1) Chances dwindling for Chelsea’s academy kids
Much of the praise heaped on Frank Lampard about this time last year focused on his apparent eagerness to find a place in the first-team setup for the academy graduates that had been rendered collateral damage by the money and splendour of the Abramovich era. But against Liverpool, the spearhead of last season’s locally sourced side, Tammy Abraham, was consigned to the bench by the £47m Timo Werner and the £72m Kai Havertz was picked ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi, whose mettle will be further tested when Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic are fit. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was not in the squad at all. Fikayo Tomori’s emergency introduction was the first time he had kicked a ball since February. And Mason Mount is playing in the position preferred by Havertz. Suddenly Lampard’s new-look Chelsea begin to resemble the old one: expensive signings, a squad overflowing with pedigree – and a manager who needs to get results in the here and now. Alex Hess• Match report: Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool
2) Silky James helps Everton recover their steel
Everton were not faultless against West Brom. “We didn’t get the balance right early on,” said Séamus Coleman after his 250th start for the club. “When people were overlapping we weren’t covering in.” But among the many impressive features of their performance was character, something the captain conceded was lacking last season. Everton remained composed after falling behind and, guided by the outstanding James Rodríguez, took control before Kieran Gibbs’ stupidity made their afternoon easier. It was a marked departure from their reaction to setbacks in recent seasons. “These top players bring that sense of calm,” Coleman reflected. “James is quite calm picking out these passes in the final third and he’s not forcing it. His range of passing and decision making is fantastic. He’s been great in the changing room too, he’s been great for a couple of our other foreign lads who are really coming into their own as well.” Andy Hunter• Match report: Everton 5-2 West Brom
3) Baggies need to adapt to new life as underdog
It says something about Everton’s domination of the second half that only two West Brom players attempted more passes across the whole game than Kieran Gibbs, who was sent off before half-time. Last season the Baggies collectively averaged 446 passes per game; in the first two games of this season that figure has fallen by more than 25%, to 329. The equivalent figure for Fulham and Leeds, the other promoted sides, is a comparatively trivial 10%, and West Brom’s stat hasn’t been particularly skewed by the red card, because they attempted only 14 more passes at home to Leicester on the opening weekend. It is obviously premature to pass judgment, after only one and a half games at full strength, but Slaven Bilic’s side are inevitably going to be more reactive and less dominant in this division, and the question is how long it will take them to become accustomed to it. Simon Burnton
4) Bielsa learns a lesson from oldschool Mitrovic
Old-fashioned centre-forwards have become thin on the ground in modern football but Marcelo Bielsa is confident they still have a future. The Leeds manager was brutally honest about the reason his side were made to sweat on a first Premier League victory when they should have been home and dry after going 4-1 up early in the second half. The reason was Aleksandar Mitrovic. “Our defenders could not cope with the Fulham No 9,” Bielsa said. “He caused all the danger.” Mitrovic’s workrate is questionable, as is his temperament, both reasons why Rafa Benítez did not always fancy him at Newcastle. But he will cause most defenders problems and he almost did enough to rescue a point from a seemingly hopeless situation at Elland Road. That may say as much about the Leeds defence as it does about the Fulham striker. As Bielsa says, it will take a few more games to tell. Paul Wilson• Match report: Leeds 4-3 Fulham
5) Hectic schedule takes its toll on sluggish United
From Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Luke Shaw, understandable upset was voiced following Manchester United’s capitulation. What now fascinates is how – or if – United can recover and embark on another unbeaten Premier League run akin to the 14-match sequence that was ended by Roy Hodgson’s impressive side. The United manager and his left-back are right to offer no excuse while also pointing, as each did, to an almost nonexistent close season – Solskjaer had four days in Norway with family – then pre-season: Shaw said the full squad had only a week together as preparation for Palace. At Old Trafford United looked what they are: a tired, sluggish bunch of players in search of a spark. So unless they can tap into prodigious reserves of energy they will seriously struggle in a helter-skelter campaign that continues with Tuesday’s Carabao Cup trip to Luton Town before Saturday’s visit to Brighton. Jamie Jackson• Match report: Manchester United 1-3 Crystal Palace• Jonathan Liew: United needs time more than money or Sancho
6) Nketiah’s nose for goal adds depth to Arteta’s arsenal
Eddie Nketiah has played exactly 1,400 minutes for Arsenal’s first team and scored eight times. That is a ratio slightly better than a goal every other full game and it reflects well on a 21year-old striker who possesses a rare gift. Nketiah has that knack for appearing in the right place, specialising in the kind of poacher’s strike that sometimes seems out of vogue. His tapin defeated West Ham and it is not by luck that Nketiah finds himself in such positions; his movement is sharp and deft, and his willingness to learn is among many things to have impressed Mikel Arteta. There is something oldfashioned about Nketiah and how that serves him in the long term remains to be seen, given the demands placed on centre-forwards’ all-round games now. His best use this season may well be from the bench, as on Saturday, but it will be intriguing to see whether Arteta can mould him into a top-level starter for years to come. Nick Ames• Match report: Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
7) Saints offer worrying reminder of haunting loss
The first anniversary of that infamous 9-0 shellacking is fast approaching but, while Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side bounced back from that episode to finish comfortably clear of trouble last season, worryingly there were shades of that defeat as Southampton unravelled against Spurs at St Mary’s. Every time Tottenham poured forward Saints looked susceptible and José Mourinho’s side certain to score. In the end, Spurs found the net with five of their six shots on target, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min combining to devastating effect to extend Southampton’s desperate start to this campaign; they have lost all three matches so far this season, including a cup defeat to Brentford, and the Saints manager can only hope this latest humiliation provides another watershed moment. “If we need such a result to get the heads clear, I will take it,” Hasenhüttl said. “At the moment, definitely, we cannot power for 90 minutes.” Ben Fisher• Match report: Southampton 2-5 Tottenham
8) Tireless Lamptey leaves
Bruce’s men bruised
Newcastle’s left-back, Jamal Lewis, was left with a potentially nasty eye injury after being caught by Yves Bissouma’s dangerously high boot but Tariq Lamptey had already ensured Steve Bruce’s side had sustained wider damage. Graham Potter’s 19-year-old right wing-back excelled as Brighton threatened to win by six or seven. “It was pretty much perfect apart from the red card,” said Potter, with no hint of exaggeration. “We were really on the front foot.” Newcastle – still to beat Brighton in the Premier League since the clubs were promoted together three years ago – are hoping to be allowed to have 10,000 fans inside the 52,000 capacity St James’ Park at their next home game, against Burnley in early October. Had that number been present here, Lamptey’s reign of terror would have ensured Bruce’s players were booed off. Louise Taylor• Match report: Newcastle 0-3 Brighton
9) West Ham improve but they face tough stretch
On the first weekend Newcastle convincingly beat an extremely disappointing West Ham, and on the second Newcastle were a shambles in losing at home to Brighton and West Ham much improved even in defeat at Arsenal. Some teams have given us a fairly decent indication of what is to come, and others’ performances have been so different in character that it’s hard to see that anything has been revealed at all. “We just have to take the positives from this game because as a team I think we played well,” said Arthur Masuaku. “We need to play as a team and be hard to beat. We’ve shown that we can compete against these teams. We have a strong team and if we play like we did on Saturday, we will win games.” The question, though, is when – West Ham’s next five league games are against the sides who finished last season seventh, fifth, sixth, second and first. Simon Burnton
10) Dyche faces a long haul with a limited squad
Sean Dyche’s dissatisfaction with his lack of resources at Burnley is barely concealed. Just two players have come in so far this transfer window, and one of them, Will Norris, is a reserve goalkeeper. Ben Mee and James Tarkowski were missing at Leicester, with the latter mooted for departure. It robbed Burnley of proven quality in central defence. Jimmy Dunne, previously loaned to Barrow, Hearts and Fleetwood, made his Premier League debut alongside his Irish compatriot Kevin Long, who, despite 10 years in claret, was playing only his 36th game in the Premier League. Dunne got a goal and looked the most assured Burnley defender but that was saying very little. For instance, Timothy Castagne, Leicester’s flying full-back, created huge problems down their left side. These may be early days but guiding this underpowered group to safety may be the greatest challenge of Dyche’s eight years at Turf Moor. John Brewin• Match report: Leicester 4-2 Burnley