We learned from the EPL
Rumours of Blues’ demise greatly exaggerated
A mauling in Rome, trouble behind the scenes and another row with a player. Antonio Conte was on the brink at Chelsea, yet once again he produced a response from his players that led to the 1-0 victory over Manchester United. The result was all the more important given the decision to axe David Luiz from the match-day squad. Had Chelsea crumbled against United, there would have been serious questions about Conte’s suitability to continue as manager at the club. But instead he got the response he wanted and if Roman Abramovich was looking for signs of life from his manager, he got them.
Mourinho left exposed by tactics change
Quite why Arsene Wenger decided to hand Francis Coquelin his first Premier League start of the season in Arsenal’s hardest game of the campaign remains a mystery. Arsenal may have a good record against City compared to the rest of their top six rivals, but Pep Guardiola’s side this season pose a completely different problem for rival teams. Coquelin looked out of his depth on Sunday, although that was not helped by the decision to play him in the middle of a back five that contained just one recognised centreback in Laurent Koscielny. Once City pulled two goals clear, it was Coquelin who was pulled by Wenger as he looked to get back into the game. The gamble had failed, and the Gunners are now 12 points off top spot after just 11 games in what looks to be the earliest point in the season that Arsenal have fallen out of the title race since Wenger arrived at the club.
Ederson is City’s quiet hero
Amongst the abundance of attacking talent, the free-flowing football, the pace of Sane and Sterling and the genius of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, the one thing that often gets overlooked is the contribution of goalkeeper Ederson. He is marshalling a still susceptible defence with ease and his contribution was acknowledged when he captained the side in midweek. He was not needed to be called on for much of the game on Sunday but when he was, on the stroke of halftime, he got down low expertly to palm away Aaron Ramsey’s close-range snap-shot. It’s those sort of moments which cost City points last season with Claudio Bravo between the sticks and he could turn out to be Guardiola’s best signing of the summer.
Reds missing consistency – will cost them top four
Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over West Ham brought a smile to Jürgen Klopp’s face as his side moved above Arsenal into fifth place, but there is a telling issue in among their results that is preventing them from breaking into the top four. The win at the London Stadium was the first time that Liverpool have recorded back-toback wins in the Premier League since the victories over Crystal Palace and Arsenal in August. Given that the Reds are clearly capable of playing football that can blow away opponents of any calibre if they hit their stride, what Klopp will now want to see is that formidable form being replicated every week. If Liverpool can find that consistency, they will be very well placed to take advantage of any slip-ups from the teams ahead of them.
Unsworth off the mark, Dyche still a great option
It may have been a case of too little, too late for David Unsworth as Everton picked up their first victory under the interim manager at their fourth attempt. Since Ronald Koemnan was sacked two weeks ago, there has been little to shout about at Goodison Park, so Sunday’s thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Watford will have delighted the Toffees’ faithful as they moved out of the relegation zone. However, Burnley boss Sean Dyche remains the favourite to get the job on a permanent basis. There has not been any official approach from Everton yet, but Dyche may well take a look at Sunday’s result and decide that, if an offer comes, he would be picking up a squad that clearly has some fight left in it and the financial backing that Burnley cannot afford.
ONE MINUTE, Mohamed Salah can be an utterly thrilling player, the next an utterly frustrating one. The Egyptian has the ability to turn a match on its head in a moment or blow an opponent out of the water with his combination of frightening pace and incisive running. He also has the ability to miss when it seems far easier to score.
Liverpool supporters already love him nonetheless, voting Salah as the club’s player of the month at every time of asking since August, but they know too well that he squanders chances.
Take the victory over Arsenal at Anfield earlier this season. In the opening stages, a few yards out and at a generous angle, Salah had a choice of how to open the scoring, with the visitors’ goal gaping as the ball broke to him at the far post. He hit it straight at Petr Cech.
In the second half though, with Liverpool already 2-0 ahead, he took the ball in his own half, already essentially one-on-one with Cech. Salah sprinted up towards the Kop, maintained his composure and coolly placed the ball past the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Then there’s the breakthrough in last Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Maribor.
Salah opened the scoring at the start of the second half with an intuitive finish, guiding the ball past goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic with the outside of his left leg after 49 long minutes of deadlock.
Shortly after, he should have doubled Liverpool’s lead when he connected with an Alberto Moreno cross but, from pointblank range, he headed over.
Perhaps the best example of all comes with how, after converting a crucial stoppagetime penalty to send Egypt to their first World Cup in 28 years, Jürgen Klopp made Salah his first-choice spotkick taker.
Salah had shown he can cope with “unbelievable” pressure, the Liverpool manager said, but a fortnight later, his attempt to put Liverpool ahead at home to a stubborn Huddersfield Town was easily saved. Those misses should not tarnish the all-round excellent start to life at Anfield that Salah has made.
Jamie Carragher, not afraid to say what he thinks of Liverpool players, named him as the signing of the season last week before his brilliant display at the London Stadium and many, including several names from these pages, predicted the same of Salah at the start of the campaign.
To have brought in a player of his talent and output for £36.9m (RM205.2m) in an inflated market was exceptional business.
Composure, then, seems like the only aspect of Salah’s game in desperate need of attention and Liverpool should only look back a few years to find an example of a striker who blossomed after recognising that he was missing too many simple chances.
It is often forgotten that Luis Suarez was also regarded as something of a wasteful finisher during his first two years at Anfield.
In fairness to the Uruguayan, he was part of a team under Kenny Dalglish and in the early days of Brendan Rodgers’ reign that seemed to take perverse pleasure in shooting off target.
Suarez was far from the worst culprit but even so, he knew he could improve.
“I am the problem,” he admitted in the summer of 2012, having converted just 8% of his shots into goals the previous season.
“It is all down to me. I need to take my time more when I do have chances. Sometimes I am rushing at chances too much and I know the problem is mine.
“It is up to me to sort it out and to start scoring goals.” Suarez improved that conversion figure to 12% the following year, then upped it again to 17% in his final year at Anfield.
For what it’s worth, Salah has converted 19% of shots this year, more than Suarez ever managed at Liverpool, yet given the number of chances missed, there is clearly room for improvement.
He remains some way off producing the kind of outstanding individual season that Suarez did four years ago to take Liverpool to the brink of a league title, but for once, the troublesome Uruguayan might have set a good example.
Players can build their composure in front of goal, they can improve their finishing. If Salah does this year, next or at any point down the line, it may be enough to make Liverpoool genuine challengers once again. – The Independent