Rodgers still shows signs of naivety... and other talking points from the weekend
One guy named Mo
Liverpool’s prolific front three rediscovered their attacking mojo against Tottenham on Thursday evening, two of the trio scoring as Liverpool ended a five-game drought in the Premier League.
Only Mo Salah started their second game in London in three days, however, with Sadio Mane carrying a minor injury and Roberto Firmino
enjoying a rest on the bench. While Liverpool’s goalscoring and chance-creation struggles returned in the first half it was a different story in the second.
Perhaps Jurgen Klopp saw enough of the spry Salah against Spurs to know that his next goal was only a matter of time because his two strikes – against a West Ham side that had only conceded three goals in all of January – would be high up on any YouTube compilation of the Egyptian’s best finishes.
Liverpool’s return to form with a 3-1 thumping of West Ham could not have been more timely. Over the course of a 10-day period starting on Wednesday they will play Brighton, Manchester City and Leicester. The first fixture should be rudimentary enough, but is exactly the kind of obdurate opponent they struggled against previously
this season, while the two that follow might just dictate how robust a defence of the title they won last June is going to be.
Leeds’ slam dunk
Brendan Rodgers said he didn’t want to get drawn into a basketball match against Leeds United but it looked as if that was exactly what was going to happen when the Northern Irishman’s Leicester City took the lead after 13 minutes against Marcelo Bielsa’s side only to concede 120 seconds later.
This was a test of whether Rodgers is made of more defensively sound stuff or still susceptible to the kind of naivety that cost
him so badly last season, during his time at Celtic in European games and the run-in to the 2013-14 campaign at Liverpool. As the first half progressed, it appeared it was the latter and there was more of the same after the break when, despite a period of sustained Leicester pressure, Leeds scored their second after their pressing forced an error at the back and Patrick Bamford lashed home. Bamford then raced free to set up the third for Jack Harrison – what Rodgers might tell you is known as a fastbreak in basketball. It wasn’t quite the end-to-end scoring he feared. On the contrary the goals mostly went one way. Rodgers has made exponential progress at
Leicester, but this all felt a bit too familiar.
Tuchel’s smart move
A good coach should be able to extract the best from every player in his squad. When stressed-out managers start talking about projects or certain individuals not fitting “a style” there is bound to be collateral damage along the way.
Which is why Thomas Tuchel deserves praise at Chelsea for bringing those who felt ostracised at Stamford Bridge back into the fold. His preferred formation at Borussia Dortmund and Paris St-Germain was an attacking 4-3-3 but against Burnley he opted for three at the back.
The German reinstated Marcos Alonso to his line-up and was rewarded with a sublime goal from the Spaniard which helped to seal Tuchel’s first win.
Fellow Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta, another who had been overlooked by Lampard, scored the other, playing his part in keeping a second successive clean sheet under Tuchel and scoring a goal in which he bolted 80 yards up the pitch to latch on to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s reverse pass.
The goal demonstrated the benefit of playing three centrebacks against stuffy opponents as Azpilicueta was able to make the run from deep undetected, and the logic in a coach using a system that fits the players at his disposal.
Bruce sticks it to his critics
There is rarely a dull moment at Newcastle United except, it seems, when “the lads” take to the pitch for a game – and then suddenly narcolepsy strikes.
It was a week in which the narrative ranged from Steve
Bruce’s future as manager, to the presence of Mike Ashley’s hangmen at St James’ Park for the 2-1 defeat by Leeds and the unfurling of a banner by irate members of the Toon Army that read: “Act Late. Seal Your Fate” in reference to Newcastle’s plummet towards the relegation zone.
Against that backdrop of negativity, the prospect of a win for Newcastle at Everton on Saturday came so far from left field that even Elon Musk would have dismissed the suggestion as beyond scientific reason.
Instead, Bruce effected a minor miracle and stuck two fingers up at his critics after cajoling a supercharged performance out of his hitherto insipid side.
Callum Wilson scored twice but, for the clinching goal, he was certainly helped by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who
compounded his blunder against Leicester City in midweek by giving the impression of a man who was trying to narrow the angles after quaffing a bottle of single malt as the Newcastle striker was given time and space to pick his spot.
City have the look of champions
Pep Guardiola made a lot of noise about Sheffield United’s performance against his Manchester City side suggesting that when he saw the conditions on Saturday morning he knew his team were going to be in for a difficult afternoon. City certainly made heavy weather of beating the basement club, but Guardiola was right about something. Chris Wilder’s side have perhaps been unluckier than the performances have warranted. Whatever, City did
what was needed – unlike their neighbours Manchester United who lost ground in the title race by drawing at Arsenal.
The leadership of the Premier League has been held by nine different teams but, at last, there appears to be an occupant of top spot who look comfortable there. City have won eight on the trot, have a game in hand on their rivals and are missing Kevin de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling.
Most crucially of all, for a team renowned for its attacking ability, they have conceded just once in that eight-game winning run.
City’s stealthy progress has brought greater a degree of clarity over where the destination of the Premier League trophy is likely to end up. It might become even clearer should they win at Liverpool next weekend.