Carabao Cup final and Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend
1) Casemiro shows the value of a winner
Casemiro wins things. Before arriving in Manchester he had claimed five Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles, one Copa América and 15 other trophies for club and country. He’d won 10 of the 12 major finals he’d played. Now he has a Carabao Cup. Manchester United signed a player with an intimate knowledge of that winning feeling. But would any of that experience count in a team that had forgotten what was required to get over the line? Without him they had lost three finals in five years while finishing second in the league on two occasions. How fitting that his headed goal began the win against Newcastle. But beyond this single act, his greatest contribution is the way he has lifted those around him; especially his countryman Fred, who could be the most-improved player in English football. The Erik ten Hag project has claimed its first prize. For Casemiro, it’s just another day as one of life’s winners. Daniel Gallan
Match report: Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United 2) Newcastle on the up despite loss
This was nothing new for Newcastle fans of a certain vintage. They lost 2-0 in two consecutive FA Cup finals – against Arsenal in 1998 and then Manchester United a year later. And those were high-water marks of sorts. They finished 13th in both league campaigns. Whenever they fought on two fronts they were dismantled on at least one of them. It was either a cup run or a strong league push. This team have a higher ceiling. Of course that is a consequence of a war chest provided by deeply controversial Saudi Arabian investment, but the players in black and white are trending in a positive direction. They play with a purpose. They understand their roles. They are well drilled by Eddie Howe and have the depth to compete in more than one competition. Though will just competing be enough for owners who have spent the GDP of a small country to fill their sparse cabinet with trophies? DG
3) Potter at the wheel … for now
Graham Potter made a plea for patience after Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham. “We were talking before the game about watching the Arsenal All or Nothing and two years into Mikel [Arteta’s] reign he is close to getting the sack and people want him out,” he said. “It was seen as a disaster but things have now changed a bit. If you look at Jürgen [Klopp’s] situation, they haven’t got the results and all of a sudden people want him out.” A fair argument? Only if you forget that Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season at Arsenal. Or that Klopp has won the Premier League and Champions League at Liverpool. Chelsea have broken the British transfer record since appointing Potter. They have won twice in 15 matches, cannot score, are out of both cups and are 10th. “I really like these players,” Potter said. “They’re good lads. But at the moment we’re suffering.” Jacob Steinberg
Match report: Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea
4) Maddison leaves Foxes without cunning
There is no shame these days in coming second best to Arsenal, who were in total control at Leicester and won more comfortably than the onegoal margin suggests. But the hosts’ pallor was a concern for Brendan Rodgers and perhaps a surprise given their recent victory over Spurs and lively efforts at Old Trafford. They badly missed James Maddison, who was unavailable with illness and has been struggling recently with a knee injury. When Maddison is fit, Leicester often fizz: his ideas and spark are infectious and he makes others tick. Without him they looked bereft – even if Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall tried his best to get them going. The statistics say it all: they have taken just three points from the seven games Maddison has sat out this season, scoring only four times. “We can’t rely on him to be the catalyst all the time for everything,” Rodgers said. Leicester will be playing a dangerous game if they continue to do so. The relegation zone looms worryingly large once again. Nick Ames
Match report: Leicester 0-1 Arsenal 5) Guardiola taking nothing for
granted
Might Manchester City’s experience help them beat Arsenal to the finishing post? Thirteen of their squad won the title last season, including Kevin De Bruyne, an unused substitute for the win at Bournemouth, who has four Premier League medals. City trail the leaders, who have played one game fewer, by two points and the teams will meet at the Etihad in April. “I would like to say it’s an advantage, but I don’t know,” Pep Guardiola said on Saturday. The City manager went on to reference Liverpool’s Champions League comeback victory over Milan in Istanbul as proof that experience does not always prevail. “In that period [Milan] had the most experienced lineup of players I had seen in a long time: Maldini, Gattuso, Cafu,” Guardiola said. “So football, in my little experience, when you think everything is under control – ‘I know exactly what is going to happen’ – then football can punch you in the face.” Ben Fisher
Match report: Bournemouth 1-4 Manchester City
6) Alexander-Arnold’s form a concern
Jürgen Klopp bristled at suggestions that Trent Alexander-Arnold could be suffering from a lack of confidence after his error-strewn performance at Crystal Palace, despite mounting evidence. While he was his usual threat in attack, the 24-year-old seemed to freeze under pressure in defence and Liverpool were fortunate that Palace’s misfiring forwards could not take advantage. Klopp, who has limited alternative options at right-back, has so far resisted some calls to move Alexander-Arnold into midfield, but he did acknowledge that the England defender could be feeling fatigued. “He is OK, it is just the amount of games,” said the Liverpool manager. “It is Trent Alexander-Arnold and if he is not performing, everybody is talking about it. We took him off and he has a day longer to rest and then he will be fine again.” Ed Aarons
Match report: Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
7) Toothless Toffees offer little cheer
Sean Dyche said he knows the “stats and the facts of the group” at Everton. In that case, his stoic demeanour was impressive after witnessing his team slip back into the relegation zone as a result of another blunt performance and costly home defeat. The goalscoring stats of Everton’s main attacking options on Saturday underline why the club’s top-flight status is in peril, undermining a display that felt encouraging until Ollie Watkins put Aston Villa ahead and exposed the woeful decision-making at the top of the club. Neal Maupay has scored 27 goals in 119 Premier League appearances, Alex Iwobi 16 in 207, Dwight McNeil nine in 156 and Demarai Gray 18 in 189. A combined output of 70 Premier League goals from 671 appearances, plus the continued absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, shows why set pieces and contributions from defenders are of vital importance to Dyche. “We have to keep working with the group to find different ways of asking questions of the opposition and then not just asking a question but finishing the question by scoring goals,” he said. Andy Hunter
Match report: Everton 0-2 Aston Villa 8) Moyes shows he can change his spots
David Moyes was derided for West Ham’s lack of sparkle during their recent defeat at Tottenham. What a difference a week makes. Saturday saw a shape shift, four changes and a very different outcome. West Ham oozed attacking intent against Nottingham Forest from the outset and by the end, they had a four-goal haul. The Lucas Paquetá-Saïd Benrahma left-sided combination dazzled, while Jarrod Bowen was relentless down the opposite flank. Declan Rice did what Declan Rice does, and Danny Ings showed his poacher’s instinct. Moyes’s eyes glistened afterwards: he loves it when a plan comes together. Sam Dalling
Match report: West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest
9) Leeds no longer sinners against Saints
He has only just got started but it seems Javi Gracia has already changed the curriculum at Elland Road. Based on the early evidence provided by
Saturday’s vital home win, width, patient passing and the art of knowing when to slow games down are back in favour. About time. Admittedly it was hardly a classic but this was a rare match in which a Leeds side becoming reacquainted with playing out from the back exerted a large element of control. With Wilfried Gnonto and co still adapting to the idea of stretching markers down the flanks, Gracia’s side were not always convincing going forward but the Spaniard made eminently sensible second-half substitutions. Indeed one newcomer, the exciting Crysencio Summerville, helped create Junior Firpo’s fine 77thminute winner. It was the former Barcelona left-back’s first Premier League goal and secured Leeds a first league win in 11 attempts, lifting them out of the relegation zone while leaving Rubén Sellés’s Southampton bottom. Louise Taylor
Match report: Leeds 1-0 Southampton
10) Solomon mines rich seam from bench
Super-sub Manor Solomon became the first Israeli player to score in three consecutive Premier League matches since Ronnie Rosenthal in 1992, and at just the right time for Fulham with their top scorer, Aleksandar Mitrovic, still sidelined with a hamstring injury. Solomon has yet to start a league game, having now made seven substitute appearances for a total of 126 minutes, as he recovers from a knee injury sustained in his first game for the club against Liverpool in August. But with the impact he is making off the bench as Fulham chase European qualification, it’s perhaps no surprise Marco Silva is happy to take things slowly. “Manor is not ready for 90 minutes but he needs minutes to play with this intensity because it is the Premier League,” the manager said. “When you are out from playing for three or four months it is always difficult.” Ed Aarons