The writers at Irish Examiner Sport round up the weekend’s talking points.
Damning statistics don’t lie for Mourinho
The performances may not warrant mass panic at this stage but for those who place an emphasis on the weight of statistics, Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United reign is off to a start as bad as any in the club’s recent history.
The 1989-90 season, during which there were calls for Sir Alex Ferguson to lose his job until he salvaged it with a run to and victory in the FA Cup Final, is the last time United have opened a league season with such a poor return after 13 games — 20 points following the West Ham draw.
And the statisticians also have to go back to 1990 to find a season in which United have failed to win four consecutive league matches, as they now have.
Mourinho will correctly point to United’s superiority for the majority of those four home draws and the fact that his players conceivably left eight league points on the table by failing to press home their advantage. But every passing week, and performance such as this, adds to the conclusion that United’s problems are the result of more than simple bad luck.
Pedro or Willian the big decision for Conte
For a sixth consecutive game, Antonio Conte named an unchanged line-up against Spurs and, for a seventh consecutive game, his side won.
Yes, John Terry is close to a return and there are players pushing for contention on the Chelsea bench, but the biggest decision Conte currently has to make is whether to start goalscorer Pedro or the consistent and hard-working Willian in one of the three forward roles he sends out in his 3-4-3 formation.
Two months ago, with Pedro still apparently slow in adapting to the English game, the decision was weighted heavily in Willian’s favour. Now, the pendulum has swung the other way.
“Pedro is playing good football and is enjoying this type of football. And he is showing his quality,” said Conte. “It’s not easy for me to make the decision between him and Willian. Not easy, but I think Pedro is playing very well and deserves to play. I’m really happy for him and also for Moses, a player that during pre-season maybe you couldn’t think you would see in the starting 11.
“But for sure Pedro is in a good moment now and he is playing well, his performances are good. He has scored goals, but also worked very hard for the team, and there are things that I want to see. Now it is important to continue, and it was important to see Willian again after a bad period for him.”
Coutinho injury a worry for Klopp, but also Sunderland’s plan to nullify him
“I don’t want to talk about it.” This wasn’t Rod Stewart talking, this was Jurgen Klopp. The question posed was about how and why Philippe Coutinho had been nullified by the man-marking system employed by David Moyes.
Has Moyes found the recipe to keep Liverpool’s most dynamic playmaker in check? Yes, of course, Liverpool have pace and flair to burn going forwards but Coutinho – along with Adam Lallana – has been the standout man in attack this year; always teasing, always drifting.
Yet against Sunderland, Coutinho’s most valuable contribution was his substitution for Divock Origi, who scored the opener. Until he left the field, Coutinho and Sunderland’s Jason Denayer were locked in a tight embrace so often that they could have been mistaken for newlyweds.
Consequently, Liverpool were stilted and stunted, shorn of the kind of deft final touch that has unlocked so many defences so often already this season. No wonder Klopp did not want to add weight to the observation. He clearly does not want the secret spilling on how to best stop his marauding team.
The central issue that may thwart Mourinho’s ambitions
Two clean sheets in their last 16 Premier League games tells its own story, and Pep Guardiola knows full well by now that he is a centre-half short of a classic championship-winning side.
Too often City’s defence, put under pressure from Burnley’s up-and-at-’em game plan, were found wanting, particularly in the air, and to say they miss Vincent Kompany is an understatement. The Belgian will be out for weeks with his latest setback, but his litany of injuries means that, sadly, he can no longer be relied upon to make a sustained return to action.
Burnley’s goal resulted in part from a weak clearance by Nicolas Otamendi, partnered on Saturday by Aleks Kolarov, who is really a left-back, with John Stones, the flower of English hope, rested after Europe.
Virgil van Dijk of Southampton is the latest to be linked with a City bid when the transfer window opens; whoever gets the nod should plug a gap that otherwise puts their title ambitions in jeopardy.
TV official would have helped less than spot-on Jones
Cheshire referee Mike Jones is an experienced official, but he seemed to struggle with the demands and pace of Arsenal v Bournemouth, giving one dubious penalty and missing at least a couple of potential others.
Surely a fourth official aided by television replays could have helped him make the right decisions without interrupting the flow of the game? It is an old debate, but one that will not go away when there is so much resting on the decisions of the men in black.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said he wanted consistency above ‘soft penalties’ and surely televised help from the stands is the only way to move towards a satisfactory outcome.
Is Granit Xhaka beginning to convince Arsene Wenger?
Wenger has yet to settle on a first-choice midfield pairing, especially in the absence of Santi Cazorla. On Sunday against Bournemouth, he went with another Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in the middle, having paired Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin in the draw with Paris Saint Germain.
Earlier in the week, Wenger admitted Xhaka still needs time to settle in the Premier League, having arrived in a big-money move from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer.
He has found himself out of the team as often as not, with Wenger having doubts, it seems, about the Swiss’ ability to cope with the pace of the English game.
However, in Cazorla’s absence, he gives Arsenal more forward momentum and earlier in the season, Wenger compared him to Emmanuel Petit for his ability to pass long from a deep position.
This aspect of Xhaka’s game was also evident against Bournemouth, while he became more influential as the game progressed, covering more ground than any other Arsenal player.
“He became better as the game went on and in the second half I think he did very well,” Wenger said. “We are in November, he arrived in July. It’s normal adaptation and he gets better used to the pace of the game, to the positioning on the pitch and I think his passing through the lines has played a big part today.”
“Alexis Sanchez and the strikers like to play with guys who play well through the lines; I think the strikers appreciate him.”
