EPL Evaluation: Reds college Ange, Man United get lump of coal at Christmas

Following each weekend of Premier League motion, theScore examines an important developments and largest speaking factors to emerge from the slate of matches. Beneath, we dissect Matchweek 17 of the 2024-25 season.

Liverpool educate Ange harsh lesson

Stubbornness can, at instances, be a constructive trait for a supervisor. However whole rigidity and blind religion also can maintain a workforce again. Ange Postecoglou is veering too far into the latter class – and it is costing Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou, not for the primary time, was in a combative temper with the media after Spurs’ chaotic 6-3 dwelling loss to league leaders Liverpool on Sunday. Particularly with so many defensive absentees, why did not he take a extra conservative strategy to the match in opposition to such an explosive opponent? It is a legitimate query. He wasn’t having any of it.

“You understand what? I am simply going to cease answering these questions,” he mentioned when pressed about his workforce’s excessive line of defense and his uncompromising dedication to a tactic that Liverpool ruthlessly exploited. “If folks cannot see the apparent, I am not going to level it out. Look, make of it what you need, sure we’re conceding targets.”

He added: “If you wish to low cost the very fact we’re lacking a goalkeeper, two center-backs and a left-back as effectively and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing … I do not know what to say anymore.”

That is changing into an nearly weekly incidence, and it appears like we’re about to achieve a breaking level. Postecoglou will not final for much longer if he is not going to be taught any classes from Sunday’s shellacking, or, even worse, open his thoughts to the chance that Tottenham may benefit from some selection to their play. That is the tough actuality of the game, particularly on the highest degree. Simply ask Russell Martin, who was additionally wedded to 1 very particular model of play proper up till the second he was sacked by Southampton. Selection might help make groups extra unpredictable and thus tougher to defend.

Distinction Postecoglou’s retort to that of Enzo Maresca who was requested about Chelsea’s efficiency after their goalless draw with Everton on Sunday. The distinction is stark.

“It was not a straightforward recreation and it’s a must to discover ways to play totally different video games,” Maresca defined. Soccer isn’t solely simply how good you play on the ball. It’s the way you defend and the way you cope with that.”

Amen, Enzo. Attempt getting that message by way of to Ange, mate.

Fast free-kicks 📝

Would Saka’s absence sink Arsenal?

Arsenal cannot afford to lose Bukayo Saka. Particularly now. The star winger is crucial to the whole lot the title-chasing Gunners do, so it is no marvel Mikel Arteta admitted he is “fairly frightened” after Saka was pressured to go away Saturday’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace with a hamstring damage. The 23-year-old was noticed shifting very gingerly on crutches after the sport.

We have beforehand mentioned the necessity for Arsenal to get extra secondary scoring, and Gabriel Jesus seems to have heeded these phrases by feasting on Palace twice this week. Can he maintain this sudden scorching streak going? Arsenal want him to if Saka misses time. Arteta’s workforce has 9 video games – throughout three competitions – on the schedule earlier than they hit February. There’s by no means a good time to be with out your finest participant, however that is among the many worst.

Case of mistaken id

We do not have to spend an excessive amount of time discussing why VAR’s implementation within the Premier League has been a nightmare. That is already a preferred sufficient opinion. Understanding that it isn’t going anyplace, although, we can spend time determining ways in which it may possibly make a constructive influence, even when it is for edge instances. For example: Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke was bloodied after taking a boot to the face from teammate Carlos Baleba on Saturday. West Ham defender Dinos Mavropanos, within the neighborhood and difficult for the ball inside a crowded penalty space on the play, was mistakenly proven a yellow card.

Why is not such an apparent error reviewable? Had been he proven a pink, it will have been. The VAR is all the time watching each incident, absolutely it will have been straightforward sufficient to tell the on-pitch official of the error and shortly appropriate it? Mavropanos, on an undeserved yellow, was substituted at half-time in a transfer that maybe would not have occurred if he wasn’t booked.

‘Immature’ Brighton

It is gone beneath the radar lately because of Manchester Metropolis’s tailspin dominating the discourse, however Brighton are mired in a hunch of their very own after a incredible begin to life beneath Fabian Hurzeler. The Seagulls are winless of their final 5 Premier League video games after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, they usually have simply two victories in 10 outings throughout all competitions.

Seeing out wins has been an issue. Brighton have dropped 16 factors from successful positions this season, usually settling for attracts after leaping out to the lead. Hurzeler referred to as out his workforce for missing maturity after its notorious collapse in opposition to Wolves, nevertheless it would not seem that message has totally gotten by way of to his squad.

Persistence pays off for Bournemouth

Many had been calling for Andoni Iraola to be fired final season when his Bournemouth tenure acquired off to a rocky begin. However the membership saved the religion, assured that the poor outcomes had been tied to Bournemouth’s wildly tough schedule and never a deeper underlying difficulty with the Basque supervisor’s strategy. They’re being rewarded for it now.

The surging Cherries climbed to fifth place within the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Manchester United, their second consecutive victory at Outdated Trafford by that very same scoreline. Iraola has cultivated a pleasant mixture of younger gamers with attacking aptitude and veteran contributors who do the soiled work. A number of the “larger” golf equipment within the league, and all through Europe, may take a lesson from Iraola’s success story.

Star performer 🌟

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

We’ll repeat: Pay the person.

With two targets and two assists in Liverpool’s hectic win over Tottenham, Mohamed Salah made historical past and climbed a number of ladders all of sudden. He grew to become the primary participant in Premier League historical past to achieve double figures in each targets and assists in a single season earlier than Christmas. He additionally overtook Erling Haaland for the lead within the Golden Boot race, and now stands alone in fourth on Liverpool’s all-time scoring listing with 229 targets in 373 appearances.

His mere presence on the pitch creates room for teammates, permitting midfielders to surge ahead into harmful open areas, and any time he finds an inch of house he makes the opposition pay dearly. Frankly, the considered Liverpool with out him is inconceivable. The Egyptian goes to be requested repeatedly about his expiring contract till he indicators a brand new one. Liverpool should not threat that storyline changing into a distraction and doubtlessly derailing what might be a title-winning marketing campaign.

Finest XI 😎

(Supply: FotMob)

Spotlight of the weekend 🎥

Alexander Isak is on a heater proper now: His hat-trick in Saturday’s dominant win over Ipswich City, the primary of his Newcastle profession, provides the Swedish striker six targets in his final 4 Premier League matches. The ingenuity of his final end, particularly, stood out.

Stat of the weekend 🔢

It did not take lengthy for the goodwill that Manchester United generated with their dramatic derby win to completely evaporate.

Social media second 📱

Former Aston Villa star Jack Grealish had a message for his one-time adoring followers who had been goading him as Manchester Metropolis’s spiral continued with a 2-1 loss at Villa Park on Saturday.

The place we stand 👀

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