United Turn Over Shoddy Leicester
First then, to Old Trafford, where Man United answered all of the questions posed to them with a thumping 4-1 win over an awful Leicester side, who themselves served only to show that without N'golo Kante they are an absolute mess defensively.
But starting with United. And Jose Mourinho made four changes from the defeat to Watford, two enforced as Luke Shaw and Antony Martial were injured and the excellent Daley Blind and Jesse Lingard replaced them. Blind's set pieces were a key factor in United's win and Lingard's overall play was very impressive. But Mourinho also, ominously, dropped Rooney and Fellaini, replacing them with Juan Mata and Ander Herrera in central midfield, tweaking the midfield into a 4-3-3. Herrera was calm and controlled shepherding the back four but his big difference was freeing up the two best players on the pitch, Pogba and Mata. Pogba turned in his best performance in a United shirt and was certainly the man of the match, scoring a quality header and influencing the play crucially. His pass through to Ibrahimovic to volley over in the first half was exceptional. And if Pogba was the best player on the pitch, Mata was a close second, scoring a wonderful goal and playing a delightful pass to Rashford for the third goal.
And this has to be worrying for opposition teams. Mourinho said after the game: if we play Ibrahimovic up front then we need pace and intensity behind him. These words mirror what myself and others were saying a few days ago: United needed to up the tempo in midfield and by dropping the lethargic (and horribly out of form) Rooney and Fellaini, he was able to do that.
But, as much as the formation and personnel shift aided United, spectacularly so, it has to be said that they should not have won as easily as they did. You don't score three goals off corners against a team that is competent at defending set pieces, you just don't. Leicester were all over the place defensively, as Huth lost his man allowing Smalling to slam home, then nobody tracked the runs of either Mata or Rashford for the third, and finally it was Pogba the beneficiary with a great header but again, no Leicester player close to him. An absolute shambles from the team in blue and United four goals up before half time.
After that, you have to say that the game was over and neither team really put the same amount into the game in the second half, the highlight Demarai Gray's excellent performance off the bench, scoring an absolutely stunning strike, and he created even more for Leicester.
But in truth, this game was all about the way that United took Leicester apart in the first half. They scored four, it could have been more and Mourinho's side look like serious top four contenders after this game.
Liverpool Dominate Hull
If Liverpool fans were worried by United's improved performance against Leicester, then any feelings of apprehension swiftly vanished as they themselves turned on the style to bulldoze a Hull side that barely had a kick in the game. Against Burnley, Liverpool's problem was turning possession into goals, here they had no such problem, and in truth 5-1 flattered the Tigers, such was Liverpool's complete domination of every facet of the game.
The key in games like this one is scoring early and Liverpool ticked that box off inside 17 minutes, as Coutinho picked up a little pocket of space near the left hand side of the box, played a brilliant little pass into Lallana and the Englishman did the rest with a tidy finish. This after Coutinho had himself missed a golden chance after Lallana had freed Mane down the left.
And such was the pattern of the game, as Mane, Coutinho and Lallana found space, isolated the channels and put great balls into the box, their movement and passing far too much for Hull to deal with. It was Mane and Coutinho combining again for the second, Mane freed down the right, pulled it back beautifully for Coutinho, whose shot was blocked on the line with Elmohamady's hand. Penalty, red card, 2-0, game over. Clinical penalty from Milner.
Liverpool continued their complete domination, Mane at the heart of everything, hitting the bar, missing a decent chance off the resulting corner and finally scoring himself, a clinical low finish after a brilliant piece of work from the ever-impressing Lallana, who has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League this season.
Hull got one back after some sloppy defending from Clyne (becoming an alarmingly recurring feature for Liverpool's right back this season), but Phillipe Coutinho quickly put them back in their place, with another incredible thirty yard strike which is becoming his trademark. Coutinho's all round play was utterly superb and this was the icing on the cake.
And even as Coutinho, Henderson and Lallana came off the pitch, things continued to get worse for Hull, as substitute Daniel Sturridge won a second penalty with an excellent run, and James Milner once again converted. With things winding down with twenty minutes to go, there was no doubt that this was yet another top quality performance from Liverpool.
Klopp highlighted the counter-pressing, and that was utterly superb, but every facet of Liverpool's play today was amazing. Lallana and Henderson once again were completely dominant and brilliant in midfield, and Lallana turned in yet another man of the match performance, with Mane and Coutinho ahead of them absolutely amazing. All three of Lallana, Mane and Coutinho have been match winners this season, and it's impossible to pick one who has been the best, it seems churlish to even try. Another player who deserves serious credit is James Milner, who has been asked to fill in at left back and has done a real job for the team.
Overall, this was yet another incredible team performance from Liverpool. Mane, Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho have the movement, passing, finishing, pressing, energy and intensity really are unplayable at times. Liverpool have been labelled second favourites for the title and whilst I don't necessarily think we're in with a shot at the title, the more I think about it, the more I can't see any other contenders to beat City.
Don't get me wrong, I think City are comfortably the best team in the league and I think they'll walk the title, but looking at the other contenders: Spurs have been the closest so far but will struggle with depth and injuries: United have been a mixed bag so far, Chelsea are nowhere near at the moment and Arsenal have been impressive in recent weeks but we've still beaten them. So yeah, as much as I'm personally still aiming for the top four, it's increasingly hard to ignore the evidence that we're the second best team in the division right now.
Elsewhere...
Man City were ran pretty close by Swansea, a Swansea team that played very very well, producing a lot of quality football, and scoring a very good goal. But City were too good, too clinical, and scored a couple of excellent goals, Aguero's early low finish and a brilliant late goal from Sterling, either side of a deserved penalty for De Bruyne being slapped in the face. City can score from anywhere, very dangerous.
Arsenal were simply streets ahead of Chelsea. Arsenal's movement, intensity, pace and passing was exceptional, with Walcott, Sanchez and Ozil all playing brilliantly and all scoring high quality goals. But that said, it's easier to play high quality football and score goals when you're playing against a side that doesn't have the defensive quality or midfield intensity to really challenge you. Last week I highlighted Chelsea's key problems and Arsenal ruthlessly exploited them. Only one of these teams looks like making top four and challenging for the title.
Spurs also turned in a good performance to see off Middlesbrough, the scoreline not quite reflecting Spurs' level of control, although they again struggled to score goals. But a brace from the excellent Son, who has helped to solve Spurs' problem of squad depth by being their best player every time he's stepped on the pitch this season, saw them with enough firepower to see off Boro.
And Sunderland continue to be an absolute trainwreck. They were gifted a goal against Palace after a truly awful back pass from Joe Ledley, and then were able to squeeze in a second after more shocking Palace defending, and still managed to bottle it. Their defending for all three goals was terrible, Patrick Van Aanholt and Kirchoff not covering themselves in glory, and for all David Moyes' bluster about the players needing to do better at full time, Moyes himself must know that he's up the creek without a paddle. As for Palace, they produced two really good crosses into the box and buried two efficient headers, and if they keep scoring goals they won't need to worry about relegation.
Everton lost their first game of the season against an excellent Bournemouth side. Everton carved out some brilliant chances, but nevertheless Bournemouth outplayed them at times, hitting the bar and the post before stunning goal from Junior Stanislas gave them the lead. Everton should be worried based on this display, but a much improved performance from Bournemouth.
And last but not least, Stoke City picked up their second point of the season against West Brom, but it could have been so much better if Salomon Rondon hadn't pinched a late equaliser. In both attack and defence, it has to be said that Stoke massively improved, and probably deserved all three points on the day.
Overall, this was a brilliant attacking display from most of the top teams, but some really, really awful defending from most of the lesser ones. I'm curious to see how West Ham and Southampton go today.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Wasps went top of the Premiership, beating Saints 20-15.
- But Sarries lost, 17-10 to Harlequins.
- New Zealand in real trouble against India.
- South Africa piling on the runs against Ireland.
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