Man United 1-1 Arsenal
Jose Mourinho described his Manchester United team as the "unluckiest team in the league" (no really). You have to sympathise. After all, they were incredibly unlucky with injuries and suspensions, forcing them to play a team nowhere near the one Mourinho might like. They were certainly unlucky that Arsene Wenger sent on game-changing substitutes who combined to nab a late equaliser. And rightly or wrongly, they were a tad unlucky that Valencia's challenge with Monreal inside the box didn't result in a penalty.
If this sounds like I'm building up to an inevitable counter-point about Mourinho is totally and utterly wrong, then that's because I am. In many ways, Manchester United were very lucky yesterday. They were lucky that injuries and suspensions forced them to send out what looked like their most well-balanced, vibrant and dangerous front six that they've sent out all season, not forced to try and squeeze in Fellaini, Rooney and Ibrahimovic. This was a team that had control, energy and pace in abundance, although both Rashford and Martial were very disappointing in their attempts to seize the huge chances given to them.
They were also very lucky that Arsenal were utterly woeful, and failed utterly to even get close to exploiting what was admittedly a very makeshift United back four. Arsenal failed to produce a shot on target before Giroud's late equaliser, United were also lucky that Wenger waited way too late to introduce Giroud (73rd minute), Xhaka (80th minute) and Oxlade-Chamberlain (83rd minute) given how obvious it was early in the second half that Elneny and Coquelin were struggling to control the midfield, that Ramsey and Ozil were unable to effect the game and that Arsenal were desperately crying out for a focal point. If Wenger had brought on all three subs on the hour mark, it would not have been unreasonable.
And finally, the referee. United were lucky indeed, that Antonio Valencia wasn't booked for what certainly appeared a dive under a nothing challenge from Monreal. Certainly it wasn't a penalty. Moreover, they were lucky that Matteo Darmian only received one yellow card, having made realistically three tackles that could all have earned him a booking.
None of this takes away from the fact that United should have won the game, but it does highlight two things. It highlights that they only have themselves to blame for not winning the match, and that they really are nowhere near the rest of the title contenders. Mourinho's team have now played four games against the top sides in the division. The two teams that have played well against them put them to the sword, and the two sides that massively underperformed against United both came away with draws.
Because make no mistake, Arsenal will be more than happy with a point, given how they performed. The first half was an intense affair, but one that was short on quality. Sanchez had a few good runs, and one decent early headed chance, but United had more intensity, more pace and more energy. Herrera and Pogba in the middle of the park were both excellent, with Michael Carrick pulling the strings, putting out fires, and just generally putting in a very Michael Carrick performance. Unfortunately for United, that level of performance didn't extend to the final third, with both Martial and Rashford looking out of sorts, and struggling to get into the kind of areas to challenge Arsenal's central defenders: Mustafi and Koscielny were however both excellent. The fact that Antonio Valencia was United's best attacking outlet says it all, especially when his opposite number Carl Jenkinson was a clear weak link in this Arsenal defence, and booked and yet never properly tested by Martial.
Arsenal were simply losing the middle field battle, and continued to lose the midfield battle, as Coquelin and Elneny were both non-entities. Neither did enough to start or co-ordinate attacks for Arsenal, which Xhaka and Ramsey would both have done, and neither really offered much of a defensive shield for the back four, as United's pace on the counter frequently left them floundering.
And yet, whilst it could not be argued that Arsenal deserved to be behind when United opened them up down the right hand side, and Herrera's pull back found Juan Mata to rifle home, United themselves had not exactly been knocking down the door. Given how poor Arsenal were, United simply had to take advantage, but they never looked like killing the game. Cech was forced to make one or two decent saves, but as the expected goals for the game demonstrates (United 0.7, Arsenal 0.5), United never took total control.
And when Arsenal did equalise, United had themselves to blame again, as Oxlade-Chamberlain outstripped Rashford and had all the time in the world to cross, before Arsenal's best header of the ball, Giroud, ghosted in unmarked to power in the header.
Ultimately, I think that there are positives and negatives for both sides to take from this. The Arsenal of the last few seasons would have lost this game, and they very much threatened to do so, being inexplicably Arsenal at Old Trafford bad for 90 minutes. But they showed a lot of fight and they do deserve a lot of credit for the way that they got back into the game. And from a United perspective, Jose is correct that his side were the better side and did deserve to lose the game. They had energy, pace and verve, which on the day they couldn't translate into clear cut chances or goals against what is one of the best defences in the league. A point is only a bad result for United because of the fact that they deserved to win, coupled with their other poor results against top teams.
As I said a few weeks ago after the draw at Anfield, if United can beat Arsenal at Old Trafford and secure a point at the Bridge then their draw at Anfield doesn't look a bad result. But if they go on to pick up just one point from their two games against Arsenal and Chelsea (which they have done), then suddenly it's two points from four games against teams in and around them, whilst Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and City have all won at least one game against their rivals. They could be nine points off the title by the end of today, the same gap between themselves and the relegation zone.
As for Arsenal, this was not a bad point considering how poor they were, or that Liverpool failed to take advantage. A point away at Old Trafford is never a bad result, but there will be a real sense of palatable frustration that Arsenal were given a golden opportunity to grind United down and put some real daylight between themselves and the Reds, not to mention set down a marker for the rest of the title challengers, and they failed to do so.
Southampton 0-0 Liverpool
Liverpool's spell on top of the Premier League may only last one weekend after a frustrating 0-0 draw away at Southampton. Whenever I look at a game, especially a Liverpool game, I try to assess the positives and negatives and there's usually a reasonable amount of each and that's especially prevalent when the game ends in a draw.
The first thing to note is that a draw at St Mary's is not a bad result. In fact only one team has won away at Southampton this calendar year, and that's Chelsea. Certainly Liverpool will look back over the course of the season and probably recognise that there will be other, worse games where we drop points where we shouldn't. But if on paper a draw against Southampton away isn't a poor result, then it certainly is a frustrating one, especially considering how well Liverpool played. The amount of chances, and certainly the amount of clear cut chances created is what will be in the mind after this game, both as a positive, and a negative. Any Premier League manager will tell you that the real problems start when you're no longer creating chances, as opposed to missing them, but at the same time, the fact that Liverpool created 13 chances, giving them an expected goals tally of 1.4, yet failed to find the net is a worry and more than that, it's downright infuriating.
At the end of the day, that is the overwhelming negative. Liverpool could and should have won this game, as Mane, Coutinho and Firmino all fluffed their lines when given clear chances. Virgil Van Dijk made some absolutely phenomenal interceptions and last ditch challenges, and Fraser Forster made two top saves, but the fault was all with the visitors. Firmino had a really poor game, and gifted the most clear opportunity of the lot, fired wide under little pressure. It was a moment to make Liverpool fans scream in frustration.
If it seems like I'm over-using the word frustrating, then that's because that is the overriding emotion from this game: frustration. With Man City and Spurs both somehow finding late winners, and Chelsea likely to win today, Liverpool will have dropped points on three of our four closest rivals, on a game that we should have won, and that we created enough to win twice over.
As I've suggested, our general play and chance creation remains a positive, and even with the front three of Coutinho, Firmino and Mane all nowhere near their best after long flights and busy international breaks, not to mention the injury to Adam Lallana, Liverpool still played well and created chances. However, the main positive for Liverpool from this game is the same as Southampton, the defence.
This was a game that had 1-0 Southampton written all over it. With Liverpool playing well but missing chances, this was a game that in recent years, or even earlier in 2016, Liverpool would have lost. But ultimately, Southampton created almost nothing. They had one half chance from a Charlie Austin header, which earned them a 0.1 expected goals, but that was it. Other than that, Liverpool defended absolutely superbly, with Lovren and Matip utterly imperious. Once again, it was Matip who was the star of the show, Liverpool's best player by a mile, winning everything at the back, and also starting attacks from the back on the front foot. Whilst they were helped by the lack of any penetration from Southampton, who too often simply lumped the ball up to Austin (or in the second half Shane Long) in the channels, where Austin in particular was totally isolated, surrounded by at least one or two, sometimes three or four defenders, with no options or out ball.
However, it is a point that has to be raised. Alan Shearer made the point that during games where Liverpool fail to score, they need to be able to rely on their defence. Moreover, another question that will be asked, is how many games has Liverpool's defence cost them points so far this season? Well looking at the games where Liverpool have dropped points. They've failed to score in three games this season, and in two of those, they've now kept clean sheets. That's twice now, in two of Liverpool's three draws, where the attack has been the problem, not the defence. Across the four games where Liverpool have dropped points, they've conceded just three goals, the problem is that they've only scored once. The point I'm trying to make is that despite being a team that have scored thirty goals, and despite the fact that our defence is touted as the problem, Liverpool have realistically dropped points because of a lack of goals, rather than poor defending (although the 2-0 defeat to Burnley can certainly be at least partly attributed to very poor defending).
So more than just a word on Southampton. Whether or not they played for the 0-0, or were simply unable to penetrate Liverpool's defensive midfield stranglehold, they offered very little in terms of attack. Shorn of Dusan Tadic, his replacement Boufal had a limited impact before his substitution, Austin was totally isolated and only had one opportunity to impact the game, and Nathan Redmond was totally anonymous.
However, where Southampton were predictably excellent was in defence, with Fonte and Van Dijk continuing to establish themselves as one of the Premier League's best defensive partnerships. Only Spurs, Chelsea and Man City have conceded less than Saints, and that's largely down to their two central defenders and goalkeeper, as Forster made a couple of key saves behind them, one in particular early on to deny Sadio Mane arguably the best chance of the match.
Overall, whether or not they played for a point, and certainly it would be no disrespect to Southampton to suggest that they were playing for the 0-0, as a draw against Liverpool right now is not a bad result at all, Southampton did get a point and they will be very very happy with that result. They've had a really tough start to the season, and you'd still back them to make the top seven or eight from here.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Aformentioned late winners for Spurs and City. Crucial.
- Sunderland battered Hull. Swansea picked up a vital point.
- Murray battled through his semi to set up Djokovic final.
- England's rugby players destroyed Fiji. 58-15.
- And England's cricketers fought back against India. Too late.
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