1) Martínez does do pragmatism, despite what he says
Roberto Martínez once claimed he could never be satisfied by salvaging a point with a last minute goal if his team’s performance had not been up to scratch. He also said, only last week in fact, that he would “never set out a team to try to draw a game or just hope for a win, we can’t accept that.”
Going off topic for a moment, he condemned criticism of Phil Jagielka’s recent performances after his wonder-goal earned Everton a point at Liverpool on the basis that: “There has been talk of a World Cup hangover and I think that has been really unfair.” A fortnight ago, the Everton manager had said: “I always thought Phil Jagielka, like any player that comes back from the World Cup, was going to have a period to get back to his best. It takes time.”
Anyway, back to the point – there is nothing wrong with a touch of pragmatism now and again and even idealists such as the Everton manager are not immune from venturing there. Martínez deployed a three-man central midfield of James McCarthy, Gareth Barry and Muhamed Besic for the first time in the Premier League this season on Saturday, protecting a previously vulnerable defence, limiting Liverpool space but also reducing Everton’s attacking intent at a stroke. Besic, along with the debutant Tyias Browning, were among Everton’s better performers in the derby and it will be interesting to see if the pragmatic approach continues at Old Trafford next Sunday. Andy Hunter
• Sakho apologises for leaving Anfield before derby
• Match report: Liverpool 1-1 Everton
2) The sanitisation of football continues apace
Nacer Chadli looked as perplexed as the rest of us when the referee, Michael Oliver, raced over and thrust a yellow card in his direction. The Belgian had just scored the opening goal for Tottenham at the home of their fiercest rivals and, finding himself facing a section of Arsenal supporters, he decided to cup his ear. This according to Oliver was tantamount to crowd incitement, and while the rules may be the rules it was not hard to feel sympathy for Chadli as he looked on in open-mouthed bewilderment.
Bookings should surely exist only to stop foul play, whether that be tackles or cheating, with those given for celebrations that consist of a player taking off his shirt or, as in Chadli’s case, ‘giving some’ to opposition fans, fuelling the belief that watching live football in this country has become an over-sanitised affair. Is a Spurs player cupping his ear really going to lead to Arsenal fans rioting? Clearly not, and even if one or two Gooners had charged at Chadli in that moment than frankly that says more about their sanity than it does about the player.
Of course there are boundaries, which Eric Cantona well and truly cleared with that two-footed lunge in 1995, but most fans, certainly those who attend matches regularly, accept that football stadiums are not meant to be venues for polite gatherings. The crowd swear at players and, occasionally, players give it back. If that’s enough to make someone riot then they’re in the wrong place. Sachin Nakrani
• Barney Ronay: the battle of the lightweight No10s
• Match report: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
3) Is Falcao actually Van Nistelrooy in disguise?
On 65 minutes the digital No9 lit up on the fourth official’s board and Radamel Falcao trudged from the Old Trafford turf hardly appearing enamoured of Louis van Gaal’s decision to hook him.
First, the mitigation: Manchester United were winning 2-1 and desperately holding on against a West Ham United onslaught following a Wayne Rooney red card that reduced them to 10 players. So on came Darren Fletcher to shore up proceedings and off went the centre-forward identified by Van Gaal as better in the position than Rooney.
This was Falcao’s third outing without a first goal for the club. Again, hardly a drought. And the way he created Robin van Persie’s goal at Leicester City oozed class. Yet to watch the loan-signing is to be reminded of Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman remains one of United’s finest ever strikers. But he was a lethal finisher and little else. The criticism – and concern for Sir Alex Ferguson – was that United could be one-dimensional when Van Nistelrooy was in the XI. Falcao has suffered serious knee problems. As did Van Nistelrooy. This inevitably blunts pace. With Van Persie not the quickest either, Van Gaal will be conscious of the issue as Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal loom into view. And, for Falcao to start scoring – and contributing consistently – to begin justifying the wallet-stretching £16m cost of his season-long loan. Jamie Jackson
• Daniel Taylor: Ronaldo’s return not a flight of fancy
• Van Gaal: Rooney’s tackle was ‘unfriendly’
• Manchester United 2-1 West Ham
4) Time for Hazard to step up and play
Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas have excelled most obviously to date this term. Willian and Oscar hoisted their own form as Aston Villa were repelled at the weekend, while José Mourinho could even draw reassurance from a clean sheet and a reminder of much needed solidity from his Chelsea defence. The only frustration aired by the Portuguese in the wake of a victory which maintained a three-point lead at the Premier League’s summit was on the lull being endured by Eden Hazard.
The Belgian has had his moments this season – he was instrumental in the dismissal of Swansea City – and Saturday’s display was hardly his worst for the London club, but there is a level of expectation when it comes to Hazard these days. He is the livewire creative force in this pack, a player capable of tormenting opposing full-backs or drifting in-field to prompt from the central playmaker role, all pace and slippery skill. Yet, against Villa, he was more peripheral than normal. “I don’t know what he needs,” said Mourinho. “I just know he needs to play more than he did today. In a pragmatic way, it’s just that.”
Is he, like Willian, Oscar and Andre Schürrle, perhaps suffering a hangover from his exertions at the World Cup? “No,” said the manager. “I think he started well this season. Eden played good matches with us. I think it’s more of an isolated ‘not good’ performance than a period. No dramas and not too much worried about it, but today was not his day, was not his performance.” He was still involved in the build-up to Costa’s goal. It was just that some of the tricks and flicks did not pay off.
The hope is that was a one-off and that, in Lisbon on Tuesday, Chelsea’s lavishly talented creator takes any frustration out on Sporting. The visitors will need him there, and again on Sunday when unbeaten Arsenal arrive at Stamford Bridge hoping to avenge last season’s 6-0 drubbing. Hazard was spellbinding that day. Mourinho is clearly still striving to find a way of tapping his talent on a more consistent basis. When he clicks, with the others all in up-beat rhythm, this team will feel unstoppable. Dominic Fifield
• Chelsea considering temporary Twickenham move
• Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa
5) Slimmed down City remain formidable
Manchester City are a striker light but their firepower appears to be as formidable as ever. Manuel Pellegrini allowed Álvaro Negredo to join Valencia on loan on transfer deadline day without bringing in a replacement and there were concerns the champions would regret the decision.
Spaniard Negredo scored 26 goals last season but none came after January. Pellegrini clearly feels he can cope without “The Beast” and his preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 allows room for only one central striker, usually Edin Dzeko.
Stevan Jovetic made a promising start to the season before injury struck and Montenegro forward is expected to return this week. The likes of Yaya Touré and David Silva have a habit of chipping in with goals from midfield, while City now also have Frank Lampard to turn to, until January at least. Of course, it also helps when you have Sergio Agüero on your side. James McMath
• Hull City 2-4 Manchester City
• Nasri ruled out for one month with groin injury
6) Mane stars for Southampton
Remember when Southampton were in meltdown? Heady days. Yet there they are, second in the table, three points behind Chelsea and with a clutch of exciting new signings who are all settling in very nicely indeed. Dusan Tadic, strong and skilful, is a silky creator and Graziano Pellè is playing like some Brazilian striker whose name escapes me, while Saturday saw Ronald Koeman give Sadio Mane his first league start after his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg and the 22-year-old winger was not overawed against Queens Park Rangers. Mane, a Senegalese international, played on the left and created numerous chances with his skill, speed and willingness to drift inside in the first half, before setting up Ryan Bertrand for Southampton’s opener with a delightful backheel. Early days, but Southampton appear to have unearthed another gem. Jacob Steinberg
7) Pearson vows to stay on high
Who needs a manager in the dugout? Despite this result, Nigel Pearson is not going to change his ways and start watching games from the technical area again. The Leicester City manager said he “got into a bit of bother” at Charlton last year and so he started to watch games from up in the stands. Do the players miss him? Apparently not. Pearson said: “We have some senior players with experience who manage themselves and their team-mates very well on the pitch. How much influence can you have? You can have some but you can’t make decisions for them.” Conrad Leach
8) Roy Hodgson should watch Lee Cattermole
England managers rarely visit the Stadium of Light but Roy Hodgson really needs to watch Lee Cattermole. Sunderland’s defensive midfielder is currently excelling and could help galvanise England so Hodgson could do far worse than board one of British Airways’s regular Heathrow-Newcastle shuttles before taking a 45-minute taxi ride from the airport to the Stadium of Light.
Unfortunately, on present form, Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson do not merit consideration from England’s coach. While Rodwell is struggling in the wake of his £10m summer move from Manchester City (to give the midfielder the benefit of the doubt it is possibly taking him time to regain match fitness) and surely must be at risk of being dropped, the talented Johnson remains much too inconsistent to rely on. Louise Taylor
9) Could Berahino get a full England call?
Stranger things have happened. The headline stat is that Saido Berahino is the leading English goalscorer in the Premier League. Daniel Sturridge might have had something to say about that if he was fit but there is no escaping the fact that the West Bromwich Albion striker, with four goals in six appearances, is setting the pace as far as England players are concerned.
What that may or may not say about the striking options at Roy Hodgson’s disposal is a debate for another time. The bottom line is that Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Sturridge – assuming he is is back from injury – are nailed on to be included in the England squad for the upcoming games against San Marino and Estonia. Rickie Lambert made up England’s striking quartet for the England matches earlier this month, but has the Liverpool striker done enough to justify being included this time round? At the same time, it would be a leap of faith to promote Berahino from the England Under-21 squad on the back of a bright start to the season and no more, even if Ray Lewington, Hodgson’s assistant, was at The Hawthorns to see the forward score twice against Burnley on Sunday.
After all, Berahino did the same thing 12 months ago, when he had scored five at this stage, including the winner at Manchester United, before fading in the second half of the season, when the goals dried up and stories of dressing bust-ups started to surface. All that can be said for sure at the moment is that Berahino is a man in form. Stuart James
Saido Berahino strikes twice against Burnley
10) Hull sacrifice solidity for goals
Last season, Hull negotiated their top-flight return in relative comfort, with thrills and spills largely consigned to their dramatic FA Cup run. Ninety-one goals were scored in Hull’s top-flight matches last term, with the hosts producing just 38 of them – only Crystal Palace offered their fans less entertainment.
In response, Steve Bruce set about adding attacking talent to the ranks. Abel Hernández, Robert Snodgrass, Tom Ince and Mohamed Diamé all signed permanently, while Gastón Ramírez and Hatem Ben Arfa have joined on loan. It’s quite the arsenal for a team whose previous top scorer, Matty Fryatt, didn’t start a Premier League game for them.
The impact has been immediate; Hull’s last four games in all competitions have seen 19 goals scored, with both teams scoring at least twice in each. There’s the rub – Hull have conceded 11 of those 19, and are winless in the Premier League since the opening day. Bruce didn’t overlook defensive concerns entirely in his squad reshuffle, bringing in Michael Dawson and Andrew Robertson, but it appears that in the effort to offer more going forward, defensive discipline has been lost.
Losing by a couple of goals to Man City is no crime, but Bruce may feel more could have been done with their first-half momentum. It’s a familiar concern; Hull have let leads slip against West Ham and Newcastle recently, and lost at West Brom in the League Cup despite leading 2-1 with minutes to play. Hernández, Ben Arfa et al will offer excitement this season, but defensive stability must return for fans to truly enjoy themselves. Niall McVeigh
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