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From left: Leicester’s Harry Maguire, Pascal Gross of Brighton, Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Saints counterpart Mauricio Pellegrino and Spurs’ Mousa Dembélé.
From left: Leicester’s Harry Maguire, Pascal Gross of Brighton, Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Saints counterpart Mauricio Pellegrino and Spurs’ Mousa Dembélé. Composite: Mercury Press, BPI/Rex/Shutterstock, Getty Images
From left: Leicester’s Harry Maguire, Pascal Gross of Brighton, Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Saints counterpart Mauricio Pellegrino and Spurs’ Mousa Dembélé. Composite: Mercury Press, BPI/Rex/Shutterstock, Getty Images

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

This article is more than 6 years old
Sean Dyche was worked up about nothing, Mark Hughes hopes life for Stoke will get easier and Ronald Koeman played his last cards to get Everton out of trouble

1) Gross could be Brighton’s signing of the season

If Brighton survive this season – and they survived this game thanks to several Newcastle misses and some good goalkeeping – there is every chance we will be talking about the signing of Pascal Gross as a masterstroke. The German midfielder with a picture-perfect delivery has been involved in all of Brighton’s Premier League goals, and was instrumental again at the Amex in the 1-0 win over Newcastle when his free-kick homed in on Dale Stephens, who headed down for Tomer Hemed to finish. The value of an accurate set-piece taker cannot be overlooked in a squad short on goalscorers and one suspects there will be plenty more of those well-rehearsed moves. Ingolstadt were relegated despite Gross creating more chances than any other Bundesliga player; Chris Hughton will hope his creative streak delivers safety for Brighton. Lawrence Ostlere

Match report: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Newcastle United

2) Dyche’s hot air about nothing

It says much about the fare on offer at Turf Moor that Sean Dyche spent his press conference ranting about a dive which was spotted by the referee. Perhaps it is too much to expect levity or perspective from a man with the demeanour of a speed awareness course-runner, but was this really that important? True, Rajiv van La Parra did cheat and naughty him for that, it’s just that of the myriad things which threaten football, diving is not one – players seek to gain unfair advantage in all sorts of ways, and collapsing under an imaginary challenge hurts or endangers no one. If Dyche genuinely wants to fight for a cause – and strangely, he was less exercised by one of last season’s most famous plunges, perpetrated by ... Joey Barton of Burnley – then he should recalibrate his moral compass and redirect his fury against the racism, sexism and commercialism which infect the game. In context, diving matters not remotely. Daniel Harris

Match report: Burnley 0-0 Huddersfield Town

3) Koeman takes his time to work out his mistake

It took Ronald Koeman 55 minutes to remedy what many Evertonians viewed as a recurring flaw in his team the moment they lined up against Bournemouth – that three into one does not go. Despite the improvements in the Carabao Cup defeat of Sunderland on Wednesday, the Everton manager reverted to deploying three ‘No10s’ across his front line here and his team reverted to the pedestrian, passive football that had characterised their recent dismal run. Gylfi Sigurdsson was wasted on the left, Davy Klaassen continued his difficult adjustment to the Premier League in the centre and the bloodied Wayne Rooney was isolated on the right. Only when Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies replaced Rooney and Klaassen respectively, allowing Sigurdsson to move into an uncrowded No10 role, did Everton find the tempo and threat to overturn Bournemouth’s lead and curb the rising anger inside Goodison. Koeman’s substitutions paid off handsomely but were necessary to correct his own mistake. Andy Hunter

Match report: Everton 2-1 Bournemouth

Ronald Koeman, centre, tries to get his message across. Photograph: Mark Robinson/Getty Images

4) Maguire needs to understand when to attack

Harry Maguire has rightly earned plaudits after making a fine start to his Leicester City career and the 24-year-old centre-back should continue to improve as he gains more Premier League experience. However, Liverpool handed him a harsh lesson. Maguire is a defender who loves to maraud forward and there is nothing wrong with that in the right circumstances, not least because of how his adventurous spirit can catch opponents off guard, but there are downsides to that liberated approach. It was Maguire’s loss of possession high up the pitch that led to Jordan Henderson’s decisive third goal at the King Power, a moment of indiscipline that proved costly against a side of Liverpool’s counterattacking ability. It is true that Maguire’s team‑mates did not exactly bust a gut to get back, but he ought to have known better than to leave his fellow defenders so exposed against Liverpool’s speedy forwards. Jacob Steinberg

Match report: Leicester City 2-3 Liverpool

5) City can still work on defending counterattacks

After the 5-0 hammering of Crystal Palace’s strugglers, fascination will grow as City’s Saturday trip to Chelsea nears. Pep Guardiola’s team are a delight, their pinball wizardry so far slaying every opponent bar Everton, whose 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium last month offers a clue regarding how to stop City. In a quick counterattack the home rearguard was turned inside‑out as Wayne Rooney finished from close range. Before Sadio Mané’s red card during Liverpool’s visit a fortnight later, City led 1-0 but had been got at with pace, particularly along Nicola Otamendi’s left channel. Mané went and it became a 5-0 rout. Yet Antonio Conte may study City’s vulnerability in the two games and instruct his attack pack of Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro and Álvaro Morata to go at pace, particularly on the counter. The issue for Chelsea, though, may be how to wrest the ball from a City side proving supreme in ball retention. Jamie Jackson

Match report: Manchester City 5-0 Crystal Palace

6) Pellegrino has problems with injuries and form

Southampton still look a little upside down but despite this defeat there was evidence of progress under Mauricio Pellegrino at least. Saints have failed to score in eight of their past nine league games at St Mary’s and despite a valiant performance, the damning numbers remain. Manolo Gabbiadini and Charlie Austin had to make do with cameo roles off the bench and you feel Pellegrino is still unsure as to what his best starting formula is. Virgil van Dijk must play, if he is anywhere near match fitness, while if his manager can extract half of his ability then James Ward‑Prowse is surely worth persevering with. Then there is Pierre‑Emile Hojbjerg, underwhelming since arriving from Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Sofiane Boufal, the club’s record signing last year, was omitted from the matchday squad, while Jack Stephens was also left out, although Pellegrino cited “groin issues”. There is certainly plenty of food for thought. Ben Fisher

Match report: Southampton 0-1 Manchester United.

Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk signs autographs for fans before taking his place on the bench. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

7) Hughes hopes Stoke will have it a little easier

As Mark Hughes was keen to acknowledge, facing Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in your first three home fixtures of the season would be a tough assignment for any side. “We have had a tricky start in terms of fixtures but I think we have done OK,” the Stoke City manager said. “A win against Arsenal here, a draw with Man United: we’ve done OK but I’d like to think home games will come a bit easier from now on.” The 4-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday was not as bad as the scoreline made it sound, especially with several central defenders unavailable to face the reigning Premier League champions. But the fact is that Stoke have now won only three times in their last 17 games and Hughes will be hoping that successive home fixtures against Southampton, Bournemouth and Leicester City can stop the rot. Ed Aarons

Match report: Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea

8) Clement needs to sharpen up his forwards

Not all managers are happy publicly admitting to mistakes so in one sense it was heartening to hear Paul Clement, the Swansea manager, lamenting his own decision in retaining the cautious setup, that had chiselled out a draw at Spurs, for a home match against Watford. Swansea were booed off after an insipid first half and Clement took full responsibility afterwards. The doubt, though, is whether they really have enough to sparkle when Clement does go on the offensive. Wilfried Bony does not look the player he was three years ago and it will ask a lot of Renato Sanches to match the influence of Gylfi Sigurdsson during his year at the Liberty Stadium. The departures of Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente will define their campaign if they find no solution; Tammy Abraham showed his promise again with a poacher’s finish but Swansea cannot rely purely on the 19-year-old, and the worry after a second home defeat in a fortnight is that, no matter how Clement sets them up, they look short of quality in many areas. Nick Ames

Match report: Swansea City 1-2 Watford

Tammy Abraham sits on the Liberty Stadium turf as the Watford players celebrate their win. Photograph: Athena Pictures/Getty Images

9) No news is bad news for Dembélé and Pochettino

To virtually every Tottenham Hotspur player, Mousa Dembélé is the key man at the club. But the midfielder has taken a turn for the worse in his struggle against a foot problem and having left him out of the win at West Ham United, Mauricio Pochettino’s fitness bulletin was notable for its lack of assurances. Dembélé would have to be assessed, the manager said, and he was a major doubt for the Champions League tie at Apoel Nicosia on Tuesday. Might he need another operation? “I don’t believe,” Pochettino replied. “But I can say nothing because it’s in the medical staff’s hands.” In Dembélé’s absence, Pochettino tweaked his system to 3-5-1-1 and he got a performance out of Moussa Sissoko on the right of the central midfield three. Sissoko, bought for £30m on transfer deadline day in August last year, has flattered to deceive at Tottenham. He might have the chance to shine. David Hytner

Match report: West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur

10) Morata impresses with ball at feet but will face tougher tests

Álvaro Morata has proved since his arrival in England that he has qualities in the air but against Stoke he showed off his ability with ball at feet. As well as his three strikes, what impressed was his hold-up play. Frequently isolated as a lone striker, he nonetheless dominated the opposing defence and it was telling that all 25 of his passes went backwards to find supporting players, allowing him to bomb forwards. With Eden Hazard on the bench, rested for Atlético Madrid on Wednesday as he returns from injury, it bodes well for a future partnership between the pair. Yet amid the praise, there is a caveat – Stoke’s defence was shorn of most of its first choice defenders through injury or, in Kurt Zouma’s case, because he cannot play against his parent club. Morata will face a sterner test in the Wanda Metropolitano and, as a former Real Madrid player, in a more hostile environment. Tom Bryant

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