[long_read]
The conclusion of Monday night’s thoroughly underwhelming yet incredibly revealing fixture wrapped up another weekend of football.
From the Madrid derby to Charlton’s defiant victory over Leeds United, Football FanCast have had their eyes firmly gripped to the action across England and La Liga.
The team of regional correspondents at FFC have been busy dissecting the themes to emerge during the weekend fixtures, and they’ve provided a brief insight into the talking points below…
[snack_break title=”Silky Saka reveals top dog demise”]
Pathetic fallacy was in full swing on Monday night as the relentless rain that has become synonymous with the city of Manchester pelted down at Old Trafford.
The drenched pairing of Unai Emery and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched on while their respective teams scrapped, slid and scurried around in a desperate bid to establish anything remotely resembling genuine control of the game.
But both sides were frantic and lacked composure from back to front. Perhaps the only shining light to emerge from proceedings was 18-year-old Bukayo Saka, who was enterprising and fearless in his endeavour to unsettle Man United’s defensive unit.
That he was the only player – with the notable exception of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – to take it upon himself to inject any quality into the game spoke volumes about how deep both sides have plummeted.
Two squashed behemoths who have long been considered top dogs in the Premier League were reduced to nothing more than top-six contenders at the very best, leaving fans of both clubs with a dejected outlook of what the future may hold.
Saka could well be in the star in the making, but both Arsenal and United will need more than a handful of outstanding teenagers to put them on a playing field close to pace-setters Manchester City and Liverpool.
Jack Saville – Assistant Editor
[snack_break title=”Magical Mahrez”]
Everton away has always been a notoriously difficult fixture in the Premier League. Goodison Park is home to a set of passionate supporters who can lift the roof off the place when they have something to shout about.
And on Saturday, their was slim hope that they could secure an impressive result against the champions. Having seen table-toppers Liverpool scrape a 1-0 win at Sheffield United earlier in the afternoon to extend the gap to eight points, Manchester City desperately needed a win. Enter stage left, Riyad Mahrez.
With less than 20 minutes remaining, and the scores locked level at 1-1, the Algerian curled home a sumptuous free-kick to restore City’s lead and hand Pep Guardiola’s side the initiative. Last season, the former Leicester star managed just 14 starts in the Premier League, and was playing second-fiddle to the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane.
But with the latter now injured, Mahrez appears to be embracing the responsibility of being one of the Citizens’ leading lights. And boy do they need him.
Vijievan Jeevathayalan – Manchester correspondent
[snack_break title=”Set-piece horrors for Bielsa”]
Leeds suffered their first away defeat this season after previously looking unbeatable on the road. Coming up against a Charlton side without Lyle Taylor, it may have been a surprise to see the Addicks scrape over the line but it was courtesy of yet more catastrophic defending from a set-piece for the west Yorkshire side.
Conceding from dead-ball scenarios are following the Whites around like a bad smell at the moment. Of the five goals Marcelo Bielsa’s men have conceded in the Championship, three of them have been from those types of situations. Losing Pontus Jansson has been a blow in this regard and that’s regardless of how well the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month Ben White is performing.
If Leeds want to get promoted they’ll have to cut out this aspect of their game.
Matt Dawson – Leeds correspondent
[snack_break title=”Charlton’s big statement”]
Charlton managed to get back to winning ways with an eye-catching result against promotion hopefuls Leeds on Saturday, a match that saw the Addicks’ woes without Lyle Taylor ease up slightly.
Macauley Bonne, a summer signing from Leyton Orient, netted his first goal for the club after a somewhat fortuitous moment from a personal aspect – Tom Lockyer’s effort bobbled around in the area before going in off Bonne.
The 23-year-old was making his first Championship start of the season – having had to bide his time behind Tomer Hemed, who is yet to score in four appearances and Chuks Aneke, who has just one in seven – and managed to better their recent efforts by finding the net.
Taylor is the club’s talisman and is also not an easy man to replace, but Bonne’s showing should give supporters some encouragement.
Billy Meyers – South London and South Coast correspondent
[snack_break title=”Villa fail to consolidate when on top”]
Aston Villa suffered yet again this weekend. It is the third time this season that they have thrown away a match when leading – the other two coming against Tottenham Hotspur, who won with a late flurry of goals, and against Arsenal, who had ten men for a good 50 minutes.
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly where it has gone wrong this season, but a lack of clear depth in their attack seems to one focal point having scored just seven goals before Saturday’s match. Their club-record signing Wesley failed to even register a shot…
Some may be quick to blame VAR after they chalked off another goal, but the problem is that of Dean Smith’s rather than technology. He signed 12 new players for approximately £144.5m – he deserves time but he should rightly be questioned after just one win this season.
Lewis Blain – Midlands correspondent
[snack_break title=”Flying Baggies”]
The Baggies put the rest of the Championship on notice ahead of a top-of-table clash with Leeds United on Tuesday night.
Slaven Bilic’s boys made it a ninth straight game without defeat, which in turn saw them rise to the league’s summit by the end of play on Saturday.
Surprisingly, their 2-0 victory over QPR was their first clean sheet of the season and that will be something they’ll be looking to build upon as Sir Alex Ferguson once said: ‘attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.’
The scary prospect is that the defence have only just managed that accolade for the first time while the formerly prolific Championship striker Charlie Austin is yet to bag his first league goal – they should only get better from here.
Lewis Blain – Midlands correspondent
[snack_break title="Tottenham's rueful summer sale"]
Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to sell Kieran Trippier looked to have been somewhat vindicated following Serge Aurier’s brilliant display against Crystal Palace at the beginning of September, in which he assisted one and saw another of his crosses diverted into his own net by Patrick van Aanholt.
It is unclear whether Spurs wanted to keep the Ivory Coast international after he hinted that they did, or whether they had to do that because they couldn’t find a replacement for the former Paris Saint-Germain player before the summer window slammed shut.
Anyhow, his recklessness with two quick-fire first-half bookings against Southampton on Saturday could easily have cost his side, and just showed again how much of a liability the 26-year-old can be.
Meanwhile, England international Trippier continues to be praised for how he is adapting to life in Spain with Atletico Madrid.
Given the lack of quality in depth Tottenham have at right-back now, Mauricio Pochettino may have peaked too soon by moving the 29-year-old on in the summer.
James Beavis – Editor
[snack_break title=”Matip is here to stay”]
The Joe Gomez vs Joel Matip debate raged all summer, as Liverpool fans found it almost impossible to decide which player they would rather have partnering Virgil van Dijk.
Gomez stole the show at the beginning of last season, but lost his place after picking up an injury at Burnley, with Matip proving undroppable in the run to the Champions League final.
This weekend’s win at Bramall Lane however felt like a true statement performance from the Cameroonian, following on from his man of the match display at Stamford Bridge last week.
In a game where the Reds were struggling to create, the 28 year-old shouldered the responsibility and forced the issue, carrying the ball forward and searching for incisive passes to the front three, ignoring the easier options that would simply recycle possession and make life easy for Sheffield United.
It’s one thing to be defensively sound in a difficult atmosphere, but Matip looks confident, assured and now the unquestionable first-choice alongside van Dijk.
Ben Goodwin – Editor
[snack_break title=”Bore draw in Madrid derby”]
While the week before the underdogs had their time in the sun, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have taken the spotlight now. Of course, the main event of the weekend was held in the capital as Diego Simeone’s men welcomed Zinedine Zidane’s troops to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Even though the game had its moments, the night ended in a goalless draw and the giants sharing the spoils of war. Real Madrid thus retain their top spot in La Liga and have put their third consecutive clean sheet in the books. But that draw also benefited Barcelona, in particular.
After weeks of trying and failing, the Catalans finally recorded a clean sheet of their own and managed to tally a victory on the road for the first time this season.
And with both of their other direct rivals dropping points in the Madrid derby, Blaugrana are knocking on the upper table’s doors quite loudly.
Domagoj Kostanjsak – La Liga correspondent
[snack_break title=”Penalty fiasco swiftly resolved”]
Chelsea finally grabbed their first home league win and first clean sheet of the season against Brighton on Saturday.
It was exactly what Frank Lampard and his players needed. After a mixed start to the campaign, the Blues finally seem to be settling, and they have now won their past two matches in all competitions.
Not only that, but Lampard handled the penalty situation at the club particularly well in another boost for his young career. It had appeared that Ross Barkley was the team’s first-choice spot-kick taker, even despite his penalty miss against Valencia, but following Jorginho’s strike from 12 yards against the Seagulls, the former Derby County boss confirmed that the Italy international will now take the responsibility.
Lampard has sorted the situation out with the minimum bother or drama, and he has ended up taking the best decision for his team. It is proof of his credentials, and shows that he is able to manage a potentially tricky situation very easily. It puts Chelsea in good stead for the rest of what will likely be a gruelling campaign.
Jon Radcliffe – London correspondent
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