Yet another international break kept us waiting for what would be a fantastic weekend of football action. The fixture list started off with defending Champions Leicester City going head to head against the former Champions Chelsea. Claudio Ranieri’s trip back to Stamford Bridge was not a memorable one as Leicester were beaten easily. Manchester City faced tough opponents in Everton and Ronald Koeman’s men proved to be worthy opponents in an intense game of football.
While Arsenal had a great game against Swansea, their foes from North London dropped points against West Brom. However, the biggest game of the weekend was the Monday night’s clash between old foes Liverpool and Manchester United. With so much of footballing action this weekend lets talk about the 10 things we learned from Gameweek 8 of the Premier League.
#1 Eddie Howe and Bournemouth could trouble big teams
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What we saw from Bournemouth on Saturday was some fantastic football. The Cherries took Hull City for a ride as they thumped the Tigers 6-1. The home side lost to West Ham and Manchester United early on this season but have since picked up their football considerably. In Gameweek 6, the Cherries handed Ronald Koeman’s Everton their first loss of the season as well, a surprising result for many.
Despite losing 4-0 to Pep’s Manchester City, the Spaniard stated that Eddie Howe’s team are the best they faced till that point in the season, which is in itself a great compliment. There have been calls for the Bournemouth manager to take over as England coach. One thing is for sure that Bournemouth is a force to be reckoned with this season and cannot be taken lightly.
#2 Claudio Bravo slowly settling into his new side
The biggest news in the first month of the Premier League was the loan of Manchester City’s Joe Hart. The Englishman was then replaced by Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo. The Chilean who arrived from La Liga did not have a great start to the Premier League in the Manchester Derby. However, his form has since picked up considerably.
In his last four games before this weekend the Chilean has maintained a passing accuracy of 99% for short passes, which is just one reason why Pep brought him to City.
However, when he goes long he has an accuracy of only 36%. The Chilean has however made very few mistakes since the derby. In the game against Everton, Bravo made a couple of fantastic saves, notably one to stop another former Barca star Gerrard Delofeu from scoring. The decision to swap goalkeepers may be paying off for City.
#3 Theo Walcott is on fire for Arsenal
Arsenal’s Theo Walcott was pretty average for England in the international break, however, the England international looked a completely different player in the weekend’s clash against Swansea City. The forward was seen making runs down the wing at times and also slotted into the centre when required which saw him fulfil a sort of dual role for the Gunners.
With Hector Bellerin providing width on the right, Walcott has the liberty to move into the box. His ability to finish has also stepped up a notch as he picked up a brace. However, Arsene Wenger and the fans will be expecting him to be more clinical as Walcott could’ve easily score two more on the night.
#4 Joe Allen continues good form for Stoke
Stoke City picked up three points thanks to a brace from ‘Welsh Xavi’ Joe Allen. The Welsh midfielder has been in fantastic form for both club and country and has handed his club their first win of the Premier League. Allen scored in his last three appearances for club and country coming into this game.
Manager Mark Hughes looked to make optimum use of his in-form man.The Stoke City boss moved up Joe Allen to a more attacking role in what looked like a number 10 role. The midfielder scored a great header early in the game and followed it with driven shot to score late in the first half.
#5 Charlie Austin is the man Southampton were looking for
The former Burnley man helped the Saints beat his old team 3-1 with a fantastic brace. Charlie Austin has been the striker that Southampton has been looking for. After losing Graziano Pelle to the Chinese Super League, Charlie Austin has stepped up and has in fact proven to be a bit of an upgrade.
The striker has now taken his tally to 7 goals this season for Southampton. Since arriving in January, the striker has progressed and now looks to be one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League. The striker has also received praise from Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier. It also looks like he’s making a point for an England call up soon.
#6 City in a ‘spot’ of bother
A goal from the spot has never been more important in the game of football as Manchester City missed two penalties which saw them draw against Everton. Pep Guardiola’s men were the dominant side for most of the game, however, this is the second time this season they have missed two spot kicks in a game. Sergio Aguero missed two penalties against Steaua Bucharest earlier this season.
With skilful players like Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bryune upfront, Manchester City are likely to draw fouls in the box and their skill to convert from the spot is going to be important. Especially with many teams looking to sit back against a Pep Guardiola team, drawing a foul in the penalty box could be something we see often with Manchester City.
#7 West Ham pick up three points finally but aren’t convincing
The Hammers finally picked up three points and moved up to the 15th place on the table. However, the 1-0 win against Crystal Palace was less than convincing for Slaven Bilic’s men. For a team that aspired to qualify for Europe this season, West Ham has been awful and have found themselves in the relegation zone many times.
Aaron Cresswell was silly to get himself sent off and Crystal Palace piled on the pressure on the Hammers. Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke didn't convert two fantastic chances which helped West Ham’s case.
However, West Ham did have a few good spells in the early stages of the game leading to their goal in the 19th minute. The Hammers will have to step up for a top 10 finish this season.
#8 Sunderland’s injury list is not helping Moyes
In Sunderland’s 2-0 loss to Stoke City, the Black Cats picked up another injury with Patrick Van Aanholt being taken off in the 40th minute. The Dutchman joined a long list of injured players at Sunderland including summer signing Lamine Kone, Adnan Januzaj, Lee Cattermole, Fabio Borini, Vito Mannone, Sebastian Larsson and Jan Kirchoff. This sees Sunderland with eight players injured, more than any other team in the league.
Besides, Moyes has been over-dependent on Jermain Defore for goals and everything seems to be going downhill at Sunderland. The Black Cats are preparing for another long season which is likely to end in a tight relegation battle. Lamine Kone is expected to return this week while Adnan Januzaj should also be back in action by the end of October.
#9 Ander Herrera shines for Manchester United yet again
The Spanish midfielder was picked by Jose Mourinho to team up with Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini in the midfield in Manchester United’s clash against Liverpool at Anfield. Ander Herrera once again stepped up his game and was brilliant in the midfield. His presence allowed Mourinho to play record signing Paul Pogba in a bit of an advanced role on the pitch which Pogba did not make the most of.
Ander Herrera looked like a leader on the pitch and was fantastic as a box to box midfielder. He displayed both defensive and attacking intelligence as Manchester United held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw. He also looks like a great option to lead the Manchester United squad and looks to possess all the qualities of a great leader.
#10 Is Mourinho really an upgrade on Louis van Gaal?
Cries of ‘Boring! Boring!’ were something United fans were accustomed to under Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman, after all, wanted his team to play safe and loved a clean sheet. Jose Mourinho asserted on holding on for a draw as Manchester United saw only 35% of the possession which is a new low in the Premier League since the records began. Ironically, Louis van Gaal was on 16 points after 8 games while Mourinho is on 14 points.
Of course, Jose is still looking for the best team to work with but with high profile signings like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, much more can be expected of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Despite deploying Pogba in an advanced role, the Frenchman had a dreadful game and found himself in the opposition box with only one touch in the entire 90 minutes.
However, the Manchester United we saw against Liverpool was a classic Jose Mourinho team. The question is, are his tactics still good enough to beat the big teams?
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