It wasn’t as enthralling of a weekend in the Premier League, although there were still some eye-catching results.
The draw between Manchester United and Chelsea was the marquee match of the round, with late heroics and a scrum on the touchline making the highlight reel. Elsewhere, Fulham’s defensive struggles continued and Mohamed Salah was back on the scoresheet to guide a rotated Liverpool side to victory.
Here are four winners and four losers from Matchday 9 in the Premier League.
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WINNERS
Anthony Martial
For about 95 minutes, it appeared that Anthony Martial was going to be the hero on a triumphant day for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Then Ross Barkley pulled Chelsea level to salvage a draw.
However, Martial must be pleased with his individual form over the past couple of weeks. He scored in the 3-2 comeback win over Newcastle United, then followed that up with a brace on Saturday.
It wasn’t just the composure or the off-the-ball runs that wowed, either. Martial was constantly attacking the Chelsea defence whenever United managed to foray into the attacking third.
“I think Martial is like the team,” Man United manager Jose Mourinho explained. “The team is playing fine, Martial is playing fine, [it] is easier for individuals to play when the team is playing well and vice versa. Anthony was involved in two matches where the team scored five goals, where the team played really well and he played well too.”
With Alexis Sanchez out for the Champions League clash against Manchester United on Tuesday, the 22-year-old Frenchman has a tremendous opportunity to lock down a spot on the left wing. Let’s see if he capitalizes.
Mesut Ozil
Arsenal’s attack was already lethal. Add Mesut Ozil and it’s downright unfair.
The German international was absolutely outstanding against Leicester City in Arsenal’s 3-1 win on Monday. Not only was Ozil involved in two of the goals, he ran the show for the Gunners. He only misplaced five of his passes and kick-started a lot of the attacks.
With the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette around him, Ozil will have a heavy influence in the final third and that could extend Arsenal’s winning streak even further.
Neil Warnock
Cardiff City finally earned their first victory of the Premier League season, and they did so emphatically with a 4-2 win over sputtering Fulham.
It wasn’t easy, though. Andre Schurrle’s sensational curler from distance opened the scoring, then Ryan Sessegnon’s historic strike pulled Fulham level after Cardiff had taken a 2-1 lead.
From that point on, it was all Cardiff City. Manager Neil Warnock clearly recognized Fulham’s defensive frailties, especially out wide. Two of Cardiff’s goals were created on the flanks, and the hosts continually targeted those areas while the Cottagers kept favouring the middle whenever they were in possession.
Bernardo Silva
Kevin De Bruyne’s return is great news for Manchester City, but Bernardo Silva may be less ecstatic that De Bruyne – who returned from his injury on Saturday – is in contention for minutes against Shakhtar Donetsk.
It’s understandable because the Portuguese has benefitted from De Bruyne’s layoff and has been outstanding for Man City. However, Silva laid down a marker before the Belgian playmaker entered the game against Burnley in the 58th minute.
The 24-year-old scored City’s second goal in a 5-0 victory on Saturday and was quite active in the final third.
In actuality, the real winner is manager Pep Guardiola, who now has even more options at his disposal.
LOSERS
Arsenal full-backs
Arsenal fans will be thrilled with their team’s current form. The Gunners have won 10 straight matches in all competitions for the first time in 10 years, with 30 goals scored in that span.
However, there are going to be defensive mishaps with Unai Emery’s side. Hector Bellerin had two assists in Monday’s victory, but was at fault for the opening goal for Leicester City. Bellerin’s slight hesitation allowed Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell to burst past him.
Elsewhere, Stephan Lichtsteiner was struggling against Ricardo Pereira and Kelechi Iheanacho. Leicester manager Claude Puel must have noticed this and targeted the wings.
However, Leicester’s undoing was their hesitancy to shoot, as evidenced by expected goals.
xG map for Arsenal – Leicester City. The first half was unimpressive, and then Ozil dropped back into midfield and Arsenal were stupid good after the break. pic.twitter.com/CEuUjOUfyC
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) October 22, 2018
Arsenal’s centre-backs Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding were generally solid, and Bernd Leno made key saves when called upon, but they weren’t aided at all by the full-backs.
Slavisa Jokanovic
It’s difficult to argue that Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic isn’t the under-fire manager at the moment. No wins in the last six Premier League matches while conceding an absurd 18 goals in that span will have any coach in trouble.
For now, he is safe and it is worth noting that Fulham has laboured to slow starts under Jokanovic. However, the margin for error in the Premier League is far shorter, and the constant rotation at the back is exacerbating the issue.
On the bright side, expected goals shows that Fulham conceded fewer quality chances than usual.
xG map for Cardiff – Fulham. These weren't the hugest defensive breakdowns from Fulham, at least by their standards, but still clearly beaten by Cardiff isn't great. pic.twitter.com/5HYgcetFHX
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) October 20, 2018
But conceding 22 shots to Cardiff, who previously averaged around 11 attempts per game, is not ideal. Jokanovic had an international break to establish a settled back four. Now let’s see if he sticks to this particular quartet.
Newcastle’s finishing
Speaking of teams who don’t attempt a lot of shots, Newcastle United were shut out for the fourth time this season.
However, it wasn’t down to a lack of trying. The Magpies registered 27 shots in their 1-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. Newcastle is 18th in shots per game across the league, via WhoScored.com, so this was very out of character.
When examining expected goals, Newcastle actually steamrolled Brighton and generated high-quality attempts. There was just no incisive finishing.
xG map for Newcastle – Brighton. This was better from Newcastle apparently? pic.twitter.com/WUDzzy9A8V
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) October 20, 2018
Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan stood on his head, although Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie were far too hesitant around the box. Kenedy also smacked the post, so there were definitely opportunities.
Ayoze Perez and Yoshinori Muto started centrally, but they constantly roamed across the pitch and that stretched Brighton’s defence a lot. Perhaps that combination is the answer for Rafa Benitez going forward.
Luka Milivojevic
Crystal Palace were a Luka Milivojevic penalty away from taking the lead against Everton, which could’ve snapped a four-game winless run.
Instead, Milivojevic wasted the opportunity, Everton struck twice late in the second half and the Toffees clinched the 2-0 win.
Palace is now two points above the relegation zone and has scored just five goals this season. Only Huddersfield Town (4) have fewer. It’s looking quite bleak for the side, especially with Arsenal coming up this Sunday.
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