Football News: Matchday 5 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 5 Round Up

Saturday 20th September

Liverpool 2-1 Everton

The first half saw a surprisingly passive Everton get outplayed completely, as they reverted once more to the long ball tactics that have failed them already this season against Leeds. For the entirety of the first 45 minutes, it was little more than a training session for Liverpool, lit up by a couple of lovely goals. They came out for the second half and kept the ball down and looked a much better side, but still struggled to create anything meaningful. The lack of a good striker was a real problem, as the ball continually bounced off Beto and Barry just does not even show for the ball most of the time. Liverpool, on the other hand, were able to play well within themselves and cruise through the second half. They really should have put it out of sight, but their passing let them down badly throughout the second half.

Starmen:
Gravenberch - head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch, he was exceptional, including his excellently taken goal and he also got an assist. Right now he looks the best midfielder in the Premier League.
Ekitike - caused lots of problems with his movement, workrate and willingness to embrace physicality.
Ndiaye - Kerkez was given a real workout dealing with Ndiaye, who always looked threatening.

Flops:
Mac Allister - while he did have some good moments, it is clear that he is still desperately searching for his match sharpness.
Tarkowski - should be getting pelters for his embarrassing and blatant dives when Liverpool had penalties in the second half.
Beto - the ball constantly bounced off him, though it has to be said that he was not being used to his best with the ball mainly being lumped up to him, rather than played for him to run onto.
Barry - seemed to shrink when he came onto the pitch and spent a lot of time avoiding being in positions to receive the ball.
Moyes - his 'knife to a gunfight' approach returned and he blew a chance to finally break his Anfield duck. His tactical approach ruined Everton's hopes.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Leeds United

A match I was unable to see in full. There is something really wrong at Wolves right now, the players that played well last season to save them in the second half of the season, suddenly look error prone. It must be part of the problem that Pereira has changed his style to move the ball around much slower and around the defence rather than getting it forward quickly. It is clear that the defenders are not keen on it and are not good at it, often making mistakes and giving the ball away in dangerous areas. If they stick with this style, they are going to go down with barely a whimper. Leeds, on the other hand, are giving it their all. They lack quality in the final third, but they keep pushing and trying, running hard to try and make up for that missing quality. These are the kind of games that will matter in their battle for survival at the end of the season.

Starmen:
Stach - he is looking like a Premier League midfielder. So far he is impressing in almost every aspect of the game and managed to bag a goal and an assist.
Okafor - what he lacked in quality he made up for in work rate.
Calvert-Lewin - not the greatest footballer in the world but give him a header to attack and he is very good.

Flops:
Pereira - needs to change his tactical approach, his players simply are unable to cope with the slow passing around the back.
Agbadou - I seem to have jinxed him, this season he has made repeated costly errors,
Sa - looks a very poor keeper these days.

West Ham United 1-2 Crystal Palace

Another match I never got to see. The Hammers are not a good side right now, whatever Potter thinks he is trying to do, it is not working and he seems incapable of changing things. His insistence on sticking Ward-Prowse in the centre of midfield is looking like being his undoing, as Ward-Prowse is simply not good enough in the Prem. Added to that, he is slower than a turtle towing a caravan up a steep hill. Palace look decent, but not as good as they were last season, Eze has been very well replaced by Pino but they are still lacking in creativity. They look to have dropped off, but they have chosen the right season to do so, with so many other teams looking weak this season. They should easily manage a midtable place.

Starmen:
Diouf - he looks a really good addition to the team. Every game he impresses out on the left.
Walker-Peters - like Diouf, he looks a really solid addition to the side.
Bowen - a class act, you have to wonder where West Ham would be without him.
Guehi - many players would be sulking after being denied a move in the summer, but he is still turning in performances for Palace.
Kamada - he has really stepped up this season.

Flops:
Potter - he looks lost on the touchline and seems to have no idea on how to improve matters. It just seems like he is unable to cope with the egos in the dressing room at the top level.
Ward-Prowse - too slow and lacking in ability for this level. Even his deadball delivery has vanished.

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Not a great watch, with neither team looking that great. Brighton were good on the break, but their defence is not looking good this season. Spurs look to lack a real cutting edge, have a dodgy defence and a keeper that is completely unreliable. What they do have is a better head coach for gaining results, one that is less intransigent and willing to adapt the way they play. Frank will be disappointed not to come away with a win, this BHA side is eminently beatable right now, with Baleba clearly only half fit. In fact both teams look beatable, neither are strong defensively and Spurs are handicapped by the lunatic at the back Romero. He really is a loose cannon, always looking on the verge of a red card and it was a surprise he only picked up one yellow.

Starmen:
Minteh - caused Spurs so many problems and could have got more goals.
Ayari - looks like another gem unearthed for the Brighton midfield.
Kudus - has got off to a flying start and his strength and skill causes so many issues for opponents.

Flops:
Baleba - still nowhere near fit and looks way off the pace.
Gruda - offered little.
Vicario - he is so prone to errors these days, he is becoming a serious liability at times.

Burnley 1-1 Nottingham Forest

One of the games I was unable to watch and I was quite happy about that! Burnley were once again all about packed ranks of defenders and are quite simply the worst team to watch in the Premier League. If they carry on the way they are, they will have no chance of staying up. Forest are a team in transition, which could end up as anything.

Starmen:
Anthony - scored a goal, which takes some doing in a team that really does not want to leave their own half.
Williams - always been a hard worker, but this time got some reward from it with a goal.

Flops:
Parker - he is giving his team no chance with his ultra defensive tactics.
Wood - last season he was brilliant, but this season he is struggling to find his feet in the new style of play.

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea

A game that was completely changed in the first 5 minutes by Robert Sanchez having (his usual) brain fart and getting himself sent off. That was followed up by Maresca making the bizarre decision to take off all the attacking threat his team had and surrender the game. At least, his team played like they had surrendered, with almost no attempt to do anything other than pass the ball around at the back, even after Casemiro got sent off. It must be pointed out, that was a soft, at best, sending off, which felt like a referee just trying to even things up. Though, on the other side of the coin, it was stupid of such an experienced player to give the referee that chance. While Chelsea were poor, Man Utd were not that much better, but the point is that they were better, not just than Chelsea but than they have been the rest of the time under Amorim.

Starmen:
Dorgu - despite having a poorer touch with his left foot than I do, and I am right footed and never been near a professional level, Dorgu's energy and enthusiasm are very useful. If only he could cross or pass, he would be a very good player.
de Ligt - he does a much better job on the right of the defence than he did in the centre. He plays it with aggression and that is something that has been badly lacking in his game.
Fernandes - he is United's key player and it is to him they look so often.

Flops:
Casemiro - it was not a bad challenge, but the stupidity of giving the referee the opportunity to even things up. He is extremely experienced, he knows how refs think by now, and it was needless.
Shaw - he really is brainless.
Maresca - I have no idea what he was thinking by taking off any chance his team had of getting a result when Sanchez got himself sent off. The key thing is always to have pace in there, but he substituted. It was imbecilic, and that is me being nice about it! Worse was his tactical approach after Man Utd were reduced to ten as well. Why did he leave his team to pass it around the back and show no urgency to level things? Just unbelievable.
Sanchez - it is hard to believe that Chelsea have spent so much money but still have to rely on a clown in goal.
Cucurella - he was very lucky not to have also been sent off.

Fulham 3-1 Brentford

A game where the signs of Frank's influence at Brentford waning where huge. The defence has been looking more and more shaky, and they absolutely collapsed at times against Fulham. Keith Andrews is looking more and more like the wrong choice, but it is early days and he has time to turn it around. He will need to sort out the shambles at the back and quickly. Fulham under Silva look to be growing stronger and stronger as the season goes on, with a bench that, despite Silva's transfer window complaints, looks to be stronger than last season. Fulham look like a team to challenge for Europe, while Brentford look like a relegation battler. Even the concession of a silly early goal, following a mistake by Fulham's star youngster, Josh King, could not dent their confidence. Or King's confidence and quality of play for that matter. Whereas the Bees just lack any real quality of play and never looked like they believed they could win.

Starmen:
Iwobi - a goal and an assist for the former Arsenal and Everton man.
Wilson - he must be a player that Brentford fans hate, as he always seems to play well and score against Brentford.
Damsgaard - Brentford's key player, they will need him fit and firing if they are to progress this season.

Flops:
Schade - his overall play is so poor and he offers little real quality.
Collins - he was all over the place and is incredibly rash. Actually, the whole Brentford backline, Collins, Pinnock and Collins, were the same. Awful performance.

Sunday 21st September

Bournemouth 0-0 Newcastle United

A match I was not able to see. It was a result that both teams will be less than happy with but not too disappointed by. They are teams that you would expect to see fighting for a similar place in the table at the end of the season, even though Bournemouth lost almost their entire defence in the summer. Newcastle have been building, but still do not look to have moved ahead of the Cherries, if anything they look to have been caught by them.

Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa

Villa have been surprisingly poor this season, they look like a team destined for a relegation battle but played like a team that were 3-0 up and cruising. Their inability to move the ball quickly and create opportunities is a genuine problem now. They cannot rely on goalkeepers to make massive errors every game or that they will face ten men every week. As for Sunderland, they look up for the fight and showed flashes of looking like a team that fully belongs in the Prem. The big worry for the Mackems is that they failed to pick up the three points they really needed in a game where the opposition was so poor, but they will take heart from giving Villa such a touch game despite only having 10 men for most of the game.

Starmen:
Isidor - he was a real handful and never stopped trying. It is easy to see why he is already a fan favourite.
Mukiele - looked solid.
Ballard - ruffled a lot of feathers after he was brought on.

Flops:
Roefs - terrible piece of goalkeeping to concede the shot by Cash. Yes, it was a lovely hit, but it should have been saved.
Mandava - stupidly lashed out and deservedly got sent off.
Emery - his tactics are simply not working right now.

Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City

A terrible match between two teams who were more interested in being defensive than going all out to win. It nearly paid off for City, but Haaland was not clinical enough to finish off more of the chances he got. Arsenal seemed delighted just to get a draw and reacted to their equaliser like they had scored a last-gasp winner to win the league. The attitude at Arsenal is still the same, it is that of a team with an inferiority complex, happy just to be up there at the top of the table. They do not have the will to win that is needed when it counts, happy to play for a draw in games like this. Arteta has assembled a squad to win a championship, but he lacks the bottle to go for the wins it requires. Guardiola looks a busted flush with a BDSM problem right now. Everything about him looks tired and beaten, worn out and covered in bruises and sticking plasters. He really has the look of a man who no longer wants to be there. He has taken a big step back and turned over the coaching to Pep Lijnders, similar to what Klopp did in his final few years. This has led to a more direct style, which does suit Haaland, but few others of the team.

Starmen:
Eze - looks capable of causing problems for the opposition, but needs to start games.
Haaland - should have scored more, but he caused so many problems.
Doku - he is a genuine class act, who has raised his game considerably this season.
Rice - always trying to drive Arsenal forward.

Flops:
Arteta - playing at home but still went out to try and get a draw, rather than going for the win.
Gyokeres - looks a little boy lost at times up front, but he is not getting the service he needs.
Zubimendi - weak and toothless, can get bullied at times.
Silva - has to be the most embarrassing bit of play acting since Rivaldo went down holding his face.

Written by Tris Burke September 24 2025 16:30:15