Matchday 22 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 22 Round Up



Saturday 17th January


Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City

There are two main things I took from this game, firstly just how good Man Utd were, and how entertaining their play was, for what felt like the first time in years. Secondly, just how bad Citeh were. That was the worst performance I have seen from them in the Guardiola era. Watching Cherki just give up on pressing after having to run once was truly shocking. It was a very un-Guardiola type of performance. One thing you can always rely on his teams to give is effort. Often it can be misguided, petulant even, but this was such a half-hearted performance. They were being outplayed, by a Man United team that were playing with verve and a bit of freedom, but they just gave up, which is not what you expect of any team coached by Guardiola. Though there was a fair amount of petulance, particularly Bernardo Silva's blatant kick on Fernandes in the box, which somehow never even resulted in a foul, let alone the red card and penalty that should have been! The real question to come from this game is about the red side of Manchester though. Is this just a bunch of players raising their game for a derby or is this them freed up of the constraints of the Amorim system and so a level we can expect of them every week? They certainly celebrated like a bunch of lads who have been shackled and suddenly given freedom, but again, that could merely be because they were so excited to beat a rival. It will be an interesting next few weeks seeing how they get on.

Starmen:
Maguire/Martinez - when a centre-back pairing manages to shut Haaland out of a game, you know they have done well.
Mainoo - needed to show that he deserved to play and he did.
Casemiro - just for his delight and celebrations. He never seemed half as happy when winning trophies at Real Madrid!
Fernandes - still one of the best attacking players in Europe and showed that when playing in a more attacking role than he had done under Amorim.
Dorgu - is this really the same lad who played at wing-back so badly? Playing further forward he suddenly remembers how to control a football.
Diallo - another impressive performance from him.
Carrick - got the selection and tactics spot on. Was this a fluke? A new manager bounce? Or is this genuinely what he is capable of as a coach?

Flops:
Haaland - offered almost nothing.
Silva - we know he was an excellent player, but he is really looking past his best this season.
Cherki - came on as a substitute but still could not be bothered to work hard for the team.


Sunderland 2-1 Crystal Palace

Sunderland's powers of resilience are exceptional for such a newly grafted together team. One of the main excuses given for Liverpool's drop off this season has been the number of new players in their team, yet here is Sunderland showing how an almost entirely newly thrown together team can perform well from the get go. Even when they lost a huge portion of their squad to the AFCON and injuries/suspensions in recent weeks, they still kept going and picking up results. It is impossible not to be impressed with them and their manager Regis Le Bris this season. They were facing a team in disarray in Palace, with a manager in Glasner who is too busy with his pet lip and tantrums to actually manage the team, but still, it was an excellent result, especially after going behind. Palace are an absolute mess, a manager who wants to leave and players jumping ship, they are very lucky that they picked up so many points early in the season. Even so, they are dropping like a stone and look like a team that could very easily end up in a relegation battle. The question is, will Glasner be there to fight it with them? They have told him they will not release him early from his contract, but he is beginning to be a negative influence on the team and they might well end up sacking him instead if it carries on!

Starmen:
Mukiele - he has been very impressive in this hybrid role he plays, which is a cross of centre-back, right-back and wing-back, depending on the match situation.
Le Fee - is so much more dangerous playing in the centre.
Brobbey - scored a lovely goal.
Lerma - filling in well at centre-back again, but it does leave their midfield weak.

Flops:
Wharton - a very good player, but he is being asked to do far too much and needs a destroyer alongside him to protect him.
Hughes - is struggling with his mobility.
Johnson - lacks work rate, which leaves the midfield exposed.


Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 West Ham United

The appointment of Frank is getting more and more disastrous by the week, with the fans never really backing him even to begin with, but now they have completely turned on him. It is little wonder as they look terrible under him in the Premier League and have shown no signs, particularly at home, of improvement. In fact, if anything, they look to be getting worse as the season goes on. They are at a point where they could easily get dragged into the relegation dogfight and there is little sign of any fight in this team. The Hammers are at least showing signs of stirring into life under Nuno, though they still look a very poor side. With them and Wolves now stirring, it could be an interesting end to the season in the bottom half of the table.

Starmen:
Summerville - caused a lot of problems to the Spurs defence.
Wan-Bissaka - it is hard to understand why he struggled so badly at Man Utd, he has shown so much more before and since.
Fernandes - I am not a big fan of his attitude, for Southampton he had a tendency to throw his arms up in the air after losing the ball, rather than working to try and get it back. However, he has got good ability and he played well against Spurs.
Wilson - came on late, after the 90th minute, and still managed to get the winner.

Flops:
Gray - is struggling to get going. He must be learning so much from playing in such a terrible team, as they do say you learn more from the losses than you do the wins!
Simons - incredibly overrated player who is being found out.
Muani - offers little.
Castellanos - early days, but he did not look good at all.


Chelsea 2-0 Brentford

The way Brentford play is not conducive to allow their opposition to ever look good, added to the change to a new head coach just a few days before, so Chelsea will not be worried about the performance, just glad to have the 3 points. Though I am sure they will be hoping the performances improve as Rosenior gets settled in to working with the team. Brentford are still punching above their weight and in with a chance of European football, despite being most people's favourites (I think including me if I remember correctly) for the drop ahead of the season. They are heavily reliant on Thiago to score the goals though.

Starmen:
Sanchez - he has his weaknesses and is known better for his errors, but he did play well.
Fernandez - I am not a fan of him in this role, he is better in my opinion when playing further forward, but he did play very well in the deeper role against Brentford. Mostly because he got forward well.

Flops:
Garnacho - Chelsea need more from him.
Thiago - the Bees cannot really afford him to play badly.
Kelleher - normally a good penalty stopper, but was unable to do anything about Palmer's one.


Leeds United 1-0 Fulham

Fulham had been on a good run of late, but they were not able to handle Leeds, who fully deserved their victory. The Yorkshire side looked strong, fit and full of work, while the Londoners looked a bit leggy and tired. Their lack of transfers in during the summer has hit them once again, with their squad getting stretched, but that should be no excuse against a newly promoted team. Leeds have improved so much in recent weeks, they no longer go into games just hoping, now they are able to expect a decent result. They have built a buffer between themselves and the relegation places and show no signs of relinquishing it. In fact, they are no doubt now looking at the poor form of Palace and Spurs and seeing a chance to move further up the order. For Fulham, this is probably just a blip against a team that outworked them.

Starmen:
Justin - a little out of position but he played well.
Ampadu - a captain's performance once again, with an assist to show he is not just a defensive midfielder.

Flops:
Sessegnon - struggled badly to make an impression on the game.
Robinson - has not yet returned to anything like his best form following injury.


Liverpool 1-1 Burnley

Another game that was the complete opposite to what we were seeing from Liverpool last season. Last season Liverpool were poor in the first half, but then Slot would make some tweaks to the style and they would go on and win. This time out, once again Liverpool were the better side in the first half, controlling the game and showed some nice stuff. Then they went in at half-time, Slot made tactical tweaks and absolutely ruined the set up. His constant demands for Liverpool to sit back the moment they take a lead makes no sense with such a weak defence. Added to that, he makes the most dangerous player on the pitch playing a free role, Wirtz, play a more disciplined wide role which he is completely unsuited to. Slot's natural caution is really holding back the team. Let's make no mistake about it, this is not a good, not even half-decent, Burnley side. They were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure and Liverpool struggled to make clear cut chances, despite getting in behind the defence a number of times. This Clarets team is the worst in the Premier League currently, but Liverpool were just not good enough to beat them and it was little surprise to hear a few boos at the end.

Starmen:
Kerkez - finally finding his feet at the Reds.
Frimpong - probably Liverpool's most dangerous attacker.
Wirtz - excelled in the first half but was hampered in the second.
Humphreys - made a couple of excellent goal line clearances.
Pires - had a good running battle with Frimpong.

Flops:
Robertson - was so bad when he came on. Age has caught up with him.
Broja - got little service.


Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal

An excellent result for Forest against table-toppers Arsenal. It was not the greatest watch, both teams were clearly happy with a draw, which saw neither team take any major risks to chase a goal. Understandable, Forest were playing the team top of the table and any point was a bonus and the Gunners knew that Man City had lost earlier, so a point increased their lead. That has left Forest fans happy with an unexpected point, while Gooners are disappointed and feeling they missed out on all three by being cautious. The question is whether it will end up being enough at the end of the season, with Arsenal missing out on a chance to really stretch their lead. With City's form being so patchy, you have to think Arsenal will never have a better chance to win the Premier League under Arteta. It looks like the only thing that can stop them now is Arteta's caution.

Starmen:
Sels - pulled off an excellent save and provides much more security overall for the defence.
Anderson - looked back to his best with Sangare alongside him freeing him up.
Sangare - has become a key figure in midfield.
Rice - if any player deserves a title based on his performances, then it is Rice this season.

Flops:
Gibbs-White - they need more from him to link up with the striker.
Jesus - the service he gets is not what he needs.
Gyokeres - is spending so much time trying to get involved in the build up, he is failing to get into the right positions to score a lot of the time.
Odegaard - his creativity was needed badly, but he struggled.



Sunday 18th January

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Newcastle United

Unlike the previous match, this game did little for either club, with both really needing the win. Particularly Wolves, who have stirred into life recently but have struggled to get the wins they desperately need if they are to even have a faint hope of survival this season. The big issue now is whether they have accepted relegation and are preparing for life after the drop or if they are looking to strengthen to give themselves every chance of staying up. Newcastle have pushed themselves up the table in recent weeks, with Champions League qualification still the aim. They are just 3 points behind 4th right now and Howe needs them to keep pushing up the table in order to save his job.

Starmen:
Mosquera - the central defender was, at times, Wolves best attacker and made some excellent runs.
Gomes - growing in stature as a midfielder, it is unlikely they will be able to keep him much longer.
Joelinton - a bit of a sledgehammer, but he is a powerhouse with ability.
Thiaw - having an excellent season.

Flops:
Woltemade - his form has vanished in recent weeks.
Barnes - he does not look as comfortable on the right.


Aston Villa 0-1 Everton

The other big shock result of the weekend. Villa looked well off the pace and were well beaten by the Toffees. Losing key man McGinn early on seemed to really affect them and they never looked to recover. The lack of squad depth caught up to them but they are still flying in third with a 7 point cushion on 4th place. They are still punching well above their weight under Emery, labouring as they are under the financial restrictions. Everton look better away from home, where they are able to sit back and counter without any pressure to take the game to the opposition. Moyes has made them safe, in a number of respects, but you do wonder if he is the man to take them on in the long term.

Starmen:
Tielemans - he has become essential to Villa's play.
Barry - finally getting goals and he looks a much better player with his confidence up.
Garner - is playing some excellent stuff this season.

Flops:
Martinez - it was not that long ago that Villa fans were calling him the best goalkeeper in the world. This season he has barely looked the best goalkeeper at Villa. Has he missed the boat to get a big money move now, as that is clearly what he was hoping for.
Torres - was poor in the air and had an error-filled game.
Watkins - struggled badly and missed chances.



Monday 19th January

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Bournemouth

Brighton needed an excellent late equaliser to rescue a point against their fellow South Coast side in a match that is not really either teams derby match. The Seagulls have Palace as their main rival (even the Seagulls name came about due to the rivalry as their fans used to chant that to cover up the chants of 'Palace' from the Londoners), while the Cherries rivals are Southampton and Portsmouth. It showed in this match, which was lacking in the intensity of the game which opened the weekend. Brighton have been much better since Mitoma has returned from injury but you do have to wonder if bringing back Gross (much as I love him as a player) is going to have a similar effect or if he is just too old now. Bournemouth have had an upturn in form since Hill has got in to the defence. He is not the greatest defender, but he is much more reliable than Diakite was and they have been more solid defensively. The Cherries look like a team that can look up the table once more. The key for them is that they are very much a team, they work hard for each other and that is very important when you are trying to play a press.

Starmen:
van Hecke - a very good ball-playing centre-back.
Kostoulas - lovely finish for the sub.

Flops:
Mitoma - his return has improved BHA, but this was not a good performance from the Japanese winger.
Welbeck - amid all the talk about whether he should be back in the England squad, Welbeck struggled badly and look like an elder statesman out there. Still a good player, but it is not a game for slower legs against a team that plays with Bournemouth's intensity and movement.

Written by Tris Burke January 22 2026 09:22:38