As we break for the World Cup, Thomas Frank out-thought Pep Guardiola, Graham Potter again confused his Chelsea players and the Everton board must act on Frank Lampard. Here's five lessons we learned from the past Premier League weekend...
1) Guardiola plays into Brentford's hands
Brentford's victory at the Etihad was built on a game-plan that typified Thomas Frank. They began with a slightly unusual way of playing Manchester City, in that the two strikers pressed the centre-backs and one of the midfield three rushed out to press Rodri, whereas most clubs leave the centre-backs alone and form a compact shape around the City midfield. By being so aggressive, Brentford pushed Man City back and forced errors.
But that sort of pressure couldn't last more than 15-20 minutes, and once Brentford began to drop back it looked as though Man City would eventually overwhelm them. But Pep Guardiola was unable to do so because he didn't appear to have a clear plan for how to unlock such a narrow and congested 5-3-2 formation; the space was out wide, yet his full-backs continually tucked infield and his wingers tried to make space centrally.
Frustrated by the narrowness, Guardiola could be seen screaming at his players to work the ball wide – where there may have been space in front of the Brentford wing-backs – but Man City were unable to do so consistently. He should have brought on more natural width, Riyad Mahrez or Jack Grealish, but instead he only made one change in the 86th minute. By bringing on Julian Alvarez he seemed to double down on trying to funnel everything through the middle.
2) Potter's bizarre tactical decisions predictably backfire
It is very difficult to understand what Graham Potter was trying to do at St. James Park. His starting formation of a 3-4-2-1 has looked tired of late and lacks fluency or creativity, yet Chelsea still lined up in this system and did so without any recognisable forwards to support Armando Broja. Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount were frequently missing, unable to stretch Newcastle and leading to the visitors losing the battle for territory.
Admitting his mistake, Potter switched to a 4-2-3-1 at half-time but by then the pattern had been set and Newcastle, holding the psychological advantage, continued to drive down the flanks where Chelsea were all at sea. Lewis Hall struggled with Miguel Almiron on one side and Trevor Chalobah was playing out of position on the other.
From an attacking standpoint, Chelsea appear to lack the type of player that is littered through the Newcastle team. Joe Willock's urgency and directness help make Eddie Howe's team so good in the transition, whereas Chelsea's midfield is populated by too many players only willing to pass sideways.
3) Man Utd lack structure but are saved by Garnacho
It was another supremely confident and tactically organised performance from Fulham at Craven Cottage. Marco Silva's midblock is daring but it pays off largely thanks to the brilliant work of Joao Palhinha in central midfield and the powerful defensive partnership of Issa Diop and Tim Bream, and it certainly worked well against Manchester United despite their defeat.
Erik ten Hag's side are strangely formless at the moment. They don't press or pass with any obvious intention that comes from coaching and remain a team largely of individuals, albeit one greatly improved by the addition of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen to their central midfield. On Sunday the clearest example of their on-going tactical flaws was the frequency with which Antonee Robinson and Willian dominated the left flank, easily getting behind Anthony Elanga and isolating Luke Shaw; the distances between the United lines were far too big to cope with quick, but simple, Fulham passes into the left channel.
They were saved by Carlos Vinicius being a poor deputy or Aleksandar Mitrovic and 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho providing a moment of magic at the end. It fits into the narrative of United's season that it was individual quality, not the fruits of coaching, that got them the three points.
4) Disorganised Everton need a new manager
Frank Lampard has avoided scrutiny this season because there have been bigger stories elsewhere, but having won just four points from the last eight games it is time we turn our attention to how poorly Everton are playing. Even the new defensive signings have failed to improve the team substantially, and a 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth is further evidence Lampard is not a tactician and is incapable of making this team better than the sum of its parts.
Idrissa Gueye looked lost for long periods of the game as he scrambled to cover the width of the pitch, a sign of just how little instruction the players are getting; Everton's three-man midfield should have been able to cope, but as soon as they come out of their deep defensive formation they were totally disconnected. The narrowness of Bournemouth's 4-4-2 allowed them to dominate through the middle.
But even worse was the sheer defensive disorganisation for all three goals. They were the kind of calamitous errors that speaks to players needing a real manager. Premier League football is too complex these days for players to work things out in the moment. Everton will slip into the bottom three unless they get rid of Lampard.
5) High turnovers highlight the pros and cons of Emery and De Zerbi
Neutrals should be excited by the prospect of watching Roberto di Zerbi and Unai Emery teams for the next couple of years. Both produce entertaining football because they take such high risks in playing out from the back, and that inevitably led to dangerous scenarios unfolding when Aston Villa and Brighton met on Sunday.
Two of the three goals were the result of players being tackled on the edge of their own box and the third was a penalty won from a quick break in behind. Emery and De Zerbi both love to draw the opponent onto them with their passing before spinning in behind at speed, and predictably it produced an entertaining contest.
On balance, Villa were lucky to win. Emery's narrow formation was initially successful in allowing Villa to counter with short and sharp interchanges in the middle of the park, but he unnecessarily invited pressure with a change to a 5-4-1 for the final 20 minutes. Brighton dominated from this point and created several good chances.
