The weekend began with a draw at Stamford Bridge in which a scuffle at the end of the match made the headlines, and that appeared to set the tone for the rest of the Premier League games; this was a fairly forgettable round of fixtures.
Cardiff City's first win of the season showed Neil Warnock's side will fight to the death for their place in the Premier League, while Brighton's win at Newcastle exemplified the brilliant job Chris Hughton continues to do on the south coast.
Here are three things we learnt from the weekend action:
1) Difference between Man City & Liverpool suggests Guardiola's team will canter to the title
We have perhaps been fooled by the romanticism of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, and by willing them to challenge for the Premier League title have exaggerated their influence while ignoring the signs that Manchester City have improved since last season. Pep Guardiola's men could beat their own points tally record this year.
Liverpool laboured to a difficult 1-0 win at Huddersfield in which their reliance on a few select players was highlighted again. Without Roberto Firmino or Sadio Mane, Klopp was forced to change into an unfamiliar 4-2-3-1 shape that David Wagner's proactive defensive block found easy to shut down. There was little space for Xherdan Shaqiri, primarily because Liverpool just couldn't find the fluidity or tempo to pull the Terriers apart, proving they are only as good as Man City when the conditions are perfect.
By contrast Guardiola's team are unstoppable and boast a huge variety of tactical patterns to defeat their opponent. Riyad Mahrez ran the game for the hosts in an entirely different style of play than Raheem Sterling; Bernardo Silva continued to weave through midfield in a way at odds with Kevin de Bruyne's aesthetic; and Benjamin Mendy's late assist was a reminder that City have the best crosser in the league for a 'route one' approach. The depth of talent and variety of tactical methods means Man City will comfortably win the title.
2) Emery's innovation highlights his exceptional in-game management
Arsenal have been level at half-time in all seven of their consecutive Premier League victories, and while the manager Unai Emery sees this as a problem (they start games too slowly) it is a testament to the Spaniard's brilliant in-game tactical changes. On Monday evening he made a double attacking substitution that suddenly raised the tempo and blitzed the visitors.
What was most impressive was the bravery of Emery's changes, which seemed to rub off on the players as they suddenly burst forward in huge numbers to score twice in four minutes. Granit Xhaka was moved to left-back and Alex Iwobi into central midfield – two shifts that suggested fearlessness, sending a message to the Leicester players that Emery knew they were incapable of exposing them on the break.
This psychological aspect of tactical substitutions is often overlooked but has served Emery very well so far at Arsenal. He will be hoping for a faster start next time out, but with his changes invariably paying off the Arsenal players can stay calm and confident when matches wear on with the scores level. That is an invaluable advantage in the Gunners' challenge for a Champions League spot.
3) Chelsea's midfield problems exposed by Mourinho's suffocation tactics
What was most striking about the tactical pattern of the game at Stamford Bridge was Chelsea's lack of energy in central midfield. Instead of slickly passing Man Utd off the park by overwhelming them in midfield – something they should have been able to do – Chelsea stuttered badly, exposing a flaw in the middle that Maurizio Sarri must fix if his side are to challenge for honours.
By sitting Juan Mata on top of Jorginho the Italian was largely disarmed, immediately lowering the tempo of the hosts' possession. However, more importantly this meant Chelsea's centre-backs tried to play through N'Golo Kante, but the Frenchman struggled to move into channels to receive the ball or play one-touch passes when he did. Moves didn't exactly break down with Kante, but they did slow down, the former Leicester City man struggling to do more than play a simple backwards pass.
The solution to this problem is to swap Jorginho and Kante around, asking the former to become a box-to-box player and leaving the latter to sweep up at the base of midfield. A weaving run into the opposition half at the beginning of the second period showed that Jorginho would be capable of this, while Kante's defensive brilliance could help Chelsea control the opposition's counter-attacks. Unless Sarri makes a big change, Chelsea will soon be foiled by a succession of teams man-marking Jorginho and leaving Kante as the free midfielder.
Best of the Week – Cardiff City's assertive attacking tactics
Neil Warnock's team are still not playing attractive football (they achieved a 64% pass accuracy on Saturday and held 40.5% possession) but their attacking rhythms are beginning to fall in place, thanks in part to the hapless Fulham back four. Cardiff are unlikely to stay up but they clearly don't have a problem with self-confidence, which should take them closer to safety than many predicted.
On Saturday, Josh Murphy and Bobby Reid combined superbly on the counter-attack, the two players striding ahead of a lacklustre Fulham midfield with great purpose. Murphy looks like a talented player when running directly at the opposition right-back and Reid, picking up his first goal and assist of the season, is beginning to look comfortable at this level.
Worst of the Week – Newcastle's lack of ideas
Yet again every Newcastle move was filtered through Jonjoe Shelvey, yet again Rafa Benitez lined up in a 4-4-1-1, and yet again when they got to the final third the hosts tried to pierce through the lines via Kenedy's dribbling. This predictability explains why Brighton were able to sit deep and absorb pressure at St. James Park, coming away with a deserved 1-0 win.
Newcastle sit bottom of the table and winless after nine matches, reportedly leaving Benitez on the verge of the sack. There is nobody better qualified to lead the club than the Spaniard, and yet he must attempt a dramatically different tactical approach over the coming weeks; his players need fresh ideas if they are to avoid sleepwalking into the Championship.
