It might have been the least entertaining weekend of the 2019/20 Premier League season so far – just 18 goals from the ten games – but there were plenty of tactical elements worthy of discussion.
Arsenal's initial error, later correction, and then even later reversion to their first mistake was typical Unai Emery, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer produced Manchester United's most tactically astute performance since the 3-1 victory at Paris Saint-Germain last March.
Here are three tactical things we learnt from the weekend action:
1) Arsenal begin to control Sheffield Utd with half-time switch… then inexplicably switch back again
Sheffield Utd's tactics worked brilliantly in the first 45, building with neat possession football down the left flank where Nicolas Pepe looked lost tracking back (the winner came from a corner won down this side), but it was mainly successful because Arsenal's initial 4-2-3-1 didn't work. Joe Willock was hiding behind United's midfield three, meaning the only out-ball for Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi was to wingers who were rapidly closed down by the hosts' wing-backs.
Willock was substituted at half-time for Dani Ceballos as Unai Emery correctly switched to 4-3-3; Ceballos and Guendouzi now stretched wider than the United midfield to provide a passing option out from the back, plus the wingers tucked further infield to get away from the United wing-backs. It was working, too, with Arsenal cranking up the pressure significantly and forcing Chris Wilder's side into a pinned-back defensive shell (see below).
Why, then, did Emery change back to 4-2-3-1 in the 69th minute? For the final 20 minutes either Bukayo Saka or Pepe were put in the Willock role and were equally ineffective, as United, moving to a pure defensive 5-4-1, held their nerve and saw out the win.
2) Solskjaer gets his tactics spot on as Liverpool fall flat
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deployed a clever 3-4-1-2 formation against Liverpool. He pushed his wing-backs right on to pin Liverpool's dangerous full-backs and mark them tightly when the visitors had the ball, leaving his defenders three-on-three with the forwards. Equally impressive, Man Utd's Marcus Rashford and Daniel James split wide from forward positions, finding space on the counter on the outside of the Liverpool centre-backs (as in their counter-attacking goal).
Andreas Pereira was excellent as a false-nine - that is until Solskjaer moved to a more 3-5-2 in the second half as Pereira dropped into midfield. He was responding to Jurgen Klopp's move to a 4-2-4 that put too much pressure on United from out wide for their wing-backs to stay so high up the pitch. However, overall it was an impressive showing from Solskjaer that built on Sheffield Utd's formation against Liverpool a fortnight ago.
But Man Utd were significantly assisted by a poor Liverpool performance. They were far too slow, nervously playing the badge and not the players; had Klopp's men played at a high tempo, rather than gradually build from the back or hoof long balls downfield, United would have crumbled. The lesson here for Liverpool is to abandon the 4-3-3 when one of their first-choice forwards is absent. They need more creativity in the half-spaces – from an inverted winger – when Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah are out.
3) Tom Davies inspires a proper Marco Silva performance from Everton
When functioning correctly, Marco Silva teams are supposed to be fast-paced, with high pressing and narrow attacking lines creating a system that opens up space for aggressive overlapping full-backs; the closest natural comparison is Mauricio Pochettino, although in just over 12 months at Goodison Park, Everton fans have very rarely seen glimpses of this. Thanks to Tom Davies, Saturday's 2-0 win over West Ham United could be the start of something significant.
Davies constantly looked for a forward pass, hoping to break the opposition lines with every touch of the ball; it was the sort of assertiveness and aggression that Silva has been crying out for - and a considerable improvement on the low-tempo sideways passing Everton tend to get from Morgan Schneiderlin. The Davies Effect was to keep the Toffees on the front foot, creating a contagious energy that meant the hosts pressed harder for longer, consistently getting a more fluid, speedy front three in behind.
Djibril Sidibe's performance helped, too. He burst down the right wing after seemingly every pass he made, again ensuring Silva-esque attacking tactics were finally on display. This could be the start of something significant for Everton, as long as the manager continues to play Richarlison up front – and gives Davies the minutes he has been craving.
Best of the Week – Guardiola's innovations at Palace
Considering the possibility of nerves against a Crystal Palace team that beat them last season, Man City's decision not to start any centre-backs was very courageous. It worked superbly, however, because Rodri and Fernandinho essentially played like midfielders, picking the lock and controlling the game with their excellent passing; Fernandinho's ball out to the right provided the pre-assist for the opener, and Rodri's interception/pass out from the back started the move for the second goal.
Defensively, Guardiola instructed his full-backs to be more conservative than usual. Benjamin Mendy in particular was expected to stay deep and tuck inside, following Wilfried Zaha to limit his ability to counter-attack. It was a surprising display of discipline from Mendy, who in previous matches has appeared to ignore his manager's instructions.
Worst of the Week – Tottenham's inability to solve their problems
Pochettino is trying everything to raise the tempo and get Spurs back into a rhythm, this week going for an unusual 3-4-2-1 – to no great effect. Dele Alli and Lucas Moura were underwhelming as inside forwards behind Harry Kane, neither player being able to get on the ball thanks to an excellent performance from Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Things improved when Son Heung-Min was brought on and Spurs switched to a basic 4-4-2, but not enough for the hosts to win points. Watford, without a win this season, deserved three points from this match – an alarming thought for Spurs, with Liverpool up next.