FORTUNATELY, THERE WERE no tackles comparable to the now-infamous challenge Neil Taylor committed on Seamus Coleman in the Ireland-Wales match during today’s Merseyside Derby.
However, the game certainly became increasingly ill-disciplined and the referee seemed to lose control of proceedings at one point.
Everton were particularly lucky to keep 11 men on the field. In addition to Ashley Williams stamping on Emre Can, Ross Barkley was lucky to escape with a booking after a dreadful challenge on Dejan Lovren.
Thankfully the Croatian defender was okay, but that should not excuse Barkley’s action. The referee should have sent him off, just as the official in last week’s World Cup qualifier should have shown a red to Gareth Bale for an awful challenge on John O’Shea moments before Taylor’s horror challenge left Coleman with a double leg fracture.
The fact that it’s a derby game does not mean different rules should apply. Despite the Coleman incident emphasising why tackles such as Bale’s should be severely punished, the referee during today’s Premier League early kick-off was far too lenient with both sets of players.
It’s the officials’ jobs to protect players first and foremost, but if they continue to adopt such lax attitudes to tackles such as Barkey’s, Seamus Coleman-esque injuries will be far more likely to occur.
Even the tackle by Leighton Baines that left Sadio Mane injured, though it was more clumsy than malicious, may not have happened if the referee had not set the tone earlier by letting worse incidents go, in the process practically encouraging players to fly into challenges.
2. Chelsea defeat feels like a blip
Chelsea's Pedro rues a missed chance. John Walton
John Walton
The defeat was their first league loss at home since 16 September, ending a run of 10 straight victories at Stamford Bridge.
It was far from a dreadful performance from Antonio Conte’s side. The result was really down to a combination of brilliant goalkeeping by Wayne Hennessey and poor finishing from the Blues.
The hosts were beaten despite having 73% possession overall and 11 shots on target.
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And despite the setback, Chelsea remain seven points clear of Tottenham at the top with nine games to play.
Consequently, it still feels as if a minor miracle is needed for Chelsea to surrender their formidable lead at the top and for this afternoon’s outcome to be considered as anything other than a blip on their march towards glory.
3. More than bad luck to blame for United’s woe
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (left), Ashley Young (centre) and Michael Carrick surround referee Mike Dean. PA Wire / PA Images
PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images
Much has been made of Man United’s impressive unbeaten streak — Chelsea’s 4-0 win over the Red Devils last October remains the latter’s most recent Premier League defeat.
But Jose Mourinho’s men have now drawn a record 11 games this season, including eight at Old Trafford.
Today’s stalemate was a similar story to most of the others — United dominated possession and territory, and West Brom — to borrow a well-known Mourinho phrase — parked the bus.
If this scenario panned out on two or three occasions, you could legitimately argue that it was a case simply of bad luck for United.
However, the frequency in which the Premier League’s most expensively assembled squad are dropping points suggests deeper problems exist within their ranks.
Mourinho indicated his displeasure with attackers Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and substitute Wayne Rooney after the game today.
“In teams that want to win things, you need consistency in the individuals,” the United boss told a news conference.
In some other clubs, in some teams where you play for the top 10, a player with talent is always welcome even if that talent is not consistent, even if that talent is one day yes, one day no.
“In teams at this level, you need to be consistent. [On Saturday], for 90 minutes, [Antonio] Valencia was consistent, Ashley Young was consistent, Marcos Rojo was consistent, [Eric] Bailly was consistent, [Marouane] Fellaini was consistent, [Michael] Carrick was consistent, and the other ones were not consistent.
The other ones were a flash of talent, a glimpse of talent, one good action, almost a goal. And we need to kill opponents.”
Yet perhaps Mourinho also needs to look in the mirror. The club have spent £200 million and arguably have failed to improve significantly since.
Renowned as a defensive coach, whether he can inspire United’s inept attackers remains to be seen, and his job security could depend on it.
4. Big few weeks for Son Heung-min
Nick Potts
Nick Potts
Tottenham beat Burnley 2-0 to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top to seven points today, but it was a win that did not come easily.
It was not until the 66th minute when Eric Dier broke the deadlock, with Son Heung-min adding a second 11 minutes later.
Already missing Harry Kane, Tottenham today lost three players to injury – Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks.
With Kane and potentially Janssen out for the next few games, a greater burden of responsibility will likely fall on the shoulders of Son Heung-min.
The 24-year-old Korean striker has impressed sporadically since the start of the campaign, with 15 goals in all competitions, though only eight of those have come in the Premier League, with only one in the latter competition since the turn of the year before today.
The former Bayer Leverkusen player has therefore yet to justify his €30 million price tag, though the next few weeks represent an excellent opportunity to silence the critics and in the process help alleviate concerns about Spurs’ supposed lack of squad depth.
5. Shakespeare deserves credit for Leicester revival
Craig Shakespeare has a 100% record as Leicester boss. Adam Davy
Adam Davy
Many people feel Claudio Ranieri was poorly treated by Leicester ultimately, and it’s hard not to feel sympathy with the Italian after he miraculously guided the club to their first-ever Premier League title, only to sacked just months later.
Yet looking at the decision from a cold-hearted business point of view, even the most ardent Ranieri supporter must now be struggling to reject claims that it was the correct call.
Not only has Shakespeare helped turn around the Foxes’ Champions League fate and guided them to a previously unlikely berth in the competition’s quarter-finals, the former assistant also today steered them to their fourth consecutive league win as they beat Stoke 2-0 at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.
With 33 points registered, Leicester are not yet guaranteed to stay up, though given their current form, relegation seems unthinkable.
Shakespeare may be fortunate in the sense that the players have suddenly become much better than they were towards the end of Ranieri’s reign, but his achievement should not be overlooked by any means.
Today’s win has made him the first British manager in the Premier League era to win his first four games in the Premier League era, and the 53-year-old coach deserves plenty of credit for steadying what was a sinking ship.
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Referees not learning from Coleman incident and more Premier League talking points
Updated at 00.38
1. Referees not learning from Coleman incident
FORTUNATELY, THERE WERE no tackles comparable to the now-infamous challenge Neil Taylor committed on Seamus Coleman in the Ireland-Wales match during today’s Merseyside Derby.
However, the game certainly became increasingly ill-disciplined and the referee seemed to lose control of proceedings at one point.
Everton were particularly lucky to keep 11 men on the field. In addition to Ashley Williams stamping on Emre Can, Ross Barkley was lucky to escape with a booking after a dreadful challenge on Dejan Lovren.
Thankfully the Croatian defender was okay, but that should not excuse Barkley’s action. The referee should have sent him off, just as the official in last week’s World Cup qualifier should have shown a red to Gareth Bale for an awful challenge on John O’Shea moments before Taylor’s horror challenge left Coleman with a double leg fracture.
The fact that it’s a derby game does not mean different rules should apply. Despite the Coleman incident emphasising why tackles such as Bale’s should be severely punished, the referee during today’s Premier League early kick-off was far too lenient with both sets of players.
It’s the officials’ jobs to protect players first and foremost, but if they continue to adopt such lax attitudes to tackles such as Barkey’s, Seamus Coleman-esque injuries will be far more likely to occur.
Even the tackle by Leighton Baines that left Sadio Mane injured, though it was more clumsy than malicious, may not have happened if the referee had not set the tone earlier by letting worse incidents go, in the process practically encouraging players to fly into challenges.
2. Chelsea defeat feels like a blip
Chelsea suffered a surprise loss at home to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace today.
The defeat was their first league loss at home since 16 September, ending a run of 10 straight victories at Stamford Bridge.
It was far from a dreadful performance from Antonio Conte’s side. The result was really down to a combination of brilliant goalkeeping by Wayne Hennessey and poor finishing from the Blues.
The hosts were beaten despite having 73% possession overall and 11 shots on target.
And despite the setback, Chelsea remain seven points clear of Tottenham at the top with nine games to play.
Consequently, it still feels as if a minor miracle is needed for Chelsea to surrender their formidable lead at the top and for this afternoon’s outcome to be considered as anything other than a blip on their march towards glory.
3. More than bad luck to blame for United’s woe
Much has been made of Man United’s impressive unbeaten streak — Chelsea’s 4-0 win over the Red Devils last October remains the latter’s most recent Premier League defeat.
But Jose Mourinho’s men have now drawn a record 11 games this season, including eight at Old Trafford.
Today’s stalemate was a similar story to most of the others — United dominated possession and territory, and West Brom — to borrow a well-known Mourinho phrase — parked the bus.
If this scenario panned out on two or three occasions, you could legitimately argue that it was a case simply of bad luck for United.
However, the frequency in which the Premier League’s most expensively assembled squad are dropping points suggests deeper problems exist within their ranks.
Mourinho indicated his displeasure with attackers Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and substitute Wayne Rooney after the game today.
“In teams that want to win things, you need consistency in the individuals,” the United boss told a news conference.
“In teams at this level, you need to be consistent. [On Saturday], for 90 minutes, [Antonio] Valencia was consistent, Ashley Young was consistent, Marcos Rojo was consistent, [Eric] Bailly was consistent, [Marouane] Fellaini was consistent, [Michael] Carrick was consistent, and the other ones were not consistent.
Yet perhaps Mourinho also needs to look in the mirror. The club have spent £200 million and arguably have failed to improve significantly since.
Renowned as a defensive coach, whether he can inspire United’s inept attackers remains to be seen, and his job security could depend on it.
4. Big few weeks for Son Heung-min
Tottenham beat Burnley 2-0 to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top to seven points today, but it was a win that did not come easily.
It was not until the 66th minute when Eric Dier broke the deadlock, with Son Heung-min adding a second 11 minutes later.
Already missing Harry Kane, Tottenham today lost three players to injury – Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks.
With Kane and potentially Janssen out for the next few games, a greater burden of responsibility will likely fall on the shoulders of Son Heung-min.
The 24-year-old Korean striker has impressed sporadically since the start of the campaign, with 15 goals in all competitions, though only eight of those have come in the Premier League, with only one in the latter competition since the turn of the year before today.
The former Bayer Leverkusen player has therefore yet to justify his €30 million price tag, though the next few weeks represent an excellent opportunity to silence the critics and in the process help alleviate concerns about Spurs’ supposed lack of squad depth.
5. Shakespeare deserves credit for Leicester revival
Many people feel Claudio Ranieri was poorly treated by Leicester ultimately, and it’s hard not to feel sympathy with the Italian after he miraculously guided the club to their first-ever Premier League title, only to sacked just months later.
Yet looking at the decision from a cold-hearted business point of view, even the most ardent Ranieri supporter must now be struggling to reject claims that it was the correct call.
Not only has Shakespeare helped turn around the Foxes’ Champions League fate and guided them to a previously unlikely berth in the competition’s quarter-finals, the former assistant also today steered them to their fourth consecutive league win as they beat Stoke 2-0 at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.
With 33 points registered, Leicester are not yet guaranteed to stay up, though given their current form, relegation seems unthinkable.
Shakespeare may be fortunate in the sense that the players have suddenly become much better than they were towards the end of Ranieri’s reign, but his achievement should not be overlooked by any means.
Today’s win has made him the first British manager in the Premier League era to win his first four games in the Premier League era, and the 53-year-old coach deserves plenty of credit for steadying what was a sinking ship.
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