Premier League review: Man Utd transformation begins; David Moyes shows tactical chops

Johnny Nicholson examines the weekend's Premier League talking points

West Ham United manager David Moyes. Picture: Adam Davy/PA

Fred does what Fred doesn’t usually do

What better way to mark a new regime’s arrival than to win a game by a single goal scored by the man who was both emblematically and literally one of the previous regime’s biggest problems? Fred scored. The much-maligned Fred. The usually useless Fred. And he did it with his wrong foot too. What voodoo was this that Ralph Rangnick had cast for Manchester United? In the first half United were transformed. Playing two strikers and two 10s to help control midfield while putting pressure on the defence was how United were set up and for 45 minutes, although they didn’t score, they completely dominated Crystal Palace. But for half of the second 45, the curse of Ole returned and they began to drift. Marcus Rashford, who, to be fair, had been doing all of Cristiano’s running in the first half, tired and was replaced. Their crowd seemed to realise they needed a kick up the backside and they got behind them. Palace didn’t offer much and went down to a disappointing third straight loss. By the time 2021 turns into 2022, Manchester United will almost certainly look like a very different team, playing a very different sort of football under their new coach.

David Moyes continues to transform himself and West Ham United

This was a big game for West Ham United. It had looked like they were slipping from a peak after losing two on the spin, but here they bested the champions and showed some mighty resilience, twice coming from behind. Arthur Masusku’s winning goal was something of a freak, but it was a goal they deserved in the second half. Moyes pulled out some serious tactical chops for the win. He started with a 3-4-3 to match up Chelsea, switched to 3-5-2 when losing at half-time with Lanzini joining a Rice-Souček midfield three in order to get some more possession of the ball. By the time the winner went in, the Hammers were in a 4-2-3-1 after Kurt Zouma had gone off injured. The brilliant Rice was imperious throughout. This is turning out to be the best Hammers side since the mid-80s. It was impressive from Moyes and his team, who remain fourth. However, injuries are stacking up and they finished the game with their entire first-choice back four missing. That could be their downfall.

Chelsea have just two wins in five games

The loss to West Ham will concern manager Thomas Tuchel, not least because, afterwards, Mason Mount later talked about tiredness, both physically and mentally. They have a game in Russia on Wednesday and if they’re tired now, with the busiest period of the season ahead, it doesn’t bode well. Will their dip in form just be a temporary blip? Tuchel seemed to struggle to deal with West Ham’s flexibility. Romelu Lukaku came on and looked disappointingly adrift of the pace. Full back Reece James is their top scorer with five and that hints at their biggest weakness. With 17 different scorers this season, despite having the second highest number in the goals column, it’s clear they have no focal point to their threat. Can the whole team be relied on to keep scoring at this rate in the second half of the season?

Injury time is Divock Origi time

The Reds have been on sizzling form recently, but they lacked fizz at Molineux. Not that Wolves were especially good. Adama Traore continued to run very fast and yet go nowhere. No assists or goals in 14 Premier League games, with only four of 21 shots on target and only two big chances created, these are very damning statistics. Diogo Jota should’ve put Liverpool ahead but opted to lash the ball rather than place it. Yet there’s always Divock Origi to save the day. A legendary fringe player who only scores massively important goals, he was starting his 100th game for Liverpool as a substitute, his strike in the 94th minute to win the game was the 29th consecutive game in which they had scored — the club record is 32. You wouldn’t back against them to have broken that in a few weeks.

Newcastle’s first win in 15 games

Newcastle United are unable to put anyone to the sword, they leave that to their owners, but with a string of tough games ahead, this was their best chance to notch their first win, which they duly took against a stodgy pudding of a Burnley side who had all the cutting edge of cotton wool after they lost Maxwel Cornet in the first half. Eddie Howe’s one achievement to date is to get a tune out of Joelinton, a man previously less useful on the pitch than a wheelbarrow of corned beef. Soon they’ll be trying to buy their way to survival in January. Almost everyone will hope they can’t, which in turn will feed some fans’ persecution complex which isn’t just paranoia, it’s real. That’s what happens when you do not just tolerate, but actually celebrate, the club being bought by people who have done many, many detestable things.

Brighton: The draw specialists

The Seagulls obtained their eighth draw of the season against Southampton, their fourth in five games. While draws can be the silent killer of ambition, the Seagulls remain in ninth which is a tremendous achievement for Graham Potter’s men at this point, even if some of last week’s booing fans don’t realise it. They have lost only three times, just four teams have conceded fewer goals and while the need for a striker is obvious, their organisation at the back and outright meanness in defence will always provide the team with a reliable base upon which to build those goals and wins. They are almost, but not quite, the complete package, with a manager that is impressing everyone with great man-management and a modern approach to every aspect of the game. The club will do well to hold onto Potter after this season and a European place would be well deserved on this form.

Jack Grealish not so great

The £100m man does not look worth a third of that at the moment. While it’s early days for him at Manchester City, he hasn’t settled especially well. Partly this is because his role is entirely different. At Aston Villa, their whole game was set up to get him to deliver the goods in terms of assists and goals. He was the big kahuna. But at City he’s just one superstar of many. It must take some getting used to. Perhaps he is taking time to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s ways too, but against a fairly hapless Watford side he missed two easy chances and looked short of the confidence that seemed previously to come as second nature to him. More than one player has taken time to fit into Guardiola’s demanding ways. John Stones was dropped from the side for some time while he got his act together on and off the pitch, Grealish may find himself doing some hard yards yet to become the player his fee suggests he is and, more importantly, the player his boss wants him to be.

Spurs win but don’t convince

If Antonio Conte can make Spurs into a club capable of a top-four place it will be as remarkable as any of his achievements because, the truth is, they’re hardly a dynamic, exciting side, despite being fifth. They eased past Norwich City, though at times made hard work of doing so. Lucas Moura’s wonder goal gave them an early lead but they had to wait nearly another hour to score the second and secure the victory. Heung-Min Son added a third, but Harry Kane’s drought for his club goes on. They need a spark, they need creativity, they need someone to think creatively and inject real dynamism into the side. Maybe they can sign someone to do that in January. With both Manchester United and Arsenal just one or two points behind them and playing revitalised football, Conte has a big challenge on his hands to not end up 8th or 9th.

Patrick Bamford gives new hope but injuries take it away

Leeds might have expected to beat Brentford, but the fact the 2-2 draw was achieved by a last-minute Patrick Bamford goal with the ball helped onto him by Luke Ayling, also returning to the side after injury, will bring just as much delight to West Yorkshire. They have badly missed Bamford for 11 long weeks now, both for his goals and his build-up play. Leeds have suffered some crucial injuries in this first third of the season and it’s put a big cramp in their progress with some, idiotically, questioning Marcelo Bielsa’s abilities. However, just as the attack was restored, they lost Liam Cooper and then Kalvin Phillips to injuries. It’s to be hoped these are as short as possible because there’s no doubt these interruptions to the harmony of the side is largely responsible for Leeds’ stuttering start to the season. They remain an entertaining side which eventually will move up the table.

An impressive comeback from Aston Villa

The new intense Aston Villa won a free-flowing game against Leicester City which VAR did its best to disrupt with some, at least questionable, decisions. To rule out a James Ramsey goal because the ball was allegedly under the control of Kasper Schmeichel’s single hand had everyone reaching for the rule book, but the rule is ambiguous and as many felt it was a wrong decision as felt it was the right one. Villa were outplayed in the first half but after Steven Gerrard got hold of them at half-time, they reemerged with 45 minutes of progressive, attacking football which overwhelmed the Foxes. With three wins out of four and rising from 16th to 10th, the new boss can be very satisfied. He has hit the ground running and has got Ollie Watkins back to his best. The striker didn’t score but he turned in a fantastic performance and kept the Foxes defence agitated all afternoon. If they can spend the Christmas period consolidating a mid-table place, they can make a credible push for European places.