Talking points: A classic at Anfield, VAR cheats Brighton
KLOPP CLASSIC: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp applauds the fans after the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Sunday April 9, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Liverpool. Photo credit: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
A classic game of two halves. Arsenal were totally dominant for 35 minutes until Granit Xhaka had a set-to with Trent Alexander Arnold for which they both got booked and that seemed to wake up the crowd and wake up Liverpool and turned the contest into a different, more chaotic game, one which Liverpool dominated for almost all the second half.
Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal was in imperious form, making four crucial saves, one a fingertips special from Salah and late bundle off the line but heâd never saved a penalty for Arsenal and when Liverpool were awarded one, he didnât actually have to as Mo Salah hit it wide.
Arsenal had their backs against the wall for what seemed like forever but never lost their shape and played with huge resolve in a febrile atmosphere. Thomas Partey was especially superb at shielding the back four.
Arsenalâs counter attacking nearly paid off a couple of times but Liverpool wouldâve won it if Ramsdale hadnât been so good. Bobby Firmino got the equaliser, no other Liverpool player has scored as many goals against Arsenal.
But when Arsenal scores first, they have won 28 times out of the last 30 and drawn the other two and Gabriel Jesus has never been on the losing side when heâs scored in the Premier League winning 49, drawing three prior to this game. So maybe the Gods were on the Gunnerâs side. They wonât work any harder for a point this season.
They could easily have won this by five or six nil in a match where they took 29 shots at goal, 11 on target. In the first half Everton defended too high and United just pinged balls over the top of them at will.
Antony had three one-on-one chances but he couldnât beat Jordan Pickford, who single-handedly stopped the game being lost sooner than it was. Scott McTominay scored the opener, largely because Everton didnât put enough pressure on the ball. When a Seamus Coleman error let United score a second on 71 minutes, the game was over as a contest.
Although Everton dropped deeper in the second half to cut out the ball over the top, the only purchase they got in the game wasnât through their own industry but was gifted to them by United, usually through clumsy, slow attempts to play out from the back.
This was a poor, low skill performance by Everton. They were energetic and committed but didnât seem set up properly at any point. It shouldnât have taken them 45 minutes to be told or to understand that they needed to defend deeper. In attack they have little or no cutting edge. The whole side lacks cunning or invention.
Christian Eriksen came on and sprayed the ball around in typically classy style. By contrast Jadon Sancho, once again, looked out of sorts, his shoulders slumped. Itâs tempting to think Erik Ten Hag doesnât drop him out of fear it will knock his confidence further. But thereâs no doubt he isnât bringing much of his talent to the party. With a Europa League game against Sevilla on Thursday, United will be concerned that Rashford twanged his groin and limped off.
Sean Dyche: the ultimate performative manager
The Everton boss had his complete catalogue of performative managerial touchline moves on display at Old Trafford, to make it look as though he knew what to do about his failing team. If he did, and that isnât certain, his team wasn't listening and he was left looking rather impotent despite all the shouting and arm waving.
He surely canât have told his players to defend by leaving such a big space in behind, so we must assume that they have not been listening to him, which is somewhat damning. When Scott McTominay scored, it sent Dyche into overdrive shouting single words such as âeyes!â and make the sort of extravagant gestures a bad mime artist might make.
Thereâs one where he pulls at something, another where he makes a circular motion and thereâs the classic pushing at thin air. It wasnât convincing. That he feels the need to be on the touchline trying to manage his team throughout the game, is not a good sign. They should be able to operate without him in their ear for most of the time.
The fact they still allowed 29 shots at goal in itself illustrated how ineffective Dyche was being, for all his rather stage managed, self-aware performance. At times it is as though he is an overacting actor in a play about a football manager, with all the words and moves too cliched to be quite believable. It wouldâve been OK in 1983 but does him no favours in 2023.
West Ham win but are booed by their own fans
Fortunately for the Hammers, Harrison Reed scored an own goal to give them the lead. Pre-game reports suggested David Moyes would be sacked if they lost this game. He was lucky that Fulhamâs season is over and they have literally nothing to play for in 10th on 39 points and they offered little until late on.
The Hammers defended more coherently than they had in the 5-1 beating by Newcastle in midweek, but while this win may keep Moyes in a job until the end of the season, he must know that these are his last weeks as West Ham boss.
His negative instincts infuriate many supporters. Even though they were winning, they were booing him and chanting âyou donât know what youâre doingâ when he replaced a striker with a midfielder on 60 minutes to try and cling on to the lead and in doing so, he handed the initiative to Fulham who came back into a game they had shown little appetite for.
Moyes will point to the win to justify his tactics, but too many of the clubâs fans are not convinced. The Hammers had just 23% possession at the final whistle.
VAR cheats Brighton
Brighton were by far the best team in this game, if not quite on top form, and Spurs looked made out of nothing more than papier mache and prayers. Although they took the lead - Son scoring his 100th Premier League goal - Brighton equalised then had two goals unfairly chalked off by the VAR.
To compound these errors, the Seagulls shouldâve had a penalty in the second half when HĂžjberg trod on Mitomaâs foot but this time the VAR inexplicably ignored it. It was another rotten performance by the VAR team and the referee. They got all the big calls wrong. All the more ironic given VAR was brought in to stop the referees making mistakes that could impact a teamâs season. Tell it to Brighton. It cost them three points and pushed them down to seventh. PGMOL chief, Howard Webb had to apologise to them on Sunday but it will be of no comfort.
On a funnier note, the coaching staff from each side began fighting and the players had to come over to the touchline to stop the fracas. Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi (for the third time) were both sent off by Stuart Atwell. Theyâd been having a pop at each other since before kick off like children in the playground.
Harry Kane scored the winner, a winner they absolutely didnât deserve, a winner that VAR had effectively gifted to them, and although it delivered three points to North London, if this rank mid-table Spurs are a top four team it is indicative of how shallow the quality is in the Premier League.
The Chelsea comedy show continues
Frank Lampard looked like the cat that had not just got the cream, but all of the milk too at the press conference ahead of their game against Wolves. Pundits went into overdrive speculating what the club would do if Lampard wins the Champions League? They donât have to worry about that.
There is no evidence Lampard is a top flight manager worth the name. He has a dubious reputation as a man manager, has taken one point from his past eight Premier League games as a manager and has lost six of his past nine league matches at Chelsea. Just the man to turn to when your football club has become a comedy show.
With a midweek game against Real Madrid coming up, it looks as if the Todd Boehley regime is just throwing the season in the bin and if theyâre doing that, they might as well have kept Graham Potter on. Lampard certainly didn't bring any new confidence or organisation with him. Then again, it's far impossible that the clown car that is Chelsea FC will sack Lampard before the end of the season and replace him with one of John Terryâs Bored Ape NFTs.
They lost at Molineux via a Matheus Nunes thunderstrike and rarely looked threatening. Lampard brought on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ben Chilwell and Mykhailo Mudryk for the final quarter. He has been criticised in the past for not using substitutes effectively and it didnât work this time either. This was the opposite of a new manager bounce.
They seemed, if anything, worse and managed just one shot on target. The oft used cliche âhe knows the clubâ used time and again last week to excuse Lampardâs presence, is worthless. Lampard clearly thinks heâs putting himself in the shop window, but he may find that this handful of games will put off more suitors than it attracts, simply by reminding everyone of his limitations.
Royâs rampaging Eagles
When Roy Hodgson was brought in to try and save Crystal Palaceâs season, the club hadnât won for 13 games, so most expected him to do so by playing a tight, well organised, quite dull defensive game.
In fact, heâs done the exact opposite, turning Palace into a dynamic progressive attacking team that exploits space, enjoys playing football and worries less about being watertight at the back. Ironically, against Leeds they played the sort of exciting offensive football that Patrick Vieira was brought in to do with Ebere Eze notching a hat trick of assists, and in the second half, Michael Olise oozed like liquid through the Leeds defence.
Leeds had played well for half an hour and took the lead, but Hodgsonâs newly invigorated Palace absolutely battered them in the second 45 to win 5-1, only the second time in their entire history that theyâve scored five away from home in the top flight.
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