Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action - nile sport

Dorgu makes grade for United in derby

This was a deeply forgettable derby, but it was Manchester United who looked the more likely to get a winner as time ticked down. Ruben Amorim spoke afterwards of using pace in transitions to try and carve out chances – and with a little more composure in the penalty area, it might have worked. Bruno Fernandes was the game’s standout player but Patrick Dorgu also caught the eye in just his fifth Premier League start. Signed from Lecce in January, the Danish wing-back is the first player Amorim has brought in that fits his system. Freed up by City’s narrow formation, Dorgu was able to get forward and test City’s backline at will. The 20-year-old’s red card at Ipswich sparked fears that, like some other young United recruits, he was too raw for regular Premier League football. Sunday’s performance should ensure he holds down the left-sided spot in Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup for the rest of this season, even with Luke Shaw nearing a return to fitness. Niall McVeigh

Guardiola gets it wrong with De Bruyne

Pep Guardiola is not a manager regularly accused of letting sentimentality rule his team selections. Still, there was something hopelessly romantic about building his attacking setup around Kevin De Bruyne against United, two days after the City captain had announced his summer departure. Manchester City’s diamond formation channelled the ball through De Bruyne, with Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush ahead of him, but more than once he was left isolated and engulfed by red shirts. Afterwards, Guardiola bristled at suggestions that he should have trusted Marmoush as a focal point, claiming the Egyptian was driven out wide because the middle of the pitch was so congested. In that case, the decision to field a wingerless system at Old Trafford was even stranger. While Bernardo Silva performed well in a more defensive right-sided role, both Ilkay Gündogan and the substitute Jack Grealish struggled on the left side of the diamond. Jérémy Doku, on for Foden, laboured as a lone winger as misplaced passes piled up behind him. Sentimental or not, this was a tactical experiment City should not repeat. NMc

Robertson looks like weak link

Much of the Liverpool focus has been on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s potential exit and Virgil van Dijk’s contract impasse, but Arne Slot has uncertainty throughout his backline. Giorgi Mamardashvili’s arrival this summer is welcome but creates questions around the futures of both Alisson and Caoimhín Kelleher in goal. The contracts of Ibrahima Konaté and Andy Robertson expire next summer, although the full-back’s recent displays suggest Liverpool’s focus could be on replacing him rather than renewing his deal. Robertson is one of the club’s finest ever left-backs (behind Alan Kennedy and Emlyn Hughes) but increasingly looks a weak link in Liverpool’s starting XI and gifted Fulham a 2-1 lead on Sunday with an errant pass to Alex Iwobi, whose shot then deflected off Robertson into the net. It did not help the 31-year-old, later substituted for Federico Chiesa as Liverpool chased the game, that Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, heavily linked with Liverpool, shone for the hosts. Michael Butler

Postecoglou a victim of his own persistence?

Tottenham’s stadium may be the best in the country but all that does is to highlight the poverty of what has been produced on the pitch. Perhaps it even induces a false idea that Tottenham are bigger than they actually are; certainly it’s hard to imagine a club that has only won two league titles, and none in the past six decades, being invited to Super League talks without it. Perhaps it encourages a belief that Tottenham can get away with saying they play in a particular non-negotiable way, mate, but the truth is no modern side, not even peak Guardiola-era Barcelona, have really done that. Injuries, of course, have played their part. That the crisis has largely passed doesn’t necessarily mean form should instantly return; confidence has been hammered and the focus now, quite rightly, is on the Europa League. But that just underlines the problems caused by Postecoglou’s inflexibility. There has to be adaptation to circumstance, and for too long at Spurs, there wasn’t.
Jonathan Wilson

Nkunku goes through the motions

Christopher Nkunku looks like a player who is waiting for the season to end and the transfer window to open. The France international was dreadful after being handed a rare start as a striker during Chelsea’s goalless draw with Brentford. Nkunku was utterly incapable of holding the ball up. He is a classy finisher but he is a passenger in general play and was bullied by Brentford’s centre-backs. The difference when Nicolas Jackson replaced him at half-time was vast. Enzo Maresca insisted that Nkunku was not guilty of a lack of effort but the former RB Leipzig forward surely has no long-term future at Chelsea. He almost left in January – Bayern Munich were interested – and needs to leave this summer. The question, though, is if anyone will want to spend on him. Nkunku’s fitness record is not great and Chelsea will not want to sell him on the cheap. Jacob Steinberg

Goodison draw does not bode well for Madrid tie

Mercifully, Mikel Arteta flatly rejected the latest conspiracy theory that has developed around Arsenal when asked whether referees are deliberately targeting Myles Lewis-Skelly. “No, I don’t think any referee targets a player,” he said. There is no doubt he was harshly penalised for the spot-kick that earned Everton their latest draw, and significant doubt over whether contact with Jack Harrison continued into the penalty area, but it would have been a subjective call for the video assistant referee to overturn Darren England’s on-field decision. And that is one of the many problems of VAR. Equally, and this also applies to Arsenal’s Premier League season as a whole, Lewis-Skelly needed to do better: he was poorly positioned and mis-read the flight of the ball as it sailed towards the Everton midfielder, the mess that followed a consequence of both. Arsenal cannot afford any such lapses against Real Madrid with their entire campaign resting on the Champions League tie. Andy Hunter

Emery exploits resources as season intensifies

Unai Emery waited until Saturday morning to tell his players there would be eight changes to their starting lineup for the game against Nottingham Forest. Many had an inkling, but to an extent Emery kept them guessing. Donyell Malen, who scored what proved to be the winning goal, was always likely to start given he was left out of Villa’s Champions League squad. Ian Maatsen, who played in last season’s final for Borussia Dortmund, impressed at left-back, but it remains to be seen if he keeps his place against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, with Lucas Digne rested presumably to face his former club. Pau Torres and Matty Cash are also primed to return to the starting XI. With Villa the only top-flight team fighting on three fronts, Emery has made his message clear. “The coach has said that we will need everybody,” Malen explained. “We need all our players. We have so much to play for.” Ben Fisher

Wolves’ strength in depth proves decisive

A quick glance at their respective squads can mostly explain why Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich have struggled in the Premier League this season. Ipswich have not been afraid to spend money since gaining promotion (only Brighton have a higher net spend since January 2024), but Kieran McKenna still lacks the kind of top-flight experience that is readily available to Ipswich’s rivals. So with Wolves trailing 1-0 in Suffolk after 65 minutes, Vítor Pereira ushered on Pablo Sarabia, whose cameo produced a goal and an assist to turn the game in the visitors’ favour. It means Wolves have a 12-point cushion in 17th and means the relegation scrap is now surely over as a contest. “They are a strong opponent who bring on good substitutes and put pressure on,” sighed McKenna afterwards. “We know the strength of the league and we know opponents can bring on top international talent off the bench.” Dominic Booth

Hürzeler laments individual errors

Fabian Hürzeler could not hide his anger after Brighton’s horrific week culminated in them losing to Crystal Palace as their bitter rivals completed the double over them for the first time in more than 90 years and became only the second team in the Premier League era to win a match after being reduced to nine players. Defeats against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and at home to Aston Villa in the league seem to have affected their confidence, with too many individual mistakes costing them dearly at Selhurst Park. Hürzeler - who turned 32 last month - criticised his players for a lack of maturity and pinpointed Jan Paul van Hecke’s red card, as they chased an equaliser, as an example. “Yeah, that’s what I mean,” said Hürzeler. “These are the things, we had them too much this week. Like individual mistakes where we weren’t able to minimise them. If you do too many individual mistakes then it’s not easy to win Premier League games, and these are the things we have to analyse, then we have to get better and find the right solution.” Ed Aarons

Risky signings yet to pay off for Hammers

Even before Michail Antonio’s absence, West Ham began their season looking to a striker to lead the line. Saturday offered a sight of what might have been. A year ago, Niclas Füllkrug was smashing up defenders in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final. A risky, expensive signing has not paid off. Füllkrug’s injury problems have often forced the ever willing Jarrod Bowen into a centre role where the club captain is an uncomfortable fit. The loan signing of Evan Ferguson has not paid off. The Irishman watched on, an unused sub, as Füllkrug arrived to crash home a pearling header. Afterwards, Graham Potter, the manager who probably knows Ferguson best, refused to compare the two signings. Füllkrug himself said: “I still need to adapt. I am not at 100%. I need to get into it. Today was a good substitution. But we need to work more and more and more to get me fully fit for the lineup.” John Brewin