Three talking points from the Premier League weekend
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New Chelsea manager Xavi Alonso (centre) has already shown an adaptability to maximise the weapons at his disposal.
PHOTO: AFP
LONDON – Chelsea and Manchester City have adjusted fastest to an English Premier League season of change, while Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are off to slow starts.
City sit top of the table, ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Aston Villa on Aug 31, after a 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace, while Chelsea edged out Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 to maintain their perfect start under Xabi Alonso.
By contrast, Tottenham’s massive outlay on new players has yet to bear any fruit as they remain without a point or even a goal, while Andoni Iraola has managed only two draws in his opening two matches in charge of Liverpool.
AFP Sports looks at three talking points from the Premier League weekend:
1. Front three give Chelsea reason to dream
Two Premier League games into Alonso’s reign as Chelsea manager, the Blues have seven goals, six points and plenty of reasons for optimism.
The acid test of whether Chelsea are truly back to being title contenders comes when they travel to face champions Arsenal this weekend.
But the arrival of Alonso on the bench and Morgan Rogers to form a potent front three alongside Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, has transformed a side that finished 10th last season.
That failure could ultimately help Chelsea’s chances of a first league title in a decade as they have no European football, while their rivals face the strain of the Champions League.
“Chelsea have so much quality on transition moments, they have maybe the best offensive line in the league,” said Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler.
Alonso has already shown an adaptability to maximise the weapons at his disposal.
Chelsea had just 26 per cent of possession against Brighton, the lowest of any league match in the 44-year-old’s managerial career.
Yet, they lured the Seagulls on to strike decisively on the counter-attack, epitomised by Pedro’s goal from a move beginning in the Chelsea area.
2. Spurs ‘can’t buy mentality’
Roberto de Zerbi surveyed the damage from big-spending Tottenham’s dismal start and admitted it is mentality rather than money that will define their season.
De Zerbi has overseen an expensive rebuild of the Spurs squad that narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of last season, but results have proved harder to buy.
The Italian’s spending spree has topped £300 million (S$517 million) ahead of the Sept 1 transfer deadline, only for Tottenham to lose 3-0 at Brentford in their opening game and 2-0 at home to Newcastle United on Aug 29.
Bottom-of-the-table Spurs have lost their opening two matches of a league campaign without scoring for the first time since 1974-75.
After successive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, de Zerbi knows the mounting pressure on his players could be a problem.
“After two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons. I have no doubt it’s not like this,” he said. “It’s the biggest target to find the right mentality. Unfortunately, you can’t buy the mentality in the transfer market.”
3. Liverpool ignore glaring gaps
Liverpool could feature a forward line with each player costing in excess of £100 million at Ipswich Town on Sept 4, with Bradley Barcola set to join Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz in the Reds’ star-studded attack.
Isak and Wirtz have so far offered little return on the huge sums paid for them 12 months ago, but each had a hand in a goal in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on Aug 29.
The Sweden striker tapped home his first goal of the season, while Wirtz’s brilliant assist teed up Victor Munoz to rescue a point in the final 10 minutes.
Despite a prolonged search for attacking reinforcements since Mohamed Salah’s departure at the end of last season, it is at the other end that Liverpool still look brittle.
Iraola’s reign has begun with two chaotic 2-2 draws that exposed a lack of midfield protection for defensive deficiencies.
Fullbacks Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong were replaced after a chastening first hour and Iraola may regret not focusing more on strengthening at the back rather than splashing out on another expensive forward. AFP