Fernandes Must Let Football Do The Talking
Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes held clear-the-air talks this week.
Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth after criticising Carrick’s tactics during the Champions League defeat at Como, but it seems the situation has been resolved – for now.
Dropping Fernandes did not do United any good against Bournemouth, who ran riot at Old Trafford, and the captain is expected to return to the starting lineup for the trip to Chelsea tomorrow.
If that happens, he owes Carrick a performance. Fernandes has been poor this season and it is time he did his talking on the pitch.
*Chelsea v Manchester United,
Saturday.
Maresca Wary Of Another City Slip
Since Manchester City were found guilty of serially breaching Premier League financial rules, coach Enzo Maresca’s team have won four games (including Wednesday’s Carabao Cup shootout victory over Brighton) and lost two.
Last Saturday’s 2-1 reverse at Aston Villa was their first Premier League defeat and should another follow in their rematch with the Seagulls, the manager may start to fear the guilty verdict and possible sanctions (demotion to the Championship, for example) becoming a distraction to his players.
There is a precedent for City initially responding well to adversity, before it then affected results.
After Rodri sustained a serious knee injury against Arsenal in September 2024, Pep Guardiola’s team went undefeated in seven matches, winning six. But then the wheels clattered off, with one victory and 10 defeats in the next 13.
*Manchester City v Brighton, Saturday.
Tottenham’s Tel Keen To ‘Work, Work, Work’
Despite landing in the Premier League in January last year, Mathys Tel’s goal against Chelsea felt like an arrival of sorts.
The 21-year-old was highly rated as a youngster at Bayern Munich but has found the net just seven times in 50 league games since joining Spurs, initially on loan.
Against Chelsea he picked the ball up in his own half and drove forwards 40 yards before finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Spurs fans will want more from Tel who, unlike many of his teammates, is rarely injured.
“I think I can still do better,” he said after the 2-0 win at Chelsea that made it two on the spin for Spurs. “I can always do better. I need to work, work, work, work.”
Crystal Palace come off the back of victory at Fulham in the Carabao Cup – the head coach, Pierre Sage, has been backed by the board after a tricky spell in the league.
*Tottenham v Crystal Palace, Saturday.
Nico Jackson Offers Striking Blueprint For García
Álvaro Arbeloa is at last getting somewhere with Fulham. After going without a win in his first six league matches, the Spaniard has collected six points against Hull and Coventry.
Goals remain in short supply, though, and the form of the £40m striker Gonzalo García – seven games without scoring – is concerning.
Arbeloa’s past relationship with García at Real Madrid is not proving as beneficial as Unai Emery’s knowledge of Nicolas Jackson’s game.
That pair worked together at Villarreal, where Emery gave Jackson his La Liga debut.
“Unai taught me everything about football,” Jackson said on signing from Chelsea in the summer.
With four goals in five Premier League games, including a double against Manchester City last Saturday, Jackson is one of the in-form strikers in the country.
“He was shooting a lot of balls over the crossbar,” Emery said. “Now he’s getting better.”
*Aston Villa v Fulham, Saturday.
Iraola’s Liverpool Side Look Four-midable
“Let’s try to finish this four-in-a-row in the best way,” said Andoni Iraola on Wednesday as thoughts turned from the Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Chelsea to Arsenal’s impending visit to Anfield.
Three consecutive home wins in different competitions, and in quick succession, have helped build momentum at Liverpool, although seven wins from the last eight (including Chelsea) shows the process had already begun.
Iraola has handled his first intensive run of Champions League, Premier League and Carabao Cup fixtures expertly, rotating in every game while continuing to produce results.
Noticeably, there has been no drop-off in Liverpool’s physical intensity either.
The manner of Arsenal’s title triumph last season – and the general shift towards more aggressive, urgent football in the Premier League – were factors in Liverpool’s decision to change head coaches in the summer, and the results are paying off quickly.
Iraola will be facing questions about a title challenge should four-in-a-row finish as he hopes on Sunday.
*Liverpool v Arsenal, Sunday.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Manchester City and Brighton meet again tomorrow after an entertaining Carabao Cup contest in midweek.
