This weekend, the Premier League Big 6 teams didn’t have an easy time, but they all managed wins, except Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Chelsea and Arsenal managed away victories with clean sheets. Manchester United escaped disgrace (or did they?), Liverpool got the job done, and Manchester City lowered the Andoni Iraola hype just a bit.
Man United is the only Big Six side outside the top six, but many would agree they’ve been better in recent weeks. With exactly 10 rounds of games played so far in the Premier League, here is the Big 6 Review for GW 10.
Arsenal: Aaaand Breaathe, Gyokeres
(Burnley 0-2 Arsenal)
Arsenal dispatched Scott Parker’s Burnley on Saturday, though Mikel Arteta’s men would have liked to score more. Viktor Gyokeres, though, can now breathe a sigh of relief, scoring his first Premier League goal in seven weeks. He now has four goals in this competition.
The Gunners created very high-quality shots, but couldn’t finish too many of them. The other goal came from central midfielder Declan Rice. Rice was excellent in other ways too, winning all his tackles. Gabriel was also dominant, winning all his duels.
Chelsea: Tottenham were in the game for…never
(Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea)
Chelsea made Tottenham look unserious, reducing them to three tame shots in their own home. The Blues were dominant, reinforcing the “three point lane” memes. Creating six big chances, Enzo Maresca’s men made Thomas Frank’s men look like paid actors, not actual footballers.
Joao Pedro is another striker that can start breathing easy, having scored his first goal – in any competition – since August. This goal was significant too, as he secured the victory for an under-pressure Chelsea side.
Tottenham: Fans were more involved than the players
(Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea)
Seriously, the Tottenham spectators did more to affect the outcome than the players did. Yes, they were that bad. Ok that’s not entirely true. Guglielmo Vicario was excellent, making 8 saves and preventing his teammates from being flogged like petty thieves.
Vicario alone prevented 2.2 goals, making the scoreline look somewhat respectable, for a derby.
Manchester United: Midfield becomes the attack
(Nottingham Forest 2-2 Man United)
Manchester United’s central midfielders produced the goods in the final third against Nottingham Forest. Ruben Amorim’s men had taken the lead, but Sean Dyche turned the game on its head, and it would have been a comeback victory for the Clarets. Amad Diallo had other plans though. His goal saved a point for the Red Devils. Their dignity too.
Casemiro was on top of his game, and not just because he scored. He won all his tackles, as well as 10/19 duels he contested. Both strikers were abysmal, with Benjamin Sesko and Igor Jesus combining for 0.36 expected goals (xG)…from 6 shots.
Liverpool: Back to winning ways
(Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa)
Liverpool needed a victory like Luis Suarez needs to bite an opponent. After losing four consecutive times in the league, Slot could not go another weekend without three points. Back-to-back losses to Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford exposed glaring uncomfortable truths about Liverpool.
Slot moved to a 4-4-2 in the UEFA Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt and won emphatically. He would later find out that it was more down to how bad his European opponents were, not his tactics. His lineup was spot on against Aston Villa though.
Manchester City: Haaland is carrying his club like a sack of sawdust
(Man City 3-1 Bournemouth)
Erling Haaland has single-handedly put his team in second place, though still quite some distance behind Arsenal. The Norwegian is not just scoring at a crazy rate (he always does that), he’s scoring at a higher rate than his first, record-breaking season.
If you thought the No. 9’s numbers were off the charts in 2022/23, wait till you see them this season. Haaland is scoring 1.3 goals per game, taking 4.3 shots per game, and converting an absurd 30% of his shots. That makes no sense. Not for a human striker, anyway.
The question remains: can he drag an underwhelming Man City side to his third Premier League title?
Check back next week to see how well the Big 6 side manage themselves in Gameweek 11.
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