In Week 5 of the Premier League, Everton moved up to second with a convincing win against Middlesbrough, Liverpool beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Paul Pogba couldn’t inspire his team to victory. FanSided’s soccer staff share their reactions in our weekly roundtable.
Everton continue to grow under Koeman’s guidance
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
When Ronald Koeman moved to Everton he surprised many. Well, he certainly surprised me. The Dutchman was coveted by other big names in the Premier League, including Arsenal, if reports are to be believed.
Yet, Koeman chose Everton. There’s no denying the Toffees are a big club. They are part of the fabric of English soccer, a Premier League ever-present with perhaps the best away support in the land. Certainly among the most boisterous and entertaining.
But when Everton finished 11th for the second season running, the Merseyside club seemed like a sideways step for Koeman, a manager rightly lauded for his work with Southampton. In fact, since Koeman finished sixth with the Saints in 2015-16, the phrase sideways step looks very diplomatic.
Still, whatever his reasons, and the extra investment provided by new shareholder Farhad Moshiri likely swayed him, Koeman is already working magic with the Toffees. That magic has the team sitting second in the league, unbeaten in five matches and just two points shy of perfect starters Manchester City.
After beating Middlesbrough 3-1 this weekend, Everton have now won four in a row since drawing 1-1 with Tottenham on the opening day. All the classic Koeman hallmarks have been present in the winning run.
A miserly defense? Check. Pace, pace and more pace? Check. Tactical flexibility? Check. Partnerships at work in every area of the team? Check.
It makes sense one of the greatest defenders of his or anyone else’s generation consistently crafts teams tough to crack. Part of it is having good defenders. Phil Jagielka may be a senior citizen in Premier League terms. But the 34-year-old is also still one of the smartest center-backs in the game.
Then there’s Ashley Williams. Watch any Everton match and one question echoes. How did no title-chasing club see the bargain of a lifetime in the Welsh international who cost the Toffees just £12 million?
But Koeman’s record for defensive excellence isn’t just about players. There’s also a natural pragmatic streak in the 53-year-old. For a man with deep ties to Barcelona and Ajax, two cathedrals of expansive soccer, Koeman’s never too proud to roll down the shutters.
It’s usually a tandem of physical midfielders bringing the padlock. For Everton, it’s summer buy Idrissa Gueye and defier of father time, Gareth Barry. Their two-man defensive screen is just one partnership making the new-look Everton tick.
Width is also a defining characteristic of the Koeman revolution on Merseyside. It’s why he signed Yannick Bolasie. It’s why Bolasie and Kevin Mirallas spend most matches doubling up with raiding full-backs Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman.
Then there’s towering striker Romelu Lukaku. He’s one half of a dynamic duo Koeman hopes the Belgian can form with attacking midfielder Ross Barkley, provided the wayward England playmaker can toe the line. It’s all about two people doing a better job than one for Koeman.
Those partnerships are often aided by astute tinkering. In tactical terms, Koeman is something of a chameleon. For one so ostensibly defensive-minded, Koeman’s changes usually involve perfecting the formula in attack. Good luck planning to defend Everton this season, because Koeman is a forward-thinking alchemist who can change the modus operandi every week.
At Southampton, that meant rotating between playing off a wall by firing passes into target man Graziano Pelle, or unleashing jet-heeled runners Sadio Mane and Shane Long in a swifter, counter-attacking style.
Lukaku has been Everton’s focal point so far. But Koeman has West Ham United loanee Enner Valencia and Bolasie on hand if he wants his forward line to move in a blur. Don’t be surprised if Bolasie and Mirallas form a central two at times.
Koeman has already twisted his Rubik’s Cube this season, switching from a back three to a back four defensively. Just one more way of changing the blueprint.
Koeman’s Everton are flying high thanks to shrewd signings, along with a more nuanced tactical plan and greater discipline than under predecessor Robert Martinez.
There have been a lot of false dawns for the Toffees while they’ve tried to break the top-four monopoly that existed for years in England’s top flight prior to least season. But under Koeman, this talented Everton side might have the staying power others lacked.
Liverpool need to learn how to do the easy part
Jake Walerius, @JakeWalerius
Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea was their best performance of the season so far, and arguably their best since Jurgen Klopp took over last October. It was not quite as emphatic as the 4-1 win against Leicester last week, and they didn’t overwhelm Chelsea like they did Arsenal on opening day.
But they exerted calm control away from home against elite opposition, and when Chelsea threatened to force their way back into the game in the second half, the Reds displayed a defensive resilience we have rarely seen from them under Klopp.
There was much to like — the midfield three of Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum was irrepressible, the attack looked menacing even without Roberto Firmino, and Joel Matip’s performance at the back was hugely promising, even if he was partly at fault for Chelsea’s goal.
And yet, good as the performance was, none of it felt particularly surprising. If there’s one thing you can be sure of about this wildly unpredictable team, it’s that they will play their best in the toughest games.
Since Klopp took over, Liverpool have won away against Chelsea (twice), Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United (in the Europa League). In all competitions under Klopp, the Reds have lost only two of 15 games against last season’s top five and Chelsea. That’s title-winning form.
But they finished eighth last season, 21 points behind champions Leicester, who won the league with one of the lowest point totals ever. The main reason for that was a number of losses against the league’s weaker teams. Liverpool lost to Newcastle, Watford, West Ham, Southampton and Crystal Palace, and drew to several more of the league’s lesser lights.
Granted, some of those dropped points were a result of Klopp’s squad rotation as Liverpool advanced deeper in the Europa League, but many of them were not. And besides, Klopp would have been much less compelled to rotate if his side were not already fading quickly out of the race for the top four.
Point being: we didn’t really learn anything this weekend we don’t already know about Liverpool. The defensive performance may indicate a growing maturity in that area of the pitch — Matip certainly looks like the calm presence at the back this team has been missing — but again, we’ve had this conversation before. The fact remains that if the Reds are going to challenge for the top for, or even the title, they need to prove they can do the easy part.
All of which brings us to Liverpool’s 2-0 loss against Burnley in the second week of the season. In an opening run that included games against Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Leicester, that was the easy part.
Sometimes good teams lose to bad teams. It happens. And no one should doubt that Liverpool are a much better team than Burnley. But in what has otherwise been a hugely promising start, that result festers. Was it simply a blip, or have the Reds still not overcome their inability to consistently beat the teams they are expected to?
In their next five games, the Reds play Hull, Swansea, Manchester United, West Brom and Crystal Palace. One of those games isn’t supposed to be like the others. And yet for Klopp’s Liverpool, it might be the easiest of the lot.
Pogba can only do so much for disjointed United
Matthew Miranda, @MMiranda613
Paul Pogba’s first touch Sunday in Manchester United’s 3-1 loss at Watford led to a turnover, which in turn led to a United free kick. This sequence was the opposite of what transpired over the next 90 minutes, wherein the record-signing midfielder did a little bit of everything – most of it positive – while his teammates proved utterly incapable of capitalizing. Pogba is every bit a champagne player, but on a team filled with beer-at-best talents, there’s only so much he can do.
Watford were better throughout the opening half and in truth should have taken the lead earlier than they did. A perfect Daryl Janmaat cross found Troy Deeney for a header that forced a diving, diagonal save from David De Gea.
Later, De Gea and Chris Smalling collided jumping for a loose ball, knocking each other down and leaving Odion Ighalo a wide-open net he somehow missed. United teams of the past would have ruthlessly punished such profligacy, but this is an improved Hornets team and a lesser set of Red Devils. Minutes after Pogba drilled the crossbar from 25 yards out, a controversial tackle on Anthony Martial by Miguel Britos led to an Etienne Capoue goal.
Watford outnumbered United three to two in the midfield in the opening half. Pogba can’t juke or outrun or outsmart math. The Hornets had the ball 58 percent of the time and the only three shots on target between both teams. It falls on Jose Mourinho to put his best player in the best position to succeed. But this marks consecutive league games United were outplayed in the opening half – understandable, albeit disappointing, against Manchester City. But Watford?
United look like puberty: some areas fully mature, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Pogba; meanwhile, other parts are still young and developing, chief among them Rashford and Martial. The other midfielders and defenders were mediocre at best and did not seem capable of any great feats going forward.
Ibrahimovic had several chances to score, missing a tough angle early, then later failing to get a shot off on a breakaway, then later still just missing out on intercepting a Craig Cathcart back pass to Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes.
The striker’s mind is sharp and his appetite keen as ever, but the legs are 34. Rooney played forward more than the other midfielders, but he looked more like a legacy than a threat in attack, a worn-down shell of what he once was. When United scored the equalizer off a beautiful run and pass from Ibrahimovic, the ball went off Valon Behrami’s shoulder. Rooney resorted to begging for a handball while the ball was still live; as he gesticulated, Rashford kept playing and scored.
Pogba is a joy to watch for any Premier League fan who enjoys the beautiful game played beautifully. There was the steady stream of horizontal passes across the field, easing congestion and releasing the flow of United’s attack to the opposite wing; unfortunately, the recipients too often failed to convert possession into anything menacing.
There was a breathtaking tackle on Janmaat in the second half. There were moments of dribbling and ball control where it appeared like the ball and his feet were tangoing. There was the strike off the crossbar that could have changed everything and always, always the metronomic passing, the simple passes, the correct passes, and the two-steps-ahead passes. He was a world-class player on a second-rate team.
If not for an injury-time winner against Hull three weeks ago, United would be winless in the league for a month. Titles aren’t won this early, but they can be lost: last year’s champs, Leicester, only lost three games all season, and this year’s frontrunners on the blue side of Manchester have set a furious pace already.
The title may be too much too soon for United to consider this year, though their pedigree and the calendar rule out ever making such a concession. But with Everton off to an impressive start, Tottenham and Arsenal fielding strong squads, and Chelsea and Liverpool both looking good, one wonders if this United has what it takes to get top four.
If they don’t make it, is their name enough to attract top-shelf talent in future transfer windows? Mourinho is a win-now manager, yet their only key players currently in their primes are Pogba and De Gea. It’s too early to wonder how long Pogba would stay at Old Trafford without Champions League nights, but even imagining such a scenario is an indictment of the early days of United’s expensive attempt at buying a renaissance.
On one second half run, Luke Shaw was pushing forward and tried to find Rooney on the wing. His pass was too long and went out of bounds. Rooney glared at him. Ibrahimovich managed several chuckles during the match. De Gea’s shell-shocked look after surrendering the Juan Camilo Zuniga winner was reminiscent of his face too often during his first year with United.
Pogba, increasingly irritated throughout the second half, earned a booking for shoving Behrami and getting in Deeney’s face after the latter delayed a free kick by standing in front of the ball. After the match, Mourinho accused some of his players of being unnerved at the responsibility of playing for Manchester United. After last year’s debacle as Chelsea fell apart, it can’t have been in the Portugese’s best-laid plans to have a break-glass-in-emergency moment so early.
He’d best hope to identify the culprits and jettison them as soon as possible. He’d best hope there are world-class talents looking to join his disjointed, unbalanced, struggling first team. If not, the one true diamond on the roster may look around at all the rough surrounding him and wonder if Old Trafford is truly the best play to spend his prime. Pogba is holding up his end. Who else at United, from the top on down, can say the same?