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Tom Hamilton
The Premier League is back in overdrive! After a packed weekend, the teams are back in action again midweek. The last round saw 10-man Chelsea hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, Manchester United encapsulate their current situation with a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Crystal Palace, Liverpool find a way to get back to winning ways with Mohamed Salah on the bench, Sunderland continue their remarkable season with a late win, and Phil Foden come up with the goods for Manchester City.
There are plenty of takes around after the weekend, and ahead of the next batch of fixtures — like we’ve done with NFL and rugby union — we look at some snap judgements before weighing up whether they are overreactions or legit takes.
Let’s start with the match at Stamford Bridge.
Jump to:
Chelsea’s lack of discipline will be their undoing
Man City already have their Plan B
Sunderland are best promoted side in a decade
Salah isn’t a guaranteed starter for Liverpool
Man United can’t be figured out
Chelsea’s lack of discipline will be their undoing
If you count Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca’s red card against Liverpool on Oct. 4, midfielder Moisés Caicedo‘s 38th-minute red card on Sunday for an ugly challenge on Arsenal’s Mikel Merino was the Blues’ seventh this season. That is far too many for a team chasing silverware on multiple fronts. Chelsea now sit six points behind the league leaders, and that gap could have been narrower had they managed to keep 11 players on the field.
Verdict: OVERREACTION
A quick glance over the numbers suggests Chelsea are pushing their luck. The most red cards that any Premier League-winning side has received is six, by Manchester United back in 1993-94 en route to their second Premier League title win. Since then, six teams have received three and managed to stay atop: Manchester United (1998-99, 2002-03), Chelsea (2009-10, 2014-15), Leicester City (2015-16) and Liverpool (2024-25). Chelsea have already received four in the Premier League, one in the Carabao Cup, and one in the Champions League, alongside Maresca’s. In the league matches where they’ve received red cards, besides Sunday’s, they lost to Manchester United (Robert Sánchez sent off), fell 3-1 to Brighton (Trevoh Chalobah) and beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 (Malo Gusto).
Against Arsenal, Chelsea still put in one of their most accomplished performances under Maresca as they played out the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Their red card record isn’t yet title-ending, but it’s not helping. Luckily, they have incredible depth in their squad, so they’ll have ready-made replacements waiting to step in. As an added boost, Cole Palmer is set to return. They do have to iron out these discipline issues, though. They’ve coped so far, but it cannot continue.
Manchester City already have their Plan B to Erling Haaland
After Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Nov. 22, in which center back Rúben Dias got their sole goal, questions were asked on what City’s Plan B was up front if Haaland couldn’t score. Well, Phil Foden showed against Leeds on Saturday that City can be far more than a one-man team in front of goal. The 25-year-old scored a brace, including the match winner in second-half stoppage time for a 3-2 victory. He’s ready to fill the scoring void behind the Norwegian star striker.
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION
Before the Leeds match, City’s second leading scorer in the Premier League was Burnley’s Maxime Estève, who contributed two own goals in a 5-1 City victory. But Foden’s two magnificent goals on Saturday were a welcome reminder that City’s attack is far more than just Haaland. That will be tested with their trip to Fulham on Tuesday and a match with in-form Sunderland on Saturday, but Foden’s performance was timely, in a match where Haaland failed to score. His first was a brilliant volley, and he could’ve had a second, but for an outstanding block from Leeds’ James Justin and a wonderful save from goalkeeper Lucas Perri. Then came the winner — a wonderful, balletic effort on the edge of the box as Foden dodged two lunges to slot home.
Man City fare better when Haaland scores — there’s little doubt about that. This season, City’s record in all competitions when he does score is 10-2-1 (W-D-L) and 1-0-4 when he doesn’t. Last season, it was 14-4-4 when he scored and 7-5-9 when he didn’t. There’s a clear correlation there, but if Foden can continue this form, it’ll take a huge amount of pressure off Haaland.
Sunderland are the best promoted side of the past decade
After their 3-2 win over AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris stuck to the party line of targeting the 40-point mark associated with Premier League survival. This is despite his team sitting pretty in sixth, with 22 points from 13 matches. It’s quite possible we’ve already seen enough to crown Sunderland the best promoted team we’ve seen in the past decade.
Verdict: OVERREACTION
First, a quick look back over the promoted sides of the past decade. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the teams with the highest finish the season after promotion are: Wolves (2018-19, 7th), Sheffield United (2019-20, 9th), Leeds United (2020-21, 9th), Newcastle United (2017-18, 10th) and Fulham (2022-23, 10th). That Wolves side was a brilliant team — fresh with Rúben Neves, João Moutinho and Raúl Jiménez, and guided by Nuno Espirito Santo as they secured the highest finish by a promoted side in 18 years (Ipswich Town the previous in 2000-01, when they finished fifth). They reached the Europa League quarterfinal the following season and are still the greatest promoted side we’ve seen.
But … Sunderland are laying a glove on that claim. They have been magnificent this season. They’ve won away at Chelsea and held Arsenal to a draw at the Stadium of Light with that 94th-minute Brian Brobbey goal. Their win over Bournemouth was testament to their team’s never-say-die attitude as they came back from two goals down to win 3-2. What’s so impressive about them is their work ethic: They run themselves ragged for Le Bris and could yet take the moniker of best promoted side from Wolves.
As for their next test? On Wednesday they face Liverpool, who have eased the pressure on them a little after their 2-0 win at West Ham.
Mohamed Salah is no longer a guaranteed starter for Liverpool
Arne Slot’s side showed some resolve and more precise attacking intent against West Ham on Sunday after naming Salah on the bench. For so long he has been Liverpool’s most important player, a wonderful attacker who has become the third-highest goal scorer in club history. But as Liverpool evolve, Salah is no longer the second name on the team sheet after center back Virgil van Dijk.
1:50
Should Mo Salah remain on the bench for Liverpool right now?
Steve Nicol and Shaka Hislop debate Liverpool’s starting XI after Mo Salah was dropped to the bench against West Ham.
Verdict: OVERREACTION
After the Reds’ chastening 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven last week, pundit and former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher was assessing the fortunes of Alisson, Van Dijk and Salah. Talking on CBS, he said Alisson’s injury troubles are an issue, Van Dijk is “not the same player” and that it looks like Salah’s “legs have gone.”
Against West Ham, instead of starting Salah, Liverpool had Alexander Isak up front, Cody Gakpo on the left, Florian Wirtz through the middle and Dominik Szoboszlai pressing on the right. It worked. The match was Wirtz’s most influential for Liverpool, and the link-up with Isak was more effective. Wirtz managed to find Isak with a pass four times in the first half — beating their season record of three up until then. Wirtz looked far more the player Liverpool thought they were purchasing when they spent £116 million to sign him in the summer, while Isak managed to get his long-awaited first Premier League goal after a neat move triggered by Wirtz.
Salah’s output this season has been four goals and two assists, uncharacteristic by his immensely high standards. But then you look at chances created — out of the entire Premier League, Gakpo sits fourth with 25, and Salah is in sixth with 23. Liverpool have been getting opportunities together but just haven’t finished them, while at the other end of the pitch, they’ve been defensively unstable.
There’s no doubt that Salah will find his rhythm again, and we can put this down to rotation rather than evolution.
Manchester United are impossible to figure out
After their poor performance in the 1-0 defeat to Everton last week, they fared little better in the first half against Crystal Palace on Sunday. But as Palace tired in the second half, United scored twice off set pieces and sit in sixth. Are they “back”? Can they make a Champions League run? Or will they just collapse against West Ham on Thursday. They remain incredibly unpredictable.
2:21
Could Manchester United finish in the top four?
Janusz Michallik assesses Manchester United’s hopes for European football after their 2-1 win against Crystal Palace.
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION
Palace manager Oliver Glasner looked furious postmatch. He bemoaned both United goals, saying the only chances they could muster were from set pieces. He had a point — Joshua Zirkzee‘s superb strike from an acute angle came off a Bruno Fernandes free kick, while Mason Mount slotted home a free kick as Palace’s wall disintegrated. So a great win on the road for United to condemn Palace to their home defeat of the season, but another one where you’re left a little bemused by United. There’s no doubt Palace’s legs felt a little heavier in the second half, and United pounced.
What’s the norm for Man United? Is it the team that lost 1-0 to Everton on Nov. 24, or is it this group that rallied to win at Palace? We thought they were building some form when they went three on the bounce, beating Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton, only to draw at Nottingham Forest and Spurs and then fall to Everton. They flirt between being top-four contenders and looking like midtable fodder.
United have just one defeat in seven — progress — but the next three games will provide a real gauge of where they’re at. With West Ham, Wolves and Bournemouth next up, they need to target three wins. Achieve that, then we can start talking about them as being in the mix for Champions League spots.