by Player of the week
It would be hard to write it better. After missing five months with a hamstring injury, Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench against Newcastle to turn a 2-1 win into a 3-2 win, providing a goal and an assist.
Watching City in 2024 without De Bruyne is like watching golf in 2006 without Tiger Woods. It is De Bruyne who turns Pep Guardiola’s winning machine into a spectacle. It adds a sense of chaos and disorder to Guardiola’s careful symphony.
We’ve reached that point of the year when City usually go into freight train mode, reeling off a run of results that leaves everyone around them in the dust. Eighteen wins in a row. Twenty odd games without a beat. Another set of records. Another title was taken.
Related: Kevin De Bruyne’s tactical vision swings title race towards City | Jonathan Wilson
However, after a wobbly string of performances and results over the past month, it looked like City might struggle to find that kind of form this season. But De Bruyne’s return changes the calculus. His goal was typical De Bruyne: drive through midfield and bury an attempt outside the box. His assist in dethroning Oscar winner Bobb was the kind that only a handful of players in the world could see or execute. De Bruyne’s assist was his 104th in the Premier League, moving him into a tie with Wayne Rooney for third in the competition’s all-time standings.
Erling Haaland is yet to be reintroduced by Pep Guardiola to his team when the starter returns from a foot injury. But it was the return of De Bruyne – looking as sharp as ever – that tipped the title race towards City.
Goal of the week
Let’s stick with it City. That’s why Guardiola’s side are hustling for four titles in a row: tied at 2-2, they are capable of cranking things into a gear that no one else in the league can live with.
Hoo boy. It starts with De Bruyne’s ball. The City midfielder is always thinking a step or two ahead. De Bruyne sees every possible pass, and with his blend of smarts and techniques, every pass yes can. But Bobb still has plenty to do when he arrives. He hits the ball with a streak, and in two sudden movements, he rounds the keeper and rolls the ball into an empty net. Moments define seasons; those four touches probably define this one.
Nathan Fielder’s wince-inducing performance of the week
Has anyone finished The Curse? It was the Safdie-Fielder partnership that inspired television at its best. Unless, of course, you’re watching André Onana v corners.
A goalkeeper is supposed to do more than save shots or help take out from behind. There is supposed to be some sort of presence and dominance. The best of the best inspires confidence throughout the team. Whatever it is, we know we have Alisson or Ederson or Vicario at the back.
Onana is at the other end of the Goalkeeper Confidence Index. His basic figures this season have always been encouraging, but it’s only an understanding of his general way of doing things that another clanger is coming: his starting position is out; he whiffs on shots that he should save; it spurs ordinary efforts; he sits, frozen to his goal line, instead of looking to catch and attack the ball; is distributed equally.
That lack of confidence can be seen throughout the United team in open play. But it shows the most at set pieces. Onana stands there, rooted to her line, as if the set pieces bring actual death and terror. United conceded an average of 6.2 corners per game, the third highest figure in the league. For other teams, that figure wouldn’t be much of a concern. They have the setup, the goalkeeper and the defenders to deal with a high number of corners. United does not. They also conceded the fourth highest number of shots from the corners of the game.
The best retreats buy their territory with a kind of macho arrogance. Even if they hit the ball, they know they will most likely be bailed out by a referee’s decision. Maybe Onana is scared because of his mistake one week against Wolves. Perhaps it was a United coaching decision – David de Gea was criticized last year for taking a similar stance in set-pieces.
The opposition has a grip. There is nothing fancy about their plan of attack. They are dropping the ball on the penalty spot repeatedly, asking Onana to come and claim it.
Corners are usually a chess game between the receiver and the goalie. The delivery must be sharp and accurate: not so close that the keeper can come and claim it; not so far away that any possible chance is too far from the target.
Onana’s position favors the attacking side. They are able to hit the ball into the six yard box without fear of a single player who can use his hands coming to find the way. The attacking players waiting in the box for the delivery can cut downhill knowing that any kind of contact from four yards out has a good chance of flying past the United goalkeeper. “It’s not like he has the reactions to save it anyway,” former United goalkeeper Ben Foster said this week.
And yet United’s keeper and coaching staff didn’t adapt. They are relying on defenders to deal with every ball into the box and the second ball that flows from that first point of contact. When a corner goes around and the camera zooms in, you can almost see the entire United squad pleading “could you take it easy, once, and hit the next one soon?”. Will not be.
United have surprisingly conceded just five attempts from corners all season – Tottenham could have scored two more in Sunday’s 2-2 draw. Onana has had some solid performances this season. But it is difficult to evaluate his first six months at the club and come to the conclusion that it is nothing but a glare.
Social media mistake of the week
Ah, you know that feeling. There is nothing like the build up to a big game. The excitement. The nerves. The fear that you have forgotten yours NFT a separate game.
PR mistake of the week
Not to be outdone online, Chelsea he brought the ignorance of the #ModernGame to the real world:
Chelsea fans were left in shock after a group of supporters were seen brushing their teeth and reading a book during their game against Fulham
The trick was to promote an upcoming film called ‘Argylle’ made by a production company owned by Chelsea boss Todd Boehly… pic.twitter.com/GVhcEk6kjC
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 13, 2024
Nothing to see here, just a bunch of actors standing up mid-game to read a novel and brush their teeth to promote Argylle’s new tragilicious film, backed and funded by members of an ownership group Chelsea. And we thought Todd Boehly had gone quiet.
Adam Driver Award for Best Performance in a Turgid Film
On the pitch at Stamford Bridge, Back Palmer He was again the difference maker for Chelsea, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against Fulham. In the last five league games, Palmer has four goals and two assists. In that field, only four players have posted a stronger xGChain than Palmer, a measure of a player’s creative influence. Everything that is right and good about Chelsea these days flows through Palmer. But Mauricio Pochettino’s team spends long chunks of games still looking stilted and arrhythmic, like a collection of individual parts that cannot be crafted into a coherent team.
Opportunity of the week lost
Unai Emery They will feel frustrated that Aston Villa came away with just a point from their trip to Goodison Park after a goalless draw. The Sean Dyches fightback made life difficult for Villa in a drab game. Villa had most of the ball, but failed to create many chances; Everton often controlled the ball but dominated the openings.
Emery’s side remain third, level on points with second-placed Man City, although City have a game in hand and a better difference. But the Villa manager will be (slightly) worried about the team’s away record this season. Villa have the best home record in the league – nine wins and one draw – but have struggled on the road, losing four, three and four.
Everton’s away performance was indicative of their problems on the road this season. At home, Villa play with a sense of control and assurance. They work the ball slickly. Away from home, things are more frenetic. The ‘pace to goal’ is the fifth slowest at home this season, according to Statsbomb. Away from home, they move the ball at sixth is fast speed
It makes sense. At Villa Park, they rely on a stable midfield base moving the ball slowly against defenses that sit in a deep block, before allowing the team’s front four to explode into quick combinations in the final third. Away from home, opponents are more likely to be on the front foot, so Emery looks to exploit his team’s pace by cutting the ball at the back and letting Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby go to work.
On paper, it’s a smart strategy. But it was not so effective in practice. Emery tried to change it against Everton, but he was overworked. Seeking more control, Emery received passivity from his players, with Villa too often avoiding midfield to try to beat their differencemakers forward after pushing in with the ball at the back.
If Villa are to retain a top-four spot or stay in the title race, Emery must find a compromise solution away from home that rekindles the energy of his starters while maintaining the rhythm between the lines that made his side so impressive in the town. .
