With 85 minutes on the clock in the 3pm kick-offs it looked as though we were about to witness Liverpool and Man City losing on the same weekend for the first time since December 2016. But both sides managed to turn things around, a testament to self-belief and willpower that points to another ridiculously close title challenge come May.
Liverpool didn’t really change their approach as the match wore on, instead simply trusting that their usual tactics would come good, and indeed it was relentless attacking through the full-backs that led to both goals.
It was no surprise that Liverpool kept on believing, given who they were facing; Aston Villa have now led in the 80th minute against Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham this season, only to nervously drop deep and invite pressure.
Man City made quite a dramatic change, throwing on Gabriel Jesus at half-time and switching to an old-school 4-4-2 - with old-school tactics.
Pep Guardiola instructed his players to swing crosses into the box at every opportunity, and with the hosts racking up 68 across the 90 minutes their pressure eventually told.
Kyle Walker crossed for the equaliser, and then got on the end of a cross to complete the turnaround.
Wolves are most definitely back, unbeaten in six league games and a mere four points off fifth despite an alarmingly poor start to the season.
Nuno Espirito Santo has re-energised the side by reverting back to the 3-4-2-1 formation that took the league by storm immediately after their promotion, only this time with Adama Traore starting alongside Diogo Jota and behind Raul Jimenez.
The presence of the former Barcelona man marks a significant tactical departure from when Helder Costa started in attack.
Last year two inside forwards stayed close to Jimenez, narrowing the pitch for the wing-backs to bomb forward on the outside, but this season Traore hugs the touchline and takes on his man. Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney had a torrid time, albeit largely because he had so little protection; Unai Emery inexplicably picked a narrow diamond 4-4-2, allowing Wolves’ wing-backs to dominate.
Traore goes wide and Matt Doherty underlaps, while on the other side Jota cuts inside and Jonny overlaps. It caused chaos for the Gunners, Calum Chambers constantly getting caught between two roles on that side as Jota danced through on the counter-attack. Wolves were the much better side, amassing 25 shots to Arsenal’s seven.
Not many people will have had relegation favourites Sheffield United and Brighton in the top ten as we approach the third-of-the-way mark of the 2019/20 season.
Graham Potter and Chris Wilder are both doing extraordinary jobs with limited resources, committing to a progressive style of possession football that requires a bravery that’s beyond most managers. On Saturday, their emphatic home wins indicated neither club needs to worry about going down this year; they can outplay enough bottom-half clubs to get to the 40-point mark.
Burnley just could not handle United’s energy levels, or the complex movement down the left channel where Enda Stevens, Jack O’Connell, and David McGoldrick fluidly interchange positions. United’s shape creating an overload around right-back Matt Lowton, with Stevens’ runs setting up the first two goals.
Brighton were just as dominant against Norwich, hitting 21 shots and holding 59% possession in Potter’s new 4-2-2-2. Like Spurs in that 3-0 Amex victory, Norwich couldn’t cope with the way wingers Pascal Gross and Steven Alzate tucked infield.
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Everton midfielder Andre Gomes will undergo surgery on a fracture dislocation to his right ankle on Monday.
Arsenal have denied any meetings have taken place between head of football Raul Sanllehi and Jose Mourinho as pressure continues to mount on Unai Emery.
Odds correct as of 1000 BST on 04/11/19