Premier League hits and misses: Villa's European hangover?

European fatigue for Villa?

It would be easy to explain away Villa’s loss of two points late in the game against Bournemouth as a consequence of Champions League fatigue, this result coming soon after another home draw that followed their win over Bayern Munich in Europe.

Emery did acknowledge that Morgan Rogers’ withdrawal may have been linked to the demands of the fixture list but would not accept such excuses for the equaliser. He put it down to the learning curve his team is on. They lost control of this game late on.

“There is still work to do because we are trying to get a strong mentality, tactically and emotionally. We did not control it. This is something we have to learn,” Emery said.

Ross Barkley knew what he was doing when lunging in desperately to stop a Bournemouth attack with just seconds on the clock, but it did not require hindsight to think it was the wrong call. A less desperate player would have remained calm.

Instead, the free-kick that he conceded allowed one more ball to be curled into the Villa box – Marcus Tavernier smartly aiming for the near post to prevent Emiliano Martinez from claiming it. Minor details. Precisely the sort of detail that will frustrate Emery.
Adam Bate

Savinho takes responsibility

Savinho looks like he’s been playing for this Manchester City team for years.

However, this was just his sixth start for Pep Guardiola. With absentees like Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish, the creative output was on the shoulders of Savinho and he delivered another slick and decisive performance.

No player created more chances (5) but the real interesting metric was the amount of touches he had in the Southampton box. That figure was 17 – three more than the entire Southampton team managed in the whole 90 minutes.

Only two players this season have had more in a game, showcasing just how much Savinho is demanding the ball and how confident his team-mates are at providing him with the service.
Lewis Jones

More forward line frustration for Fulham

After an unbeaten start to the campaign, Fulham have now gone three Premier League matches without a win. An inability to finish chances has cost them in every encounter.

At Manchester City, Adama Traore had three big chances but walked away with no goals as Fulham were beaten 3-1. Last weekend’s loss to Aston Villa saw the game hinge on Andreas Pereira’s missed penalty, which would have changed the course of the game had it been converted.

And now against Everton, Fulham missed chance after chance as they let the Toffees off the hook. Even before Alex Iwobi’s opener, they managed an Expected Goals tally of 1.0xG. They should have put the Toffees out of sight.

If games were decided by xG, Fulham would be top of the Premier League this evening. They have that ability to control games and create pressure, especially from direct runners and precise crossing ability.

But despite Raul Jimenez, Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore being excellent creators, there are not enough goals in this Fulham team. Jimenez leads the way with four goals but Smith Rowe and Iwobi are the only other players in Marco Silva’s side with more than one.

With Brentford, Crystal Palace and Wolves in their next three games ahead of a difficult December, Fulham need to sort their shooting boots out.
Sam Blitz

Lewis-Potter ‘sparks’ Brentford comeback and victory

​​​​​​Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo’s performances will dominate the headlines as they starred in Brentford’s dramatic 4-3 victory against Ipswich, but Keane Lewis-Potter was the architect behind the win.

The forward was involved in everything positive his side mustered, including winning the penalty before then luring Harry Clarke into a second yellow card after troubling him all match long.

Speaking after the game, Brentford boss Thomas Frank said the 23-year-old enjoyed his best game for the Bees after his rampant display.

“He sparked the comeback,” Frank said.

“He created the penalty, the red card, [he was] constantly going forward and driving forward, taking the players on. I’m very pleased with his performance.”

Lewis-Potter was making his seventh start of the season and his influence within the Brentford side is growing. It seems only a matter of time before his industry is rewarded with the numbers it merits.
William Bitibiri

Top 10 shouldn’t be height of Forest ambitions

Three years ago today, Nottingham Forest were 16th in the Championship under Steve Cooper. They entered the weekend fifth in the Premier League with Chris Wood the second-top scorer.

Besides the immovable Ryan Yates, the only other remnant of that Forest promotion-winning side was in the home dugout at the King Power Stadium. As for Wood, who moved level with Stan Collymore as Forest’s second-highest all-time Premier League goalscorer on 22 goals, his importance cannot be overstated.

Seventeen of those strikes have come since last Christmas Day, with only Erling Haaland having scored more non-penalty goals in that time. Yates, who scored the opener on his 150th league start for Forest, described the first half as “like a basketball match”, but Nuno Espirito Santo made a slight tactical tweak at the break to nullify Leicester’s box midfield.

Wood’s class was the difference but Forest collectively took the game by the scruff of the neck and have now taken 11 points from their opening five away league games. A top-half finish – even at this stage – shouldn’t be the height of their ambitions.
Ben Grounds

Travers steps up for Bournemouth

Kepa Arrizabalaga’s injury presented an opportunity for Mark Travers to make only his second appearance of the season, the previous coming when the on-loan Chelsea goalkeeper was ineligible to face his parent club. He responded with a player-of-the-match performance in the Cherries’ draw at Aston Villa.

“He played fantastic today. He saved them, clearly,” said Villa boss Unai Emery.

The save to deny Amadou Onana in the first half was superb and while the stops to deny Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins might have been expected, they were a testament to his agility – and his readiness to seize his opportunity. The Bournemouth supporters chanted his name.

“He kept us in the game in some difficult moments,” agreed Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola afterwards. “Kepa had a small injury, his left adductor, he could not kick the ball properly, and it did not make sense to take a risk when we have two goalkeepers.” Especially one as capable as Travers.
Adam Bate

Wolves enter crucial fixture period with confidence

Here we go again, thought Gary O’Neil. The Wolves manager was preparing himself to answer more “tough questions” after Brighton scored their second in the 85th minute.

Ten minutes later, and he was heading into his post-match interviews with a spring in his step after an improbable point was rescued, declaring: “We’ll definitely be fine this season”.

“My main thing around today is how deep they’ve had to dig to achieve something here today,” he said.

“Not just because we’re 2-0 down, but we’re 2-0 down and we’ve not won a game yet and they’ve still managed to find a way.”

Wolves deserved at least a point against Brighton like they did last week in defeat to Manchester City. Their performances are turning ahead of a crucial period when their fixtures ease with meetings against Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich and Leicester.
David Richardson