Something has messed up in Spurs? Where to start with Man Utd?

Three games and three unconvincing performances. Is there a bigger problem in Tottenham? In addition, the problems at Old Trafford began to escalate. Everything is in the Premier League Weekend Review.

JUMP TO: Newcastle Out of Place | Calamity for the united man | Perfection for Liverpool | Luiz has a passive | Willock a discovery | The joy of Leicester | Abraham stars | Watford woe | Andone sees red | VAR complaint

Worry about the weekend

At the time, it was easy to attribute the collapse of the championship form of Tottenham at the end of last season to the stress of the Champions League: they took only 11 points on their last 36 available while Europe became their priority and monopolized their emotional and physical emotions. energy.

However, it is just as easy to think that running is the beginning of a more serious problem. Rather than being the cause of their increase, the race to the final of the Champions League simply masked their shortcomings. The 1-0 defeat of Newcastle on Sunday was the third unconvincing performance of the Tottenham season: in the first, they finally saved a win against Aston Villa, in the second they escaped with a draw against Manchester City, but in the third they could not. t Breaking a team that had been beaten by the new Norwich promotion last week.

Did their sluggish football and side passes only be part of the slow start to the season? Or is there a bigger discomfort here? The fear is that, despite the newcomers during the summer, something has disappeared in Tottenham.

– Player's notes: Kane and Lucas 5/10 in shock against Newcastle
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– Fantasy on ESPN Premier League: register now!

Good start (but not more) of the weekend

Hat in Newcastle for his victory and Steve Bruce deserves the credit of a well executed plan. A few things to consider though: Steve Kean's Blackburn won a game at Old Trafford in 2011, so do not think that a win on a big pitch makes him a manager.

In addition, Newcastle, led by Steve McClaren, won at White Hart Lane in December 2015, but a week later he lost points against Aston Villa (who would finish last) and lose 11 of his last 14 games but would be relegated anyway.

Critics of Bruce and his appointment may have to reduce the time, but they will not be convinced until this type of form is maintained.

Multiform calamity of the weekend

Where do I start with Manchester United's 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday?

No, seriously, where should we start?

In the worst case, there was absolutely everything: defenses in the new signing of 80 million pounds; a missed penalty in a week while everyone was talking about their confused penalty shooter policy; muscle injuries to Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial after a summer where the focus was on pre-season training on intense physical work; Mason Greenwood, 17, was the best choice of attack. equalization only to concede a few minutes later; one of those rare, more and more frequent mistakes of David De Gea.

We've probably missed a few, including the feeling that Daniel James, a 21-year-old who has a season in the championship, is now one of his main strikers, or that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has waited until the 85th minute. bring Juan Mata.

And among all of this, there's the fact that it's become incredibly easy to plan how to beat United: their midfielder and their attack are not creative enough to systematically smash a solid defense, and their defense is not enough. is not strong enough to hold a counterattack feat. Two of these made for United against Palace, against Cardiff last season. It's so simple.

Researchers of perfectionism of the weekend

While Jurgen Klopp was justifiably delighted with Liverpool's performance against Arsenal, it was remarkable that he seemed furious when he conceded the scoring goal, and that he emphasized in his post-match comments the 10-15 minutes when they did not completely control the game.

That is the perfection that Klopp knows Liverpool needs this season if they want to beat Manchester City in the Premier League, or even just challenge them.

But they were not far away on Saturday. It was also remarkable that Klopp said he was surprised by the training chosen by Unai Emery, but Liverpool has nevertheless dismissed the Gunners. What is the central problem facing Liverpool: trying to fight one problem and another appears. It's a tactical move to the mole, and it's hard to understand how to keep them.

That seemed pretty weak when Emery said that Arsenal was making progress because they had done better at Anfield than last season, but that's a big compliment for Liverpool as one of the the top six teams in the country lose only 3-1 instead of 5-1. a kind of victory.

Responsibility for the weekend

David Luiz is not a bad defender: he is probably better than anything Arsenal had before and could be a sufficient gap until William Saliba is ready. There is just a good reason for Chelsea to send it willingly in August.

Luiz was guilty for at least two goals scored at Liverpool on Saturday, imprudently imposing on a challenge on Mo Salah then unnecessarily pulling the same man's shirt for the penalty. The Brazilian has and will improve the distribution of Arsenal from the back, but we will have to realize that these games will be played from time to time.

Silver Lining of the weekend

On a more positive note for Arsenal, Joe Willock turns out to be one of the unexpected successes of their fledgling season. The Unai Emery midfielder has not really worked, but again, little is happening against Liverpool. So, given the tactical disadvantage and opposition, Willock was formidable, intelligent and energetic, and indicated that not all Arsenal problems could or should not be. resolved on the transfer market.

Purpose, assistance and celebration of the weekend

Old busy day at Bramall Lane on Saturday. "There are not many players who can play this pass," said Brendan Rodgers after James Maddison produced a magnificent away goal for Jamie Vardy in Leicester's first game against Sheffield United, a goal scored Wednesday in Sheffield. fan celebrated with joy in front of some fans of Blades very irritated.

Leicester was not there. There is an English crew coming out in a few weeks, and it would not be surprising to see Harvey Barnes join Maddison in the spirit of Gareth Southgate, especially after the young rocket, struck to perfection, sent the ball on the roof of the net to confirm the points. They may not be up to the pre-season hype, but this win over two solid duds suggests that they are on the right track.

Striker of the weekend

You can not help but rejoice for Tammy Abraham, an attacker who has been given a chance by Chelsea, but who may have been promoted above his current abilities. His two goals against Norwich have been well taken and will win him some time while he tries to win as the number 9 Chelsea.

Explanation of speculation of the weekend

Three losses in three for Watford this season, against teams they have lost only once in six games compared to last season, scoring only one goal in the process, having scored six goals at home. They also finished last season with three losses.

Reports that Javi Gracia's work is threatened seem severe, and are probably harsh, but that's why they are present. Suddenly, the next weekend's trip to Newcastle is huge.

Luckiest moment of the weekend

The ability of footballers to look absolutely stunned whenever a decision goes against them is no limit, so it's no wonder that Florin Andone, of Brighton, declared innocence after jumping and stuck his crampons just below the knee of Yan Valery. body weight on the Southampton man. He was not unlucky to be fired, he was fortunate not to break Valery's leg in half.

VAR complaint of the weekend

Who knew that the biggest loophole in the VAR – or at least the way the VAR is implemented in England – would be when he did not get involved, while he was doing it? To name just a few examples of the weekend (and there are others – oh there are others), Manchester City and Tottenham have not been sanctioned clearly even after to have been controlled, apparently because there was not enough evidence that they were clear and obvious errors, and therefore the subjective decisions could not be corrected.

If these elements are not clear and obvious, it becomes obvious that VAR is only a line designer on a screen to decide extremely marginal offside calls.

VAR is an error, a system that should not have been integrated, but as it is the case here, it should at least make it possible to correct as much as possible the errors in the field. But if you do not want to undo these decisions, clear to almost everyone, then it's useless.

Unless things change, we essentially have the worst of both worlds: the game has been fundamentally altered and transformed into a live show without the decisions being more accurate. Well done everyone. Good game.