During the summer, Liverpool strengthened up front, bringing in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak to add firepower alongside Mo Salah.
Wirtz was hauled off the field early by Arne Slot for the seventh time this season as the £116 million Bundesliga player added little to the attacking midfield.
Fortunately for Liverpool, Dominic Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch are dependable, strong and creative, plus also adding goal threats of their own.
They covered well for Wirtz.
As a successful player at Bayer Leverkusen, Wirtz would collect the ball in midfield and move past players before delivering an incisive pass into the penalty area or taking a shot himself.
This season, all that Bundesliga skill has deserted him, and he failed to have any impact during the loss to Crystal Palace.
The Premier League is more physically demanding for players, and incoming European talent often finds it difficult to adapt.
Time and again, Wirtz was simply pushed off the ball.
It is at the back where Liverpool have come mainly unstuck, and last weekend, Crystal Palace cruelly exposed the Reds' defensive failings.
This week in training, Arne Slot split his squad into two, concentrating on working with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, M Kerkez and Conor Bradley. Konate is his main worry.
The strong, tough defender has lost his form, and Crystal Palace forwards Jean-Philippe Mateta, Yeremy Pino, and Ismaila Sarr often left him behind after taking him on one-on-one. That is what Slot is worried about and cost Liverpool the game.
Patience is paying off for Glasner
It was shortly after Austrian coach Oliver Glasner took over at Crystal Palace that he changed his attitude towards the players.
Gone was the impatience shown at his previous clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg and instead he has settled down, introduced the Palace players to his tactics and strategies and waited for them to remodel themselves into his way of thinking.
Who can argue with that approach after the south London club humbled league leaders Liverpool and increased their unbeaten run to 18 matches?
Previously, their big stars were Marc Guehi and the departed Eberechi Eze, but it is the rise of the lesser-known, less successful players who have upped their game and made an impact.
Chris Richards, Tyrick Mitchell, Daichi Kamada, Will Hughes and last weekend’s goal hero Eddie Nketiah have all improved to make Palace a current top-four team.
Glasner employs a wing-back system, and Richards has blended into that perfectly.
The centre-back from the USA took his chance when Trevoh Chalobah was recalled by Chelsea following his loan spell.
He impressed everyone in the FA Cup final and controlled Alexander Isak last weekend.
He has slotted in nicely with Guehi and Maxence Lacroix, and between them have kept 11 clean sheets in 21 matches, which is a Palace record.
Daichi Kamada is typical of a Glasner product. Fans have had mixed feelings about him since he joined from Lazio.
He found the Premier League difficult, but having coached him at Eintracht Frankfurt, Glasner again showed patience while working with the Japanese midfielder, first using him as an attacking player but then moving him back into a deeper role.
Fans ask United players, ‘Where is your fight?’
Manchester United have yet to win consecutive games with Ruben Amorim in the manager’s chair.
He often says his United team suffer from bad luck, but that excuse is running thin with most followers of the club.
As the players went to wave to their supporters at the end of the match, which saw them beaten 3-1, many fans pointed to the badge on their shirts and shrugged their shoulders, asking, “Where is your fight and passion?” Many gave rude hand gestures, and many just shouted complaints at the players.
Brentford fans sang that old favourite towards losing opposition coaches, “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
Amorim points out that he still has the backing of Sir James Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group because he can show them that United have improved on chances created and shots on target.
However, he fails to point out that since he took over at Old Trafford in November 2024, the team has conceded the first goal in 21 Premier League matches and in six of those, the goals came within the first ten minutes.
Amorim came under severe criticism for playing Mason Mount out of position as a left wing-back.
The amazing thing is that it was the second time the midfielder had been forced to play in that position.
It appears that Amorim is quickly losing the faith, loyalty and respect of his players, with dressing room body language very obviously one of frustration.
After the game and being questioned about his position at the club, he went on the attack, asserting, “I am always comfortable in the job and I continue to give 100 per cent to my job. I’m never concerned about my job. I’m not that kind of guy.”
He would do well to think about his situation because Graham Potter was sacked at West Ham after 26 per cent wins, and Amorim is only one percentage point ahead at 27 per cent.
Personally, I think the new management has made so many mistakes since they took over, and they don’t want to be criticised for appointing the wrong manager.
That, in my opinion, is why Amorim is still at Old Trafford. But how long will he last?
**I have received word that former Real Madrid and French legend Zinedine Zidane has been spoken to about the possibility of moving to Manchester.
In another possible twist to the story, ex-Barcelona player legend and former manager Xavi has expressed interest in United should Amorim be shown the door.
He has been without a club for a year now.
Saliba commits…now for Saka
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he would love Bukayo Saka to follow William Saliba and sign a new contract.
His current contract, signed in 2023, has only two years left before it expires.
Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Ethan Nwaneri have all committed themselves to the Gunners and signed.
Real Madrid showed an interest in Saliba, but after he sat down with Arteta, he said he wanted to stay with Arsenal for the future and to win the league this season.
Nuno receives a standing ovation
Travelling West Ham fans gave their new manager, Nuno Espirito Santos, a standing ovation after the Hammers took their first step to turn around a dismal start to the season.
Following Nuno’s appointment after the sacking of Graham Potter, this draw was important as Everton, under ex-Hammers coach David Moyes, has turned around the Toffees, and they are hard to play against.
Nuno, however, was not in a celebratory mood at the final whistle as he remained calm, thoughtful, and said after Jarrod Bowen had secured a point with a second-half equaliser.
“We have shown we can compete. We have shown the basics of a football match. But this is just a small step. We have a lot of work to do.”
If Nuno can steer West Ham away from the relegation zone, he will be revered as a magician working a spectacular trick.
The problems at this club, from my understanding after talking with several influential people, are deeper than anything Nuno can achieve on the training ground.
A wonderful, loyal support group travelled from London to the north east for the match—over 200 miles each way— and they cheered on the team and Nuno but were united in singing, “sack the board”.
Nuno heard them and has vowed to bring the fans closer to the heart of the club.
His first job…to train defenders against failing to deal with high balls into the area, and this has cost West Ham dearly this season.
Nuno is known for his strong defensive organisation, and this will be at the top of his agenda for improvement.
Everton’s goal from a set piece was the eighth time this has caused West Ham to concede this season.
Update on Spurs' injuries from Thomas Frank
Tottenham coach Thomas Frank says his injured striker Dominic Solanke has undergone minor surgery because of his niggling ankle problem sustained in the win against Manchester City last month.
Solanke tried training last week but found the pain too difficult to handle, and he was pulled out of the match against Wolves.
Frank said, “Dom’s ankle injury has been bothering him, and we decided he should have minor surgery. He won’t be ready for the Leeds game this coming weekend, but we will have more news just after the international break. I don’t expect him to be out for long.”
Regarding other players, Frank said, “Randal Kolo Muani, we’re on top of his dead leg, so that’s good.”
Frank also explained that captain Cristian Romero did not train this week either and missed the midweek Champions League match against Bodo/Glimt, but Frank said it was “just a precaution.”
Kota Takai and Yves Bissouma returned to training on Monday, having both received injuries, and they too were left out of the Champions League match again as a precaution.
Guardiola pays tribute to Kyle Walker
Kyle Walker’s return to the Etihad did not go Burnley’s way.
After a star-studded career at Manchester City, the right back decided to take up a new challenge, trying his luck in Italy at Milan, but then returned to the north east of England with Burnley.
Kyle won 14 major honours in eight years, and Pep Guardiola described him as “one of the greatest full-backs ever.”
He said, “I don’t judge behaviour over a short length of time. He was an unbelievable player for us. One of the greatest full-backs ever. I slept like a baby for the games with Kyle in the team. He is one of the greatest too in terms of consistency and no injuries, and playing every single game. An incredible figure in the locker room. In eight years, six Premier League titles, a Champions League, many other titles, and always being there in good moments and bad moments.”
Facing Leeds away from home is a challenge
Is Elland Road becoming a fortress for Leeds United?
We know their fans are among the most passionate and noisy, and they have certainly done their part to build the impressive stat of 3 unbeaten home matches so far this season.
Leeds have not lost at home since Burnley won there in the lower Championship division 54 weeks ago.
Granit Xhaka, Sunderland’s transfer bargain
Hope and joy for Sunderland Regis Le Bris as he counts himself lucky to have signed ex-Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka. His £17million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen looks like the bargain of the season.
Xhaka’s experience is proving one of the lynchpins in Sunderland’s success, but the Swiss midfielder admitted he had signed in the hope that what he suffered in the north east, playing in a team not expected to do well this season after their promotion, would be good experience for his career in management.
Instead, he finds himself playing for a team sitting in 5th place in the league, level with Tottenham.
Xhaka added another assist to give him an impressive three in six games.
Liverpool look after Diogo Jota’s family
I was delighted to see that Liverpool owners Fenway Sports are going to pay Diogo Jota’s contract to his family.
Arne Slot said FSG will look after Diogo’s widow, Rute Cardoso and his three children after the striker died in a car accident along with his brother.
Diogo’s contract paid him £140k-a-week, which means his family will receive approximately £14 million over two years.
Arne Slot commented, “Owners are mainly criticised, but the way FSG have handled this by paying his wife and children all the money from his contract, people think it’s normal, but it is not in football.”
**Liverpool have done their initial homework on Getafe as it looks to expand their multi-club ownership. Rumour is that Liverpool have looked at around 25 clubs looking for the perfect fit in their business plan.
Premier League clubs often own foreign teams. Manchester United have a tie-up with French club Nice through the INEOS group, and Greek tycoon Evangelos Marinakis owns Nottingham Forest, Greek club Olympiacos and Portuguese club Rio Ave.
Manchester City are going the same way and have started the City Football Group.
