Premier League game week five is finished and the madness continues to ensue. Chelsea remain hapless while Manchester City don’t look close to dropping a point. Liverpool meanwhile are back on the brink of crisis, while Arsenal have had another week where they win and no one notices.
Here, Kevin Kelly breaks down all the key talking points which arose from the weekend’s action, with an eye toward the midweek Champions League games for the Premier League’s (not-so) elite.
City Dominance Built Upon Solid Foundations
It’s five wins from five for Manchester City, and although their vast array of attacking talent will often make the headlines, it was been built upon a defence yet to concede this season. The last side to go five games was Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth in the 2006/07 season, illustrating the rarity in the achievement.
Kompany’s form is one of the reasons City have developed a much stronger spine. The centre-back appears to have shaken off the uncertainty that affected him at times last season while Eliaquim Mangala is finally adapting to English football.
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Kompany spoke after the win on his own improvements, and that of his central-defensive partner Eliaquim Mangala: “Every player is different. Mangala maybe it was his first year here in the Premier League. A lot of important players don’t play very well in their first year. Kompany knows preferably that his performance last year was not what he must do; he is the captain of the team.
“What’s important is the reaction that they have, and the way we are playing. Not just Kompany and Mangala, because I think when you don’t win silverware it is not just one or two players, it is the squad, it is a lot of things that you must create. And not only think it is just the importance of two or three players.”
Meanwhile, full-backs Aleksandar Kolarov and Bacary Sagna have been transformed from ageing squad fringe-players to become part of the wall in front of Joe Hart, who has faced just eight accurate shots on his goal all season. If, as expected, Manchester City go on to the title this season, it will surely be built on the impenetrable foundations visible today.
Rodgers Running Out of Time at Liverpool
After three games the pressure which weighed heavily upon Brendan Rodgers’s shoulders since the 6-1 defeat to Stoke City had eased immeasurably. Fast forward three weeks and two games later and it is now back – arguably as heavy as ever. Liverpool were insipid and often chaotic in the 3-0 loss to West Ham before the international break, while the Reds lacked any invention or indeed inspiration as they lost 3-1 to Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
The fans have turned on Rodgers like never before, while discontent toward the lack of direction and leadership by club owners Fenway Sports Group has intensified. Starting with Man Utd (H) last season Rodgers has 14 points from 15 games, the lowest points return from any 14 game sequence in his tenure.
The only worse 14 game runs in the Premier League era are Graeme Souness (13 in 1991/92), Gerard Houllier (12 in 2002/03) and Kenny Dalglish (12 in 2011/12). It goes on and on: over last 14 games Rodgers is 1.71 goals conceded per games and 0.86 goals scored. Both are the worst figures of his tenure.
The stats are damning for the Northern Irishman. He rode the wave of Suarez and co. like no one else could in 2013/14 and that deserves genuine praise. He is a fine manager and despite what many will say a fine man too. Rodgers will come again but his time as Liverpool manager needs to end.
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Other Points and Issues of Note
- Leicester – oh Leicester. Claudio Ranieri may not just be managing the most exciting team in the Premier League, but also the most exciting player in Europe right now in Riyad Mahrez. The attacker got two assists on Sunday which now leaves him with four goals an two assists for the current Premier League campaign.
- Chelsea remain terrible, inexcusably and just so oddly terrible. While losing at Goodison Park can happen to the best of teams, the Londoners still look hapless at every key aspect. They’ve got no direction going forward nor back, with the whole episode proving rather enjoyable for the neutral.