Key thoughts and analysis from Saturday's Premier League action

theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points from Saturday’s slate of action in England’s top flight.

Foden can fill De Bruyne’s shoes

It’s time to let Phil Foden cook.

With superstar midfielder Kevin De Bruyne sidelined long term after a relapse of the hamstring injury he suffered in last season’s Champions League final, Pep Guardiola turned to the young Englishman to assume the mantle as Manchester City’s central creator – both literally and figuratively – on Saturday against Newcastle United.

Foden didn’t disappoint.

The 23-year-old playmaker was the focal point of City’s progressive play at the Etihad Stadium, consistently finding dangerous pockets of space and breaking free from the shackles of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali to create chances for his teammates. He popped up everywhere and crafted City’s winning goal by identifying a hole, bursting into the Newcastle penalty area with his quickness and cutting the ball back for Julian Alvarez, who picked out the top corner with a wicked strike.

Foden is a very different player to the Belgian superstar he’s currently replacing. De Bruyne is a more domineering physical presence who powers forward with the ball at his feet before picking out killer passes. Foden, meanwhile, glides across the pitch, using silky dribbling and his cerebral understanding of space to carve up the opposition. He’s constantly scanning the field, seeking out areas between the lines, and has the technical ability to twist and turn and create passing lanes that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Losing De Bruyne is obviously a huge blow. But in Foden, City, now sitting on a club-record 17 consecutive home wins in all competitions, have someone with all the tools necessary to keep things ticking in his absence.

Big issues for Ten Hag to solve

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was afforded a certain amount of leeway by supporters and pundits alike last season – and with good reason. The Dutchman, in his first campaign at the helm of the storied club, took an unbalanced team with glaring weaknesses and began to instill a clear identity, winning a trophy and creating newfound hope and excitement at Old Trafford in the process.

Now comes the hard part.

Ten Hag, following another summer of significant transfer expenditure, is expected to take the Red Devils up another gear. It’s a difficult task considering the level of competition within the Premier League, but a lateral season won’t be considered a success. Two games into the young campaign, there’s plenty of work to be done.

It’s important to reserve full judgment until we see how his team functions with marquee addition Rasmus Hojlund in the lineup, but regardless of the young Danish striker’s impact, Ten Hag needs to sort out the midfield. Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, and the increasingly creaky Casemiro were overrun for the second consecutive match in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The Brazilian, in particular, looks like he’s aged 20 years in the offseason, and as a whole, the trio looks extremely wobbly when out of possession. Mount, meanwhile, is having very little impact for someone who cost £60 million.

United were lucky not to be punished by Wolverhampton Wanderers in their season opener – Wolves somehow wasted multiple opportunities after breaking free of the Red Devils’ press – but Spurs weren’t as generous.

There have been some positives early in the season – Andre Onana has completely transformed the team’s buildup play from the back – but if Ten Hag and his staff can’t get the middle of the pitch functioning and firing, United will take a step backward this season.

Liverpool seek balance in midfield

Speaking of midfield shake-ups …

Jurgen Klopp opted for the same ad hoc midfield trio in Saturday’s 3-1 comeback win over Bournemouth that started the season opener against Chelsea. In theory, deploying a forward (Cody Gakpo) along with attack-minded summer signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister – with Trent Alexander-Arnold tucking inside while in possession and adding his outstanding array of passing – should be nearly impossible to handle for the opposition. Szoboszlai, who won a penalty at Anfield on Saturday with some nifty footwork just inside the area, was the best player on the pitch versus the Cherries and seems to have settled very quickly. The Hungarian looks like a blossoming superstar.

Concerns remain about the functionality of the trio, though.

Mac Allister is more than willing to do some dirty work and cover large amounts of ground in defensive transition, but that’s not the best part of his game. Meanwhile, the setup doesn’t maximize Gakpo’s attacking attributes; the Dutchman had fewer touches than any Liverpool starter, and his only two touches inside the Bournemouth penalty area came on the same sequence early in the second half.

Klopp is likely going to get an extended look at new signing Wataru Endo in the coming weeks after Mac Allister was shown a contentious red card on his home debut for a challenge that, while not malicious, was high and a fraction late. Even if there’s a reprieve upon appeal – Klopp suggested the club will make an effort to have the Argentine’s ban overturned – introducing Endo and shifting the World Cup winner further forward could ultimately be in Liverpool’s best interest. Could Klopp reinvent the wheel and tailor a system to a team without a prototypical holding midfielder? Sure. The German tactician is certainly innovative enough. Should he, though? Probably not.

Endo, who looked tidy after coming off the bench in the second half following Mac Allister’s dismissal, would provide more balance to the Reds’ midfield, especially against better opposition, and in turn allow Gakpo to move into the front three – either from the start or off the bench – where he’s clearly far more comfortable playing. If the electrifying Luis Diaz can stay fit, then he must start opposite Mohamed Salah, leaving just the central attacking role up for grabs between Diogo Jota, Gakpo, and Darwin Nunez. A good conundrum for Klopp to have, but a conundrum nonetheless.

Quick free-kicks

Reality check for Newcastle

Newcastle’s return to the upper echelons of English football has been rapid since the club hired Eddie Howe and started flexing its Saudi-backed financial muscle. But Saturday’s defeat to standard-bearers Manchester City, the ultimate measuring stick in world football, was a reminder that there’s still plenty of room for growth if the Magpies are going to become an elite side. City, despite contesting the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday in the baking Greek heat and returning to England the following day, looked comfortable for the bulk of their 1-0 win. They held Newcastle to just a single shot on target – and even that was a 69th-minute effort from well outside the box that Ederson handled with ease. There’s no shame in losing an away match against the reigning treble winners, but, considering the circumstances, you’d have expected a little more from Howe’s team. On limited rest, missing De Bruyne and John Stones, and with a subpar outing from Erling Haaland, City were still in complete control.

Stars in the making for Spurs

Tottenham may have struck gold with Pape Matar Sarr. The Senegalese midfielder, signed in 2021 from Metz, took center stage in Saturday’s win over Manchester United, scoring his first goal for the club in just his third league start. The 20-year-old has all the tools of a dominant all-around midfielder. He’s neat on the ball, picks the right passes, has outstanding athleticism to cover lots of ground and contribute defensively, and attacks the penalty area with precision and pizzazz, as evidenced by his opportunistic goal that put Spurs on course for their victory Saturday. Paired with Yves Bissouma, Sarr looks like an ideal player for Ange Postecoglou’s high-octane style of play. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Rodrigo Bentancur returns to the fold. Young Italian left-back Destiny Udogie stood out, too. Spurs have cycled through so many calamitous full-backs in recent years, but the energetic 20-year-old looks like the real deal.

Fernandes needs to be careful

With referees instructed to be more aggressive in their efforts to root out dissent this season, players will need to recalibrate very quickly after years of remonstrating with officials without consequence. The learning curve has been steep in the opening weeks of the season. Fernandes, more than most, will need to exercise restraint to avoid racking up yellow cards. The Portuguese midfielder is one of the most vocal players in the league when it comes to arguing even the most innocuous calls. It was no surprise, then, when he picked up a caution Saturday for protesting a yellow card that was shown to teammate Antony for a tackle from behind. Even without the captain’s armband, Fernandes always seemed to be first on the scene when a contentious decision was made. With it, he’ll have more power to discuss on-pitch matters with referees. That seems like a bad recipe.

Trouble ahead for Fulham

Opening the season with a road win only masked the problems for Fulham. The team that won at Everton last week showed its true colors Saturday, treating Craven Cottage to a dreadful display en route to a lopsided defeat against Brentford. It was the definition of a disheartening loss, as the Bees scored twice after Tim Ream was sent off. But things may only get worse for the Cottagers. Where the goals come from now that Aleksandar Mitrovic finally got his desired move to Saudi Arabia is the biggest issue facing Marco Silva – who might be starting to regret his decision to reject his own big-money move to the Middle East nation. If Fulham don’t move fast before the window closes, there’s no way this team can come close to replicating last season’s impressive 10th-place finish.

Stat of the day

Brighton & Hove Albion, despite losing Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo this summer, keep hitting new heights under Roberto De Zerbi. Their perfect start to the season continued with a breathtaking 4-1 obliteration of Wolves on Saturday. Is there a better team to watch in England right now?

Tweet of the day

It’s a brave new world for Tottenham.

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