Thoughts and analysis from engaging weekend of Premier League action

theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points from another entertaining weekend of Premier League football.

Man United have no shame

No one is surprised Manchester City won yet another derby and by such a convincing margin. This is less of a rivalry and more of a formality for the blue half of Manchester. There will be anomalies – like Manchester United’s 2-1 victory in January – but there’s a reason City have won four of the last five derbies by a combined score of 16-6.

What’s surprising is just how quickly United seemed to accept defeat in this increasingly lopsided fixture. Facing a two-goal deficit with 40 minutes still to play, the Red Devils made little effort to gain even a tiny foothold in the match. Club captain Bruno Fernandes spent more time sulking than inspiring his teammates, and none of United’s other senior players laid down a gauntlet. The only time Old Trafford awoke from its depressing slumber was when Christian Eriksen won a corner kick. But the crushing sound of silence returned only a few seconds later.

United only came to life in fleeting moments, when Scott McTominay found room to shoot, when Rasmus Hojlund broke free of his markers, and when Marcus Rashford arrowed a low attempt across goal. But those were exceptions. United did very little to prevent another humbling. In fact, it would’ve been far worse had goalkeeper Andre Onana not proven equal to multiple tasks.

Injuries can only excuse so much. It can’t excuse Diogo Dalot blowing his assignment on the right flank and allowing space for Bernardo Silva to set up Haaland for his second goal of the night. It can’t excuse the colossal miscommunication between Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans that nearly cost United another goal. It can’t excuse a vengeful Fernandes trying to swipe at Jeremy Doku as the final minutes ticked off the clock or Antony risking a red card after moping on the sidelines for 86 minutes.

And yet manager Erik ten Hag still somehow felt “the execution of the game plan was very good,” according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney. If the game plan was to create a tiny fraction of City’s chances and lose without dignity, then bravo.

How can United even begin to rebuild when the manager refuses to see the truth? Predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pilloried for such wilful ignorance.

If he can’t hold himself accountable, how can he possibly hold his players to any standard? It’s like he’s given up. A man who once fined Rashford for arriving late to training can’t continue to overlook his abject form. A man who has had a year and a half and £500 million can’t ask for even more time and money. A man who already made a scapegoat of Cristiano Ronaldo can’t possibly continue to do the same to other players. And yet, Jadon Sancho remains banished pending an apology to the manager himself.

The problem with United is beyond tactical. It’s an infection of the mind and spirit, and in times of absolute despondency, a disciplinarian like Ten Hag can cause enough tension and resentment to destroy any hope within the group.

Ultimately, United have enough talent in their squad to do the odd thing right, and they’ll win another game, but until they create a positive winning culture, they’ll continue to suffer nights like this and watch as their fans empty a cathedral of football that lost faith a long time ago. – Anthony Lopopolo

Wasteful Chelsea pay the price again

Christopher Nkunku’s return can’t come soon enough.

Chelsea were wasteful yet again on Saturday and, yet again, were made to pay for their profligacy in a dispiriting 2-0 home defeat to Brentford.

Going into the match at Stamford Bridge, only Everton (5.9) and Bournemouth (3.4) – both wallowing near the foot of the table – had underperformed their expected goals totals by a greater margin than Chelsea (3.3) this season. That trend continued. A run of three consecutive games with at least two tallies, including a four-goal explosion – by their standards – came to a halt with the Blues’ familiar failings shining through against Thomas Frank’s team. Raheem Sterling, Chelsea’s leading scorer with a modest mark of three goals, spurned a good opportunity from close range, while starting No. 9 Nicolas Jackson’s most notable contribution was getting into an argument with a disgruntled fan, who appeared to question his scoring exploits.

“We had the chances, the control. We were so good, but in the last 30 meters, you have to be clinical,” Mauricio Pochettino said, according to Agence-France Presse, adding that it was “difficult to accept the defeat” after dictating proceedings in the opening half.

That’s been a consistent sentiment for some time. It’s early enough in the season that banking on scoring levels to regress to the mean is still acceptable. Still, at some point, the Blues need to actually find the net consistently, lest their team scoring total gets overtaken by Erling Haaland. We’re not too far off that happening again.

Nkunku, yet to make his competitive debut for the club after suffering a knee injury in preseason, is closing in on his awaited return. That should help to cure Chelsea’s scoring woes. It has to. – Gianluca Nesci

Quick free-kicks

Liverpool are back to being Liverpool

Liverpool have won each of their last eight home matches this season, including Sunday’s thoroughly convincing 3-0 evisceration of Nottingham Forest. The Reds have managed to scale the low defensive blocks that stymied them last year, and their best players are now producing on a regular basis. Mohamed Salah is creating quality chances, and even Darwin Nunez is finishing them off. But perhaps the most important thing Liverpool have rediscovered is their sense of togetherness. This is a team again. They’re a team in the way they play and in the way they look out for one another. The kidnapping of Luis Diaz’s parents in Colombia made Sunday’s fixture one of the “most difficult” of Jurgen Klopp’s career, but his players rallied with the professionalism that eluded them during their identity crisis last season. – Lopopolo

Silva sets the standard

The main takeaway from Sunday’s Manchester derby was the sheer ineptitude of United – but it would be unfair to overlook how City professionally dismantled their great rivals. Bernardo Silva summed up his team’s display as he intelligently slithered into space, appearing in areas across the midfield, and calmly dictated the tempo when he had the ball. His floated delivery for Erling Haaland’s header was perfect. Silva enjoys facing United: He’s now been involved in seven goals (two goals, five assists) in 11 league matches against the Red Devils. He’s rightly one of the first names on Pep Guardiola’s team sheet for any high-stakes fixture. – Daniel Rouse

Can Aston Villa keep this up?

The true test of Aston Villa’s top-four credentials awaits. Unai Emery’s side reconvenes after the November international break to contest five matches in just 14 days, and that busy spell includes meetings with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and Arsenal. However, Villa’s progress under the Spanish tactician is staggering: After Sunday’s 3-1 win over Luton Town, the Villans have recorded 12 consecutive home league wins, dropped just two points over the past two months, and boast an average of 2.6 goals per game. Aston Villa last finished among England’s best quartet in the 1995-96 season. – Rouse

Nketiah shines in Jesus’ absence

With Gabriel Jesus set to miss more time after his latest injury, Arsenal need Eddie Nketiah, the club’s most natural replacement in the No. 9 role, to keep the goals flowing. He delivered on Saturday, scoring the first Premier League hat-trick of his career in a 5-0 dismantling of Sheffield United. His three markers showed off the well-rounded nature of his game. He opened the scoring at the Emirates with a splendid touch-and-finish after receiving a pass from Declan Rice, doubled his team’s lead with an opportunistic close-range effort off a scrambled corner kick, and then completed his treble with a ferocious rising strike from outside the penalty area. Injuries and key absences were a big reason why Arsenal’s title challenge wilted last season. Nketiah can help ensure that doesn’t happen again. – Nesci

Sheffield United’s recipe for disaster

Sheffield United are making the wrong type of history. Paul Heckingbottom’s team is off to the worst-ever start to a Premier League season after 10 games, having amassed one measly point, nine defeats, and a minus-22 goal differential following Saturday’s shellacking at the hands of Arsenal. The Blades have conceded 29 goals on the campaign thus far – nearly three per match – and barely even sniffed the Arsenal penalty area over 90 one-sided minutes. The closest they came to scoring was a speculative long-range effort from Gustavo Hamer, whose shot from the halfway line missed the target. An inability to craft chances, together with a permeable Swiss cheese defense, is a recipe for relegation. – Nesci

Newcastle’s depth being tested

Newcastle got hit with a spate of injuries at the worst possible moment. The Magpies were always going to feel the strain and added burden that accompanies Champions League football at some point this season. But with a daunting November on the horizon, this is perhaps the least opportune time for Eddie Howe to be without several key contributors. Newcastle’s upcoming schedule reads as follows: Manchester United (Carabao Cup), Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund (Champions League), Bournemouth, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain (Champions League) before kicking off the busy December slate by taking on the Red Devils once more in league play. It’s an absolute gauntlet that’s coinciding with injuries to Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, and Jacob Murphy, plus the unforeseen suspension for Sandro Tonali. Can Howe successfully guide his squad through the storm? – Nesci

Stat of the weekend

Maybe Chelsea should consider hiring Thomas Frank to turn their dreadful home form around.

Tweet of the weekend

With just one point from 10 matches so far this season, last-place Sheffield United are already in deep trouble.

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