Tuesday , 19 March 2024

Premier League: Talking points from the weekend’s action

Ten premier league matches were played over the weekend, and as usual, there was some exciting football news for some teams, and some equally disappointing ones to others. Vwin offers you an overview of the football world, on the most prestigious betting platform in Asia. Here we look at some of the top talking points from the matches played across the English top flight.

Ronaldo’s presence costs Greenwood and Sancho

Manchester United triumphed thanks to a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. This is fantastic news for all parties. However, despite United’s lucky triumph, you have to question about their offensive effectiveness. The approach of swarming the box with crosses may suit Ronaldo, and to a lesser extent Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, who can both provide and feast on second balls. Mason Greenwood, on the other hand, who thrives on rapid interchanges and short passes and had a difficult afternoon, doesn’t seem to fit into this scenario. The same can be said about Jadon Sancho, who came on as a late substitution, or Marcus Rashford when he returns. Despite this, Ronaldo scored and United triumphed. Perhaps that’s all that matters for the time being.

Toney makes a strong England claim

It won’t be long until Ivan Toney joins the England debate. After scoring a record 31 goals in his debut season in the Championship, there is even a case to be made that the striker deserved international recognition last season. Toney scored a nerveless penalty in Saturday’s triumph over Wolves, but he was a nuisance all over the field, earning fouls to gain territory and many aerial duels. Since the start of last season, the 25-year-old has scored or assisted on 44 league goals for Brentford, more than any other player in England’s top four levels. Behind Harry Kane in the pecking order are Ollie Watkins, who Toney replaced at Brentford after signing from Peterborough, and Patrick Bamford, but if he continues going like this, the dominating Toney will be difficult for Gareth Southgate to ignore.

Klopp has defensive options with Konaté

When Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace in May, the centre-back pairing of Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips was a defense on trial.  They would select the peerless Virgil van Dijk and the £36 million debutant Ibrahima Konaté in the rematch on Saturday. Jürgen Klopp stated, “The potential is outstanding.”

Konaté showed flashes of brilliance when he stayed up with Wilfried Zaha as they chased a diagonal ball and drove Christian Benteke wide before he fired. Odsonne Édouard may have been the only time he was found out before Alisson saved Liverpool. It’ll be interesting to see how frequently he utilizes Konaté now that he has a full complement of four fit centre-backs.

Gabriel is Arteta’s hope

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have a long way to go to prove their critics wrong after a tough first month, but successive victories over Norwich and Burnley have taken some of the heat off the Spaniard. The return of Gabriel has been a big help for Arteta, with Arsenal securing back-to-back clean sheets since the Brazilian’s return from injury. On Saturday afternoon, the 23-year-old was superb at Turf Moor, deftly dealing with the aerial danger offered by Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes. Arsenal have been looking for a player to command and organise their defensive line for a long time, and Arteta will be hoping he has found it in Gabriel, whose relationship with Ben White is showing early indications of great potential.

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