On a weekend of shocks in the Premier League, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all slumped to unexpected defeats. Arsenal continue to set the pace at the top of the table, while Tottenham inflicted a first defeat on Everton at their new stadium and Bournemouth dazzled. But how did it all affect our weekly Premier League manager rankings? Read on to find out.
Régis Le Bris (Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland)
Points: 10
What happens when the game plan you have worked on all week blows up in your face after just four minutes? That was the question confronting Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when Alejandro Garnacho, gambolling into space down the left wing, drove into the area and shot coolly across Robin Roefs.
Le Bris had hoped to stifle Chelsea’s attack by keeping the centre of the pitch congested and picking off Enzo Maresca’s side on the counter. It was a calculated risk, one that necessarily allowed Chelsea space down the flanks, and when it instantly unravelled, the natural temptation would have been to change tack. Instead, Le Bris had the courage of his convictions, marshalling Sunderland’s players from his technical area, ensuring they maintained their shape, doubling down on his tactical blueprint. He was rewarded with a victory that briefly lifted the club to second place in the Premier League table.
The comeback began when Wilson Isidor levelled midway through the first half after a long throw caused mayhem in the Chelsea area. From there, Sunderland were a model of discipline and industry. As the visitors’ five-man defence dropped deep in front of a bank of four midfielders, Le Bris’ side formed an impenetrable shield. They pressed relentlessly, carried the ball forward with patience and intent whenever they were able to win it, and were rewarded with a stoppage-time winner from Chemsdine Malbi, who slotted in an assured finish after some muscular hold-up play from fellow substitute Brian Brobbey.
It was a hugely impressive display, a victory for perseverance that belied the inexperience of a manager who, at the age of 49, has held a professional coaching licence for barely three years.
“I didn’t change the game plan because it was the way we wanted to build this game,” said Le Bris. “But when you are on the pitch, it’s different. Emotionally, I think it’s sometimes difficult to find the right balance. We still have a really young squad with limited shared experience, so we have to learn from different situations. This one is positive in the end, but we were just on the edge in those first minutes.”
Unai Emery (Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City)
Points: 9
In four years at Valencia, Unai Emery never did get the better of Pep Guardiola and his Lionel Messi-led Barcelona side. There were a few draws here and there, but a win remained stubbornly elusive. The pattern continued when Guardiola arrived in England; first at Arsenal, then with Aston Villa, Emery simply could not outwit his fellow Spaniard.
He still hasn’t, away from home. But at Villa Park it has become a different story. This was Aston Villa’s third straight victory over Manchester City in the west Midlands, a streak that began just under two years ago, when Emery finally ended a decade-long wait for bragging rights. It was also the club’s fourth successive league win. The five-match winless run with which Villa began the season has become a distant memory.
How did he do it? By compressing the space in midfield to leave City outnumbered, a strategy that stifled service to Erling Haaland. By creating overloads down the flanks, where wide attackers John McGinn, Emi Buendía and then Jadon Sancho, who replaced Buendía following an early injury to the Argentinian, were supported by full-backs Matty Cash and Lucas Digne. By deploying Boubacar Kamara in a deep-lying position that stifled City’s attack.
And above all, by stopping Haaland, who had only once failed to score in his previous 23 appearances for club and country this season. The Norwegian goal machine struggled all afternoon to escape the close attention of central-defensive duo Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres, and was thwarted by goalkeeper Emi Martínez on one of the few occasions he did. To add insult to injury, he was upstaged by none other than Cash, whose improbable first-half winner not only came from the edge of the area but also from his left foot. It was, perhaps, no less than Emery’s wider tactical masterplan deserved.
Thomas Frank (Everton 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur)
Points: 8
Set-pieces are right up there with going direct and long throw-ins as the Premier League’s current tactic of choice. Thomas Frank’s Tottenham epitomise the trend as much as just about any other team in the division. The foundations for Everton’s first defeat at Hill Dickinson Stadium were laid by Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, who headed home twice from corners in the opening half, before Pape Matar Sarr nodded in a late third.
Van de Ven’s brace took Tottenham’s tally of set-piece goals this season to five, second only to Chelsea and Arsenal. To dare is to do? Hardly. But the ends increasingly justify the means in the Premier League, and Spurs now sit third in the table. Frank’s methods are about as far removed from Angeball as could be imagined, but it is hard to argue against their effectiveness.
Dead-ball prowess was also a key feature of Brentford’s success under the Dane, who led the club out of the Championship playing an expansive, possession-based brand of football only to introduce a more pragmatic edge once in the Premier League. Frank’s early weeks at Tottenham, who remain unbeaten away from home, have seen that style maintained, but perhaps the pattern we saw at Brentford will be reversed.
Spurs have the personnel to play a more expressive brand of football but, after finishing 17th last season under Ange Postecoglou, Frank’s first task was to introduce greater efficiency and consistency. Time will tell if the foundations are being laid for the more adventurous approach that will be required if Tottenham are to challenge consistently at the top end of the league. For now, though, a return of 13 points from a possible 15 on the road will do nicely.
Scott Parker (Wolves 2-3 Burnley)
Points: 7
Scott Parker knew how to compete as a player, and there was something of the Burnley manager’s signature tenacity about the manner of the club’s first away victory of the season. Having seen Zian Flemming’s early brace cancelled out before the break, it would have been easy for Burnley to let their heads drop. Instead, they kept playing until the final whistle and were rewarded with a stoppage-time winner from Lyle Foster, a late replacement for Jaidon Anthony.
Nothing enhances a manager’s reputation for shrewd decision-making quite like a winning goal from a substitute, yet Burnley undeniably rode their luck. Jhon Arias struck the bar for the hosts after the interval, while Santi Bueno forced a brilliant late save from Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. But if Parker’s side lived dangerously, his tactics reaped dividends in terms of exploiting Wolves’ defensive frailties, and the togetherness he has instilled was evident in the wild celebrations that greeted Foster’s decisive goal. The manager’s role in a win that leaves Burnley five points clear of the drop zone deserves recognition.
Keith Andrews (Brentford 3-2 Liverpool)
Points: 6
Keith Andrews probably deserves to feature higher up this list and, but for the sheer awfulness of Liverpool’s performance, he would have done. Take nothing away from the Brentford manager, however, who had no way of knowing that the visitors’ 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek did not represent a corner turned, and set up his side accordingly. Direct when they had the ball and compact when they didn’t, Brentford ran tirelessly, pressed with gusto, and showed greater desire – and, for the most part, quality – than Liverpool.
Brentford bade farewell to key strikers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa this summer, together with former captain Christian Norgaard and manager Thomas Frank. Andrews’ achievement has been to create a team defined not by what has been lost, but by unity, belief and a training model that the Irish coach says is “big on developing players’ individual qualities”. Few epitomise the last of those qualities more than Igor Thiago, the Brazilian forward whose winning penalty was his sixth league goal of the season, second only to Erling Haaland.
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace)
Points: 5
Mikel Arteta has moulded his side into a winning machine. Arsenal’s seventh victory in nine league games was founded on the familiar twin pillars of an impenetrable defence and a set-piece, Gabriel latching on to a Declan Rice free-kick for Eberechi Eze to fire home. Simple, right? Well, not really. Arteta warned his players beforehand that concentration, discipline and a readiness to capitalise when opportunity presented itself would be key against a Palace side that gives away little. So it proved. Arsenal will no doubt achieve more eye-catching victories this season, but their title challenge will be shaped by results like this. As in last weekend’s victory by an identical score-line at Fulham, the Spaniard’s focus, attention to detail and watchful intensity on the touchline kept Arsenal on course.
Ruben Amorim (Manchester United 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion)
Points: 4
Three straight wins for the first time under Ruben Amorim, including a first goal for Matheus Cunha and a brace for fellow summer signing Bryan Mbeumo, and suddenly things are looking up for Manchester United. Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt once again looked impressive at the back, Casemiro continues to impress alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield notwithstanding suggestions that he will be allowed to leave next summer, and confidence is growing palpably throughout the team. The focus on Amorim’s tactics has given way to a recognition that United, now up to sixth, might just have got their summer recruitment right. Work remains, but there is a whiff of vindication around Amorim just now.
Eddie Howe (Newcastle 2-1 Fulham)
Points: 3
From the press room to the pitch, Eddie Howe has led Newcastle through the difficult early weeks of this campaign in impressive fashion. Saturday’s victory over Fulham, which came hard on the heels of an emphatic midweek Champions League win over José Mourinho’s Benfica, offered further evidence of a club quietly establishing momentum. Winning is never a given in a European week, and when Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic header cancelled out Jacob Murphy’s early opener shortly after the interval, a draw began to look increasingly likely.
Club captain Bruno Guimarães had other ideas, however. Howe has made a point of encouraging the Brazil international to make a greater attacking contribution since the departure of Alexander Isak, and on 90 minutes the midfielder obliged. Charging into the box, Guimarães converted from close range after Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno parried away an effort from substitute William Osula. It was his third goal of the season, second only to Germany international Nick Woltemade – and a tribute to Howe’s shrewd coaching.
Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest)
Points: 2
Like Keith Andrews, Andoni Iraola might easily have appeared much higher up this list. After all, it is not every day that Bournemouth sit second in the Premier League. Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay the Spaniard, however, is that this result felt entirely predictable. For all Nottingham Forest’s travails this season, the club would have hoped for a new manager bounce following the appointment of Sean Dyche. But Iraola, underlining his reputation as a manager who improves and inspires his players in equal measure, has fashioned a side shorn of almost its entire back line this summer into a team that is not only hard to beat but also among the most attractive in the Premier League to watch. Not to mention second only to Arsenal in the table.
Daniel Farke (Leeds United 2-1 West Ham)
Points: 1
After a chastening defeat at fellow promoted side Burnley the previous weekend, Leeds could ill afford to slip up against visitors West Ham on Friday night. Defeat would have left Daniel Farke’s side firmly among the cluster of teams shaping up for a potential relegation battle. Instead, aided and abetted by a dismal performance from the Hammers, Leeds made a fast start to ensure they ended the weekend closer to the top six than the bottom three. For that, Farke deserves a share of the credit. Despite making four changes to the side vanquished at Turf Moor, the German kept faith with Brenden Aaronson on the right side of attack and was rewarded with a third-minute goal from the American. Leeds’ second, meanwhile, reflected work done on the training ground over a difficult week punctuated by injury and illness in the squad, Joe Rodon rising to head home a corner, the ninth that West Ham have conceded this term. The goal marked the club’s best start to a Premier League game in more than two decades.
