EPL Review: Reds school Ange, Man United get lump of coal at Christmas

Following every weekend of Premier League action, theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points to emerge from the slate of matches. Below, we dissect Matchweek 17 of the 2024-25 season.

Liverpool teach Ange harsh lesson

Stubbornness can, at times, be a positive trait for a manager. But total rigidity and blind faith can also hold a team back. Ange Postecoglou is veering too far into the latter category – and it’s costing Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou, not for the first time, was in a combative mood with the media after Spurs’ chaotic 6-3 home loss to league leaders Liverpool on Sunday. Especially with so many defensive absentees, why didn’t he take a more conservative approach to the match against such an explosive opponent? It’s a valid question. He wasn’t having any of it.

“You know what? I’m just going to stop answering these questions,” he said when pressed about his team’s high defensive line and his uncompromising commitment to a tactic that Liverpool ruthlessly exploited. “If people can’t see the obvious, I’m not going to point it out. Look, make of it what you want, yes we’re conceding goals.”

He added: “If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two center-backs and a left-back as well and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing … I don’t know what to say anymore.”

This is becoming an almost weekly occurrence, and it feels like we’re about to reach a breaking point. Postecoglou won’t last much longer if he isn’t going to learn any lessons from Sunday’s shellacking, or, even worse, open his mind to the possibility that Tottenham could benefit from some variety to their play. That’s the harsh reality of the sport, especially at the highest level. Just ask Russell Martin, who was also wedded to one very specific style of play right up until the moment he was sacked by Southampton. Variety can help make teams more unpredictable and thus harder to defend.

Contrast Postecoglou’s retort to that of Enzo Maresca who was asked about Chelsea’s performance after their goalless draw with Everton on Sunday. The difference is stark.

“It was not an easy game and you have to learn how to play different games,” Maresca explained. Football is not only just how good you play on the ball. It is how you defend and how you deal with that.”

Amen, Enzo. Try getting that message through to Ange, mate.

Quick free-kicks 📝

Would Saka’s absence sink Arsenal?

Arsenal can’t afford to lose Bukayo Saka. Especially now. The star winger is essential to everything the title-chasing Gunners do, so it’s no wonder Mikel Arteta admitted he’s “pretty worried” after Saka was forced to leave Saturday’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace with a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old was spotted moving very gingerly on crutches after the game.

We’ve previously discussed the need for Arsenal to get more secondary scoring, and Gabriel Jesus appears to have heeded those words by feasting on Palace twice this week. Can he keep this sudden hot streak going? Arsenal need him to if Saka misses time. Arteta’s team has nine games – across three competitions – on the schedule before they hit February. There’s never a good time to be without your best player, but this is among the worst.

Case of mistaken identity

We don’t have to spend too much time discussing why VAR’s implementation in the Premier League has been a nightmare. That’s already a popular enough opinion. Knowing that it’s not going anywhere, though, we can spend time figuring out ways that it can make a positive impact, even if it’s for edge cases. For instance: Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke was bloodied after taking a boot to the face from teammate Carlos Baleba on Saturday. West Ham defender Dinos Mavropanos, in the vicinity and challenging for the ball inside a crowded penalty area on the play, was mistakenly shown a yellow card.

Why isn’t such an obvious error reviewable? Were he shown a red, it would have been. The VAR is always watching every incident, surely it would have been easy enough to inform the on-pitch official of the mistake and quickly correct it? Mavropanos, on an undeserved yellow, was substituted at half-time in a move that perhaps wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t booked.

‘Immature’ Brighton

It’s gone under the radar recently thanks to Manchester City’s tailspin dominating the discourse, but Brighton are mired in a slump of their own after a fantastic start to life under Fabian Hurzeler. The Seagulls are winless in their last five Premier League games after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, and they have just two victories in 10 outings across all competitions.

Seeing out wins has been a problem. Brighton have dropped 16 points from winning positions this season, often settling for draws after jumping out to the lead. Hurzeler called out his team for lacking maturity after its infamous collapse against Wolves, but it doesn’t appear that message has fully gotten through to his squad.

Patience pays off for Bournemouth

Many were calling for Andoni Iraola to be fired last season when his Bournemouth tenure got off to a rocky start. But the club kept the faith, confident that the poor results were tied to Bournemouth’s wildly difficult schedule and not a deeper underlying issue with the Basque manager’s approach. They’re being rewarded for it now.

The surging Cherries climbed to fifth place in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Manchester United, their second consecutive victory at Old Trafford by that same scoreline. Iraola has cultivated a nice mix of young players with attacking flair and veteran contributors who do the dirty work. Some of the “bigger” clubs in the league, and throughout Europe, could take a lesson from Iraola’s success story.

Star performer 🌟

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

We’ll repeat: Pay the man.

With two goals and two assists in Liverpool’s hectic win over Tottenham, Mohamed Salah made history and climbed multiple ladders all at once. He became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures in both goals and assists in a single season before Christmas. He also overtook Erling Haaland for the lead in the Golden Boot race, and now stands alone in fourth on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list with 229 goals in 373 appearances.

His mere presence on the pitch creates room for teammates, allowing midfielders to surge forward into dangerous open areas, and any time he finds an inch of space he makes the opposition pay dearly. Frankly, the thought of Liverpool without him is inconceivable. The Egyptian is going to be asked continuously about his expiring contract until he signs a new one. Liverpool shouldn’t risk that storyline becoming a distraction and potentially derailing what could be a title-winning campaign.

Best XI 😎

(Source: FotMob)

Highlight of the weekend 🎥

Alexander Isak is on a heater right now: His hat-trick in Saturday’s dominant win over Ipswich Town, the first of his Newcastle career, gives the Swedish striker six goals in his last four Premier League matches. The ingenuity of his last finish, in particular, stood out.

Stat of the weekend 🔢

It didn’t take long for the goodwill that Manchester United generated with their dramatic derby win to totally evaporate.

Social media moment 📱

Former Aston Villa star Jack Grealish had a message for his one-time adoring fans who were goading him as Manchester City’s spiral continued with a 2-1 loss at Villa Park on Saturday.

Where we stand 👀

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