In the same way Mikel Arteta discovered with Pep Guardiola’s second-half pressing plan in the Carabao Cup final, the Premier League always keeps you guessing. The football might not be the most expansive right now, but the play remains unpredictable. This weekend was vintage in terms of teams swinging abruptly back and forth – both in performance and results.
Liverpool’s good feeling from the 4-0 win over Galatasaray was immediately quashed, as a previously prosaic Brighton continued their own revival. Aston Villa had looked completely out of ideas while Nuno Espirito Santo continued to refine his plan, only for Unai Emery’s team to recover their verve and remind everyone of their quality. Having some of that quality back, like Youri Tielemans, admittedly helps.
