1
Old Trafford atmosphere rolls back years
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was present to see the best victory and performance of his two years of minority ownership. When Ratcliffe bought in, the public impression given was of a billionaire signing up to taste the magic for himself. Saturday, and beating Manchester City, was an undoubted revival act where Michael Carrick’s team played the football of yore. That will almost certainly be unsustainable in the medium term, since most opposition will not play City’s high-line, high-wire act. But in engaging their supporters with determination and aggression, United jogged memories. There was a time when just about every big game had Old Trafford rocking like this, when the opposition could not hear themselves think. Surely that was the myth and legend Ratcliffe wanted to be part of? Would that be possible in the new stadium the Ineos chief has plans for instead of Old Trafford? Tottenham’s recent experiences suggest otherwise. Would Liverpool’s owners cash out the Anfield experience? Surely not. John Brewin
2
Emery awaits fresh legs in Abraham
Aston Villa were playing their sixth match since 27 December, and will face Fenerbahce and Newcastle in the next week. A thin squad is being stretched to its limits. The first-half loss of John McGinn, their crucial midfield leader, further lessened hopes of Villa making up ground on Arsenal. With Donyell Malen now at Roma, and scoring on his debut on Sunday, Tammy Abraham’s expected return to the club he helped win promotion back to the Premier League in 2019 cannot happen soon enough. Unai Emery’s chosen sporting director, Roberto Olabe, has little in the way of further financial wriggle room when other talent is needed. Everton’s reported interest in Abraham may also hurry Villa along. Fatigue wreaked severe damage on Villa’s title challenge, Thierno Barry’s goal for Everton betraying tired minds and limbs. So, too, did much of the finishing, with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins each unable to locate their previous mojo. JB
3
Grealish relishes return to Villa
At 30, Jack Grealish, Aston Villa’s former boy wonder, continues to enjoy happy times at Everton. Starting with players such as Morgan Rogers, Grealish’s successor as Villa idol, the queue ahead of him for England places is probably far too long. He does, though, remain a supreme winner of territory and fouls, just as he was at Villa. Home fans who once celebrated that aspect found it so frustrating when Grealish kept buying the Everton defence time. With Iliman Ndiaye playing in Sunday’s Afcon final, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall recovering from a hamstring problem, Everton were far more about perspiration than inspiration. David Moyes gives Grealish license to indulge his creative instinct but also asks his players to contribute to the war effort. As Grealish took a tumble late on, to win more time, he shared a joke with his manager, stood close by on the touchline. By then it was clear their plans to frustrate Villa were paying off handsomely. JB
4
Woltemade comes up short at Wolves
As Nick Woltemade trudged off with 67 minutes gone to be replaced by Yoane Wissa, Eddie Howe must have wondered what he needs to do to get the best out of the German striker. Woltemade has scored twice in his past 13 appearances, those both coming in a single fixture against Chelsea. At Molineux he led the line without authority and struggled to cause problems for a disciplined Wolves back five. There were occasions when the 1.98m (6ft 6in) striker had the chance to attack crosses but – despite his height – few had confidence in his ability to find the target with his head, unable to test José Sa when in good positions and under limited pressure. Woltemade can question the regularity of the service, but in the Premier League the chances will not always be frequent for a striker and he needs to have greater awareness and intensity in the box. Will Unwin
5
Anderson stands firm against Rice
Is Elliot Anderson an even better all-round midfield player when the shackles are off? The Nottingham Forest No 8 is clearly slated as Declan Rice’s minder in the England engine room revving up for this summer’s World Cup – but he is so much more than a holding player. Those pair vied for man-of-the-match honours in Saturday’s goalless draw at the City Ground but, just as Rice used to be seen as the sitting midfielder off whom the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish could launch attacks, Anderson is at his best when partnered by a defensive guard. Ibrahim Sangaré anchored superbly against Arsenal, negating Martin Ødegaard, liberating Anderson to use his energy and anticipation to press and pass through the lines. He has won 26 more duels (176) than anyone else in the Premier League this season, but his passing accuracy even against Rice and co was still 86%. Forest should enjoy his time with them. Peter Lansley
6
Wilson shows value amid uncertainty
If this was Callum Wilson’s farewell goal then it was some way for the West Ham forward to sign off. Wilson came on with the game locked at 1-1 in the 89th minute and was in the right place to score the winner when Guglielmo Vicario failed to deal with a corner deep into added time. Tottenham were beaten at home again and West Ham had their first win in the league since 8 November. However, uncertainty continues to cloud Wilson’s situation. The 33-year-old has been in talks to leave and had not featured for two games. Yet Nuno Espírito Santo has to be practical. Wilson boasts nous, Premier League experience, character and an ability to snaffle crucial goals. He could have made the difference when West Ham lost a relegation six-pointer to Nottingham Forest earlier this month. Many people within the club think Wilson should stay. Nuno has to convince him. Jacob Steinberg
7
Palace and Glasner unravel at pace
It is rare for top-tier teams to end matches with a full complement of unused substitutes, but Crystal Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner, said he and his players had been so “abandoned” he had no option but to stick with a tiring starting XI as Sunderland came from behind to win 2-1. The Austrian, furious not to have learned his star defender Marc Guéhi was being sold to Manchester City until 10.30am on Friday, claimed the players on his youthful bench needed “protecting” and were not physically or mentally equipped to face Sunderland away. Glasner’s lengthy diatribe against a board that sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal in August prompted questions as to whether Palace will sack him imminently before settling on keeping him until June as planned. Whatever happens, a side winless in 10 games in all competitions requires reinforcement. Urgently. Otherwise, a relegation skirmish, either this or, more likely, next season surely beckons. “If we continue doing this Crystal Palace, not Oliver Glasner, will get the bill,” he said. “I don’t need protecting but Crystal Palace does.” Louise Taylor
8
BlueCo bear brunt of tough crowd
With Cole Palmer and Reece James rushing back without a training session, and several others in Chelsea’s starting lineup declaring themselves available despite suffering the effects of the virus that caused the Brazilian teenager Estêvão to miss the game, Liam Rosenior appears to have the players behind him, as they further demonstrated with a gutsy win over in-form opponents. Judging by the lukewarm atmosphere at Stamford Bridge throughout the game, Chelsea’s hardcore remain unconvinced however, with fans used to modern managerial heavyweights such as José Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel sceptical about the appointment of a 41-year-old to his first Premier League job, particularly as many view him as a stooge of an unpopular ownership. Chelsea is a tough crowd, with Enzo Maresca never quite winning the fans over, and Rosenior will need many more results like this to be accepted by the Shed Enders. Matt Hughes
9
Sloppy Reds cap unwanted record
It did not improve Liverpool’s post-match mood to discover that, for the first time since finishing fifth in 1980-81, they have failed to beat any of the promoted teams at Anfield. Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland have all taken a point against the defending champions during a 12-match unbeaten run that has brought more cul-de-sacs than turning points for Arne Slot’s side. “1980? Wow,” said Virgil van Dijk, already annoyed by the result and the boos that greeted the final whistle. In terms of creating chances against a low block, just one of Slot’s many bugbears this season, Liverpool’s performance was a marked improvement. There were also further encouraging signs from the summer signings Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. But even in a game that featured 32 attempts on Martin Dubravka’s goal and 73% possession in Liverpool’s favour, Slot’s team managed to find a way to self-implode. “I’m frustrated that after 60 minutes we started to become sloppy, and it’s not the first time,” said Van Dijk. “It’s been spoken about already but we have to address it again apparently.” Andy Hunter
10
‘Best win’ has Farke full of beans
Daniel Farke described Leeds’s 1-0 victory over Fulham as his team’s “best win of the season”. Lukas Nmecha’s 91st-minute goal lifted Leeds three points clear of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and they remain eight points from the relegation zone. The hosts also recorded their first Elland Road clean sheet since August. Farke had only positive things to say about the performance at full-time. “I’ll label this the best win of the season today because we played an in-form Fulham side, a clean sheet win. Fully deserved, we didn’t give any chances away. We missed a few chances but stayed relentless, stayed on it. We were also positive in our approach, wanted to go for the win and got a late goal – proof of our fitness, spirit and belief.” Emillia Hawkins
