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Five Things You May Have Missed in the Premier League This Weekend
Blogs

Five Things You May Have Missed in the Premier League This Weekend

12/11/24 12:26

With the international break rudely interrupting our weekly drama series that is the Premier League, we will have to go without our favourite cast of characters for the next fortnight.

However, our world class protagonists, villains and backing characters left us on a cliffhanger with an intriguing and dramatic final episode ahead of the release of season two’s first in two weeks.

In this piece we take a look at some of the action that may have passed you by at the weekend, and with endless drama hidden in every game, there are no shortage of events to talk about. That being said, here are five things you may have missed in game week 11 of the Premier League:

5. Marc Cucurella playing 4D Chess

Marc Cucurella is a divisive figure. The left-back, who was instrumental to Spain’s winning Euros campaign over the summer, is the sort of player who you despise playing against, but is exactly the kind of figure you want on your team.

With antics bordering on the maniacal, the Spaniard always finds a way to get under the skin of opposing players as well as fans, and against Arsenal on Sunday he took things to a new level.

With Chelsea and the Gunners locked at 0-0 after 55 minutes of intense football, Cucurella looked over to former Chelsea man Kai Havertz in the middle of the pitch, and saw blood trickling down the left side of his face.

Havertz had suffered a nasty blow to the head in Arsenal’s midweek clash against Inter Milan, and the wound had seemingly opened again at Stamford bridge after a collision off camera.

As he saw the streaks of red, Cucurella came bustling over the referee and starting pointing at both Havertz and the sideline, gesturing animatedly that Havertz should come off the pitch for treatment. However, this was not due to sympathy or a soft spot for player welfare, Cucurella was simply looking to give his side the edge on the pitch in the most unorthodox manner.

This wasn’t during any random stoppage either; it was right before an Arsenal corner kick, from which Havertz is one of their chief aerial threats. So Cucurella not only ensured they were temporarily reduced to 10 men, he also removed one of their significant threats from the corner, a facet of the game where Arsenal have been so successful in recent seasons.

He was not the only player to play games with Havertz; his former Chelsea team mates clearly didn’t take well to the flippant comments the German made upon his big-money move to Arsenal, and he was hit with crunching tackles on a number of occasions.

One particular unnecessary shoulder barge by Reece James, who was on the field when Havertz won Chelsea their second Champions league trophy in 2021, tells me all I need to know about what the Chelsea players think of their former ally. Cucurella’s ****housery takes the cake for me though.

4. Ipswich (and Szmodics) have Lift-off

It has been a long time coming, and it may have taken two or three attempts too many, but Ipswich finally claimed their first Premier League win in 22 years, and more importantly, of this season.

Having drawn five of the previous ten, it was clear Ipswich could hang with some of the big boys at the highest level, but converting winning positions into winning results had proved an elusive challenge for them. That is, until they faced Spurs.

After a dominant 4-1 victory over Aston Villa last weekend, Tottenham were the clear favorites for this one, and were given an added boost in that they had the home advantage. Ipswich were a tough test, but Spurs fans were confident they would emerge with a straightforward victory.

The early passages of play seemed to indicate a similar outcome; Spurs dominated the ball and consistently had possession in and around the Ipswich box, with the Tractor Boys only being allowed attack through stealing the ball high up the pitch.

However, half an hour in, Ipswich suddenly had men forward and possession of the ball on the right flank. Whipped in low by Jens Cajuste, Cristian Romero managed to nod the ball away ahead of a charging Liam Delap, but instead of clearing the ball up and away, the ball simply went up.

When it came down, Sammie Szmodics, golden boot winner in the Championship last season, was waiting with his back to goal. Improvising brilliantly, he waited and waited until the ball was positioned just so, and leaping into the air with his left, he unleashed a brilliant, bouncing bicycle kick into Guglielmo Vicario’s bottom corner, handing his side a shock lead.

Liam Delap then forced home a scrappy second just before half time to leave Spurs with a considerable uphill climb in the second period, and while Rodrigo Bentancur halved the deficit with 20 minutes left, it wasn’t enough. 11 games into the campaign, Ipswich’s efforts had finally been rewarded.

While Spurs may need to rethink, the Tractor Boys will head into the international break on a high, and looking ahead to their next game, Manchester United first under new coach Ruben Amorim, they will suddenly fancy their chances a whole lot more.

3. Matt O’Riley’s Dream Return

Following a stellar season for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and a subsequent £25.5m move to Brighton in the summer, Matt O’Riley made his seagulls debut in the Carabao Cup against Crawley Town.

However, just six minutes into his first game in English football, the Danish midfielder was on the wrong end of a horrendous, reckless challenge by Crawley midfielder Jay Williams. The challenge immediately forced O’Riley off the pitch, and caused enough long-lasting damage to send him to the sidelines for the best part of three months.

Fast forward to the 9th of November, and Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has made the brave choice to send O’Riley out of the frying pan and into the fire, bringing him on for his Premier League debut with half an hour to play against four time defending Premier League champions Manchester City.

While the Brighton medical staff would have been confident that O’Riley was fit to play, it is a tough ask for any player to return to the pitch after a long injury lay-off, least of all in a losing position against the best team in England over the last five years with 30 minutes to turn the game around.

However, O’Riley looked like he had never been gone, slotting in beautifully alongside fellow substitute Carlos Baleba, and this double midfield change swung the game in Brighton’s favour.

The Danish midfielder got stuck in brilliantly, refused to shy away from tackles that most would, particularly after injury, and provided fantastic service to Brighton’s forwards, particularly to Kaoru Mitoma on the left, where the Seagulls looked the most dangerous.

Joao Pedro, also returning from a significant lay-off, equalized the game with 12 minutes to play, and Brighton didn’t look like they were going to stop there. Five minutes later, Baleba zipped the ball into Danny Welbeck, who seamlessly flicked it to Joao Pedro.

Pedro looked up and spotted O’Riley making a penetrating run through the heart of City’s defence, the sort of run that helped him bag 19 goals last season at Celtic. Sliding the ball to O’Riley’s feet, the Dane took one touch to take him through, with the ball bouncing awkwardly.

Approached by the onrushing Ederson, O’Riley got his head over the ball, and side-footed it into the bottom corner, sparking tremendous scenes amongst the home fans. He had bagged the winner against the Premier league champions to inflict their fourth straight defeat, and though he didn’t know it at the time, would also push Brighton up to sixth in the league, joint on points with third placed Chelsea.

It quite clearly meant a lot to the 23-year-old, who would have been worried that he would struggle to cement his place in the team while his contemporaries were making cases for themselves in his absence. If he drops more performances like he did on Saturday, he will quickly become a Brighton fan favourite.

2. David Coote Suspended

While this didn’t strictly occur over the weekend, I have included events from Monday night football in this column before, and seeing as this event took place on monday, it falls under the same umbrella of “acceptable.”

Footage was released on Monday of Premier League referee David Coote, who was fourth official for Liverpool’s 2-0 over Aston Villa on Saturday night, making derogatory comments to a camera about the Merseyside club and their ex-manager Jurgen Klopp.

While I will not make the direct quotes here, the video is widely available on social media, and is easily found. What the English referee essentially said is that Liverpool aren’t great, and that he doesn’t like Jurgen Klopp very much … to put it kindly.

Allegedly filmed some years ago, the video, which was filmed by one of Coote’s friends, was leaked two days later, and immediately sparked a PGMOL (Professional Game Match Official Limited) investigation, during which Coote was suspended from refereeing duty.

With various agencies investigating the authenticity of the video, and whether it was created through the use of A.I. or is simply to be taken at face value, social media has had plenty to say about it.

Some fans say the video explains multiple poor decisions that have gone against Liverpool while he was officiating, while others are saying it is simply a statement, and not an admission of bias.

The reason behind Coote’s dislike of Klopp stems from a Liverpool fixture against Burnley that took place in lockdown, in which Klopp was furious at a decision made during the game. When the full time whistle blew, Klopp walked over to Coote, and proceeded to criticize him non-stop as the two walked off the field, flanked by the referee’s officials.

Coote cited this in the video as the reason his is less than fond of Klopp, and while he stated that he gets on well with James Milner, that didn’t seem to placate any Liverpool fans, who as previously mentioned, created uproar on social media.

With the camera still rolling, Coote specifically said “Just to be clear, that ******* last video can’t go anywhere,” indicating that he clearly knew he was out of line in making those statements.

In a statement published by Daily Mirror journalist Darren Lewis, Coote “is understood to have accepted the viral in which he appears is genuine. However, it is believed he does not recall the content of the discussion, recorded several years ago."

While the investigation by PGMOL is yet to reach its conclusion, many will be surprised if Coote returns to the pitch to officiate this season, with some even calling for a lifetime ban for such reckless words made on camera. One normal day of Barclays, that’s all I ask …

1. Mo Salah’s Final Form?

More on Liverpool now, but in an on-field context this time. In Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Villa, Mohamed Salah once again showed why he is Liverpool’s main man, as he assisted Darwin Nunez’s opener before scoring a late second to seal the three points.

With his goal scoring figures having been on a decline since the 2020/21 season, Salah has started this campaign with a renewed intensity, and with his double contribution on Saturday, has already reached 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season.

He is one of just two players to have notched double figures of both this season in Europe’s top five leagues, and remarkably, both are Egyptian. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush has actually outperformed Salah this season, notching 14 goals and 10 assists, albeit in a slightly less challenging league.

Salah has taken to Arne Slot’s style like a duck to water, and is looking more dangerous than ever. Those who took notice of Salah’s first season at Liverpool, during which he bagged an astonishing 44 goals in all comps, will remember that inevitable sinking feeling whenever Anfield’s Egyptian king ran through on goal, as the outcome could only go one way.

That feeling had diminished over the last few seasons, but this year is different. Perhaps fuelled by his omission from the 30 man Ballon d’Or shortlist, Salah is making a name for himself all over again, and that sinking feeling when he shapes to shoot has become more overpowering than ever.

With less than a third of the season gone, there is still bucketloads of football left to play, and if the winger maintains this current vein of form, he could eclipse even that storied 2017/18 debut season in which he became one of the worlds finest forwards.

His contributions have put Liverpool five points clear at the top of the league as Arne Slot’s side continue their dream start under the Dutch manager, and with the way he has the squad, and particularly Salah playing, it is hard to look past red ribbons being put on the Premier League trophy come May.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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