Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox look on dejectedly at Old Trafford after another loss. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt\/AMA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
Suzuki slots in seamlessly<\/p>\n
Aston Villa were quite happy to sell Emiliano Mart\u00ednez but many feared it would be difficult to find an upgrade on the World Cup-winning goalkeeper. They have seemingly done so in the form of the \u00a330m signing Zion Suzuki, who was superb against Manchester City<\/a>. Nicolas Jackson\u2019s goals stole the headlines but Suzuki\u2019s bounty of saves ensured that Villa were victorious, while also impressing with his distribution. \u201dHe\u2019s ambitious. I think it\u2019s very important, his mentality,\u201d Unai Emery said. \u201cOf course, we need a keeper first to save us in the goal, but as well we need one keeper to try to help us in our buildup. And in buildup, he\u2019s a really fantastic player because he can play short, he can understand where is the superiority to break the opponent\u2019s press. He has qualities to do long ball, getting our players in attack. So, we are very, very impressed how he adapted so quick with us.\u201d WU<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Anfield warms to Ara\u00fajo\u2019s fighting spirit<\/p>\n Aside from the reaction to the half-time and full-time scores from Old Trafford, the biggest noise at Anfield was generated by Ronald Ara\u00fajo showing no mercy in his challenges on Malick Yalcouy\u00e9 and Charalampos Kostoulas. The on-loan Barcelona defender immediately endeared himself to the Kop with his commitment and quality, and was again in commanding form to help Andoni Iraola record his first Premier League<\/a> home win as Liverpool head coach. \u201cI think we all enjoyed watching Ronald fighting,\u201d said Iraola. \u201cHe\u2019s very good in the duels. Even the first goal, he wins two duels in a row and defensively he\u2019s been really, really good. I\u2019m happy for him because I\u2019ve taken him out in the last two games because we needed more offensive things. But he has continued working with no issues and today we needed him more. He has given a very, very good 90 minutes.\u201d Andy Hunter<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Striker problems at the Bridge<\/p>\n Jo\u00e3o Pedro is unlikely to make a swift return after picking up an injury in training. The Chelsea striker missed the defeat to Tottenham and had a scan on Sunday. Xabi Alonso did not sound optimistic after the Spurs game. The expectation is Jo\u00e3o Pedro will miss this week\u2019s games against Liverpool<\/a> and Manchester United as a minimum, leaving Alonso with problems in attack. It was strange he did not start Danny Welbeck against Spurs. Chelsea had no focal point and there are questions over their depth. Emmanuel Emegha, another struggling with injury, is yet to play since joining from Strasbourg. It is fair to wonder if selling Nicolas Jackson to Villa was the right move. Chelsea have played two league games without Jo\u00e3o Pedro this season and have lost both without scoring a goal. Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers are not as effective without him. Jacob Steinberg<\/p>\n Mateus Fernandes challenges Cole Palmer during Tottenham\u2019s 2-0 win. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Arteta says he is not worst strayer<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta says he has been compiling a dossier of evidence of other managers straying outside the technical area after the Arsenal manager was shown a yellow card during the 2-0 win over Everton<\/a>. It was his second of the season and leaves the Spaniard at risk of suspension if he gets one more, although Arteta suggested he is by no means the worst offender. \u201cThere are managers who have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes [they] leave the touchline \u2013 no yellows,\u201d he said, naming no names. \u201cI am clipping all of that so I now have a massive storage of images, so if somebody comes to me I can say: \u2018I am not in the record yet.\u2019 Somebody else has the record so let\u2019s see. Then it\u2019s 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for the managers. I don\u2019t know what we are going to do \u2013 let\u2019s see.\u201d Ed Aarons<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez increases his value at Newcastle<\/p>\n Nico Gonz\u00e1lez cost Manchester City \u00a350m when they signed him early in 2025, as part of that January spree as Pep Guardiola tried to arrest the first real slump of his Premier League career. Although he started nine league games that season and 17 last, Gonz\u00e1lez made very little impact at the Etihad. He probably wasn\u2019t even the best Nico Gonz\u00e1lez in world football, given the Argentinian winger\u2019s performances for Juventus and Atl\u00e9tico. But the Spanish Nico Gonz\u00e1lez clearly is a player of substance, his calm in midfield one of the few undoubted positives for Newcastle so far this season. Only Lewis Hall has made more tackles per game than him, he set up Sven Botman\u2019s goal at Coventry<\/a>, while he\u2019s made more key passes per game than anybody other than Harvey Barnes. At \u00a348m, he may end up representing extremely good value. Jonathan Wilson<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Football Daily<\/p>\n Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Sunderland earn a good point<\/p>\n To ask a question that might be a segment on the Football Cliches podcast, is there a more \u201cswirling litter\u201d venue in the Premier League than the Stadium of Light? At this point it should be obvious this was not a classic. In part that is down the conditions \u2013 long balls ran away from players on both sides with frequency, and crisp packets were the only thing to trouble the nets at either end. Managing the Europa League was always going to be a challenge for Sunderland and returning from a midweek trip to Poland<\/a> to earn a point against a team who have had a week to prepare is a good result, even if the Black Cats finish the weekend at the foot of the table. Tom Bassam<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n Bobb eases the pressure on Arbeloa<\/p>\n In spectacular style, Oscar Bobb\u2019s wait for a first Premier League goal for Fulham<\/a> came to an end at Coventry. Bobb was signed in January, fitting the recruitment template that brought success and stability under Marco Silva, a manager adept at regenerating talent. Social media footage from the away end showed Fulham fans ask what Bobb, weaving and bobbing, was doing only for him to feint past two Coventry defenders and score. That broke the deadlock when Coventry appeared fully capable of claiming a point or better. It remains to be seen whether \u00c1lvaro Arbeloa possesses the some restorative powers as Silva. After two wins in succession, two clean sheets and a first win away from Craven Cottage since February, early-season panic has dissipated. For now. If survival is Fulham\u2019s first objective, then successive wins over the promoted teams Hull and Coventry were minimum requirements. Though should Fulham aim much higher? Silva departed because his ambitions were not met. John Brewin<\/p>\n Oscar Bobb blows a kiss to the Fulham fans after scoring against Coventry. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n Brentford struggle to make chances count<\/p>\n Brentford are still yet to win away from home in the league but are also unbeaten on their travels. The draws at Leeds, Bournemouth<\/a> and Aston Villa can be considered decent results, but this goes in the missed opportunity pile. So far Hull have presented a stiffer challenge at MKM Stadium than predicted, but in terms of expectations for Brentford this fixture has more in common with playing Sunderland at home than it does with their previous draws on the road. Against Sunderland and at Hull, Keith Andrews\u2019 side struggled when the onus was on the them to make the game. The Bees play like they would rather not have the ball. In this one, they had plenty of shots \u2013 14 in total \u2013 but only Dango Ouattara and belatedly Jaidon Anthony truly troubled Konstantinos Tzolakis. Brentford need Igor Thiago firing again. TB<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n Delap under pressure to find the net<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793013374_187_500.jpg\")
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