[ad_1]
Eric Dier and Andy Carroll (Getty Images)
Leicester He returned to the top of the Premier League table by scoring five against a Pep Guardiola side for the first time in the Catalan’s coaching career when Manchester City’s title challenge hit an early stumbling block in a 5-2 loss.
City conceded three penalties, but none of them were as controversial as those that cost Tottenham and Crystal Palace to generate more debate about the new interpretation of the handball rule in the Premier League.
Champion Liverpool isn’t in action until Monday when they host Arsenal, but other than City’s collapse, there was also little to fear from what Chelsea and Manchester United showed on Saturday.
AFP Sports looks at three things we learned from the Premier League weekend.
The adoption by the Premier League of a new interpretation of what constitutes handball is causing consternation just three weeks later.
Tottenham and Palace were the big losers this weekend, but there is already a consensus among the coaches that something must be done now to prevent the charade scenes from continuing throughout the season.
Joel Ward was severely penalized for Everton’s triumph in a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park, leaving Palace manager Roy Hodgson desperate for the game he has been involved in for more than 50 years.
“I find it very disappointing that the game that I love and believe in has been reduced to this level,” Hodgson said. “I’m desperate for a rule that I think is ruining football.”
Hodgson has the support of Newcastle boss Steve Bruce, even though his team benefited from a 1-1 draw at Tottenham thanks to Callum Wilson’s penalty in the 97th minute.
“I can understand why the Spurs will go crazy and Roy Hodgson reacted the way he did. It’s total nonsense,” Bruce said. “We should be jumping through the hoop, but I’d be devastated if it was us.”
In his 686th coaching game for City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Guardiola was hit by five when his team collapsed at the pace and cunning of Jamie Vardy on the fast break.
Vardy scored a hat-trick to bring his tally to nine in five seasons against Guardiola’s team, leaving big questions about City’s title challenge.
Despite the hiring of Bournemouth central defender Nathan Ake, City looked even worse on defense than last season, as Kyle Walker, Eric Garcia and Benjamin Mendy all conceded hasty penalties.
Benfica center midfielder Ruben Dias is reportedly heading to Manchester, while Aymeric Laporte’s return after testing positive for coronavirus will be a huge relief.
But the arrival of Dias could take Guardiola’s spending on defenders alone at City to 400 million.
The Catalan has failed to get the best out of John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Mendy and many others and the pressure is on him to turn to his coach, rather than the club’s checkbook, for solutions.
Chelsea’s huge investment in the transfer market and Manchester United’s excellent form in the Premier League since the January window closed had raised hopes for a four-cushion title race this season after three years of dominance of Liverpool and City.
However, according to the evidence from the first few weeks, Chelsea and United are still far from rivals.
Frank Lampard’s Blues should improve markedly once all of his new signings fit and fit the squad, most notably in goal with Edouard Mendy missing for a 3-3 at West Brom after completing his move from Rennes on Thursday.
But Chelsea still have problems to tackle on defense, where the form of Thiago Silva, 36, raised questions about whether the Brazilian can be the solution at center back.
United escaped with all three points thanks to a handball penalty awarded after the final whistle in Brighton to win 3-2. But even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that his team barely deserved one point, regardless of three, from a game in which Brighton hit the wood five times and was unlucky enough to see a penalty disallowed in a VAR review.
There are also extenuating circumstances for the Red Devils after a short preseason, but they also remain leaking at the rear with no sign of a new left or center back just over a week before the transfer window closes.
