What we learned from Matchweek 5

Football writer Alex Keble highlights hot topics and tactical lessons from Matchweek 5, including:

- Guardiola’s decision to park the bus leads to Man City’s worst start since 2006/07
- Maresca’s negative tactical switch helps Man Utd play Amorim’s way
- After more tension at Anfield, has a 100 per cent record ever felt this unconvincing?
- "Lazy" Villa allow Sunderland to strengthen their case for top-flight safety
- Pre-season predictions that Brentford would struggle look accurate
- Goalscoring woes behind Newcastle’s slow start to the season
- Forest show early signs of "Ange-ball" at Turf Moor
- Calvert-Lewin’s comeback puts Wolves in a perilous position
- Set-piece vulnerability has given Potter a worse record than Lopetegui
- Brighton have helped uncover the best way to play Frank’s Spurs

Guardiola’s decision to park the bus leads to Man City’s worst start since 2006/07

It’s strange that so much focus after Sunday’s headline match was on Mikel Arteta’s perceived conservatism and lack of desire to play bold attacking football, when it was Pep Guardiola who effectively channelled Jose Mourinho in parking the bus at Emirates Stadium.

Manchester City’s 32.8 per cent possession was the lowest recorded in Guardiola’s 601-match league career, reflecting a defensive attitude that seemed to increase exponentially as the game wore on, until for the final 20 minutes he switched to a 5-4-1 formation.

It was a remarkably negative outlook from Guardiola, whose explanation after the match – that "we try not to play like this" but exhaustion after Thursday’s UEFA Champions League outing made it inevitable – rang hollow.

Plenty of teams have juggled a Thursday/Sunday schedule over the years without needing to sit so deep and it was Guardiola’s decision to start the same XI for three consecutive matches, which he did for just the third time ever as Man City head coach.

He must shoulder the blame, then, for the late Arsenal goal – and for a record of only seven points from Man City’s opening five Premier League matches, their worst return since 2006/07 under Stuart Pearce.

The eight-point gap to Liverpool looks huge. There is plenty of time to make it up, of course, but at the moment Man City do not look ready to keep up with the holders.

Maresca’s negative tactical switch helps Man Utd play Amorim’s way

Just like Man City, Chelsea didn’t get the result they wanted because of a surprisingly defensive reshuffle from the head coach.

The early red card for Robert Sanchez forced a reaction, and yet with Manchester United looking so vulnerable under Ruben Amorim, it seemed excessively negative of Enzo Maresca to switch to a deep-lying 5-3-1 formation.

Chelsea were left with very little pace or creativity on the pitch, but more importantly Maresca sent a message to his players, creating an attack-versus-defence scenario that played right into Man Utd's hands.

Amorim’s 3-4-3 worked so well at Sporting because of how frequently they could dominate possession and territory in Portugal. That’s why, facing a low block, Man Utd's system looked so much more fluid and cohesive than usual on Saturday.

Once Chelsea switched to a back four, they got back into the game, but ultimately Maresca was punished for being overly cautious when his side went down to 10 men.

They are already seven points behind the leaders Liverpool and, with eight points from five matches, have two points fewer than at this stage last season. Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool are their next two opponents.

Chelsea's next PL fixtures

After more tension at Anfield, has a 100 per cent record ever felt this unconvincing?

Only five times in their top-flight history have Liverpool won each of their opening five matches of the season, most recently doing so in 2019/20, when they claimed 26 victories in their first 27 games and lifted the title.

They have now won five consecutive Premier League matches for the first time under Arne Slot, having last achieved such a run in September 2023, during Jurgen Klopp's last season in charge.

Ryan Gravenberch was superb on Saturday, scoring the first goal to take his tally for this season to two – double his total for 2023/24 and 2024/25 combined. He also assisted Hugo Ekitike for Liverpool's second goal.

It’s all good news for Slot's team, then, following a 2-1 win in the Merseyside derby.

So why is there a nagging feeling after almost every game? And why do pundits keep pointing out flaws in the full-back positions, vulnerability to counters, and late drama?

Everton never really came close to equalising at Anfield but the tension was undeniable. Liverpool haven’t had it all their own way in a single Premier League game so far, making this surely the least convincing 100 per cent record in the competition’s history.

As highlighted on Saturday, Everton exposed an ongoing frailty Liverpool have at right-back and left-back. Unless Slot solves this problem it will, eventually, impact results.

Liverpool are five points clear at the top, with big players like Alexander Isak yet to really get started. It’s an envious position to be in – but things aren’t as straightforward as they look.

'Lazy' Villa allow Sunderland to strengthen their case for top-flight safety

Unai Emery was unhappy with the "lazy” defending he saw from his team on Sunday, giving a frank assessment of what needs to change. "We have to recover our identity," he said. "We have to try to recover our personality, confidence and personality to play."

Arguably what Aston Villa need is a new personality, a new identity. Teams are aware that Villa want to be pressed and want to pass through the middle of the pitch, which is why Sunderland simply sat off the visitors and blocked the centre.

In other words Villa are too predictable, hence why their only league goal this season was Sunday’s long-range Matty Cash shot that, dead centre on the goal, should have been saved by Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs.

Sunderland deserve enormous credit for coming back from a goal down with 10 men, preserving their unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light. It was further evidence  that they are comfortably adjusting to life in the Premier League.

They are only the third promoted team in the last seven seasons to win as many as eight points from their opening five matches. The other pair are Brentford in 2021/22 and Fulham in 2022/23, two clubs who have gone from strength to strength and continue to play at Premier League level.

Sunderland fans can begin to think about similar progress.

Pre-season predictions that Brentford would struggle look accurate

Before the campaign began, there was concern about a novice head coach in Keith Andrews taking charge of a Brentford team that was losing 39 Premier League goals with the departure of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, along with club captain Christian Norgaard.

Beating Aston Villa 1-0 in their first home match of the season changed a lot of minds. What has happened since – at Brentford, but also at Villa – shows many pundits were too hasty.

Brentford’s tally of four points from five matches is their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign. Conceding 10 goals is also a new low point since their promotion in 2021.

The way they collapsed at Craven Cottage is a concern, too. There were just 98 seconds between Alex Iwobi’s equaliser (37mins 59secs) and Harry Wilson’s goal (39mins 37secs), and within a few minutes of the second half starting, an own goal from Ethan Pinnock put the game to bed.

Brentford's next six Premier League matches include meetings with Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle. It won’t get any easier for the Bees from here.

Goalscoring woes behind Newcastle’s slow start to the season

Three of Newcastle United’s five Premier League matches this season have ended 0-0. It doesn’t require deep analysis to conclude that Eddie Howe’s side are looking superb defensively but at the expense of creativity at the other end.

Only Villa, with one goal this season, have scored fewer goals than the three of Newcastle, whose Expected Goals (xG) of 4.5 is the sixth-lowest in the competition.

Newcastle's shot map - 25/26

Howe will expect that record to improve once Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa have settled, because clearly Newcastle’s lack of goals is partly to do with the departure of their top scorer for last season, Isak.

In fact, Newcastle rank sixth in the Premier League for chances created (43) and only four teams have under-performed their xG by a greater margin. So, Newcastle are getting into good positions, they just can’t yet apply the finishing touch.

It leaves them with one win from their first five matches and a position in the bottom half of the table.

Forest show early signs of Ange-ball at Turf Moor

"We’re looking a different team, and that’s what I wanted to see," Ange Postecoglou told the BBC's Match of the Day after Saturday's draw at Turf Moor.

"We saw elements of that on Wednesday night as well [in the 3-2 EFL Cup defeat to Swansea City], and that’s great for me because it means the players are responding to what we want them to do.

"If we keep making that kind of progress, the results will follow."

Postecoglou is understandably pleased that his players are immediately following his instructions, which was obvious throughout Saturday’s encounter. Forest held 63.3 per cent possession, their highest in a Premier League match since their promotion in 2022.

Forest's midfield trio, containing Douglas Luiz for the first time, was constantly rotating, with all three players making aggressive forward runs, while left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko regularly inverted into a No 8 position, just as Destiny Udogie did for Postecoglou at Spurs.

Zinchenko's touches v Burnley

Burnley did create several high-quality chances on the break and ought to have taken one of them in the second half.

Already the hallmarks of a Postecoglou team are there – for better and for worse.

Calvert-Lewin’s comeback puts Wolves in a perilous position

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has endured a difficult few years. He scored just 12 Premier League goals in the last three seasons at Everton, where injuries disrupted his form significantly; with those 12 goals scored from an xG of 25.4.

A run of matches at Leeds United could revitalise his career, on this evidence at least. Calvert-Lewin scored his first goal for his new club at Wolverhampton Wanderers and then, eight minutes later, it was his excellent work – starting a move in his own half, then getting fouled on the edge of the box – that set up Anton Stach’s free-kick goal.

Watch Calvert-Lewin's first goal for Leeds

Wolves have now lost five consecutive Premier League games. Only two teams have ever avoided relegation after starting a campaign with a losing streak of that length, although in better news for Wolves they are used to recovering from bad starts.

They only had one point at the same stage last season, and a maximum of three points at this stage in any of the last five years. Vitor Pereira, who has just signed a new contract, won’t be panicking just yet.

Set-piece vulnerability has given Potter a worse record than Lopetegui

Another goal conceded from a corner means West Ham United have now let in seven set-piece goals in only five matches this season. It is the main reason behind their poor start.

For West Ham fans, it’s a familiar feeling. Their team have lost their opening three home league matches for the second consecutive season, having never previously done so in 98 seasons in English football.

Last year it was Julen Lopetegui overseeing a poor opening. This time it’s Potter - who now has a substantially worse Premier League record than his predecessor.

Potter v Lopetegui comparison

West Ham’s trip to Everton next Monday night in Matchweek 6 is huge.

Brighton have helped uncover the best way to play Frank’s Spurs

In the first half at the Amex Stadium, Brighton repeatedly hit Tottenham Hotspur on the break, targeting Spurs’ left side as Udogie vacated space in order to join the attack.

Brighton's opener resulted from one of these counter-attacks, breaking a high defensive line that was surprisingly reminiscent of Postecoglou’s football.

Spurs did well to come back from 2-0 down to draw the game, but the biggest takeaway was their vulnerability when allowed to dominate possession and territory.

They had the same problem in the 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, when they held 61 per cent of the ball.

Thomas Frank’s Brentford team traditionally struggled when they were the dominant side, and already we have some early indication that Spurs will be similarly open.

More reaction from Matchweek 5