As of summer 2017, FourFourTwo has made the decision to discontinue Stats Zone activities.

Although Stats Zone initially won industry awards and gathered a loyal following, it became a drain on resources that sadly wasn’t matched by the level of interest and, specifically, income it generated.

It’s not been an easy decision – in fact, it’s one of the toughest we’ve had to make in the 23-year history of FourFourTwo.

Sadly, though, the football media content we all consume doesn’t come for free. Trouble is, nobody pays for apps and a significant number of people use ad-blockers. It’s at this point where the financial model breaks down and we have to start making choices about what we can and can’t do any more.

FourFourTwo strives to produce content of a quality above the clickbait churnalism that characterises much of the football market; doing that requires careful budgeting and tough decisions.

Stats Zone was taking time and money that will now be spent on producing quality features – both in writing and video – to service the significantly larger following we have across our other products and channels.

Features like this...

GK: Tom Heaton (Burnley)

It's fair to say that Heaton was busier than most of his fellow goalkeepers in 2016/17, yet he rarely let his concentration slip as he helped Burnley secure Premier League survival.

His record of 10 clean sheets was beaten by Petr Cech, David de Gea, Fraser Forster, Hugo Lloris and Thibaut Courtois - but Heaton made more saves (141) than anyone else, while a save percentage of 74.6 was second only to Lloris and Cech.

• FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone Awards: Premier League Goalkeeper of the Year

RB: Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)

Clyne isn't generally hailed as being the most attack-minded of full-backs, but perhaps that's unfair. Of players in the England international's position, only James Milner created more chances this season – and he took many of Liverpool's set-pieces.

Clyne was defensively solid too, making 80 tackles, 43 interceptions and playing his part in the Reds' 12 clean sheets. The former Southampton and Crystal Palace defender, who spent much of his time in advanced areas of the pitch, was also steady in possession, posting an 83.39% pass-completion rate.

CB: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Chelsea's Mr Dependable barely put a foot wrong as Antonio Conte's charges swept all before them en route to the Premier League title. Though having predominantly played on the right-hand side of a back three, he contributed in every phase of the game.

As well as being an essential part of a defensive unit which managed 16 clean sheets, the Spaniard completed 87.22% of his passes and created 22 goalscoring chances for his colleagues.

• FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone Awards: Premier League Centre-Back of the Year

CB: Ben Mee (Burnley)

Burnley defender Michael Keane has been linked with big-money moves to Liverpool and Manchester United this summer, but it's his centre-back partner who earns a place alongside Azpilicueta in the Stats Zone Team of the Year.

Defensive statistics, more than most other positions, are primarily descriptive (Burnley's centre-halves were always going to be busier than their counterparts at, for example, Manchester City), yet Mee's solid all-round score is nevertheless worthy of recognition. As well as making the most blocks in the division (44), the 27-year-old finished second for clearances (299) and 10th (73) for interceptions. Fine work all round.

LB: Nacho Monreal (Arsenal)

Monreal has been playing as a left-sided centre-half in a back three recently, but he still spent the majority of the 2016/17 campaign at left-back.

His record of 91 tackles was bettered only by James Milner, who Monreal edges out by virtue of his vastly superior interception success (88 to 44), clean sheets (11 to 10), blocks (11 to five) and pass completion (85.63% to 79.73%). He also provided only one fewer assist, despite the fact that the Liverpool man took a large proportion of his team's set-plays.

• FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone Awards: Premier League Full-Back of the Year

MF: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

You probably won't be surprised to be reminded that Kante is rather good at regaining possession for his team: the France international made 127 tackles and 82 interceptions for champions Chelsea in 2016/17. Although Idrissa Gueye recorded more of the former, and Romeu more of the latter, it's worth remembering that the Blues tended to see more of the ball (and therefore find themselves defending less) than Everton and Southampton.

It would be wrong to see Kante as a ball-winner and nothing else, however – the diminutive dynamo was also superb with the ball, achieving an 88.8% passing success rate through the campaign. 

MF: Oriol Romeu (Southampton)

Claude Puel likened Romeu to Kante before Southampton's trip to Chelsea in April, and it's not hard to see why. The Barcelona academy product, who spent four years on the Blues' books between 2011 and 2015, topped the interception charts with 90 and made more tackles (117) than all but Idrissa Gueye and Kante.

Romeu also contributed with the ball, finishing eighth in the list of most prolific passers with 2,072, 84.27% of which were successful in finding their target. He will certainly not be short of suitors this summer.

MF: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)

Eriksen has finally begun to receive the credit he's long deserved this season, which has been his most impressive since joining Spurs from Ajax in summer 2013. Eight goals puts him above every midfielder but Dele Alli, Eden Hazard, Son Heung-min, Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Michail Antonio and Gylfi Sigurdsson - but it's creation rather than conversion where his strengths lie.

The Denmark international fashioned more chances (112) than anyone else in his position, 15 of which went down as assists. And only one player (Kevin De Bruyne) could beat that. 

• FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone Awards: Premier League Midfielder of the Year

MF: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Having conserved plenty of energy by taking the 2015/16 season off, Hazard was back to his very best this term. Only Wilfried Zaha (142) and Adama Traore (136) got anywhere near his league-high 143 successful take-ons – Manuel Lanzini was a distant fourth with 88 – while he was directly involved in 21 of Chelsea's 85 goals, with 16 strikes and five assists.

It's little wonder Real Madrid are supposedly sniffing around the 26-year-old, who finished second to N'Golo Kante in both the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards.

FW: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Sanchez spent most of his first two seasons at the Emirates Stadium playing as a wide forward, but Arsene Wenger deployed him through the middle for much of 2016/17 and was rewarded with the Chilean's most productive campaign yet. Sanchez netted a total of 24 goals, an inferior record only to Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, while no forward created more chances than his 78, and only Sergio Aguero took more shots (139 to 129).

Gunners fans will be desperate to see the former Barcelona attacker put pen to paper on a new contract in north London.

FW: Harry Kane (Tottenham)

For the third season in a row, Kane broke the 20-goal barrier in the Premier League as he fired Tottenham to their first top-two finish since 1963. A remarkable seven goals in the final two games of Spurs’ season helped make this his most prolific year yet – 29 goals in 30 top-flight appearances was enough for him to win the Golden Boot – and he also provided seven assists.

A conversion rate of 26.4% puts Kane ahead of the likes of Romelu Lukaku (22.7%) and Alexis Sanchez (18.6%). He also found the target with more shots (58) than any other striker in the division.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Kane, the three-season wonder, was at it again in 2016/17. In fact, this was probably his best year yet: 29 goals in only 30 appearances, including seven in Tottenham’s final two games. That was enough to see him win the Golden Boot, fighting off strong competition from Everton's Romelu Lukaku, Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and Chelsea's Diego Costa to end the campaign top of the goalscoring charts for the second time in his short Premier League career.

It's still not entirely clear why many are reluctant to call Kane one of the best centre-forwards in European football, but that's exactly what he is and there should be no arguing with his excellent numbers. A consistently brilliant goalscoring record invalidates any suggestion that this term was simply another example of a hot streak, while Kane's overall game is well-rounded enough for him to avoid being pigeonholed as a penalty-box poacher and nothing else.

Edging out his rivals

Still, it's evidently his finishing ability that sets him apart from most of his peers. As well as scoring more goals than Lukaku, Sanchez and Costa, Kane's 26.4% conversion rate was also better than the equivalent figures of all three, and the fact that he scored 18 of his big chances is further evidence of his clinical edge in front of goal.

Moreover, even though Sanchez, Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Costa took more shots than the Tottenham man, Kane hit the target more often than any other forward, with 58 of his attempts forcing the opposition goalkeeper into action.

As well as keeping rival shot-stoppers busy, Kane was also effective when it came to fashioning scoring opportunities for his Tottenham team-mates. Of those players who were predominantly deployed through the middle, only Sanchez (10) provided more assists than the England international (seven), who also created a total of 41 chances – fewer than only Lukaku, Ibrahimovic, Sanchez, Diego Costa and Roberto Firmino.

The focal point

The one area where Kane is comfortably beaten by several others is dribbles attempted and completed, but that statistic is a reflection of his playing style more than anything else – the 23-year-old stands at 6ft 2in and serves as a focal point for his side at the top of the pitch. Rather than attempting to go past defenders, his primary task – aside from scoring goals – is to hold up the ball and bring others into play, so it's hardly a surprise that he scores lower than the likes of Aguero, Costa and Lukaku for take-ons.

As some of the numbers detailed above suggest, Sanchez pushed Kane all the way in this category, but the Spurs striker ultimately squeezed past his north London adversary by virtue of a superior scoring record.

Tools like Stats Zone allow us to quantify a wider range of in-game events than ever before, but putting the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis remains the most important thing any centre-forward can do for his team. Kane, in that light, fully deserves this award.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)

Tottenham may have been unable to end their title drought in 2016/17, but it was another excellent season for Mauricio Pochettino's men. A second-placed finish was the club's highest since 1963, while their final points tally of 86 was 16 better than the 70 they earned in last season's third-placed finish/ 

Much like last year, it's not easy to identify who Tottenham's best player was. Jan Vertonghen, Dele Alli and Harry Kane are certainly contenders, while Toby Alderweireld was once again a model of consistency in the heart of the backline.

Perhaps, though, the accolade should go to Eriksen, who has lapped up praise after a stellar season of consistency at the sharp end. 

Contributing to all areas

What counted in Eriksen's favour over his midfield rivals was his all-round contribution to Tottenham's season: he's primarily a creator tasked with setting up scoring opportunities for his team-mates, but his work rate and intelligence mean he's far from a passenger without the ball – vital if any player is to thrive as part of Pochettino's high-energy, heavy-pressing unit.

And thrive he has. Only Kevin De Bruyne (18) bettered the Dane's tally of 15 assists, while Eriksen led the way when it came to chances created (112 to second-placed De Bruyne's 103), 16 of which were defined by Opta as 'big chances'.

He also netted eight times himself, which ranks as the joint-eighth best return in the league for a midfielder.

Eriksen also scored highly when it came to passes, with only 11 midfielders having made more than the 25-year-old; while 12th place may not sound particularly impressive, it's worth bearing in mind that most of the players above him – including Kante, Jordan Henderson, Granit Xhaka and Spurs colleague Eric Dier - play deeper in the pitch and are therefore always likely to see more of the ball. The Denmark international completed his 1,977 passes at a success rate of 80.17%, which only dropped to 78.23% in the opposition half of the field.

The brain

"He’s a player who has this great ability to make the team tick and also make his team-mates look better," Pochettino said of his player in an interview with Spanish publication EFE earlier this year. "He is, without doubt, someone very special, a footballer who interprets, without needing to be told, what his team-mates can do. He’s the brain, the player who helps everyone else understand the game better."

The sheer level of competition may prevent him from winning Tottenham's player of the year prize but, statistically speaking, there surely hasn't been a better all-round midfielder in the Premier League this season.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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Nacho Monreal (Arsenal)

Arsenal once again failed to launch a sustained challenge for the Premier League title in 2016/17, and couldn’t even manage a top-four finisheither.

Alexis Sanchez is the obvious example of a Gunners player who emerges from the collective failing with his reputation intact, but – perhaps a little surprisingly at first glance – Nacho Monreal also deserves to be spared some of the criticism that has been aimed at many of his colleagues.

A combination of injuries and Arsene Wenger's decision to switch from a four- to three-man defence had the Spaniard redeployed as a left-sided centre-half in the final few weeks of the season, but the majority of his appearances still came at full-back. And in comparison to his counterparts in that position, Monreal's raw statistics make for positive reading.

Eye-catching figures

It's worth noting first that Monreal earns this award for his all-round solidity; there were defenders who made more tackles, interceptions and contributed more in the attacking third – but as an overall package, the Spaniard just about came up trumps. 

Monreal made the most fifth-most tackles of any defender in the division with 91, while no full-back was able to better his 88 interceptions. Both are eye-catching figures when you consider that Wenger's charges tend to dominate possession and therefore have less tackling and intercepting to do than most other teams in the league. A tally of only 11 blocks is indicative of the high defensive line they usually hold – there's simply not as much defending to be done in the penalty area when you ply your trade for a team like Arsenal.

Monreal wasn't quite as impressive in the attacking third, creating just 12 goalscoring chances for his colleagues - although two of those did end up as assists. But it's important to take his duties within Arsenal's team into account here: in order to aid the balance of the side, the former Osasuna and Malaga defender usually assumes a more conservative role than Hector Bellerin on the right-hand side of the backline, which is reflected in his attacking figures. Sanchez, for example, could not have done what he did without knowing he was covered in behind. 

Monreal is a defence-minded full-back because of instruction as well as instinct, so a failure to chip in regularly in the final third shouldn't really be held against him.

Milner the creator

Liverpool duo James Milner and Nathaniel Clyne, as well as Manchester United's Antonio Valencia, ran the 31-year-old close in this category. Milner created a league-high 57 chances, although he did take many of Liverpool's set-pieces, while Clyne and Valencia posted consistently good numbers across the board – just not quite as good as Monreal.

It's the Arsenal man who wins the Stats Zone award in his fifth season at the Emirates, despite his team's rather disappointing campaign overall.

Monreal also came close to scoring a 40-yard own goal (aka 'doing a Lee Dixon') in the recent 2-0 triumph over Sunderland, ultimately giving away an indirect free-kick inside the penalty area thanks to the quick reactions of goalkeeper Petr Cech. It's just another example of something few others managed.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Cesar Azpilicueta is a right-back by trade, but you’d have been forgiven for forgetting that this season.

Before 2016/17, the Spain international had been deployed on the left of a four-man defence for a large chunk of his Stamford Bridge spell, but was installed as a right-sided centre-half when Antonio Conte switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation during September's 3-0 defeat by Arsenal.

That he has thrived and not looked at all out of place in yet another new position is testament to Azpilicueta's versatility and quality as a defender and all-round footballer.

All-round excellence

With the caveat that defensive statistics can at times be misleading – such figures tend to be descriptive more than anything else – Azpilicueta's numbers from Chelsea's latest title triumph are impressive.

He ranks 12th in the defenders’ interceptions charts, which is particularly strong given that the Blues tend to dominate possession, while his tally of 84 tackles places him above every other central defender in the division (only eight players ranked higher, all of them full-backs).

To further reinforce his reputation as one of the most reliable players around, Azpilicueta didn't miss a single minute of top-flight action.

Style and substance

When David Luiz re-joined Chelsea from PSG last summer, it was widely presumed that he would become the side's chief ball-playing defender. Instead, that role was assumed by Azpilicueta, who regularly stepped forward into midfield and duly made more passes (2,457) than either the Brazilian (1,570) or Gary Cahill (1,849).

No other Premier League centre-back broke the 2,000-pass mark, and Azpilicueta's eye-catching tally was combined with an equally excellent success rate of 86.98%. 

Particularly notable were the 21 goalscoring chances and four assists he provided, the latter of which was only bettered by three other defenders (all out-and-out full-backs in Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Adam Smith, 5). Crucially, it was he who provided the cross for Michy Batshuayi's title-sealing goal at The Hawthorns.

Above all else, Chelsea's success under Conte was built on a solid defensive unit, and Azpilicueta played a crucial role in each of the west Londoners' 16 clean sheets. That's part of the reason why he beats the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Ben Mee, Michael Keane and Gareth McAuley to the Stats Zone award; each had excellent seasons – both as individuals and as part of collectives – but Azpilicueta edges them out due to his decisive class in determining the destination of the Premier League title.

“It’s been a massive season for him,” Conte said after the recent 4-3 victory over Watford. “Azpi played in a fantastic way. When you have this type of player it’s great for the coach. If I ask him to go and put on the gloves and stay in goal he’s ready.

“He's a model footballer and able to play in different roles. Today he played as a wing-back, he scored one goal and could have had two or three. He’s had an amazing season.”

Right you are, Antonio.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Burnley were widely tipped for an immediate return to the second tier this term, so Sean Dyche deserves huge credit for having kept their heads above water with a surprising degree of comfort. The Clarets reached the 40-point mark and secured their Premier League status with two games to spare, although things could have easily been very different were it not for Heaton.

The former Manchester United custodian was Burnley's No.1 during their last stint in the top flight, which ended with relegation in 2014/15. Much like the team as a whole, though, Heaton has looked much better equipped for the task at hand this time around, so much so that he fought off competition from more illustrious names such as Hugo Lloris, David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois to scoop this year’s Stats Zone Goalkeeper of the Year prize.

Thou shalt not pass

The two-time England international was a model of consistency for the Lancashire outfit, contributing to 10 clean sheets in his 35 appearances and making a league-high 141 saves. Sunderland's Jordan Pickford came close to his compatriot with 135 stops, but Heaton's overall save percentage of 74.6 puts him above all bar Lloris and Cech, and further demonstrates just how effective he was at repelling opposition forwards.

The fact that Burnley allowed more efforts on their goal than any other Premier League team makes their goalkeeper's contributions all the more impressive.

Heaton’s most memorable performance came in a goalless draw at Old Trafford in October, when he repelled 11 of his former club's shots and, tellingly, had more touches than any of his outfield team-mates. Manchester United registered a remarkable 38 attempts that day, yet Burnley's backline stood up strong to the challenge and, when they were breached, Heaton proved an unbeatable last line of defence between the sticks.

He didn’t rank quite as high in other areas of the game, with 26 catches only enough for 12th place in the overall standings. Yet a goalkeeper's principal duty is to stop the ball ending up in the back of the net, and it's fair to say that Heaton did more than most towards that end in 2016/17.

“I watched David de Gea the other night and I thought he was tremendous – not just his saves but the way he is away from the ball, prowling across his box and reading the game," his manager Dyche told reporters earlier this season. “I think Tom has a bit of that in the way he has developed in his career over the last two years and as he continues to do so.”

He may not have a great deal of improvement left in him given that he turns 32 next year, but no Premier League goalkeeper was more effective in protecting their team's goal than Heaton. Burnley can't afford to lose him this summer.

Stats Zone Awards winners

Goalkeeper • Centre-Back • Full-Back • Midfielder • Striker

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On Wednesday morning, as the Spanish press hammered Barcelona after the 4-0 debacle in Paris, Catalan newspaper Sport declared that ‘This is not Barça’.

The headline could be interpreted in several ways. The heavy nature of the defeat was certainly uncharacteristic for such a merited side, but even more so was the nature of it: the way Barça had lost control of midfield, stuttered on the ball, cracked under pressure. They didn’t use to lose like this.

A few days earlier, Lluis Mascaró had written in the same paper that “Barça are not what they were”. The conclusion was the same: the style based on 99% possession and trillions of passes had been watered down by Luis Enrique, while the reliance on individuals had grown. Gone was their intricate passing, their midfield dominance, their sense of identity. Barça, Mascaró wrote, had become “just another team”. 

His argument wasn't unfounded. In the first year under Luis Enrique, Barça tweaked their style so that the ball was moved faster to Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez. They became more direct, stronger at counter-attacks and more reliant on their forwards. But the system was also far simpler, and the midfield was practically bypassed. 

It worked well for 18 months, but now opponents have figured out that they can cut off the supply line to the forwards by pressing high. Barça no longer have a system in place which moves the ball through midfield; what was once their speciality has all but vanished, and it may well cost Luis Enrique his job.

Losing control

The contrasts are certainly stark to the passing machine Guardiola built from 2008 to 2012, and which was then maintained by Tito Vilanova. There was more control and the central midfielders had greater influence. As part of the 4-3-3, they dropped deep to get the ball, while the full-backs pushed up and the wingers moved inside to support lone striker Messi. The ultimate purpose was to set up Messi in the final third. “It’s my job to get you there, the rest is up to you,” Guardiola said.

This was reflected in the passing figures. In their title-winning season under Vilanova, in 2012/13, the seven Barça players with the most passes per 90 minutes in La Liga were all central midfielders. The highest averages were hit by Xavi (118.2), Thiago Alcantara (111.9) and Andrés Iniesta (96.3). After those seven came full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba.

That's all changed under Luis Enrique. Barça now keep the ball longer in defence, then find the forwards directly. Messi and Neymar drop deeper to create attacks, while the midfielders move higher and wider and see less of the ball.

Such factors have led to a general loss of control. Barça have gone from a possession average of 65.3% in Luis Enrique’s first season to 62.9% in the second and 61.9% in the third. It has also meant that, out of their top 10 passers in La Liga this season, seven are defenders. Busquets, in particular, is used less: he averaged 93.3 passes per 90 minutes under Vilanova, but has gone from 80.1 to 75 to 72.7 under the current regime.

The Busquets case

A case study puts the differences into relief. In January 2013, Barça beat Espanyol 4-0 at home; in December 2016, they won the same game 4-1. Both were dominant displays in which the underlying dynamics of their system were on display. 

Since the matter in question is the way in which Barça build attacks, it makes sense to analyse the distribution of the defenders. The full-backs have always passed regularly to the wingers, but under Vilanova they also played more passes to the central midfielders.

The same applied to Gerard Piqué, the primary ball-playing centre-back. Facing Espanyol in 2013, his most frequent pass combinations were to Dani Alves (15 passes), Busquets (9), then Xavi and Thiago (7). These were progressive solutions; only six of his 71 deliveries went sideways to Carles Puyol.

However, in 2016, the majority of his 72 passes went to Javier Mascherano (24), right-back Sergi Roberto (12) and André ter Stegen (11). Next came Suárez (9). Only fifth on the list do we find a midfielder, Iniesta, who received the ball five times.

And yet the most startling case is that of Busquets, who received the ball 93 times fewer in 2016 than in 2013 (even if he played 15 minutes fewer in 2016). 

Pressed intro trouble 

Busquets is particularly important here, because he has always been so crucial to the way in which Barça play their way out from the back. As opponents press, he drops deep to shake off opposition midfielders or play penetrative first-touch passes between the lines to the forwards. It was he who took care of the transition from defence to attack; the fact he now sees less of the ball denotes that this link has been broken. 

This, in turn, means the centre-backs have fewer options – which again means Barça have greater difficulty handling teams who press high. Before PSG, Barça lost at Celta Vigo (4-3), Manchester City (3-1) and Athletic Club (2-1), while they were also lucky to take points at Sevilla (2-1) and Real Sociedad (1-1). All these teams closed down well, knowing Barça would struggle to move the ball out from the back.

When they then lost 4-0 to PSG, similar faults reemerged: again Piqué resorted to simple passes, while Busquets hardly got the ball.

This has surely contributed heavily to their decline under Luis Enrique. The disintegration of their system has long been masked by the brilliance of Messi, Neymar and Suárez, but they have never seemed in such need for new ideas. There are other factors at play too – ageing legs, poor recruitment – but a more refined way of building attacks will surely be a priority when the current season is to be assessed.

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The Etihad Stadium, where life is not quite as simple as it was supposed to be. Manchester City have bounced erratically through their first season under Pep Guardiola, lurching between contrasting stretches of form. Humbled at Everton and Leicester, yet victorious over Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal, what are City now, what might they become under the decorated Catalonian?

On Saturday evening at the Etihad Stadium, he pushed his chips into the middle of the table. Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, and Kevin De Bruyne were all selected, forming an attacking-midfield band behind Sergio Aguero while Yaya Toure, with his body creaking and legs growing ever heavier, was selected to protect a traditional back-four - with the non-traditional Aleksandar Kolarov starting at centre-back.

Mirroring Mourinho

Guardiola was being pro-active and, though he might not like to admit it, had clearly been influenced by Jose Mourinho. In Tottenham's first loss of the season, 1-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the Portuguese had successfully occupied Mauricio Pochettino's full-backs, using attacking pressure to keep Danny Rose and Kyle Walker in their own half and denying Spurs the width they rely on. The maxim dictates that attack is often the best form of defence and that's especially so for a team who look not just fragile at the back, but deathly afraid. So Guardiola's plan, at least until summer reinforcements arrive and a comprehensive redesign can begin, appears to be to use City's well-endowed attack to disguise his lopsided squad.

Early in the first-half, it was highly successful. A jittery Spurs, penned inside their own half and denied possession, looked unusually vulnerable. Kevin Wimmer was yellow-carded after playing himself into a muddle and Eric Dier was booked shortly after for a tug on Sergio Aguero.

Twenty minutes in, Hugo Lloris was stretched to his limit by a Silva snap-shot as City continued to press. The Etihad still held its breath any time Claudio Bravo threatened to touch the ball and, curiously for a Guardiola side, City looked more comfortable playing directly from the back rather than in patient, methodical phases. Regardless, it worked - well enough to jolt Tottenham out of their post-Christmas rhythm and, as an emergency precaution, into a more traditional back-four.

But the bleeding didn't stop and neither did the self-inflicted wounds. Errant Spurs passes kept ushering City attackers into dangerous positions and, were it not for profligacy and periodically excellent interventions from Lloris, the game might have been done as a contest by half-time.

It wasn't, but the inevitable arrived shortly after the break: first, Sane capitalised on Lloris's poor judgement to tap City into a lead they thoroughly deserved and then, uncharacteristically, another error from the ordinarily excellent French 'keeper allowed De Bruyne to stab in a second. They were fortunate goals, but entirely appropriate at the same time: despite discussion of formations, tactics, and personnel, Tottenham's persistent defensive comedy was the game's defining factor. Guardiola's attacking quartet danced and shimmied, but their effect was magnified by the slapstick.

City’s downfall?

But here lies the complication with City: no sooner had their dominance been rewarded, then Gael Clichy stood off an advancing Kyle Walker and his cross, arced to the back-post, was headed beyond Bravo by Dele Alli. A single, short pulse of attacking pressure and the mood was changed. The flow of the game didn't, with the hosts continuing to create - and waste - chances, but that uneasy atmosphere began to seep into the ground. Tottenham may not have pressed and the momentum of the game certainly didn't shift, but the stench of vulnerability was in the air.

On 76th minutes, after Harry Kane shoveled an Eriksen pass into the path of Son, the visitors were level. Two shots, two isolated moments of attacking promise, and two goals; it was an extraordinarily vivid demonstration of City's flaws.

Guardiola's sides are known for their composure, their control, and their ability to subdue even the most potent threat. But this? This was a nonsense. Tottenham had taken umpteen punches to the jaw, been sent tumbling to the canvas half-a-dozen times, and yet managed to escape the ring with a draw despite not throwing a punch. Sometimes football doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

But maybe there is some logic to be salvaged and some credence due to the prevailing theory about City - especially given how neatly they break into two contrasting pieces. The frontline, tactically dexterous and full of menace, have clearly been infused by Guardiola's spirit and fed hungrily on every Spurs misstep.

The back-six, however, act as a damning indictment of the club's imperfections. The botched recruitment, the impulse purchases, and the failure to replace defective parts properly were all evidenced by that second 45 minutes on Saturday evening - and, ultimately, by an offensively anaemic opponent's ability to escape the Etihad and two-goal deficit with a point that, even by their own admission, they did almost everything they could to throw away.

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Ahead of this weekend's big match at Old Trafford, data wonks have pulled out the most salient Premier League stats to examine how every team in the division fares when going forward. And things look pretty healthy for Liverpool and Manchester United.

In terms of going forward both the Reds and Red Devils figure at the top of the charts for various play styles, accordingly.

The graphics below detail how Klopp's side are the most inventive team in the league, creating the most chances of all 20 Premier League teams. (Word here for Tottenham: good chances created too.)

• READ: Why Spurs are shot kings but Liverpool score more

And it's a similar story when it comes to passing: Klopp's charges are right up there for successful passes completed in the opposition half, second only to Wenger's Ozil-and-Sanchez-inspired Arsenal side.

However, efficiency buffs may wish to note that it's actually Manchester United who have the highest completion percentage of passes in the final third of the pitch (a 80.71% success rate shading their cross-city neighbours): they just don't make quite as many passes in this area as Arsenal and Liverpool.

But there's one area where Manchester United in particular are excelling, and that's from crosses. If United are going to score the goals needed to dispatch Liverpool on Sunday then it might be the service from out wide that brings success. Mourinho's team have delivered the most accurate crosses in the league this campaign, equal with Swansea, winging in more than 100 crosses - far more than any other top-six side.

Indeed Antonio Valencia is the most accurate crosser so far this season, with 25 successful so far. James Milner & Co. will have to beware come 4pm on Sunday.

Data courtesy of EA SPORTS, the Lead Partner of the Premier League.

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In Tottenham's last three Premier League home games, they've managed an astonishing 85 shots. On average that's just over 28 shots per game, or a shot every three minute and 11 seconds. Some ratio.

True, those games have been against Burnley, Hull and Swansea, but they are part of a wider trend. No team in the Premier League have had more shots than Spurs this season. Yet intriguingly, they're only the league's fifth-highest scorers – some way behind top goal-getters Liverpool.

Spurs are shooting more this season

Tottenham topped the Premier League shot count last season, although then it was a less surprising stat – they were in contention for the title and only Manchester City scored more goals, netting just two more than Mauricio Pochettino's men.

This season Spurs are taking even more shots – an average of 18.7 per game, compared to 17.3 last term. Despite that, and the fact that they netted an encouraging 10 goals in those last three home matches, overall this term they're actually scoring fewer goals – 1.7 per game, compared to 1.8 last season.

By contrast, before the Merseyside derby, Liverpool have been taking 18.4 shots per game, and scoring an average of 2.5 goals in each match. That essentially means that this season, Tottenham need 11 shots to score one goal; Liverpool need just 7.4. The Reds scored three at Bournemouth from only 10 attempts, and four at Arsenal from 16.

Reds' key men are clinical, Eriksen less so

A big factor in why Spurs are scoring fewer goals this season is the identity of the players actually taking the shots.

Harry Kane topped the Premier League shot count last season by some distance – he popped off 158 attempts, with Sergio Aguero next on 119. Kane was also the league's top scorer, netting 25 times.

This season the England man has attempted only 35 shots, though, partly because injury has restricted his time on the field but also because he's just shooting less often. His ratio last season was a strike every 21 minutes on the pitch – and this season that's down to 29 minutes.

Kane is clearly Tottenham's most clinical finisher – he's scored an impressive seven goals with those 35 shots this term. When other players are doing most of the shooting, however, his team will score less often.

Christian Eriksen has had 67 shots this season – he had seven against Burnley on Sunday, two more than Kane. Only Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic has peppered the goal with more attempts this term, but Eriksen has scored just five times – a respectable figure for him, and improved greatly by recent doubles against both Swansea and Hull, but not a sensational tally given the amount of shots he's had.

Meanwhile at Liverpool, Sadio Mané has scored seven goals from 37 attempts, Adam Lallana has six from 24 shots, Roberto Firmino five from 45, and Philippe Coutinho five from 49. All are more clinical than Eriksen.

Spurs shoot from outside box... to little effect

The reason why Tottenham are generally shooting more than Liverpool is their willingness to have a go from outside the box.

Tottenham's shoot-on-sight policy is very different to Arsenal's, for instance. The Gunners prefer to create the perfect opening before shooting, so they'll always have fewer efforts but be far more clinical with them. That's borne out this season – they've had 75 fewer attempts than Tottenham, but need just 6.4 attempts to score one goal.

More than 50 per cent of Spurs' shots this season have been from outside the box – 160 of 318. Liverpool have had 113 shots from outside of the box, which is only 38 per cent of their overall total.

Despite that, Tottenham's 160 efforts from downtown have directly produced just one Premier League goal this season – Eriksen's strike at Chelsea. That's the lowest figure in the Premier League. Liverpool have scored seven, the highest figure in the Premier League.

Reds burn bright away, Spurs strong at home

While Spurs are undoubtedly less clinical than Liverpool, their willingness to shoot is definitely paying off at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham go into Christmas having accumulated more points at home than any other side in the Premier League – 23 from nine games. That's largely down to the fact that they've dominated their opponents and had 196 shots – a huge 21.8 per game. Even if they don't score with the first few shots, eventually they find the net (they score one goal per 10.3 attempts).

On the road it's been going... well, less successfully – they've taken only 10 points from eight games, attempting 15.3 shots per game and needing 12.2 to score one goal.

Liverpool's home and away stats are more closely aligned – they score a goal from every 7.2 shots at home, and find the net from every 7.5 away. That's why the Reds are scoring regularly home and away, while Spurs are much stronger at the Lane.

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Manchester United had just been beaten 3-1 at Watford, not helped by a poor performance from Paul Pogba, when the Manchester Evening News ran a poll.

'Who should start in midfield with Pogba?' they asked fans. The most popular response, by some distance, was Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick.

Both had been named as substitutes by Jose Mourinho at Vicarage Road, and remained rooted to the bench for the duration. Carrick hadn't played a single Premier League minute all season, Herrera had started only once.

Midfield conundrum

That day at Watford, Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney had started in midfield instead. It just didn't work, in either an attacking or defensive sense. No creativity, not a lot of protection for the back four either.

Fans would have to wait some time longer for Carrick and Herrera to get the nod alongside Pogba. The trio linked up from the start in the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the League Cup, but not until the home match against Arsenal on November 19 would they play as a threesome in the Premier League.

And yet United supporters were right, and they were proved so again at Crystal Palace, as Carrick and Herrera once more got the best out of a much-improved Pogba.

The Frenchman was serenely influential as Selhurst Park, completing 77 passes - 29 more than he'd managed on that day at Watford three months earlier.

Jose has recreated Pogba's Juve role

It should come as no surprise that Pogba works well alongside Carrick and Herrera, because the combination pretty much mirrors the one that made him the most expensive player in the world at Juventus.

There, he helped Juve to the 2015 Champions League final while playing alongside Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio in a midfield three. Pirlo was the deep-lying pass master, just as Carrick is - even if no-one would suggest he's on the same level as the Italian. Marchisio played to Pirlo's right, keeping the ball tidily with excellent vision and technique, in a not entirely dissimilar fashion to Herrera. Pogba played to Pirlo's left, just as he's now playing to Carrick's left.

Carrick gets star man on the ball

Michael Carrick was the chief provider of possession for Pogba at Selhurst Park. Carrick completed 79 passes during the game and found Pogba an impressive 22 times - six more passes than Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur played to his entire team during the match.

It allowed Pogba to get on the ball with regularity and use his class to influence the match. Pogba found Carrick 13 times in return but played more passes to advancing left back Daley Blind (16), Wayne Rooney (14) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (14) as he looked to progress the attack, rather indulge in the side-to-side, repetitive passing that United were often guilty of under Louis van Gaal last season.

Pogba is in right place to make telling passes

Pogba wasn't just playing the simple passes either. In his position on the left of a midfield three, he was in a prime position to provide the telling final ball, opening up the defence.

Never was that shown better than in the 89th minute when Pogba collected the ball 35 yards out, shrugged off his marker, turned and picked out the clever pass that played in Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the winning goal.

A total of 32 of Pogba's 77 passes were in the final third of the field, where he could do most damage, and he created four chances  - more than anyone else on the pitch.

Licence to roam - and shoot

Pogba wasn't just a provider, either. With Carrick and Herrera largely staying in position, the French star has been given licence to roam into dangerous areas when he sees fit. It's a luxury he didn't have to quite the same extent in the days when Rooney was playing alongside him in midfield, for example.

He made the most of that freedom at Selhurst Park, getting forward constantly and getting in four attempts on goal, three from inside the penalty area.

A fine left-footed volley was kept out by Wayne Hennessey but Pogba did find the net just before half time, in the right place at the right time (even if that right place was slightly offside) to turn home Ibrahimovic's knockdown.

More performances like the one Pogba produced at Crystal Palace, and you sense that Manchester United could be knocking on the door for a top four spot once again.

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This time last year, only one player from the Premier League's leading clubs could still claim to be unbeaten, having played 10 games or more in all competitions. His name was Christian Fuchs, and he would go on to win the title.

Fuchs' unbeaten record was aided by the fact that, actually, he spent the first two months of the season as second choice left back to Jeffrey Schlupp - missing the 5-2 home loss to Arsenal as a result. At Arsenal this season, it's rather different. Four players still remain unbeaten, and three of them have started almost every single league game they've been available for.

Alexis Sanchez may have taken all the headlines on Saturday, and deservedly so, for his hat-trick in the 5-1 win at West Ham. But his unbeaten record went on the very first day of the season, when he started in the 4-3 home loss to Liverpool. The four unbeaten Gunners - the 2016/17 Invincibles, at least for now - are Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and, er, Olivier Giroud.

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Of the Premier League's current leading lights, Liverpool defender Joel Matip is the only other member of the undefeated club, having missed the 4-3 loss at Bournemouth that wiped out the unbeaten records of Sadio Mane, Emre Can and Loris Karius.

Mustafi has delivered what Arsenal paid for

Shkodran Mustafi joined Arsenal from Valencia on August 30. By that stage, he'd actually already lost for Los Che - he'd appeared as a half time substitute in a 4-2 home defeat to Las Palmas, when Valencia were already 3-2 down.

He made his Gunners debut in a 2-1 win over Southampton on September 10, and the club's £35m centre back signing has now played 16 times for Arsenal and lost exactly none of those matches. He was rested when Arsene Wenger's side when Southampton this time triumphed at the Emirates in the League Cup last week, the club's only loss since that opening day reverse to Liverpool.

The German international has delivered exactly what Arsenal paid for - a series of solid defensive performances, and leadership abilities too. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pointed out after the 5-1 win at West Ham that Mustafi had been among those shouting at team-mates, urging them to retain focus, even when the game appeared won. Every good side needs players like that.

Mustafi has undoubtedly proved to be an upgrade on Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista, who both started often alongside Laurent Koscielny at centre back last season. Gabriel was the man in central defence when the Gunners drew 3-3 at West Ham last term, and very nearly lost. Arsenal were as dangerous in attack that day as they were at the London Stadium on Saturday, but their defence cost them points.

"We were all over the field last year too," Slaven Bilic admitted, as he reflected on West Ham's two recent encounters with the Gunners. "It was 2-0 and very likely to be 3-0. Then Andy Carroll brought us back into the game."

Carroll scored a hat-trick that day, having an astonishing 10 shots during the match. This time he wasn't quite fit enough to start, and Arsenal fared rather better against the inexperienced Ashley Fletcher.

"We had a stronger defensive performance this time," Wenger declared, putting last season's Upton Park horror show firmly in the past. Mustafi was as commanding as ever, making seven clearances and winning six of seven aerial duels - the most of anyone on the field. As a result, Arsenal romped to a handsome victory.

Ozil is focusing more on goals, not assists

Mesut Ozil missed Arsenal's opening day loss to Liverpool after being given extra time off following Germany's run to the Euro 2016 semi finals, but is unbeaten in the 18 games he's played since then. Seventeen of those matches have been as a starter - he came on as a sub at Leicester in the Gunners' second game of the season.

Ozil's goal at West Ham on Saturday was his eighth of the season, meaning that he has already matched his tally for the whole of the 2015/16 campaign. Then, he provided 19 Premier League assists during the course of the season, including a stunning 16 by the end of December. This time he has only two assists - the second of them coming when he set up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal against the Hammers.

Ozil has linked up more closely with Alexis Sanchez this season, with the Chilean moved into the striker's role. All four of Ozil's Premier League goals this term, including his strike at the London Stadium, have come from Sanchez assists. With the duo both finding the net regularly, the Gunners have scored 33 goals in 14 Premier League matches - compared to only 24 at the same stage last term.

Koscielny relishing captain's role

With Per Mertesacker absent with a knee injury and unlikely to return to the starting line-up when he's fit again, Laurent Koscielny has taken over the captain's armband for the Gunners.

Arsene Wenger admitted recently that the defender has not always been the most vocal of players, and yet Koscielny was another of the players that Oxlade-Chamberlain revealed had barked instructions throughout the West Ham game to keep his team-mates focused.

Like Ozil, Koscielny missed the opening game of the season against Liverpool following his commitments at Euro 2016, but the Frenchman has started every league match since then and is now unbeaten in 18 games this term - 16 of them alongside his new central defensive partner Mustafi.

Koscielny made seven key clearances when Arsenal didn't play well but dug out a point at Manchester United, and he won five of his six aerial duels at West Ham.

Giroud's role has been crucial (yes, really)

True, so far this has been far from the finest season of Olivier Giroud's career. But despite that, he's still undefeated. Giroud also missed the Liverpool defeat and injury ruled him out of the League Cup loss to Southampton. The striker's unbeaten streak stands at 11 matches this season.

The Giroud sceptics might argue that the Frenchman's lack of defeats is largely down to the fact that he's no longer in the Arsenal starting line-up, missing costly chances that the Gunners ultimately pay for at the other end. He's yet to start a single game in the Premier League, getting the nod only twice in the Champions League.

But that would be overlooking the fact that, were it not for Giroud, not one Arsenal player could claim to be unbeaten this season. It was Giroud who came off the bench to score the crucial 89th-minute equaliser at Manchester United - ensuring that Mustafi, Ozil and Koscielny all remain invincible. He put the Gunners back on level terms at Ludogorets Razgrad too, netting the leveller after they'd gone 2-0 down.

So really, when you think about it, this whole thing has been down to Giroud. Chapeau, Olivier, chapeau.

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In the 80th minute of last April’s Clasico, a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, Gareth Bale rose like a salmon to meet Cristiano Ronaldo's cross. Bale’s header – easily won over the dwarfed Jordi Alba – duly found the back of the net.

The Welshman celebrated for what seemed like an eternity before it finally became apparent that the referee had called play back for an alleged foul on Alba. It was Bale’s second disallowed goal at the Camp Nou in as many seasons.

Bale’s ability to influence the biggest game in Spain – heck, quite possibly the world – will be sorely missed when Madrid travel to Catalonia on Saturday. Since arriving in the Spanish capital from Tottenham, Bale has become one of his side's most conspicuous performers in meetings with Barcelona.

Key player

For one, he's a behemoth who outmuscles his opponents in the air, while his blistering pace can throw Barcelona’s defence into a frenzy. To make matters worse for Luis Enrique’s men, Barca tend to struggle defending counter-attacks once their initial counter-press is broken, and Bale’s ability to launch quick breaks helps to connect Madrid's midfield with Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

The relief for Zidane is that Madrid have a six-point cushion heading into the match, while their rivals in Catalonia are on the verge of imploding. The Blaugrana have looked lost without Andres Iniesta’s calming presence in the centre of the park, with both Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets regularly struggling to find passing outlets.

Yet this is the Clasico, and things rarely go according to plan. And while Barcelona head into this match like wounded animals, Real Madrid have a glut of injuries: Bale, Toni Kroos and Alvaro Morata are all ruled out, while Casemiro is unlikely to start.

How, then, can los Blancos cope without such important players – particularly Bale, who's been so important in previous editions of the Clasico?

Grab the popcorn for 2014 re-run

It’s somewhat ill-fitting to the narrative that, despite Bale being such a key player in previous editions of the Clasico, one of Madrid’s most impressive recent triumphs over Barcelona came without the Wales international in 2014.

In that match, a 3-1 victory at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti rolled out a rabid, high-octane pressing scheme in which James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Kroos closed down cohesively, disrupted Busquets and allowed Madrid to retain possession in the final third.

James, however, tends to look dazed when deployed as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3: in avenues where Real Madrid absorb attacks, the Colombian struggles to close passing lanes, and is better suited to a more advanced role. His counterpart, Isco, understands movements without the ball much better and can defend space well, while his understanding with Marcelo on the left flank represents one of the team’s most unsung tandems.

Together, those two can pierce through defensive lines on the left: Isco ventures forward pragmatically and Marcelo blitzes the wing while the Spanish ace covers in behind to snuff out impending counter-attacks.

And therein lies the answer to beating Barcelona without Gareth Bale. In 2014, Isco and James shared the pitch in a way few would have predicted. While the former helped pack the midfield alongside Kroos and Modric, James hared forward as the leading man in a high press, stifling Barcelona’s midfield and causing plenty of turnovers.

Few are better than the 25-year-old when it comes to finding pockets of space with deft passes in advanced areas, and Ancelotti’s scheme of stuffing the midfield with technically gifted midfielders allowed James to roam more freely.

No Toni, no problem

Without Kroos, Zidane’s best bet would be to use Mateo Kovacic in a box-to-box role. Even if Casemiro is fit enough to start, games against Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad earlier this season demonstrated the Brazilian’s discomfort in passing his way out of a press. Kovacic, meanwhile, is in the form of his life, making the leap from promising midfielder with an ambiguous identity to a de-facto Modric heir.

Opting for a packed midfield provides more advantages than just giving the attackers more freedom – it also offers defensive stability, and masks the deficiencies of a team who have often struggled without an anchorman.

A four-man midfield was employed against Atletico Madrid two weeks ago, and Zidane may opt for something similar here. The idea may seem paradoxical at first glance, given that Bale’s ability to defend from the flanks and transition at speed to create chances for Ronaldo was paramount in the 4-4-1-1's success.

But a realistic solution could see the diligent Lucas Vazquez start in place of Bale, thus opening up space on the opposite flank for someone like Marco Asensio. While Vazquez has struggled with the ball at his feet in this formation, he brings plenty more to the table, tracking and playing as a traditional winger while assisting the central midfielders in swarming opponents and providing passing outlets.

Vazquez wasn’t heavily involved offensively in the Calderon, but he made three successful tackles and two clearances while doing a great deal of defensive work to assist Carvajal, Modric and Kovacic

Stick or twist?

Still, Zidane may opt against deviating from his more traditional 4-3-3 now that Casemiro and Karim Benzema are back, particularly as a draw would be a good result this weekend.

Indeed, a draw might be a wise thing to aim for. While Zidane might want victory over a struggling rival, he must remember that his side are facing a sleeping giant who have little to lose and will see this match as the perfect motivation to improve.

“We have to start improving. We’ve produced the worst game of our era and we’ll certainly see a different Barça in the Clasico,” Luis Enrique said after a disappointing 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad last time out.

“The battles will be important and they will be decisive. I’m sure that we will fight.”

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It's our annual list of the planet's 100 best footballers this week on FourFourTwo.com – but that's not where the fun starts and ends.

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Diego Costa will be the main threat when Chelsea face Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but his goalscoring streak isn't the only thing that should worry Mauricio Pochettino. The striker has changed his game under Antonio Conte, adopting a style that better suits the new 3-4-3 system. Rather than working the channels, Costa has now become a kind of targetman whose link-up play is fundamental to the way in which Chelsea build their attacks. 

This represents an evolution for Costa, the Premier League's top scorer with 10 goals in 12 games. At Atletico Madrid, whom he left for Chelsea in 2014, he was a mobile forward who drifted wide to drag centre-backs out of position, winning dangerous free-kicks and taking on defenders. Particularly in the derbies against Real Madrid, he spent little time in central areas near the box. 

Costa was handed a similar role when Jose Mourinho fielded him up front in the 4-2-3-1 system that propelled Chelsea to the title in 2014/15. The wide runs did not appear as frequently as in Spain, but he did continue to drift near the flanks to make space for others, particularly away from home. 

This was dangerous enough and might have been welcomed by Conte, had it not been so at odds with how the Italian likes his strikers to play. 

Like watching Pellè

Indeed, the Juventus years left few doubts about Conte’s preferences. Eventually settling on a 3-5-2 configuration, the former Siena boss based his attacks on a forward duo who operated close together, with runs out wide left to others. One striker could go while the other came short, but one non-negotiable aspect was their availability for passes to feet from the defenders and midfielders. Conte wanted clear reference points up front. 

This restricted their movement, but it also gave team-mates an easy outlet. When Conte had been replaced by Max Allegri in 2014, Carlos Tevez, then at Juve, lifted the lid on the key differences. “Under the previous coach we played with two strikers in fixed positions and close together,” he told El País, “Under Allegri we only have a fixed position when we don’t have the ball, but we’re more free to play the way we want to play when we attack.” 

When Conte took Italy to the Euros, this dimension was retained. In a similar 3-5-2, Eder and Graziano Pelle stayed centrally and came short for passes to feet or high balls from the defenders. Having already rehearsed several moves, the Italian wingers would sometimes hit blind passes towards the front duo, aware that someone would always be available. The strategy was evident throughout the tournament, most notably in the 2-0 win against Spain.

Give it to Diego

And so when Conte arrived in London, Costa would always have to adapt, a message delivered publicly already after the opening 2-1 triumph at home to West Ham. “Diego is a forward and he knows that, in my idea of football, the forward must be a point of reference for the team,” Conte said. “I don’t like that a forward moves around the pitch. I like him to stay there [in the box], because you are a forward and your commitment is to score goals and to stay in the right position.”

While ramming home goals, Costa's got to grips with the new demands. His link-up play has been noticeable, particularly in the last two games – a 5-0 drubbing of Everton and a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough. There's been little need to work the channels, with wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses taking care of maintaining width, while forwards Eden Hazard and Pedro can also stretch the play. As a result, Costa has roamed less than before.

This has benefited Hazard and Pedro: the duo spend most of their time lurking between the lines and can now use Costa as an outlet for quick one-twos. An easy trick is to give Costa the ball, then run towards him and beyond to get it back in a better position. Hazard has linked up in this way on numerous occasions: the playmaker gave Costa more passes than any other team-mate both against Everton and Middlesbrough.

In fact, Hazard found Costa twice as often (18 times) as anyone else did at the Riverside Stadium. “Diego is always important, not only for the goals but because he is our point of reference when we are attacking,” Conte reiterated later. “He played so well with Pedro and Eden.”

Problems for Poch 

It's therefore not at all surprising that Costa has been more directly involved in creating chances. His average of shots assisted per league game has risen from 1.1 to 1.7 this season, and he set up four apiece against Everton (nobody recorded more) and Boro, having not managed more than three in any previous league game under Conte. 

Such numbers will surely have been noted by Pochettino, who will face the 3-4-3 that's helped Chelsea to six straight league wins and clean sheets. The Argentine, whose side have recorded one win in nine games across all competitions, will miss the injured Tony Alderweireld and Ben Davies plus the suspended Danny Rose, which is far from ideal for such a test.

One option is to use the thee-man defence that delivered the 1-1 draw at Arsenal. That would raise the prospect of putting three centre-backs on Costa – while also pushing up on Hazard or Pedro – without leaving large gaps in the backline. Another key point will be to screen the space in front of Costa to prevent easy passes into feet, given that he’ll try to link up with Hazard and start dangerous moves.

Still, that's far easier said than done. When the league's top scorer doubles up as an influential targetman, you know you’ll be in for a challenge.

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In hindsight, the horrifying list of absentees was the best thing that could have happened to Real Madrid. On Saturday night, Zinedine Zidane travelled to the Vicente Calderon without his chief midfield enforcer, key playmaker and two first-choice centre-backs – all while on a run of just one clean sheet in 11 games that included a 3-3 draw at Legia Warsaw.

Most expected Atletico Madrid to punish their fragility. And yet instead, Zidane discovered a tactical formula that may solve their defensive issues on the road once and for all.

The Frenchman has been here before. Back in February, after a demoralising 1-0 defeat at home to their crosstown rivals, he resorted to beefing up midfield by playing Casemiro instead of Isco or James Rodriguez. The pragmatic call launched Madrid on a wave of victories that delivered the Champions League title and nearly the Liga crown as well. They haven’t lost a league game since.

At the Calderon, Zidane made a comparable move. Without Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos, he ditched the customary 4-3-3 for a steelier 4-4-1-1 in which Isco played behind Cristiano Ronaldo as Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez sandwiched Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic. He was not only rewarded with an astonishing 3-0 victory, but a potential template for the future. Certainly in tough away games, Madrid seem better off by breaking apart the glitzy ‘BBC’ forward trio.

Stealing from the neighbour

Let there be no doubt about the merit of the achievement. This is an Atletico side that equalled the Liga record for the fewest goals conceded in a season (18) and that can reasonably claim to be one of the best defensive sides in history. Their previous league defeat at the Calderon came in September 2015. Their line-up here was the same that beat Bayern Munich 1-0 less than two months ago, while Madrid missed Benzema, Kroos, Casemiro, Pepe and captain Sergio Ramos.  

In some ways, Zidane used concepts from Simeone. Instead of a 4-3-3 in which the forwards track back only sporadically, two lines of four sat tight to create a compact defensive shape. Madrid were happy to wait inside their own half, leaving Atletico to do most of the pressing.

Key to the approach were Bale and Vazquez, whose work-rate helped Marcelo and Dani Carvajal combat Juanfran and Filipe Luis. Particularly Vazquez put in a formidable shift.

The Lucas factor

This created a basic defensive framework that elevated Ronaldo and Isco. Isco responded with one of his finest displays for Madrid, finding gaps in midfield to help his side keep possession; meanwhile, Ronaldo was able to save his energy for runs down the left-hand channel, where Marcelo kept whipping passes into space in order to draw out Stefan Savic, the weakest of the two Atleti centre-backs and who had a woeful game.

This was hardly rocket science from Zidane, but it worked. Their passing between the lines triggered the free-kick from which Ronaldo scored and, while the penalty goal came out of nothing, Raphael Varane’s clearing header releasing Ronaldo who was tripped by Savic, Madrid would not have been ahead at that stage had they not known how to defend. They were particularly successful in stopping Antoine Griezmann, who was often forced to pass backwards.

That meant Atletico produced only a few chances until Ronaldo completed his hat-trick on the counter. Yannick Carrasco went close twice and Griezmann could have scored from a tight angle, but the hosts had been expected to create far more and, though Simeone introduced Kevin Gameiro and Angel Correa, they put few shots on target from good positions.

The BBC pattern

Considering the tactical triumph, one would have imagined Zidane would like to keep the system for similar occasions. He later said formations matter little as long as the players work hard, but in this case the two are surely interlinked: a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-4-2 makes room for more industrious players, instead of Ronaldo, Bale and a striker in a 4-3-3. Even before this game, there had been evidence that Madrid should dump the BBC in tough away games.

Since Zidane took charge in January, Madrid have conceded twice or more in five away games. In four of them, Bale and Ronaldo have started alongside either Benzema or Alvaro Morata: the 2-0 defeat at Wolfsburg, the 2-2 draws at Las Palmas and Borussia Dortmund, and the Legia debacle. The exception was the 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano, but there the third man was Jesé Rodriguez, who is also a striker. The observation is hardly illogical: the more forwards, the greater the vulnerability.

Conversely, out of the three clean sheets Madrid have kept on the road this season, none have featured the BBC from the start. At Real Sociedad, Bale, Morata and Marco Asensio secured a 2-0 win; at Espanyol, the result was repeated with Asensio, Benzema and Vazquez; before Bale, Ronaldo and Vazquez shone at the Calderon. Incidentally, Vazquez also started when Madrid held Manchester City to 0-0 at the Etihad back in April.

Ancelotti's secret

As if this wasn’t enough, further evidence can be found prior to Zidane’s arrival. In the Carlo Ancelotti era, Madrid won 22 games in a row in the last half of 2014 largely thanks to a 4-4-2 in which Ronaldo played as a second striker. Just as on Saturday night, two hard-working lines of four were present, with Ancelotti saying that “4-4-2 is the best defensive system that exists”.

That may be something to consider for Zidane, particularly ahead of a gruelling away schedule. Ignoring the Club World Cup in December, Madrid will next travel to Portugal to face Sporting, then visit Barça, Valencia, Sevilla and Celta – all likely formidable defensive tests. Though the list of absentees forced Zidane to improvise at the Calderon, he may be wise to stick with a similar combination for the upcoming weeks.

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"Very often my teams have lost games like this," Jurgen Klopp reflected after Liverpool's 0-0 draw on Saturday – and Reds fans could certainly identify with the sentiment. "We didn't because we stayed concentrated – it's maybe the most important thing for us. Joel and Dejan did really well."

Liverpool could certainly have won at St Mary's, but as Klopp said: in seasons gone by it's a game they might well have found a way to lose.

Too many times the Reds have been tripped up like that in the past – if the attack wasn't firing on all cylinders, the defence looked capable of descending into farce at any moment. Exhibit One: Dejan Lovren's ham-fisted attempts to control a football at home to West Ham last season (first he fell over, then he gifted it straight to the opposition and they scored). Exhibit Two: the entire Liverpool career of Alberto Moreno.

In 2013/14, the Reds' suspect rearguard cost them the title – they conceded 50 goals, 13 more than champions Manchester City. That season they netted 101 times – and with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané in their line-up, Liverpool will score plenty this time around too. Their title hopes, then, rest on their defence.

That's where Joel Matip becomes pretty significant. Liverpool's back four hasn't changed dramatically since last season – moving James Milner to left-back has been effective but was never likely to result in Klopp unearthing the next Paolo Maldini; it was merely the most convenient way to decommission Moreno's travelling circus.

Matip, in contrast, was signed to be Klopp's defensive lynchpin, and he was exactly that at Southampton. The Cameroonian marshalled Charlie Austin expertly as Saints failed to register a single shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time since 2004.

Matip has now started 10 league games for Liverpool, and they've conceded only nine goals in that time. He didn't feature in the 4-3 win at Arsenal on the opening day, or the 2-0 defeat at Burnley six days later. Matip was swiftly drafted into central defence, and the Reds haven't lost since.

King of positional play

Perhaps the most intriguing statistic on Saturday was that Matip didn't attempt a single tackle. Not one.

The reason was that he never needed to: the 25-year-old was known during his Bundesliga days as a man who rarely picked up yellow cards, because he had the anticipation and speed to be in the right position in the first place.

He's been booked only once this season, and has picked up 32 cards over 274 club appearances. Lovren, in comparison, has picked up 67 cards in 304 games, and attempted three tackles at St Mary's. Matip's style is reminiscent of that once employed by Ledley King, who was staggeringly booked only nine times in his entire career.

Matip's positional skills were very much on display against Southampton. On two occasions in particular, he was in the right place at the right time to snuff out dangerous moves with crucial interceptions. The 6ft 5in defender was dominant in the air, too, winning eight aerial duels – the only two he lost were in the opposition penalty area.

All the time, he carried out his duties with a supreme calmness, which may just be bringing out the best in his central defensive partner Lovren as well. If Simon Mignolet often transmitted panic to those around him before he was replaced in goal by Loris Karius, in central defence Matip is doing the opposite.

Top of the list

It's becoming very clear now why Klopp made Matip his first major signing as Liverpool boss. The Reds agreed a pre-contract for the defender in February – Klopp had only recruited Serbian youngster Marko Grujic up to that point.

The German would have signed Matip years earlier, had it not been for one problem: Klopp was manager of Borussia Dortmund, and Matip played for their fierce local rivals Schalke. Such a transfer would have been almost impossible to pull off, so instead the boss put him top of his shopping list for his next club – even before he knew that would be Liverpool.

"Klopp told me that when he was at Dortmund, he always said that when he was at another club, he would buy Matip," Emre Can revealed recently. In the end, Klopp didn't have to buy him at all – he simply had to wait until Matip's Schalke contract expired in the summer, and bring him to Anfield on a free. Result.

Old role paying dividends

For much of Matip's early career, he didn't actually play in the centre of defence – he was a holding midfielder, and the skills he picked up there were also evident at St Mary's.

Matip is clearly comfortable on the ball, bringing it forward calmly, and patiently picking out the right pass. Often, he's content for that pass to be the simplest available. Against Southampton he linked up frequently with sitting midfielder Jordan Henderson, playing 14 passes to the England man and receiving 18 from him in return. Ten passes went to Lovren, 10 to right-back Nathaniel Clyne.

In total, Matip attempted a hefty 84 passes, completing 69. Many of those passes were square – Matip isn't attempting to be Franz Beckenbauer or Ronald Koeman because his distribution skills aren't quite in that league, but he gets moves started simply and effectively.

Out of Africa

The good news is that while Liverpool are likely to lose Senegal international Mané to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Matip looks set to stay put.

He already has 27 caps for Cameroon after choosing to represent them over Germany, the country of his birth – his cousin is former Middlesbrough and Indomitable Lions striker Joseph-Desire Job. (In fact, the Liverpool man's full name is Joel Andre Matip Job.) His older brother Marvin, a midfielder with Bundesliga side Ingolstadt, has also represented Cameroon.

But both Joel and Marvin are currently in a self-imposed international exile. "I called Joel 15 times and I even sent him messages, but he never responded," Cameroon boss Hugo Broos said recently, presumably while hatching a plan to dress up as Batman and scale the Anfield roof with a massive placard saying 'I LOVE YOU JOEL, PLEASE COME BACK!' Yes, that should get his attention.

Cameroon's loss could undoubtedly be Liverpool's gain, though. Without Matip, you sense that Liverpool might struggle to keep the clean sheets necessary to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea for the title. With him, well they might just have a chance.

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International breaks are rarely convenient, for supporters, players or managers, but for Tottenham and West Ham the most recent hiatus came at a particularly inopportune moment. Spurs had produced their most encouraging performance in weeks during the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at The Emirates and West Ham, so disappointing this season, had taken seven points from a possible 12. It's the middle of November and definitive moments are still some way off, but this London derby was still a fork in the road, channelling the respective sides towards or away from the objectives.

Saturday’s game at White Hart Lane was football at its most contrary: West Ham raised their level, Spurs dropped theirs and yet it was Slaven Bilic giving the crestfallen press-conference at full-time. His team had thrown away a throughly deserved lead inside five minutes and managed, somehow, to emerge with nothing from one of their best showings in months.

Mauricio Pochettino was buoyant, though. With the win, the improbable escape from defeat's jaws, and with his newest young star. 

Wise Winks

The Argentine gave a first Premier League start to Harry Winks, the 20-year-old midfielder and latest academy graduate. With Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela still absent, and Dele Alli and Heung Min Son only fit enough for the bench, Pochettino again shuffled his personnel and formation. Winks began in a rotating midfield-three alongside Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, with Eric Dier dropping into a back-four next to Jan Vertonghen, and Harry Kane starting behind Vincent Janssen in the No.10 role.

Winks is potentially a fascinating player, built as he is from Tottenham DNA. With his light touch and determination to be expressive, he enjoys a neat synergy with his club's traditional ideals: he plays the game, as Spurs fans might say, in the "right way" - all touch and technique, poise and vision.

Often, it's possible to tell quite a lot about a footballer from his first significant touches in the professional game and, though Winks has made Premier League appearances from the bench, the liberty with which he began his full debut was startling. He quickly settled into a passing rhythm, showing for the ball regularly and pushing it about freely; Pochettino may have created an environment which emboldens young players, but they are individually responsible for taking those opportunities. 

Inside the first 15 minutes, Winks grasped his. Completing all of his first 12 passes, he guarded possession smartly and explored West Ham's vulnerabilities from the off. A neat inside ball created an early shooting chance which Christian Eriksen neglected to take and, minutes later, he threaded Kane into the box with a well-disguised through-pass.

A common issue for younger players is the speed of the professional game and its inhibiting effects: either they shrink from the physical challenge or, more often, they lack the clarity of thought to make decisions quickly or definitively enough and, consequently, either retreat within themselves or drown in the moment. The lights were quite clearly not too bright for Winks, though, and there was little sense of him trying to gently play his way into the occasion. He didn't just want to keep the ball, he wanted to use it.

Mixed fortunes

Tottenham didn't start well on Saturday night. The Kane/Janssen axis, on only its second outing, failed to function properly. While Spurs' build-up play was neat enough and they did often succeed in freeing both of their full-backs in advanced areas, the front two didn't destabilise the visiting back four nearly often enough.

The front pair’s off-the-ball runs didn't complement each other and, ultimately, they combined only to narrow the passing options of the players behind them; the moments of genuine penetration were scarce. The game was eventually won and the points were banked, but the 3-2 win was more of a superficial triumph than an outright success. Tottenham certainly have form to recapture. 

But it's important to separate Winks from those frustrations and to contextualise his performance. He scored the first equaliser, of course, tapping in after Darren Randolph had made a splendid save from Janssen, but his greater worth was in the consistency of his temperament and how willing he was to influence the game - even after Tottenham had fallen behind for the second time and the north London air had grown thick with anxious irritation.

In those conditions, it must be tempting for inexperienced players to retreat out of sight and away from the crowd's disdain. Winks didn’t: he actually became more visible as the match intensified and the pressure to deliver increased. That's what makes him stand out: not shiny veneer, but emotional substance.

Excuses are sometimes made for developing players and they're often allowed greater latitude on account of their youth, but this wasn't a false positive and Winks was impressive in more than just relative terms. The basic statistics bore that out, with him completing 57 of his 67 attempted passes, including 15 of 23 inside the attacking third, while also equalling team highs in interceptions (2) and successful tackles (2). 

However, this was ultimately a display garnished with eye-catching intangibles. At 2-1 down and then, later, with the game tied and Spurs chasing a winner, it was their least experienced player who drove them forward. 

The young leader

Winks began the move which ended with Kane equalising, driving possession up the field, and also started the phase which resulted in Heung Min Son being scythed down in the box for the decisive penalty, ending a West Ham break with an interception and keeping his team's foot on their opponent's neck. This wasn't just a player being neat, tidy and attempting to get through his first full 90 minutes without making a mistake, but one unusually comfortable in the rarefied air of a finely balanced derby.

It was a mature performance, but also a complete one. Passing percentages and equivalent statistics are only really of worth if they outline a true purpose and it's tellingly easy to illustrate Winks' function within the 3-2 win. He received more passes out of defence than any other Spurs midfielder - 12 from Walker, 9 from Rose and 8 from Vertonghen - and reliably infiltrated the West Ham half with his combinations with Eriksen (9 passes given), Dembele (5), and Janssen and Kane (3 each).

What next - proclamations of greatness and the fast-track into the England team? No, put the anointing oil away. Winks is unusual in temperament and plays with an intoxicating blend of heart and skill. Where he goes from here will be proven in time but, wherever that may be, it seems certain to be a journey worth watching. 

Match facts

• Since the start of last season, Spurs have picked up 20 points in London Derby games in league competition, the most of any side involved.
• Harry Kane has netted in each of his last 4 Premier League games; equalling his joint-best scoring streak in the competition.
• Of players to have played in 10+ London PL derbies, Harry Kane has the best goals/game ratio (0.82, 18 goals in 22 games).
• There were 160 seconds between Harry Kane's two goals for Spurs against West Ham.

• Michail Antonio has scored 11 headed goals in the Premier League in 2016, more than twice as many as any other player in the competition (Sergio Aguero and Christian Benteke next, on 5).
• Antonio has equalled the Premier League record for headed goals in a calendar year (11, joint with Tim Cahill in 2010).
• West Ham have received more red cards than any other Premier League team since the start of last season (7).
• Harry Winks is the first player to score on his full Premier League debut for Spurs since Eric Dier in August 2014 (also v West Ham).
• Spurs conceded more than once in a Premier League game for the first time this season.
• Mike Dean has awarded 9 penalties in the Premier League this season, more than any other referee.

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With three goals in the three Premier League matches leading up to Saturday evening’s Stamford Bridge encounter against Everton, Eden Hazard had been one of the key reasons behind Chelsea’s improvement in form over recent weeks.

On paper, the Blues’ last four matches looked tricky: Leicester, Manchester United and Everton at home sandwiching a trip to Southampton. But their 5-0 hammering of Ronald Koeman’s previously watertight Everton means Antonio Conte’s side have succeeded in them all, scoring 14 goals without reply.

Hazard’s performance was one of continuation, the Belgian’s quality in attack once again proving one of the key pillars responsible for Chelsea again walking away with three points. He has thrived under Conte since the Italian switched his formation to 3-4-3, Hazard playing on the left side of the attacking front.

Within this system the Belgian is able to express himself, his impact being so strong at times that the tactical approach seems to have been built especially for him.

Greater creative licence

While Hazard lines up on the left, in reality he enjoys a much freer role than his position on the teamsheet suggests. Conte allows him to come inside frequently, often joining Diego Costa through the middle and at other times dropping deep to pick up the ball, while he can even be found lurking in offside positions behind the opposition defence.

This freedom, as highlighted by his recent record (this is the first time in his career that he has scored in four consecutive league games), is the best way to make use of his natural talents. There is no better example of the power of this unshackling than his two goals against Everton: the first scored coming in from the left side, the second from the right.

The intelligence of Hazard’s movement caused havoc for Seamus Coleman down Everton’s right; the Irishman wasn’t sure whether he should pursue Chelsea’s midfielder when he drifted away from him, or to retain the same defensive line as the rest of his back four.

This uncertainty played into the hands of Marcos Alonso down Chelsea’s left side and encouraged the new signing to push forward with increased frequency in a bid to put Coleman under further pressure. Coleman’s lack of decisiveness also gave Costa more space through the middle, as Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams had to spread out in order to cover the space left by Coleman when he did follow Hazard.

The Alonso Factor

Hazard’s freer role is underpinned and made possible by the relentlessness of Alonso’s approach to his position on the left side of Chelsea’s midfield. He epitomises the modern wing-back in that he never stops running, sticks to the touchline with military-like discipline, and his stamina seems endless.

With Alonso providing width, Hazard is given licence to drift across the pitch without fear that a gap will appear in the space he vacates. Clearly, Conte has given special leeway to Hazard and Alonso to combine in such a way and this trust is demonstrated by the comparatively more traditional and functional relationship Victor Moses and Pedro have with each other on the right side of Chelsea’s attack.

The partnership that Hazard and Alonso have developed in this regard is striking for a duo that have played just a handful of games together. Alonso seems to have an instinctive awareness as to when Hazard is going to leave a gap for him to fill before the Belgian has even made the move.

Not all footballing partnerships have to involve interchanges of passes – sometimes it’s the relative positioning that’s most vital.

The power of belief

Given the way he underperformed in a Chelsea shirt for the majority of last season, it remains legitimate to question Hazard’s mental strength and teamwork ethic. When things are going right for him, however, his self-belief results in spectacular achievement.

His two goals against Everton, as well as his direct involvement in two of the other three, speak to his ability to determine the course of a game and feed off of his own talents. The delicate curve on the ball for his first goal, the ankle-breaking turn in the build-up to Alonso’s goal, and his sheer desire to break through Everton’s defensive line for his own second highlight how much faith he has in his range of talents when things are going right. When he’s happy, Chelsea generally are too.

At present there seems to be no weakness in his game within Conte’s 3-4-3; his usual defensive frailness is covered by Alonso’s presence and by the fact that the central midfield pairing of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante do such a superb job of winning possession so quickly after it’s lost.

One of the more startling, and frightening, aspects to his game at present is his ability and confidence when dribbling. Not only does he succeed consistently in this area, but he shows great intelligence in knowing when to take on opponents and only does so when he knows Alonso, Matic or Kante are in position to cover him if things should go wrong.

The danger his selective dribbling presents also led to Hazard being the most fouled player of this game over the course of the 80 minutes he was on the pitch.

Speed and directness

Meanwhile, Hazard was not only the most fouled player, he was also the player with the most shots, most shots on target, most passes in the attacking third and most successful passes to Costa.

It’s this directness and constant desire to attack that makes him so dangerous. With him on the pitch it’s impossible for a defence to switch off or take a breather. The greater licence he has within the 3-4-3 makes this directness even more impactful, as the opposition defence can never be sure which one of them Hazard is going to target next.

Quite simply, if Hazard can continue to produce performances of this quality, Chelsea are going to once again find themselves challenging for the Premier League title. Arguably, they’re making themselves favourites.

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Tottenham have struggled to find the net recently, but their biggest challenge this weekend could come at the other end of the pitch. Spurs have conceded in 42 of their last 43 clashes with Arsenal in all competitions and have not kept a clean sheet against their north London rivals in 14 league meetings. On top of that, they'll face a Gunners attack in rich goalscoring form.

Spurs, it should be said, have been solid at the back all season: five goals against in 10 league games is by far the best record in the division. Four of those concessions have come via set-pieces, the other from a disastrous backwards header from Vincent Wanyama. Even without the injured Toby Alderweireld, Spurs have been tough to break down.

But this derby looks set to be their biggest test yet. Arsenal have hit 23 goals in 10 league encounter, only one fewer than top scorers Manchester City and Liverpool; even when they lost the season opener at home to the Reds, they managed to score three times. 

At that stage Alexis Sanchez was still finding his feet up front, while Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott were yet to embark on goalscoring runs. That's now all changed, with Olivier Giroud also back in contention for a place in the XI. Should Walcott be passed fit for Sunday, Wenger could wheel out artillery of such weight that Spurs will do well to survive it. 

The false and the furious 

The evolution of Arsenal’s attack has taken some interesting twists and turns. Everything has revolved round Sanchez, who started the season as a lone striker in Giroud’s absence. He was first kept quiet by Liverpool but has since struck six league goals, which is a fine return even by his standards: the Chilean's current goalscoring rate is 0.7 per 90 minutes, up from 0.5 last season. 

Yet that's only half the story. Besides proving himself as a nimble poacher, Sanchez has often dropped deep in true false nine fashion to deliver the final pass. He has three assists so far this term, having managed just four last season. The best case example is his performance at Burnley, when he set up eight attempts for his team-mates. 

When Sanchez drops deep, spaces are left for others to exploit, with Walcott the chief beneficiary. The explosive attacker has oscillated between being a winger and a striker for some time, and his current role blends both: he stays wide for long periods, before ghosting into the box when moves are to be finished. 

The numbers tell the story. Last season Sanchez fired 3.9 shots per 90 minutes and Walcott 2.9; this season the Chilean has dropped to 3.3 and Walcott has jumped to 3.6. This has resulted in five league goals in nine appearances for Walcott, which is largely down to duo's partnership. “When we have Walcott, it balances well, because when Sanchez comes, Walcott goes,” Wenger said last week. “This is a good mixture, a good working unit.”

Serving the servant 

A similar factor has boosted Ozil. The playmaker pulled off a virtuosic solo effort against Ludogorets on Wednesday, and Wenger has commented on how the German is getting into more goalscoring positions, blending silky skills with cool efficiency. His finish in the 3-2 win at home to Swansea, hammered into the roof of the net, seemed to denote a new ruthless edge.

“When you see him finish like that, you think ‘Come on my friend – do it more often!’ because in training he scores. It’s very difficult to read for the keepers and he scores when he wants,” Wenger said. “And we want him to take more opportunities.”

Ozil scores against Swansea

It does seem that Ozil is going through an attitude change: he's scored three times and provided only one assist in the league, having set up 19 goals last campaign. Like Walcott, his shooting numbers are up, from 1.4 per 90 minutes to 2.0 this season. His average hasn't been this high since his valedictory Bundesliga campaign with Werder Bremen in 2009/10. 

But tactics have played a part too. Like Walcott, Ozil's been given more room inside the box because Sanchez tends to come short. In fact, all of Ozil’s three league goals have been assisted by the Chilean: at Watford, Alexis drifted out left and crossed for his team-mate, who exploited a gap and headed home; at home to Chelsea, the two combined on the counter; against Swansea, Sanchez lofted a pass over the defence to Ozil, who lashed home. 

Improvising quartet 

Wenger will have been pleased with this dynamic, but a luxury problem appeared when Giroud returned to action. It seemed as if the targetman had lost his place when Sanchez started up front at Sunderland last weekend, but then Giroud came off the bench to score twice and effectively win the game. His introduction immediately restricted Sanchez's movement, who returned to his old role on the left wing. 

With Giroud subsequently starting and scoring at Ludogorets, Wenger may chose to keep him up front, put Sanchez on the left left and drop Alex Iwobi, who has three assists but no league goals this season. That would rip up the dynamic between Sanchez, Walcott and Ozil, yet it would also assemble four in-form attackers whose contrasting specialities should make it possible to create efficient patterns of movement, whether by improvisation or design.

Indeed, the balance could be ideal: a targetman binding up defenders; a mobile playmaker who now chips in with goals as well as assists; and two direct wingers, one cutting inside and the other being capable of going on the outside too. Rarely have so many of Wenger’s attackers looked so sharp at the same time. Come Sunday, the Spurs defence could well be in for a busy afternoon.

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There have been countless theories over the last 24 hours as to Tottenham's current limpness in front of goal and specifically the lethargy the Lilywhites have laid on thick in two Champions League showings at Wembley this season, but it's important to not overlook a few home truths.

This isn't a hatchet job on the generally quite brilliant Mauricio Pochettino: the former Espanyol boss has added verve to an exciting young Tottenham side who managed to eke out a tilt at the title last term. But if Tottenham are still learning to play at a higher level in Europe's elite club competition, and new signings such as Janssen and Sissoko are taking a while to adjust to their new surroundings, then the man at the top of the table needs (and will) be taking stock of last night's poor showing too.

Wembley press box for me tonight. Watching the game accompanied by a bit of @StatsZonepic.twitter.com/On1sTHF2kA

— Gregor MacGregor (@GeeMacGee) November 2, 2016

For a start, Poch seems to have escaped much criticism for his continued fielding of Heung-Min Son at the forefront of Spurs' attack. The South Korean has failed to impress in several games leading the line and last night only managed to get on the ball six times before a change of position enforced by Moussa Dembele's forced withdrawal on the half hour mark.

Midfield mishaps

Once the Belgian midfielder had departed with a troublesome ankle, and the fleeting Christian Eriksen had dropped deeper, Son moved to wide left, got the ball more, Spurs settled and they suddenly looked more of a threat in the game.

Son received six passes before Dembele's removal…

But 18 thereafter as he moved to the left wing.

Sure, the former Bayer Leverkusen attacker arguably impressed against Manchester City in the resounding 2-0 win at White Hart Lane in early October, but that was an isolated performance in the spearhead position and hasn't been replicated since.

(Indeed, re-watch the chances from that game at White Hart Lane, and there's a strong argument that City were a little unlucky to not score on the day, even if they were bullied at times by Spurs' aggressive compression in the red zone.)

And by fielding Son further forward, Pochettino relegated his big money, attacking summer signing to the bench. Why would the Argentinean choose to dispense with a no.9-type forward who is far more comfortable with his back to goal and linking forward play than his South Korean counterpart? Maybe Janssen isn't fully integrated into the side yet but by continually putting him in and out of the team the Dutchman is unlikely to find the rhythm needed to overcome his current poor form.

Spurs unable to combine in the final third; too reliant on individual dribbling than recycling and probing. Leverkusen much better there. pic.twitter.com/CYPZ79gxlH

— Gregor MacGregor (@GeeMacGee) November 2, 2016

Out of form players

And why the persistence with the underperforming Christian Eriksen? Just one chance created over the course of the match from a player believed to be Tottenham's most creative. It's now no goals all season (hasn't netted since 20 March against Bournemouth) and just three assists in 13 league and European games for the Dane.

The former Ajax player was simply unable to connect with his team's forward players.

Eriksen only found Son with one pass during the entire game.

Son only passed to Janssen once during the match in return - Tottenham's players were nullified effectively in the final third.

And Eriksen only got one ball from Son too. The Spurs players couldn't find each other in the final third. Or didn't want to.

Compare the link-up play from the night before as Neymar found Messi ten times during the game.

And Messi in turn found Neymar nine times. Son, Alli and Eriksen need to combine more in the final third.

Is Poch running his most reliable players into the ground? Or are they suffering a lack of confidence due to recent results?

Would now be the time to give some of Tottenham's talented youngsters a go and freshen the team up? Pochettino seems strangely reluctant to throw in Josh Onomah and Harry Winks despite several other midfielders failing to perform; not what might be expected given the popular perception of the 44-year-old coach as a manager always willing to give youth a chance.

Kane factor? Kane's link-up combinations with his fellow attackers against Monaco. He received much better service - or was found - much more often than Son or Janssen against Leverkusen

That effervescent charge displayed by Spurs last campaign has quickly turned dull as a reliance on the more senior out-of-form internationals has taken root. Pochettino looks to have played safe with some of his recent tactical tinkering and has paid for it with just one win in the last seven matches.

Still, Spurs are heading in the right direction under Poch and the Argentine will be heeding Champions League lessons himself. We wouldn't bet against him finding a way to further improve over the next few campaigns, though spending much of next season domestically at Wembley is a shadow looming ever larger…

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Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona prided itself on the ultimate possession game, the midfielder-turned-coach imposing the philosophy he learnt while playing under Johan Cruyff upon taking the reins in 2008. The Manchester City boss maintains that keeping the ball as often as possible remains central to his philosophy, although naturally he's deviated away from it slightly when at Bayern Munich and now at the Etihad.

That's because he knows it’s impossible to recreate that Barca team, with many of its star players having progressed through the ranks of the academy. He's also tried to utilise the strengths of the squads he's found in Munich and Manchester, while simultaneously teaching them his favoured brand of football.

Perhaps the main reason, though, is that Guardiola no longer has midfielders as good as Xavi and Andres Iniesta at his disposal; even Barcelona, now under the guidance of Luis Enrique, are more direct without them.

Unsuccessful successors

Xavi left the Camp Nou last year, so the injury sustained by Iniesta in October has given Barca supporters the opportunity to peek into the post-Xavi/Iniesta era. So far, they're not particularly liking what they're seeing.

The club have feared this period for many years. The plan was to groom Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara as successors to the duo, but both left Barcelona before Xavi joined Al Sadd in Qatar.

At the Etihad on Tuesday, Luis Enrique chose Andre Gomes as Ivan Rakitic's partner in central midfield, with Sergio Busquets in his customary holding role in front of the back four. The Portuguese all-rounder had missed the weekend’s game with Granada, when Thiago’s brother Rafinha scored the only goal of a difficult encounter for the Spanish champions.

Gomes has very different characteristics to Iniesta, which means he was never going to be a like-for-like replacement in the visitors' line-up. Rakitic, too, is stylistically different to Xavi, even though he was the man who effectively forced the midfield metronome onto the substitutes' bench in his final season in Catalonia.

Deeper possession

Iniesta glides past players with the ball and provides subtle passes with his terrific vision, while Gomes is much stronger and uses his physicality to get past opponents. Gomes completed 36 passes on Tuesday - not a particularly low figure, but almost certainly fewer than Iniesta would have, thus indicating a shift in approach from Luis Enrique's side.

Barcelona made twice as many passes as City and enjoyed 65 per cent of possession, but this wasn't because of Rakitic or Gomes; indeed, Marc-Andre ter Stegen made more passes than either of the midfielders, an illustration of how well City pressed their opponents in central zones.

Barca still dominated the ball, then, but their possession came in much deeper areas of the pitch. This made it more difficult for them to feed Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez between the lines, with the Blaugrana struggling to work the ball out from the back and into forward areas.

Harrying and hassling

Guardiola insisted his approach in the 4-0 defeat at the Camp Nou two weeks ago was the right one, arguing that it had worked well until Fernandinho's slip allowed Messi to open the scoring. 

The Argentinian helped himself to a hat-trick that night, but City's opener on Tuesday owed in part to his movements infield from the right flank. Messi tends to drift inside onto his stronger left foot as he assumes creative responsibility in the centre of the pitch, which can leave Barca unbalanced in a defensive capacity on that side of the field.

Right-back Sergio Roberto's sloppy square pass fell to Sergio Aguero in the 39th minute, and City worked the ball brilliantly to allow Ilkay Gundogan to equalise after Messi's opener. It was an example of City's pressing paying off, and the hosts duly upped the intensity thereafter.

Barcelona's frustration began to show just a few seconds later, when Gomes played a long ball over the head of Pablo Zabaleta but Neymar, its intended target, simply pointed to his feet.

Gundogan equalises for City

Who fills the void?

City took the lead after the interval thanks to Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick, and Rakitic was replaced by Arda Turan with an hour on the clock. It was John Stones' tackle on the Turk that inadvertently led to a Barca chance on the counter-attack, but Gomes hit the bar after being picked out by Luis Suarez.

It proved to be a turning point in the game: had Gomes finished that chance, Barcelona may have regained the momentum and gone on to win. Instead, City continued to press expertly and picked the Catalans off on the break, with Sergio Busquets overwhelmed in the engine room.

“It's a pleasure to have him as captain for everything that he represents," Luis Enrique said of Iniesta before his 600th Barcelona game in September. "There won't be many Iniestas.”

He's right. The 32-year-old's unlikely to have too many years left in his legs, particularly if he continues to pick up niggling injuries. Barcelona's need for a replacement isn't yet urgent, but they must identify someone who can fill the void sooner rather than later.

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Since the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on September 24, Chelsea have won three games, scored nine goals and conceded none in the Premier League. It's been quite the turnaround and quite the endorsement for Antonio Conte's much-admired 3-4-3 formation.

While not to nearly as much fanfare, Claude Puel's Southampton have quietly been putting together their own run. Unbeaten in the league since the September 10 loss to Arsenal, they had conceded more than one goal on just two occasions and kept five clean sheets.

It took less than five minutes for Chelsea to put that sequence under threat, as Conte's resurgent team worked the ball from left to right, into the feet of Victor Moses, who in turn fed Eden Hazard. The Belgian winger cut inside Steven Davis, before slamming his low shot beyond Fraser Forster.

It was familiar. The finish, yes, the dancing feet of Hazard too, but also the shape of the move. While offering Chelsea more balance, their new structure has also enabled their attacking midfielders to penetrate deeper and further into the opponent's half. Hazard, in particular, is playing better than last season, but he also more regularly finds himself in positions from which he can influence games; no more static touchline play, no more hoppity-skippity hesitation.

Fit for purpose

But the more the 3-4-3 is allowed to mature, the more important the deeper players look – in particular the two wing-backs, and more specifically Moses.

The Nigerian has perhaps been done a disservice in recent weeks, in being depicted as a functional component rather than a genuine asset. He "fits the system", we're told, so is worth his place in the side by default. Perhaps there's a kernel of truth to that – Moses certainly got his opportunity by virtue of being right-footed and physically capable of performing the role – but to ignore the layers of his contribution would be reductive.

As an example, the Hazard goal at St Mary's owed as much to the timing of his through-ball and ability to attract defenders as it did his literal positioning. His sheer presence on the teamsheet may theoretically make Chelsea more symmetrical, but it's his execution and skill set which helps to make them actually work. On the other side of the pitch, Alonso has had a similar influence but, of the two, Moses is the more dynamic, is useful in more passages of play, and has had the more impressive individual evolution.

Swiss army knife

It's easy to forget what he has had to learn to occupy his current role. Bought as a pure winger from Wigan Athletic, and deployed as such by Liverpool and West Ham during his loan spells – Chelsea too during fleeting appearances in the past – the 25-year-old has embarked upon quite the learning curve.

Perhaps it's his newly acquired traits which now stand out the most. He remains talented on the ball and a problem for isolated defenders, but the wing-back role demands more than that. It requires a positional discipline and spatial awareness which, to date in his career, Moses has never shown. Yet it's those qualities which have won him a place in this side and they were in evidence again at St Mary's.

Southampton's attacking focus appeared to be mainly directed towards Moses's flank. With Pedro playing in the more advanced right-sided role, Puel evidently smelt vulnerability. However, while the hosts probed that area and enjoyed plenty of possession within it, they achieved very little. Pedro must take credit for that, so too Cesar Azpilicueta, but a feature of Chelsea's defensive work was Moses's ability to remove passing angles and position himself in way that forced Southampton backwards and infield.

He retrieved possession deep in his own half a few times and made three successful tackles, but it was that intangible influence which was most pertinent. For someone with no natural nous in this role, Moses has become quickly adept at the ushering and hassling aspects of the position. Beyond his more visible actions on Sunday afternoon, he also combined well with supporting team-mates to drain the speed from Southampton's periodic attacks. He didn't commit himself to reckless challenges or exhibit any of the typical naiveties associated with converted wingers.

Conte’s way

Providing two-way balance is a wing-back's raison d'etre and that's why Moses was so important in Chelsea's win: he completed his defensive duties admirably, but still managed to be a constant touchline outlet during the attacking phases.

That manufactured the space into which Hazard danced and scored, of course, but also equipped the visitors with a regular option to switch the play and prevented Southampton from congesting the middle of the field. Similarly, he was a convenient outpost for a number of players in several different positions, receiving five passes from Hazard and Azpilicueta, three from Kante and Matic, and a further two from Diego Costa.

Ultimately, Moses is part of a mechanism. As anticipated, Conte has constructed this Chelsea from interlocking parts to produce something which works smoothly and effectively.

It would be a contradiction, then, to single out any player from this side or to claim one individual's importance as being greater than the others. But if Moses deserves special praise, it's because so much of what his side are currently doing well seems traceable back to him and to what he does with and without the ball.

With the game won, Conte withdrew his repurposed winger for Branislav Ivanovic on 86 minutes. A standing ovation from the travelling support and a big hug from the Italian spoke volumes about what Moses now means to Chelsea. Dismissed countless times over the past few years, he is now an integral part of team who look every inch a contender.

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The year was 2014 and the match was 78 minutes old when Philippe Coutinho made his entrance at Selhurst Park.

Liverpool were 3-0 up and in genuine contention for the Premier League title, with only days of the season remaining. Within a minute, Crystal Palace had pulled a goal back. Within three minutes, they had scored twice. By the end, Liverpool had somehow been pegged back to a 3-3 draw. Their title dreams were in tatters.

Even if that collapse was little to do with Coutinho himself, the little Brazilian could have been forgiven for never wanting to enter Selhurst Park again after that unforgettable evening. But three seasons on, it was a superb performance from Coutinho that put Liverpool on the road to a 4-2 win at Selhurst. The dream is back on.

Liverpool had 20 points from their opening 10 games in 2013/14, when ultimately they should have won the league. This time they have 23 points, even if they will face stiff competition - not least from Manchester City and Arsenal, who currently lead them on goal difference.

Coutinho was influential alongside Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge three campaigns ago - now it's he and fellow Brazilian Roberto Firmino who could ultimately be the men most pivotal to Liverpool's hopes of winning the Premier League.

Firmino scored the fourth and final goal against Palace, a clever dink over advancing goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. Coutinho meanwhile had a hand in each of the first three goals. First he split open the defence for Alberto Moreno to cross for Emre Can's opener, the most decisive of the 20 passes in the build-up to the goal. Soon afterwards, he swung in two pinpoint corners, headed home by centre-backs Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip.

Brazilians bring both goals and assists

Coutinho's two assists took his tally to six in 10 Premier League appearances this season - a figure matched only be Kevin De Bruyne, and more than the tallies of Mesut Ozil and Eden Hazard combined.

"He's a good football player," Jurgen Klopp said with a wry smile, when asked for his assessment of Coutinho after the win at Palace. Pressed for something a little more in-depth, he simply smiled again and said: "He's a very good football player!"

Coutinho created four chances at Selhurst Park and made 23 passes in the final third, more than any other player. He had four shots on goal, a tally only equalled by Firmino.

Coutinho also has four Premier League goals this season to add to his six assists, while Firmino has four goals and three assists. Indeed Firmino has had a hand in 18 goals during 2016 as a whole - 13 goals and five assists.

The duo almost combined for another goal at Palace, when Coutinho's header from a Firmino cross was tipped on to the post, and together they have helped to make Liverpool's attack the joint most potent in the league - the Reds have scored 24 goals, the same as Manchester City.

Liverpool's defence still looks vulnerable - they haven't kept a clean sheet away from home in 11 league games - so their contribution has undoubtedly been important.

You sense that they will need to score a lot of goals to overcome those defensive frailties and get the wins they need to claim the title. At Selhurst Park, they did just that, largely thanks to Coutinho and Firmino. The duo will be vital in the weeks and months to come.

Maligned Moreno got best out of Coutinho

Alberto Moreno's inclusion in the Liverpool line-up at Selhurst Park was something of a surprise, with James Milner ruled out through illness.

Moreno's last league start was in the 4-3 win at Arsenal on the opening day of the season - the Reds had conceded only eight goals in eight league games since then.

It was no coincidence that his return brought another high-scoring game. His defensive flaws are well known, and he should have done more to block the cross for Palace's second goal. But the Spaniard did also have a significant impact in attack - particularly in the first half, when he got forward constantly to link up with Coutinho.

Moreno made 12 passes in the attacking third during the match - all of which came before half time. In contrast, Milner made only nine passes in the final third at home to West Bromwich Albion last week.

Moreno completed 34 passes in total and 10 of them went to Coutinho, who returned the favour with nine passes. That allowed Liverpool to build many an attack down the left, most notably for the first goal.

Duo pivotal to gegenpress

Coutinho and Firmino do their fair share of defensive work, too - something that's so crucial to how Jurgen Klopp wants to play.

Coutinho attempted a sizeable eight tackles at Selhurst Park, completing four of them, making one particularly crunching challenge in the first half that won possession in a very dangerous area. Both Brazilians are a key part of Klopp's gegenpress system, and a key reason why Daniel Sturridge is no longer first choice at Anfield.

Crystal Palace actually made 27 tackles to Liverpool's 26 - but only nine of the Eagles' challenges were in the opposition half, where the peril is greater. In contrast, 13 of Liverpool's tackles were in the Palace half.

Klopp's system is based on winning the ball high up the field, and quickly turning that possession into goals. With Coutinho and Firmino around, it's a system that will continue to bear fruit.

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For a moment, it all seemed very typically ‘Arsenal’. After dominating the first half against Sunderland and looking under no real threat at the beginning of the second, a questionable passage of defending from the Gooners ended with Petr Cech bringing Duncan Watmore down for a penalty, one that Jermain Defoe dutifully scored. 

Given the events of seasons past, you could be forgiven for thinking the match had already ended, the next 35 minutes of the match bound to be a replay of the frustrating attempts from Arsenal to rescue the points that they deserved in a way we had all become accustomed to. Riddled with the stereotype of not having a Plan B, it seemed pre-destined.

It is a pervasive idea that carries not just into Arsenal’s match performances, but in the perceived necessity of their recruitment as well. The time-old statement that the club have, in recent times, needed another striker is based as much on the need for a ‘different option’ or tactical alternative to Olivier Giroud as on his ability as a goal-scorer. The signing of Lucas Perez seemed to be Arsene Wenger admitting as much, with the Spanish forward coming from a Deportivo side with a very different tactical system, one that played the most long balls in La Liga last season. 

And yet, just as quickly as the narrative turned sour on Arsenal, they completely flipped it on its head again. What’s more, they did it with players that were all, bar Shkodran Mustafi, available to them last season, and their saviour was none other than the much maligned Giroud. 

Bellerin, pseudo-winger

One of the most interesting tactical features of this Arsenal side is Hector Bellerin’s dual role of full-back and pseudo-winger. Blessed with the pace of a sprinter, the Catalan born 21-year-old can both hold an exceptionally high position when Arsenal are in possession, and make the recovery runs to make sure his side of the pitch isn’t a huge defensive weakness when they aren’t.

It is a role most like that of Dani Alves at Barcelona in recent times, and so it is no surprise that Bellerin is constantly linked to a Cesc Fabregas-style return home. Luckily for Arsenal fans, Wenger has recently pledged to attempt to tie Bellerin down for more than the three years on his current deal, also adding that “I think in life you do not necessarily have to play where you were born. Modern life is not exactly like that.”

Arsenal’s first goal typified the benefits of Bellerin’s role as an auxiliary winger. In a beautiful move that spanned 22 passes, a record high for a move that led to a goal in the Premier League this season, the Spaniard played 4 of them. His initially high and wide positioning allowed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to pry for an opening inside. After a patient reset of possession backwards, the pair swapped, giving Chamberlain the opportunity to beat his man and whip a dangerous cross in to Alexis Sanchez, who athletically pounced above Lamina Kone.

#safc 0-1 #Arsenal (via @StatsZonehttps://t.co/7D2swcFG8L): Lovely move for Sanchez's header: some 22 passes. pic.twitter.com/Wqr3P5WPKd

— Stats Zone (@StatsZone) October 29, 2016

Normally this season, Theo Walcott has been the beneficiary of Bellerin’s ability to both support in attack and be competent defensively. Where Chamberlain played like a traditional winger against Sunderland before he was taken off in the second half, Walcott tends to be uninvolved in play, especially in build-up, before getting involved in the final phase. Iwobi, Walcott’s complement on the left for most of this season, makes over twice as many passes per 90 as the Englishman. 

This suits Walcott, and goes some way to explaining his fantastic form so far this season, having scored 5 in the Premier League and 3 in the Champions League already. Chamberlain put in a good performance against Sunderland, but is likely to drop back to the bench when Walcott returns from his apparently minor hamstring injury. 

Giroud + Shape Change

Wenger sensed that a change was necessary immediately after the Sunderland goal, and moved quickly to bring Giroud on for Alex Iwobi. The Nigerian had been quiet compared to some of his other performances this season, but this wasn’t necessarily down to a lack of involvement – despite going off in the 68th minute, Iwobi completed more passes in the attacking third, 19 out of an attempted 21 than anyone else in the match. Many of Iwobi’s passes were played back inside so that Arsenal could switch the play to target Sunderland’s weak left hand side.

Wenger has obviously seen something he likes on the Sunderland left. (@StatsZone) pic.twitter.com/uoHXTfW5NG

— Seb Stafford-Bloor (@SebSB) October 29, 2016

The accompanying change of shape, with Aaron Ramsey coming on for Chamberlain as Arsenal looked to centrally overload with their full-backs flanking high for width, proved too much for Sunderland to handle, and they duly cracked.

Growing optimism

The win took Arsenal top of the table, albeit possibly briefly depending on how Manchester City and Liverpool fare in their fixtures this weekend, and is another step forwards in a gradual tale of the ever-growing optimism from fans and neutrals alike about their chances this season. What will impress those who watched this early kick-off is the ruthlessness that the Gooners showed after Sunderland scored, and the tactical ingenuity from Wenger that enabled it. 

Another factor will be that, somewhat scarily, Arsenal are still yet to assemble their strongest eleven. Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, and Theo Walcott, all guaranteed starters, missed making the squad against Sunderland due to minor injuries, while Lucas Perez is reportedly out for another 6 weeks or so. 

Whether this season will end up in the ‘typical Arsenal’ folder or not remains to be seen, but the chances of them defying conditioned pessimistic expectations continue to improve.

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In a footballing world where flair is celebrated and the art of defending often forgotten, the tactical review salutes a handful of fine defensive displays from the Premier League weekend.

Middlesbrough stifled Arsenal in a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, Chelsea hammered Manchester United 4-0, while Southampton held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw. Clean sheets were also kept by Bournemouth and Tottenham, who locked horns in a high-octane encounter.

1. Boro bus frustrates Arsenal

Aitor Karanka has dismissed suggestions that Middlesbrough tend to ‘park the bus’ but, whatever the Basque may say, Boro are undeniably cautious having crawled up from the Championship thanks to the tightest defence in the second tier. Yet that is nothing to be ashamed about. At the Emirates, Jose Mourinho’s former assistant organised his side with admirable efficiency.

Boro kept five toiling midfielders close to the backline and defended deep, which made particular sense against a forward line featuring Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott. No member of the trio found much space in behind the defence nor between the lines. At half-time, the Gooners were yet to produce a clear-cut chance.

In fact, they were lucky not to have conceded. Karanka supplemented his gritty defence with fleet-footed ex-Barcelona B winger Adama Traore, who at one point snatched an Alvaro Negredo flick ahead of a hesitant Laurent Koscielny only to be denied by Petr Cech, who also stopped Negredo’s subsequent effort. Later in the half, Adama crossed for Gaston Ramirez who headed straight at Cech. At that point, Ramirez had already smacked a free-kick into the woodwork.

The pattern continued in the second half. Adama launched two counter-attacks that were only stopped by another fine Cech save and a last-ditch Koscielny tackle. By full-time Arsenal had enjoyed 75% possession, but Boro had won the shot statistic 11-10. That denoted a counter-attacking display that featured 32 successful clearances, eight blocked crosses and 20 successful tackles – of which only two took place inside Arsenal’s half. As a former centre-back, Karanka will have been delighted.

2. Compact Chelsea stop United

Unlike Karanka, Antonio Conte was a midfielder in his playing career, but you don’t become the captain and heartbeat of a serial-winning Juventus side without knowing how a defence is organised. The Chelsea boss has worked on making his team more compact in recent weeks, and that was evident in the 4-0 win against United that started with Pedro punishing a defensive lapse to make it 1-0 within 30 seconds.

The early goal put Chelsea in the driving seat. After Gary Cahill struck from a corner, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kanté added two more as United took risks in search of an equaliser, which left Mourinho to trace the origin of the defeat back to the first error.

There was truth to that observation, but it did not cast adequate light on Chelsea’s defending. They stayed deep and kept distances between the lines that were close to perfect, with neither Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic nor Marouane Fellaini finding space in key positions. So compact were Chelsea that United hardly completed a pass inside the final 25 yards in the first half. Pogba managed only two in this zone – both went backwards. Indeed, Chelsea didn’t even need to make a tackle in central areas.

• BACK OF THE NET Jose Mourinho claims credit for humiliating himself

3. Saints diamond slows down City

In Manchester, Southampton boss Claude Puel used his 4-4-2 diamond to secure a 1-1 draw, just as Ronald Koeman had done a week earlier with Everton. One difference was that the Saints have this as their default system, with Nathan Redmond and Charlie Austin up front and Dusan Tadic just behind. With all three dropping down to protect their three central midfielders, the visitors shielded their centre-backs well.

This was crucial, because Pep Guardiola retained the 3-2-2-3(ish) system in which Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho dictate the tempo behind Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva. City’s four central midfielder thus created few chances against a well-drilled defence. In fact, the hosts failed to record an attempt on target in the first half for the first time under Guardiola.

By that stage a John Stones error had gifted away the opener, prompting Guardiola to take off De Bruyne for Kelechi Iheanacho. City then created more and equalised when Leroy Sané crossed for Iheanacho, but the Saints defence stayed staunch amid a flurry of tackles designed to disrupt Guardiola’s plans. Most of City’s efforts were either blocked or launched from far out. Guardiola finished the game with just two defenders, but was left to bemoan slow build-up play.

4. Fervent Cherries tame Spurs

By the south coast, Bournemouth and Spurs played out a different kind of draw. Unlike some of the aforementioned sides, both pressed high and aggressively to cut off their opponent quickly. This was defending from the front and, while Spurs are known for their endurance, the Cherries were similarly impressive; they closed down coherently and gave Spurs little time on the ball.

There was thus a sense of both sides cancelling each other out: 24 attempts were fired, but only five hit the target. The only one from Bournemouth was a close-range effort from Charlie Daniels that Hugo Lloris somehow diverted away via the crossbar. “We spoke about the game beforehand and it was how we expected it to be against an energetic team,” Mauricio Pochettino said. “It was tough for us at the start of the game because they pushed us a lot, but we conceded only one chance and Hugo was fantastic again.”

Yet Spurs did not create much either, perhaps bar an Erik Lamela drive that hit the woodwork. “Our gameplan was to disrupt their rhythm and their normal way of playing,” said Eddie Howe. Though neither manager left with three points, both sounded reasonably pleased. Even the more adventurous tacticians know the value of a well-earned clean sheet.

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A sure way to anger Jose Mourinho is to let your full-back fly forward unmarked. Given his cautious tendencies, the Portuguese has a track record of bemoaning lax wingers, from his criticism of Joe Cole to disagreements with Cristiano Ronaldo, the sale of Juan Mata and his condemning of Eden Hazard. This Sunday, when Manchester United face Chelsea, the issue may well become relevant again.

Nobody needs to tell Mourinho the cost of slack marking. His Real Madrid side conceded a last-minute goal in a Champions League semi-final leg at Bayern Munich in 2012 when Philipp Lahm was allowed to race down the line and cross for Mario Gomez, and the Spaniards were eventually eliminated. Two years later, his Chelsea team fell at the same stage partly thanks to Hazard letting Juanfran create the equaliser – and thus a crucial away goal – for Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard switches off against Atletico

Then as now, Mourinho couldn't bring himself to forgive such errors. “Eden is the kind of player that is not so mentally ready to look back to his left-back and to leave his life for him,” he said. “If you see the first goal of Atletico you completely understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal. The perfect team at the top level cannot make these kinds of mistakes.”

The blue wall

That sets the scene nicely for Mourinho’s return to west London, given what Antonio Conte will throw at him. United demonstrated their solidity in Monday's drab goalless draw at Anfield, in which the wingers tracked back so diligently that Mourinho effectively used a back six at times, but they are unlikely to be accustomed to the 3-4-3 Conte has introduced. Only once have United faced a back three under Mourinho, and that ended with a 3-1 defeat by Watford. 

Chelsea may well offer a sterner test than that, having recovered from a wobbly season opening that featured one clean sheet in six league games. It was after the 3-0 loss at Arsenal that Conte vowed to find a new solution to his leaky defence. At Hull a week later, he lined up in a 3-4-3, ditched Branislav Ivanovic and masterminded a 2-0 win. The clean sheet was repeated last weekend in a 3-0 victory at home to Leicester.

Those games suggest that Conte has finally managed to tighten up his backline: he's instructed his wing-backs to track the wingers, while the wide forwards have followed the full-backs, making it 5-4-1 without the ball. This may leave United with three versus two in central midfield on Sunday, but one of the Chelsea centre-backs can step up to close down the extra man. Conte may also take comfort in the fact that his right-sided centre-back Cesar Azpilicueta will offer mobile cover on the side where Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial will play.

Wingers in disguise

What may be of concern to United is the efficiency of the Chelsea wing-backs. Conte can push Marcos Alonso (left) and Victor Moses (right) far upfield due to the security provided by the back three, and did so to great effect against Hull and Leicester. Moses, in particular, has thrived. The issue is not only that both are more dangerous than most full-backs, but that they tend to be marked by wingers unaccustomed to tracking natural wingers, particularly so far into their own half.

At Hull, the duo were practically playing as wingers. The most dangerous one was Alonso, who set up four shots from open play and unleashed five attempts. 

Yet just as telling was the influence of Moses. The Nigerian livewire set up two chances and embarked on constant raids down the flank, pulling off four dribbles. 

Part of the problem for Hull was that the winger made to track Moses, Adama Diomande, is a natural striker; he scored 17 goals in 21 games in the Norwegian top division last year. While he can generally cope with regular full-backs, Moses proved more difficult to contain. This is relevant for United, because Mourinho is likely to play Rashford here, having started Martial in the 4-1 win against Fenerbahçe on Thursday.

All in the timing

There are also other dynamics at play. Particularly against Leicester, Chelsea moved wingers Hazard and Pedro infield close to Diego Costa, where they received passes to feet. This prompted the opposition full-backs to close them down in narrow positions, which in turn left spaces down the flanks that Moses and Alonso exploited. One such move involving Moses led to the corner from which Costa scored the opener, with left-winger Marc Albrighton nowhere to be seen. Towards the end, Moses got on the scoresheet himself.

The challenge for United is about pace as well as timing. Conte rehearses these combinations so thoroughly that the wing-backs know exactly when to start their runs; when the pass down the line is played, they're already on their bikes. This makes defensive alertness particularly crucial. So much trouble did these combinations cause Leicester that Claudio Ranieri changed his beloved 4-4-2 midway through the first half in order to mirror Conte’s system. 

Mourinho is unlikely to opt for such measures, and so his best bet is surely to pick diligent wingers, with Ashley Young a possible starter given his previous experience at full-back. Should Rashford play on the left, his battle with Moses could be key. Mourinho will know that halting the wide play will enable him to keep a narrow and compact shape that can deny space for Costa and Hazard. It is easier said than done, but at least the matches against Hull and Leicester have given him plenty of warnings about what may be in store. 

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It got ugly towards the end. Error after error, misplaced passes ahoy and the MSN trident running circles around a disorganised backline. Parts of Manchester City’s 4-0 defeat by Barcelona evoked the chastening visits to Catalonia under Manuel Pellegrini, as gaps opened up in midfield, Neymar terrorised Nicolas Otamendi and Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick. So chaotic did City appear that Pep Guardiola could well be labelled foolish and naive. 

Yet what should not be forgotten is that City long stood up to Barça at the Camp Nou with an authority that few bar Atletico Madrid have rivalled in the Luis Enrique era. After 52 minutes, the game was balanced, the possession shared, the chance statistics comparable. The only goal to materialise owed much to an ill-timed Fernandinho slip. Then Claudio Bravo gave the ball to Luis Suarez, handled it outside the area and earned a dismissal that effectively ended the contest. 

“Up to that point there aren’t many regrets,” said Guardiola. “We’d created enough chances and arrived at the byline many times. We played with huge personality and we did create two or three clear chances. We are a new club, getting to know each other in a process. My perception is that we did well, knowing where we’ve come from and who we are.”

Pressing matters 

The success Guardiola initially enjoyed came through a bold system. He benched a fit Sergio Aguero to add an extra midfielder, fielding Kevin De Bruyne up front with Raheem Sterling on the right wing and Nolito left. Just behind, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho were joined by Pablo Zabaleta whenever City had the ball. That meant City attacked with three at the back, three up front and four central midfielders, but when they defended, Zabaleta returned to right-back in a 4-1-4-1. With Pep, nothing's ever straightforward.

The key was the pressing. Not even a minute had passed before City stormed upfield to close down Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who would soon hoof two clearances across the touchline and hit several other long passes. City also made ominous tackles and interceptions inside the Barça half.

Guardiola’s plan was similar to that used by Atletico. He pushed Silva up next to De Bruyne to press the centre-backs as the wingers marked the full-backs. That should have left Barça with three versus two in midfield, but when the ball was on the right, City’s left winger (Nolito) would tuck in to mark the nearest central midfielder, leaving Barça’s right-back free. The same happened on the other side, meaning City effectively used man-marking up front.

MSN disconnected 

One potential drawback was that Barça’s forward trio could run in behind the high backline, yet this threatened to happen only once when a long ball to Neymar was stopped by an outrushing Bravo. City largely managed to close down the central midfielders and stop forward passes and switches of play. This affected Sergio Busquets, who received 15 passes before Bravo’s red card but sent only two forward successfully. 

Guardiola probably knew it would be impossible to quieten Barça completely. Messi was elusive when emerging between the lines, even if he needed a slip to pounce on Andres Iniesta’s flick for 1-0. Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti nearly headed in free-kicks; Suarez had a low finish saved.

Yet that was hardly the stuff of nightmares. Bravo only made one save before he saw red, at which point City had pressed so well that the MSN trio had completed just 23 passes between them: Messi had managed nine out of 19, Suarez eight out of 11 and Neymar six out of 10. This would have been abnormally low for Barça had it counted for the final third, let alone the whole pitch.

Wasteful visitors 

City also troubled Barça. Much of the gameplan seemed to centre on Sterling. The winger received several diagonal passes on the right, which were meant to send him flying at Jordi Alba and later Lucas Digne, who replaced an injured Alba on 10 minutes. Already in the third minute, Aleksandar Kolarov’s crossfield pass enabled Sterling to cross low for De Bruyne, only for Ter Stegen to intervene. 

If Sterling didn't always manage to go past players, his wide positioning stretched the play for De Bruyne. The Belgian kept reaching the byline, particularly down the right, and it may be of regret to Guardiola that City did not capitalise on these situations: Nolito received one cross but failed to fire, while other deliveries were cleared or caught by Ter Stegen. Questions can be asked of the movement inside the box, where Nolito and Silva were supposed to run free; Aguero’s presence could surely have made a difference here. 

Further opportunities emerged. Gundogan glided past a hobbling Gerard Pique (who soon came off for Jeremy Mathieu) only to be denied by a stunning Ter Stegen save. An unmarked John Stones headed a Silva free-kick just wide. Still in the first half, a Sterling cross hit Digne’s arm without prompting in a penalty. The deflection fell to De Bruyne, who nearly squeezed in an equaliser. 

As such, on 52 minutes, it was 6-5 to Barça in attempts, 2-2 in attempts on target and 2-3 in corners. As for passes in the final third, Barça had attempted 45 and completed 22, whereas City had tried 55 and succeeded with 36. As far as competing at the Camp Nou goes, it was hardly a disaster.

Indeed, only then did calamity ensue. Bravo got dismissed, City switched to 4-4-1 and their attempts to outpass Barça backfired: De Bruyne lost the ball in midfield (2-0), Stones unwittingly released Suarez, who then found Messi (3-0). Though Mathieu was sent off, Barça still managed to miss a penalty and add a fourth. The scoreline looked bad, but it was Bravo’s poor pass that had triggered the final scenes, not the tactics. On this occasion, and despite the result, Guardiola got it right. 

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What a repurposing this has been. Another summer came and went at Arsenal and, with respect to Lucas Perez, another campaign began without the arrival of the elite forward the fans have long been hankering for. Big-name targets had been mentioned, their private jets seemingly circling Heathrow for weeks at a time, but Arsene Wenger – depending on who you believe – was unable to land any of them.

And, on the evidence of the season so far, that's just as well. Alexis Sanchez has filled the perceived gap and become Wenger's first-choice forward, leading the line against Ludogorets on Wednesday night for the 10th time this term.

It hasn't been a seamless transition and Sanchez hasn't switched positions without experiencing some turbulence. On the Premier League's opening day, within a rotten overall team performance, the Chilean was peripheral against Liverpool. Arsenal defended poorly, played into Jurgen Klopp's hands and suffered the consequences.

Sanchez was little more than a well-vantaged spectator that afternoon. He completed just 12 of 16 passes, an anaemic five of eight in the attacking-third, and fed just a single ball into the visitors' box; this, seemingly, was Wenger's failed attempt to disguise his spendthrift tendencies.

Rounded threat

But fast-forward to the most recent round of Premier League fixtures and Sanchez's average passes per game had soared to a busy 40.9. More pertinently, of course, he's put together a highlight reel of game-defining moments which have characterised the subsequent speed of his adaptation.

Neatly, such clips also show the balance of his contribution from this new central striker role: the weighted chip at Watford for Mesut Ozil's planted header, the lofted cross against Swansea for the German to score again and, in between, important goals at Watford, Chelsea and a double at Hull.

His performance against Ludogorets on Wednesday evening was his season in a microcosm: splitting time between the visiting centre-backs and in a more withdrawn role, he created an excellent early chance for Theo Walcott before delightfully sandwedging Arsenal into the lead. It helped set the tone of a game which, as the evening progressed, became increasingly one-sided.

Silky skill set

In recent years, other sides have periodically tried to repackage attacking midfielders in a similar way, either out of necessity or tactical curiousity. More often than not, the results have been unconvincing. Old habits die hard and the player in question typically only succeeds in giving a vague impression of a proper forward, while also failing to replicate the production of his more familiar role. It's a battle between instinct and following instruction and, generally, the result is an ineffectual muddle.

That's why Sanchez is to be admired. The breadth of his skill set implies that he should be able to play as a forward, but others have shown that to be a false assumption. Instead of ability – his low centre of gravity, mesmerising ball control and goal threat – it's his feel for the new position which makes him so productive within it.

Interesting, also, is his ability to retain possession in congested situations despite the physical disadvantage he's often at. He's no targetman, for certain, but neither is he a channel-dweller nor the type of converted forward whose only influence is derived from pace or trickery. His default position is in the middle of the attacking third and, against Ludogorets, he was that reliable central outlet.

Theo's gain

As is entirely reasonable to expect, Sanchez is unorthodox. He takes more touches in possession than a traditional No.9 would and, consequently, the visiting defenders on Wednesday night struggled to either exert enough pressure on him to take away his time, or give themselves enough positional leeway to protect themselves. The Bulgarians faced a Sophie's Choice: either get too tight and allow him to float into the night, or stand off too much and allow him to push passes beyond them and into space. In the end they did both. 

He wasn't the game's outstanding player and, in truth, his performance was blighted with tinges of self-indulgence, but the danger he carried was constant; there was a permanence to his threat. The value of that wasn't necessarily seen in his own individual performance, strong though it was, but rather in what he allowed others to do.

Sanchez naturally attracted a lot of attention, but in a panicked, line-contorting way. In the first half especially, Walcott was able to exploit space behind the back four and, though the England international had an excellent game in his own right, that was partly attributable to Sanchez's movement. The Chilean was neither consistently high nor deep and, inevitably, that created all manner of holes and angles for Arsenal's deeper playmakers (sometimes Sanchez himself) to penetrate.

Defender's nightmare

There lies the advantage which Wenger has been able to create: a more static forward – Olivier Giroud, for example – may present a different threat, but ultimately it's a more predictable one. By contrast, though Sanchez's size limits Arsenal's more direct routes up the pitch, the diversity of his play creates more fractures and has more of an overall weakening effect.

The caveat here is that Ludogorets are an underwhelming side and the 6-0 defeat they suffered emphasised their inferiority. However, the struggle they faced at the Emirates should challenge many other teams in much the same way this season: it's imperative to be structured when defending against Arsenal and yet Sanchez helps to make that all but impossible.

He provides movement, certainly, but is also able to run off defenders, beat them one-on-one and link the attacking play in a more general sense. He's a dynamic footballer with a potent set of weapons and, used in this way, he's simply a nightmare. The range of opportunity he provided for Walcott, Ozil and (from deep) Cazorla, proved unmanageable for Ludogorets and, you suspect, will be for many other teams too.

Sanchez's stunning chip against Ludogorets

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Jurgen Klopp’s appearance as a pundit on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football last month has given the impression that Liverpool aren’t so concerned with positioning or formations. That isn’t entirely true – the side is organised defensively, even if they do struggle against set-pieces.

“You like to say that they are the last wonder of the world in attacking football, but they are also a team that defends and thinks defensively,” begrudged Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after Monday night’s 0-0 draw at Anfield.

Liverpool rely on flexibility in the final third, with a great onus on the forwards to improvise and make clever runs. This movement inevitably opens up defences, and the frontmen’s pressing off the ball helps enable their team’s quick transitions.

Slowing the tempo

Roberto Firmino has mainly led the line this season, as his work-rate and coordinated harassing of centre-backs helps create goalscoring opportunities. The former Hoffenheim attacker moves centre-backs out of their line with his lateral motion and swift changes of direction.

Against United, however, Daniel Sturridge was tasked with playing as the lone striker – a role he fulfilled on a number of occasions under Brendan Rodgers, but less so for Klopp. He has now started only four matches in the Premier League this season and is yet to complete 90 minutes.

Adam Lallana had trained for only two days, which meant that Philippe Coutinho dropped back into midfield and Firmino took up the left flank. The adaptability of both Brazilians is a huge reason why Liverpool have looked such a threat going forward this season, along with the added contributions of Lallana and Sadio Mané.

However, with Sturridge as the central forward they can look a little disjointed. Liverpool’s best performance so far this campaign was against Leicester, when the England striker was directly involved in two of the goals (including a sublime backheel assist), but the reigning champions surprisingly kept quite a high line.

Coutinho and Firmino combined 14 times against United, while Sturridge managed just three passes to Firmino and received only two. Liverpool mustered just three shots in the opening hour of the match, but six after Sturridge was replaced by Lallana in the final half-hour.

Better off without

It’s not entirely the England striker’s fault, and he wasn’t the only forward lacking incision in the game, but Klopp’s men look better without him right now. His added fitness and injury problems mean that he can’t regularly be relied upon.

Liverpool have averaged a league goal every 43 minutes when Sturridge has been on the pitch so far this term, which improves to 38 without him. That’s not a definitive statistic, although few clubs will have a better ratio without their first-choice striker – especially as he hasn’t yet scored himself.

“It was a really difficult game for a striker the way that we played today – it was not easy to enjoy [for him],” Klopp admitted after the game. “Everyone wanted to give the ball to him, but you have to play the best situations.”

Playing to strengths

The difference with his United counterpart was obvious, although Mourinho’s team clearly play to the strengths of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede is more of a physical striker, so can make an impact on his opposing centre-backs by using his strength and power to cause unrest.

Ibrahimovic made a nuisance of himself against Joel Matip throughout the opening 45 minutes; the latter looked uncharacteristically sloppy in possession, giving the ball away three times in the space of three minutes.

Matip did recover well and dealt superbly with man-marking Ibrahimovic as the striker tried his clever flicks and touches. The Swedish hitman did provide one of an unremarkable game’s standout moments, though, when he played a no-look pass to Antonio Valencia just before the break.

“We couldn’t get rid of the hectic, that was the problem,” Klopp lamented. “Hectic is great when you are defending and in some situations like this, but as soon as you get the ball you have to calm down immediately.”

Calling Jose's bluff

The lack of intensity and composure from the home side, along with Mourinho’s gameplan to frustrate, meant it was difficult to draw too many conclusions – but the signs do look ominous for Sturridge. Mourinho felt that his team controlled the match tactically and contained Liverpool’s forward projection, but this happened much less frequently once Sturridge was subbed off.

“How many shots on target did Liverpool have today? Two! Two shots with 65% possession – you have to be critical of Liverpool,” said the Portuguese coach mischievously, in response to a question about his expensively assembled outfit’s lack of ball retention in the 90 minutes.

Mourinho came back into the press room afterwards when most of the journalists had left to argue that his own analysts had United’s possession figures at 42%, and not the 35% that had been suggested. As they had just one shot on target to Liverpool’s three, it made his first plea seem even more irrelevant.

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Few managers have pulled off back-three systems in the Premier League, but the weekend action hinted at a couple of exceptions. Three of the teams to feature in this review’s four selected games used three central defenders, and two of them won; had Manchester City known how to convert penalties, it would have been three out of three.

The most emphatic display came from Chelsea at home to Leicester, while Watford scraped a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough. At Arsenal, Theo Walcott embraced aspects of the central striker role to score twice and sink Swansea 3-2...

1. Koeman negates Pep’s 3-2-2-3

Pep Guardiola shelved his usual 4-1-4-1 system in favour of a kind of 3-2-2-3 at home to Everton on Saturday, but Ronald Koeman was prepared. The Dutchman, who played with Guardiola at Barcelona in the 1990s, sensed that Manchester City would use a back three and duly switched to a 4-3-3 in which three central midfielders screened the defence, while a speedy trio of Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Bolasie and Gerard Deulofeu threatened on the break.

The way it played out, City had Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané stretching play either side of Kelechi Iheanacho, while David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne lurked between the lines. The key change from the 4-1-4-1 was that City had two defensive midfielders dictating play and, since Gareth Barry, Tom Cleverley and Idrissa Gueye had enough trouble screening the backline, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan were given plenty of time on the ball.

That invited pressure on the Everton defence, but the visitors allowed no big chances until Phil Jagielka tripped Silva inside the box, only for De Bruyne to miss the penalty. It also helped that Koeman moved his wingers inside before switching to a midfield diamond, which made it four versus four in the centre. The Toffees also retained a threat up front in Bolasie and Lukaku, and the two duly combined on the break to score the opener on 64 minutes.

At the back, Everton made interceptions, blocks and clearances in and around the box to frustrate City. Even when Jagielka conceded a second penalty, this time on Sergio Aguero who’d come off the bench, Maarten Stekelenburg saved again and City needed another substitute, Nolito, to head in the equaliser. The draw disappointed City, but Guardiola took comfort in the dominance that the 3-2-2-3 had provided. “We made absolutely everything today, we found the spaces, we reached the byline, we put in crosses, but nobody was there,” he said. “Everton had once chance, but football can be like this.”

2. Chelsea blossom in 3-4-3

At Stamford Bridge, Antonio Conte retained the 3-4-3 system that sealed the 2-0 win at Hull and was rewarded with another convincing display. Leicester came with their usual 4-4-2 but struggled to contain the movement out wide: Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso would frequently find Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro, who would draw out defenders and return first-time passes down the flanks for the two wing-backs to run onto. One such combination between Costa and Moses created the corner from which Costa scored the opener.

Another aspect of the gameplan centred on Costa as a link-up player. The assumption may have been that Hazard and Pedro would operate between the lines, but instead it was Costa who dropped deep and drew out the centre-backs so that the two wingers could run in behind via flicks and one-twos.

The dynamic was apparent for the second goal, when all three were positioned close together, and the map of average positions later showed Costa being the deepest of the three. Hazard, who was the most advanced, recorded five attempts, whereas Costa had just one from open play.

3. Walcott blends the best of two roles

In north London, Walcott continued his fine form with a brace. If there used to be a debate about whether he is better out wide or as a central striker, the 27-year-old has come to mix elements of both roles. Some of the moves here saw him make runs across the pitch to get into the box, while Hector Bellerin provided width on the right.

The best example was the opener, for which Walcott emerged in front of the defence, gave it to Alexis Sanchez and ran into the box to convert Bellerin’s headed cross. Arsenal later launched a counter-attack in which Walcott ran across the pitch to the left, while it was Mesut Ozil who sprinted down the right. Bellerin was also involved again and nearly finished off the move.

If that hadn’t emphasised Walcott’s instincts as a central striker enough, Arsene Wenger moved him up front towards the end when Arsenal defended in a 4-4-1 following Granit Xhaka’s dismissal. That led to two huge chances provided by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that he somehow missed. All in all, Walcott participated in build-up play on the right, while receiving key passes on the left.

4. Cautious gameplan seals Watford win

Less excitement was on offer at the Riverside. Walter Mazzarri opted for a 5-4-1 system that seemed designed to shut down the hosts and nick a goal, and which gave the Hornets numerical superiority in the centre where three centre-backs marshalled Alvaro Negredo and closed down playmaker Gaston Ramirez. Out wide, wingers Isaac Success and Roberto Pereyra tracked the Boro full-backs, leaving Troy Deeney to fend for himself up front.

That was never likely to produce a thrilling game and neither did it help that Boro have been the best defensive side in the Championship in their two full seasons under Aitor Karanka. At half-time, there had been one attempt on target, and it was only apt that the winner came from a defender, Jose Holebas, after an interception. Not even Mazzarri was pleased with what he saw, despite the clean sheet and three crucial points.

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Tottenham Hotspur failed to beat West Bromwich Albion in both Premier League matches last season, with Tony Pulis’ rigid defensive shape making it extremely difficult to break them down.  Spurs only managed two goals across those encounters; as one came via a long ball from Toby Alderweireld into the path of Dele Alli and the other through an own goal from Craig Dawson.

They struggled yet again at The Hawthorns, with a third consecutive 1-1 draw in the league against their opponents, as former winger Nacer Chadli put the home side ahead and Alli equalised seven minutes later. It’s just one win in their last seven meetings with the Baggies, as Pulis’ narrow back four worked successfully once more.

A variety of systems

Mauricio Pochettino predominately utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation in last term’s title challenge, with the rotation of his full-backs the only frequent change to his starting XI. Spurs direct style and high pressing ensured that they capitalised when teams tried to operate with a high defensive line.

“When I was in Espanyol and Southampton and from the beginning here when we didn’t take a good result there was some comment that it was because we play like this or we don’t have a plan B,” said Pochettino before the match.

“It is important when we are in a project after two years to try to improve the values and concepts and try to play in different ways in different games. Which formation we use depends on the characteristic of the players that we have on the pitch. We can use one or another on a different system. Both are good.”

One of the reasons Spurs were unable to do this in the last 12 months, was a lack of options outside of Harry Kane in attack. Their pursuit of West Brom youngster Saido Berahino seemed to indicate that they were looking for a striker with pace to help with their fast transitions and counter attacks.

Options upfront

However, the purchase of Vincent Janssen this summer has given Spurs a very different set of attributes to one they would have had in Berahino or that they currently enjoy when the injured Kane is available. Janssen may have scored 27 goals in 32 starts for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie during 2015/16, but his Argentine manager has spotted something else in the forward.

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His combination play with his fellow attackers in tight spaces is much better than that of Kane, as the Dutchman boasts a considerably higher pass completion rate than his teammate. Janssen prefers to play with his back to goal and bring others into the game, whereas Kane likes to linger on the shoulder of centre-backs and make runs into the channels.

This shift in formation saw Tottenham use a 4-1-4-1, as they did in the 2-1 victory over Manchester City before the international break. Then, they used Heung-Min Son as a ‘false nine’ to close down the City defenders quickly.

Against West Brom, Janssen led the line and was able to create four chances for the team. He had three shots himself, as one was deflected for a corner off Gareth McAuley at the end of the first half and ballooned another over the bar from outside the area in stoppage time.

In the same fixture last December, Kane received the ball much further away from goal and was frequently given passes (6) from Christian Eriksen. But on this occasion it was left-back Ben Davies that provided more incision into the lone forward, with (10) angled long balls into Janssen’s feet.

“They changed it and played in a different way,” said Pulis after the game. “They were very clever with the way they did it, they stretched us and then got Eriksen, Alli and (Mousa) Dembele into the little pockets at times.”

Pulis was referring to the role of Janssen, who pushed Albion’s defence even deeper and allowed the aforementioned attackers the space in-front of the centre-backs. This was illustrated perfectly by his weighted touch into Erik Lamela inside the opening 10 minutes, but the winger couldn’t quite execute the desired finish. 

Janssen also has a good awareness of those running past him, which he showed when he cleverly flicked the ball around his marker into the path of Alli. The England midfielder should have given Spurs the lead but Ben Foster, who was superb throughout, was equal to the attempt once again.

Manager's backing

The Spurs’ fans sung Janssen’s name to the tune of Depeche Mode’s ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’, as many supporters now do following Liverpool’s use of the song for Luis Suarez in the past. It didn’t really fit that well and some may draw that conclusion of Janssen should he continue his goal drought in the league.

His statutory approach will inevitably mean he will receive criticism as the campaign progresses, particularly if his return in front of goal remains low. However, Pochettino will likely fend this away and offer the explanation that he occupies defenders and creates opportunities for others.

“I think he was good, as a striker you always need to score but he had some chances,” admitted Pochettino as FFT asked about his contribution in the post-match press conference. “I’m happy with his performance.”

Spurs were unable to win, but their display showed that they are looking for variety in their attacks and that they have more alternatives to combat those that wish to park the bus. It will take time to apply it more effectively, but Janssen could be crucial to its implementation.

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Another week, another formation tweak from Antonio Conte. Deploying Cesar Azpilicueta as his right-sided centre-half and Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso as the wing-back tandem, the Italian lined his side up in a 3-4-3.

This has been a season of false dawns for Chelsea, with promising new beginnings often giving way to the familiar dysfunction of 2015/16, but this, tentatively, might have been a tipping point.

Leicester City are in an odd place; still slightly drunk from May and lacking much of the intensity which propelled them to the title. Nevertheless, the way Chelsea brushed aside them at Stamford Bridge was impressive, as the hosts discovered the balance between width and pace that they have spent much of the season searching for.

True, they were gifted their two-nil lead in the first-half courtesy of some sleepy Leicester marking and, later, the visitors' inability to handle a routine Nemanja Matic through-ball, but there was still much to be impressed by.

Alonso and Moses were key, even if only because of their physical attributes. Left and right-footed players positioned on their natural sides, they provided the width which seems central to Conte's approach.

Both created long, diagonal passing options for Chelsea's centre-halves and they made runs to the byline: as a series of actions, neither were necessarily decisive to the game's outcome, but their movement stretched the pitch and opened space which the Leicester back-six struggled to fill. It's difficult to quantify that graphically, as it was the kind of influence which only really shows in the actions of others, but it was telling just how open Chelsea made the final-third of the pitch look.

Costa excels in all quarters

Outside south-west London, Diego Costa is only newsworthy when his bad side emerges. If the red mist descends and the demons start to chatter in his ear, the world pays attention.

But on Saturday he showed his good side and provided another example of what a complete player he can be. Not "complete" in the sense of being a volatile balance of good and evil, but in a pure footballing context: he's as modern a forward as exists in the Premier League.

He opened the scoring, but was particularly prominent throughout the first-half. He was part battering-ram as normal, but also a reliable holding option for surrounding players (he received 11 passes from Eden Hazard, eight from N'Golo Kante, and five from Nemanja Matic). 

Costa's primary role is to change the score, but he's also key to Chelsea's ability to establish a mood in games. His hassling of opposing centre-halves is a given, as is his tendency to carry the ball and drive beyond defenders, but it was the intelligence of his movement which allowed him to be as three-dimensionally impactful as he was this weekend.

Is Matic returning to his best?

Most Chelsea supporters would concede that Nemanja Matic has been off-colour for some time now and that, if big spending is permitted in January or the summer of 2017, he will be vulnerable. Not without cause: with the resilient N'Golo Kante now anchoring the midfield, the need for a second stabiliser does seem overly-cautious and appears to create a tactical speed-bump in Conte's formation. Matic's passing can be very formalaic and his heavy first-touch often delays the speed of play. Typically, he's more of full-stop or comma than an ellipsis. 

Whether the result of his manager's instruction or simply an upturn in form, Saturday showed a significant improvement. Claudio Ranieri directed his press at Matic - or Kante - and the Serbian dealt with it extremely well. 

Firstly in retaining possession and not losing the ball in areas which would have made his side vulnerable, but also in how rapidly he was able to push Chelsea's more advanced players into the Leicester half. Matic broke more lines than at any other point this season - even if his distribution wasn't strictly vertical, he appears to have broken the "retention for retention's sake" habit. 

That he managed to find Eden Hazard (9) and Diego Costa (5) regularly was partly illustrative of Leicester's inability to properly restrict him but also - perhaps - of the tactical penny dropping. 

Kante gets even better

Kante was brought to Stamford Bridge for his nullifying qualities and Chelsea parted with £30m for him to protect a defence which has become increasingly vulnerable in recent years. But, if a reminder of how rounded a midfielder he is was needed, his performance in the win over Leicester provided it.

By the 16th minute at Stamford Bridge, he had already retrieved possession four times. By full-time, he had won all four of his contested tackles and made five interceptions; nothing new there, that's what he does - but look beyond the obvious: he also made more passes in the attacking-third than any player other than Eden Hazard and started the move which led to Chelsea's third goal. This is the detail with Kante: he's obdurate and tenacious and warrants description with all sorts of similar terms, but he's an incredibly intelligent player in almost every respect. 

To watch Kante live is to appreciate what a phenomenal athlete he is and to marvel over his ball-winning skills, but it's also to admire his extra layers: what covering those distances allows him to achieve and the effect he has on both sides of the ball. 

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Most aerial duels won – Phil Jagielka (11/13)

In a scrappy game that was inevitably defined by two Belgian strikers, Phil Jagielka did extremely well to emerge with better aerial duel statistics than Christian Benteke (9/19). Most people had predicted that the key battle would be between Ashley Williams and Benteke, but Alan Pardew identified Jagielka as the weaker defender and instructed his striker to hover towards the Englishman.

Jagielka stood up to the test admirably. Palace played 68 long balls and attempted 27 crosses (more than any other Premier League team this weekend) but Ronald Koeman’s two centre-backs were dominant. Benteke’s goal – a fabulous header – was only possible because the Belgian had drifted onto Seamus Coleman at the back post in order to avoid Jagielka.

He and Williams are already forming a formidable partnership at the back, and are a big reason why Koeman’s side have the second-best defensive record in the division. Jagielka also topped the charts for the most clearances (15/15).

Most chances created – Alexis Sanchez (8)

Arsenal were fortunate to leave Turf Moor with all three points after their predictable build-up play was handled expertly by Burnley’s stubborn defensive block. Sean Dyche’s team defended in an ultra-narrow formation, and Arsene Wenger didn’t adjust his tactics to work around it.

Alexis Sanchez created eight chances as the most advanced player on the pitch. Burnley knew that Arsenal would attempt to build in the No.10 area, and therefore the visitors should have tried a more varied tactical approach; using a false nine, who vacates the traditional No.9 space to add an extra body in attacking midfield, was a strange choice given the circumstances.

Despite Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil dominating the ball – Cazorla topped the charts this week for most touches (114) and most passes (102), while Ozil recorded the most passes in the attacking third (39) – Arsenal only had three shots on target all match. Injuries to Olivier Giroud and Lucas Perez may have limited Wenger’s options, but he could have done more to vary their play.

Most take-ons – Wilfried Zaha (8/14)

As usual, Crystal Palace focused on long-ball counter-attacks down the flanks at Goodison Park. Wilfried Zaha proved very difficult to defend against from the right, largely because Yannick Bolasie (zero tackles, zero interceptions) reneged on defensive responsibilities to leave Bryan Oviedo one-on-one with the English winger.

However, Zaha was largely ineffective thanks to Everton’s possession dominance (57%). He often found himself isolated after wriggling past three or four players, with Benteke the only team-mate near him in the Everton half. He was also the most fouled player of the weekend, relieving his team from pressure by winning six free-kicks.

Most interceptions, most tackles – Nicolas Otamendi (8 interceptions) & Pablo Zabaleta (10 tackles)

That Manchester City had to do so much defensive work is testament to Tottenham’s superb attacking performance. The main reason for this was that Mauricio Pochettino’s team pressed very high, unsettling the City defenders until they gave the ball away in dangerous areas and then attacking the spaces aggressively.

Moussa Sissoko, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen swarmed similar spaces in central attacking midfield, and often received the ball behind Fernando – City’s deepest midfielder. The Brazilian had a very poor game; he was unable to track the movement of these four players, which resulted in a large gap opening up between the centre-backs and midfield.

But more impressive was the collective pressing from Tottenham’s forwards. They attempted 17 tackles in the Man City half, which caused Pep Guardiola’s team to lose the ball and their shape. Fernandinho and David Silva would push on into the Spurs half, only to leave Fernando all alone as the hosts nicked possession and drove through the middle.

• Why Christian Eriksen is Tottenham's most underrated star

Most ball recoveries – Oriol Romeu (17)

Southampton were always likely to win the possession battle at the King Power Stadium, but it is cause for concern that Leicester persisted with their flat 4-4-2 shape against this kind of opposition. Oriol Romeu recovered the ball repeatedly in central midfield because the visitors had swarmed this area with bodies.

Leicester only made one tackle and zero interceptions in the central midfield area, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Steven Davis and Romeu overwhelmed Danny Drinkwater and Daniel Amartey. Claudio Ranieri could consistently use just two central midfielders last season because N’Golo Kante covered so much ground. He may have to change tact sooner rather than later.

But Leicester’s formation should not detract attention away from Romeu, who had another outstanding game for Southampton (five tackles, two interceptions).

Most unsuccessful touches – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (5)

This was perhaps Ibrahimovic’s worst performance to date in a Manchester United shirt, and although he was still relatively effective (four shots on target) his positional play was a big factor in United’s inability to break Stoke down.

The main reason why the Swede frequently lost possession was that he kept dropping extremely deep to link up play, almost like a false nine at times. This meant that United didn’t have a fulcrum to build their attacks around and made their possession somewhat aimless (Ibrahimovic only had 11 touches of the ball in the Stoke penalty area).

It was the kind of static, unconvincing performance that you might expect from a 35-year-old who is playing twice a week, and asks serious questions about his long-term viability as their leading man.

• 4 notes from Man United 1-1 Stoke (including two big plus points for Jose)

Most offsides – Son Heung-min (5)

As Vincent Janssen continues to adapt to English football, Son has emerged as the perfect back-up option to the injured Harry Kane. The South Korea international was exceptional again on Sunday, creating the second goal and terrorising the Man City defence with his movement.

He was caught offside five times, which is evidence of how consistently he made runs off the shoulder of the last defender. This movement was a crucial component of the Spurs attack because it forced the defenders to drop back (in order to track his runs) while Sissoko and Alli drove towards the penalty area.

It was yet more evidence that Pochettino has the squad depth to challenge Guardiola’s team for the title this season.

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A lack of creativity and ingenuity was a familiar sight for Manchester United fans last season under Louis van Gaal. The 4-1 win over Leicester last weekend was a huge relief, then, even if three of those goals did come from set-pieces.

Against Stoke, the scoreline was far from impressive for Jose Mourinho’s men – not least considering that before this game only West Ham had conceded more goals than the Potters this season.

But United are clearly demonstrating much more than last season. A huge reason for this is that they now have world-class performers in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, of course, while the likes of Marcus Rashford have more freedom in the final third. Ibrahimovic’s movement into Stoke’s left-hand channel caused them problems and allowed Rashford to head diagonally for goal.

United should have won the game comfortably, but a combination of poor finishing and the excellent Lee Grant denied them victory. Stoke’s goalkeeper, on loan from Derby, was making only his second-ever Premier League appearance but looked unfazed by the occasion.

“He had a good game, but that’s what he is paid to do,” smiled Mark Hughes after the game. Mourinho wasn’t so cheery, lamenting: “I never criticise my players for missing chances, their goalkeeper is man-of-the-match obviously, deservedly.”

United mustered 24 attempts on goal with nine on target, eight of which were saved by a 33-year-old enjoying one of his best-ever games.

1. Both bosses’ subs make desired impact

As United struggled to make a breakthrough, Mourinho opted to introduce Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial for Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard. The Portuguese coach couldn’t have wished for a better reaction, as his changes combined in unlikely fashion to nudge the hosts ahead.

Martial ran at Stoke’s defence and played the ball into Rooney; the forward’s first touch was poor and his awareness obsolete, but Geoff Cameron’s interception fell back into the path of Martial. The Frenchman finished superbly and appeared to settle nerves. “An amazing goal and very good initiative,” said Mourinho. “It was very good for him.”

However, Stoke chief Hughes also used his own options from the bench. Jonathan Walters struck the crossbar on the turn, while Peter Crouch made a nuisance of himself around the box before Joe Allen half-volleyed the equaliser.

2. Allen shines in unfamiliar No.10 role

With Bojan starting on the sidelines for Stoke, Hughes used Allen behind Wilfried Bony. The Welshman occasionally played cameos in the role during his latter days with Liverpool, but it’s still surprising to see him occupying that position.

After a quarter-of-an-hour, Allen managed to get to the byline and cut the ball back into the centre of the penalty area; it fell just behind Bony and Cameron was unable to get the desired connection. It was a fantastic opportunity. Then, in the 55th minute he turned Daley Blind before unleashing a tame effort into the arms of a grateful David de Gea.

His late equaliser was well deserved for his hard work. “Joe was immense again,” Hughes said. “He is an intelligent player, he has got great energy levels that everyone sees every day, but that’s not all he’s got. He has good awareness of situations and how to affect the game. His anticipation is first class in the box and in midfield areas as well.”

For United, Mata had the chance to make the No.10 slot his own having mainly been forced to drift inside from wide areas since arriving in Manchester. He almost opened the scoring with a delicate chip, but Grant tipped the ball away to safety. The Spaniard did well in general build-up, although he’ll have wanted to contribute more in the way of final balls.

3. Herrera adapting well to holding role

Ander Herrera’s botched transfer in 2013 should have perhaps been a warning sign to the Basque midfielder that United were no longer the destination they were 12 months earlier. Imposters posed as officials from Athletic Bilbao and United failed to meet his buyout clause, which led to heavy criticism of then-manager David Moyes and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

Herrera hasn’t been able to establish himself as a starter in the last two seasons, with the Red Devils investing heavily in central midfield. However, his deployment as a deep-lying playmaker by Mourinho could well awake the Spaniard from his nightmare.

Straight from kick-off, Herrera played a direct ball in behind Stoke left-back Erik Pieters, with Lingard close to getting on the end of it. When Antonio Valencia ventured into the final third, Herrera filled the space vacated in the right-back zone rather than dropping between the centre-backs as many of his contemporaries would.

He completed 73 passes – 21 more than anyone else on the pitch, even though he was subbed off with six minutes left. Herrera made seven interceptions and recovered possession six times, demonstrating that he won’t be found wanting in a defensive capacity.

4. Mourinho appears to have found a temporary defensive solution

United looked much more balanced in defence with Eric Bailly alongside Chris Smalling in the centre. Valencia provided a threat with his forward runs, while Blind showed that his left foot can be an asset from more than just set-piece situations.

There will be bigger tests to come than struggling Stoke, and that they couldn’t keep a clean sheet will rankle, but there were signs of improvement.

Smalling has a good understanding with Blind to his left and his partnership with Bailly will develop in the future. Bailly made five tackles and eight clearances, while Smalling made four headed clearances and won both of his defensive aerial duals.

De Gea was unexpectedly shaky between the posts for United, although given how much the former Atletico Madrid shot-stopper has saved them in recent years it will be quickly forgiven.

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Amid all the reports about Christian Eriksen's recent contract negotiations, there was a surprising claim. It wasn't that the Dane was reportedly asking for £150,000 a week before putting pen to paper on a new four-year deal at the start of September. No, the thing that was perhaps more startling was that up until then, according to the Evening Standard at least, Eriksen was earning only £30,000 each week.

True, £30,000 is a huge wage for the average man, but in the world of football that horse has long since bolted. In an industry where salaries have spiralled, Eriksen's reported pay seemed staggeringly out of kilter with what now represents market value in the Premier League. If correct, Spurs had got themselves a pretty good deal when they signed the midfielder from Ajax three years ago.

Eriksen may not make quite the same number of headlines as some of his colleagues – Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier were the focus of attention last season, while the performances of Moussa Dembele were rightly lauded. Even the revived Erik Lamela was arguably talked about more last term. Both Dembele and Lamela reportedly earned more than twice as much as Eriksen last season, according to that article in the Evening Standard.

This season the attention has turned to Son Heung-min, and yet Eriksen is always there and always influential, but rarely given nearly enough credit for the class that he oozes with every touch of the ball.

Pulling the strings against City 

Eriksen has shown his versatility by often playing in a wide role for Spurs in recent times, even though central midfield would seem to be the position most suited to his own particular set of skills. Against Manchester City, he was utilised in the middle and quietly ran the game.

Eriksen was Tottenham's top passer, completing 39, and was the match's top distributor in the crucial opening 40 minutes when Spurs took control and raced into a 2-0 lead.

Despite operating in the centre he often drifted into wide areas, as can be seen from where he collected many of the 38 passes he received. Most of the time they were short ones played inside from the wideman – Eriksen always made himself available, ready to pick up the ball and progress the attack.

Dane provides end product

Many consummate passers of the ball are often players who are content to sit deep and look for the short pass to feet, without ever really troubling the opposition goal.

Eriksen isn't one of those players. He can pass and provide an end product, as his stats over the past few seasons show. Eight goals and 16 assists last season, 12 goals and five assists in 2014/15, 12 goals and 16 assists in 2013/14.

In particular he's a threat from set-pieces, both with his accurate delivery from out wide and his ability to find the net from more central free-kicks. In this game he created one chance and had four shots on goal. None found the net, but two troubled Claudio Bravo and only Sergio Aguero had more efforts during the match.

Making his mark in the middle

His most impressive statistics against Manchester City were not his passing ones, however, but those illustrating the way he helped to start Tottenham attacks. Eriksen made a huge 16 ball recoveries during the game – to put that into context, during the game between Manchester United and Stoke City on the same afternoon, no player made more than seven. 

Many of those were in central areas, perhaps showing the true value of utilising him in the heart of the action. Eriksen also made four interceptions, the most of any Spurs player. All of them occurred in the middle of the pitch.

The frightening thing about it all is that Eriksen is still only 24, yet it feels like he's been around forever. The man born in Middelfart (no sniggering at the back) has already amassed 63 caps for Denmark and looks likely to surpass Peter Schmeichel's record tally of 129 appearances in the future.

There was a reason why Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan, Chelsea and Manchester United all looked at Eriksen before he joined Ajax at 16, and those reasons are as evident today as they were back then.

Their loss has ultimately been Tottenham's gain. Would Spurs have been quite the force they were last season without his serene presence in midfield? Would they have beaten Pep Guardiola's Manchester City so impressively and now be sat just one point from the top of the table this term, if they did not have Eriksen pulling the strings?

We can never know the definitive answer to those questions, but the Dane's performances speak for themselves.

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1. Costa continues to paper over the cracks

Chelsea have struggled throughout the first two months of the campaign, with the squad yet to look like an Antonio Conte side and without a clear direction. Three times Diego Costa has scored for the Blues in the final 10 minutes of matches and given them five more points as a result.

He didn’t have to leave it quite so late on this occasion, but it did take until the hour mark before him and his fellow team-mates started to show something that resembled a decent display. In the 57th minute, Costa rounded David Marshall, although as he looked to divert it into the goal his shot was blocked by Jake Livermore who deflected it onto the post. N’Golo Kante looked destined to score with the follow-up, but somehow blasted the ball over the bar and into the stands.

Four minutes later Chelsea did open the scoring, when the striker won a 50/50 challenge against Curtis Davies and then found Willian on the left, the Brazilian moved the ball onto his right-foot before unleashing a curling shot past the helpless Marshall. Costa nearly doubled the lead just afterwards, but Hull’s No.1 was equal to it this time.

The Hull City goalkeeper could do little to stop the forward in the 67th minute, when Nemanja Matic’s blocked shot fell kindly to Costa. He finished it with the power and clinical nature that we have come to expect from the former Atletico Madrid talisman.

“It’s not important that today he scored a goal, it’s important that he worked for the team and for me this is the most important thing,” admitted Conte in the post-match press conference. Costa scored in both league games against Hull in the 2014/15 season, whilst Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 games with them.

Conte appears to like his temperamental South American-born strikers, as he also extracted the best from Carlos Tevez in his time in Turin. Costa now has six goals in his last seven games, as the Spanish international has returned from the summer with a clear point to prove.

2. Conte looks for solutions, but is still short on answers

“We have not got the balance and now is the moment to consider everything,” confessed Conte after the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal. The Italian coach did exactly that against Hull, as he switched formation to 3-4-2-1.

David Luiz played in the centre of a back three, with Cesar Azpilicueta to his right and Victor Moses as the wing-back. Willian and Eden Hazard took up positions between the lines, as Kante and Matic aimed to provide the security in-front of the defence. However, Chelsea looked like a team that were trialling a new system, with individual mistakes and a lack of intensity in possession. 

It improved in the second 45 minutes, but only after the away team took the lead and there was an element of fortune in both of their goals. They will naturally improve once they become used to the demands of the manager, although some of these players won’t get many more opportunities to show their worth.

Hazard will be crucial to their evolving new look, with his ability to create and commit opponents in equal measure. The Belgian occupies people, which allows others the freedom and space to make their mark.

3. Clucas is the new Kante

The Hull midfielder was a winger last season in the Championship, but has been converted to a holding-midfielder this term. He completed all six of his tackles in the 4-1 loss to Arsenal a fortnight ago and has arguably been The Tigers’ best performer to date.

He came up in direct competition with Kante, who took England’s top flight by storm last season with champions Leicester City. Sam Clucas is unlikely to have the same impact as the Frenchman, although there are certain similarities in their style.

They both have an energy and tenacity about their game, whilst they are equally effective at breaking up the opposition attacks as they are in keeping possession. Kante made more passes than anyone on the pitch, whilst defenders Andrew Robertson and Livermore were the only Hull players to complete more than Clucas – with the defensive midfielder removed with 10 minutes remaining.

In the 12th minute, he controlled the ball on his chest, then expertly volleyed it across field to Adama Diomande on the left side. At the start of the second period he illustrated his defensive element, when he brilliantly tackled Costa with the forward just about to take aim.

Clucas made four tackles and recovered the ball six times, whilst he misplaced just seven of his 46 passes.

4. Chelsea still look far from comfortable in defence

Conte opted for the defensive shape which bought him so much success in Italy with Juventus and the national side. It’s early days for the formation, but he’s quickly learning that he doesn’t possess a Leonardo Bonucci or a Giorgio Chiellini.

John Terry was still missing with an ankle injury, so it left Luiz to marshal the backline in his absence. The former Paris Saint-Germain centre-back is certainly suited to a three-man defence, as it allows him to carry the ball forward with adequate cover and his passing range can be extremely effective in starting attacks.

However, he isn’t particularly good at instructing his teammates where to position themselves, with the Brazilian often found wandering around aimlessly himself. Azpilicueta didn’t look happy to be utlised as part of the three, with his distribution suffering when he tried to play forward balls.

It will be interesting to see which defenders Conte uses in the coming matches, whilst he must surely lament that Branislav Ivanovic isn’t five years younger.

“(In the second half) we were able to defend very high, which is important because the team was always very compact,” said Conte. “When we lost the ball we tried to win it back as quickly as we could, all the players worked very well. When you work together its easy.”

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1. Liverpool continue to struggle at set-pieces

Liverpool remain in a purgatory between what they were at the end of Brendan Rodgers' reign and what they aspire to be under Jurgen Klopp. A brilliant attacking team, but with seemingly incurable flaws. On the most recent edition of Monday Night Football, the German had spoken of his side's lingering fragility at set-pieces. Reliably, that was the source of Swansea's first goal at The Liberty: a simple corner routine which was admirably well executed but which, ultimately, should have been better defended. 

Though Klopp has acknowledged this weakness, he seems incapable of remedying it; 25 minutes into the game, Borja Baston - again courtesy of some positional dysfunctional - drifted onto a free-kick and should, with a better connection have doubled the lead. And, though it ultimately didn't cost them any points, Loris Karius flapped hopelessly at a second-half cross and, right at the death, Mike van der Hoorn was presented with a golden chance to equalise. In open play and facing a central threat, the Liverpool back-four can look well-drilled, but present them with a dead-ball or wide situation and they melt. 

Klopp has issues with the height of his backline, but none of Saturday's wobbles were a direct result of that. Rather, they were the consequence of organisational ailments, failures to win one-on-one battles and that peculiar foggy uncertainty which follows them around. In the first-half, Swansea completed just a single pass inside Liverpool's penalty-box, compared with Liverpool 13 inside their own, and yet created the best three chances of the game. By full-time, a similar story: just two passes completed in the penalty box and yet, on a different day, Guidolin's side might have scored four times from crossing situations.

The pale blue lines on the graphic donate chances that came from crossing situations, the deep blue depicts the corner which eventually led to the first goal. For a side with Liverpool's aspirations, that's a frighteningly specific weakness.

2. Another half-performance from Swansea

Swansea have struggled with their intensity this season. While capable of pressing and harrying most opponents out of a rhythm, they've typically been prone to hazardous lapses which have cost goals. After the game with Chelsea, Guidolin had proclaimed himself delighted with his team's first twenty minutes, only for them to fall behind after Diego Costa capitalised on a series of busted defensive assignments. 

This game followed a similar pattern. Swansea were initially excellent and, in a first-half characterised by their energy, they restricted Liverpool to slow, blunt possession beyond the hallway line. While the visitors enjoyed plenty of the ball, they struggled to penetrate the areas in front of the home box and were limited to playing around the area and into only semi-threatening positions inside it. 

Four missed tackles outside the home box in the second half

Liverpool's equaliser, then, was strikingly familiar. A long ball from a half-cleared free-kick fell to Roberto Firmino and, completely unchallenged, headed in the game's second goal. From there, the bad Swansea emerged. Their opponents' temperament certainly rose, but - whether through wavering self-belief or because of troubling deja va - their own discipline dropped. The midfield, so rigid and strong in the first-half, became porous and weak; from having no central space to penetrate, Liverpool gradually began to infiltrate at will. Philippe Coutinho, who had been shackled and held shotless in the first-half, would finish the game having had more attempts (four) than any other player and, even prior to the penalty, had started to dance ominously into dangerous areas. 

Swansea are not a bad team and neither are they putting in bad performances; but they are half-a-side and remain bafflingly incapable of sustaining their manager's disciplines for an entire game. 

3. Jordan Henderson continues to grow

Henderson is in excellent form and this season has seen him begin to establish his own identity as captain. Saturday was another example of that. 

He is not a particularly dynamic player, but that isn't necessarily a problem. In time, his value may prove to be in the stability he brings and the type of possession he recycles. He combined 19 times with Joel Matip, 16 with Dejan Lovren and completed more passes than any other player. It wasn't, by itself, a game-changing influence, but Henderson's value has to be assessed in terms of what he allows Liverpool's more advanced players to do. On Saturday, he was their baseline: a genuinely two-way presence. As an example, Philippe Coutinho's emergence as a force in the game owed much to his captain. Henderson supplied him with the ball 11 times but, perhaps more importantly, he provided a reliable outlet for him, too, receiving the ball from the Brazilian eight eight times and providing sacntuary whenever he turned into trouble or was pressed. In tight games, simply keeping the ball and allowing pressure to build on a creaking opponent is sometimes enough. 

Henderson and Coutinho's exchanges

A spectacular role it was, but it was still an important one. When Liverpool are afforded counter-attacking opportunities and the chance to ripple their attacking muscle, Jurgen Klopp's forwards rightly receive much of attention. In games like this, though, they need steady components like Henderson more than their incendiary elements. Beyond his three tackles, his two interceptions, and his team-leading three clearances, he played the rhythm-controlling role perfectly at the Liberty. 

4. Gylfi Sigurdsson remains on the periphery

Gylfi Sigurdsson cuts a frustrated figure at the Liberty Stadium these days. Though comfortably Swansea's most creative player and the one who invariably looks likely to shape their attacking patterns, the system in which he's operating tends to isolate him from his forward, his supporting midfielders, and from the width of the full-backs. It's not ideal. 

Swansea's priority on Saturday was to subdue Liverpool and, smartly, not to arm them with counter-attacking opportunities. While a perfect balance would always have been difficult to find, when the hosts did break out of their own third, they would typically find Sigurdsson in positions in which he had to consolidate or switch the play rather than actually progress it. He connected with lone forward Borja Baston only six times and made just 16 successful passes in total, less than any other player who completed 90 minutes. His first-half free-kick aside, he also failed to complete a single ball into the Liverpool box and, in a statistic more damning of the system than him personally, was limited to receiving possession twenty-five yards out and beyond. Sigurdsson is a gifted footballer and he can change games in wonderful, eclectic ways, but there must be some deference to the percentages and a greater emphasis on using his abilities in the areas in which he's most valuable. 

Sigurdsson's passing and pass reception points

On Saturday, Guidolin had to shape his tactics around his rebuilt defence and in a way that guarded against Liverpool's attacking power. But, while he was right to emphasise protection over ambition, his unwitting dilution of Sigurdsson's influence meant that his players struggled to both alleviate the pressure on themselves and, ultimately, to create much from open play. It was a problem this weekend, it has been a problem all season; Swansea must rebalance their attacking approach.

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[View the story "Premier League LIVE, Sat October 1" on Storify]

Premier League LIVE, Sat October 1

Stats Zone coverage, insight and a dash of humour as we cover the next round of fixtures

Storified by FourFourTwo· Sat, Oct 01 2016 11:23:31

FourFourTwo

Hello and welcome from FourFourTwo Towers. Ready for round 7 of the Premier League? So are we… Let's go. It's @geemacgee running today's live blog. Pleased to meet you.

Arsenal’s attacking threat has been steadily increasing this season, with the north Londoners having netted more goals in the Premier League than anyone but Manchester City and Liverpool. They’ve scored nine goals in their last three top-flight outings, with four more added against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup and two against Basel in the Champions League this midweek.

Arsenal probably should have scored more on Wednesday, but the offensive patterns they conjured were a continuation of those which caused Hull, Chelsea and Forest so much trouble in recent weeks. If the finishing had been a little more precise, Arsene Wenger’s team could easily have come away from their group stage fixture with six or seven goals to their name.

It seems as though attacking flair will be more decisive than defensive solidity this season, and it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal can keep up their current output.

1. Mesut Ozil playing with greater freedom

Ozil's creativity is one of Arsenal's greatest assets, and in the current system he's better able to express himself than he was last term. This is primarily a result of the ceaseless movement of the players ahead of him: Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez constantly interchange and drag defenders out of position, thereby opening up gaps for the inventive German to exploit. 

Ozil often now finds himself playing on the left-hand side of the pitch, with Iwobi shifting into the centre to compensate. Defenders have struggled to cope with such movement, and Arsenal have been clinical in taking advantage of the consequent confusion. Both Basel and Chelsea encountered serious problems against the duo.

2. Walcott and Bellerin have great partnership

While there are more common passing combinations between Arsenal players than Walcott and Hector Bellerin, there are none as decisive and meaningful. Almost every pass between the pair results in a positive outcome – whether that’s gaining ground, pulling a defender out of position or working to intelligently slow down a passing move as team-mates search for space.

Walcott is the Arsenal attacker most likely to stick rigidly to a set position, remaining on the right for the majority of minutes he’s on the pitch. This has allowed him and Bellerin to develop a close relationship, with the Spanish full-back always keen to break forward into the final third. Arsenal's approach on the two flanks is contrasting: whereas Nacho Monreal, Iwobi and Ozil are more fluid on the left, the right side is definitely more structured. 

• 12 Premier League players bouncing back after rubbish 2015/16 seasons

3. Attackers win ball high up the pitch

Not all of Arsenal’s chances emerge from the kind of passing triangles and elegant movement commonly associated with a Wenger team. By deploying the hard-working Sanchez alongside the equally energetic Iwobi and Walcott, the Gunners have a frontline which is willing and able to close down defenders high up the pitch in the hope of forcing an error.

Their doggedness against both Basel and Chelsea was rewarded with many tackles and interceptions in advanced areas, which in turn facilitated an increase in the number of shots taken from dangerous positions, often when the opposition was not set in a defensive shape. It also reduces the pressure on midfielders Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka, who would otherwise be expected to constantly trigger passing moves. 

Such a strategy is made possible by the absence of Giroud, with all four of Arsenal's most attacking players possessing the mobility to press opponents quickly. Such diversity of attack will serve Arsenal well, particularly against teams who try to build from the back.

4. Game management is improving

Game management has tended not to be one of Arsenal’s strong points over the years: all too often a lead would be gained and then extinguished thanks to some sloppy mistakes or questionable tactics.

On the evidence of the Basel game, though, things are improving. Having gone in at half-time with a two-goal advantage, Arsenal were content to retain possession in the middle of the park at the start of the second period, taking the sting out of any potential comeback. While Basel did create a few chances from corners, they ultimately ran out of steam before the final whistle as they attempted to prise the ball from the hosts.

It was an improvement on Arsenal's display in the second half against Chelsea, when the Gunners gave up possession too easily by playing a number of difficult long balls towards Sanchez and Walcott. If they can see games out like they did against Basel, Arsenal will not let many leads slip this term.

5. Improved accuracy would give fans more confidence

As impressive as Arsenal have been in creating chances over the past few weeks, their finishing often leaves much to be desired. Only five of their 14 shots against Chelsea were on target (35 per cent), while only seven of 19 (36 per cent) required an intervention from Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik on Wednesday.

Sanchez and Ozil are playing brilliantly but even they have been guilty of wasting opportunities; while such profligacy hasn't negatively affected the Gunners in recent games, they will have to be more clinical in front of goal in tighter matches.

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Common sense can go a long way. Many pundits and analysts had long encouraged Jose Mourinho to drop Wayne Rooney, and when the Portuguese did so he was rewarded with an efficient playmaking display from Juan Mata and a 4-1 win over Leicester.

At the Emirates, Arsene Wenger devised a plan to stop Diego Costa that helped record his first win over Chelsea in five years. Pep Guardiola saw his lopsided system earn a 3-1 win at Swansea, while Claude Puel’s 4-4-2 diamond led Southampton to beat West Ham.

1. Subtle Mata provides missing link

In one sense, there was a danger of over-dramatising the effect of Rooney’s absence for Manchester United on Saturday. The 4-0 half-time scoreline suggested dramatic improvement, yet the hosts hadn't looked convincing in the first 20 minutes and relied more on their full-backs flying forward than on fluent combinations between the lines. When they did subsequently turn on the style, the return of long-lost confidence seemed to play a significant part.

Still, the Rooney debate was inescapable given how well Mata played. Many had expected Mourinho to go 4-3-3 and give Paul Pogba a more advanced role once the call on Rooney had been made, but instead Mata was used behind the striker and the 4-2-3-1 retained. It proved a wise call.

While Pogba drew more attention, Mata was quietly involved in almost every productive move. He exchanges some of the passes that led to Pogba unleashing a stinging 30-yard drive, before turning the spotlight on himself when cutting through the Leicester team to make it 2-0, having combined neatly with Pogba and Jesse Lingard. For the third goal, it was Mata who stretched play down the left and allowed Marcus Rashford to win the corner, which Mata himself extended to Rashford.

Mata then popped up on the left again to ignite the build-up play that brought the corner headed in by Pogba. This was the kind of playmaking United had been missing from the No.10 position.

• BACK OF THE NET Rooney shines in new position on bench

2. Tough-tackling Arsenal frustrate Costa

Chelsea lost at the Emirates through individual errors, but another part of the game was how Arsenal silenced Diego Costa, who had scored twice and triggered two red cards in his three previous games against the Gunners. The normal dynamic had been for Costa to draw the defence out of shape with runs down the channels, but this time Arsenal managed to keep him at bay.

Part of the reason centred on Antonio Conte’s insistence that his strikers drop deep and bring others into play. It was a common feature at the Euros, but there Italy had dynamic midfielders who ran beyond the two strikers and offered options. The same was not provided by Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, and so Costa was largely limited to laying the ball off in deep positions.

Alternatively Costa would dribble or get fouled, with Arsenal happy to risk committing free-kicks near the halfway line. So roughly did Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi treat him that Costa threw a tantrum in the second half over the persistent fouling. That only meant Arsenal had done their job in keeping him away from goal, and Costa left the field with no attempts on goal and no chances created.

3. Lopsided system benefits De Bruyne

In Wales, Guardiola reacted to Nolito’s suspension by switching Kevin De Bruyne to the right flank of his 4-1-4-1. Or so it seemed. When the game got going, it turned out De Bruyne was actually playing his usual role as an advanced central playmaker, with Bacary Sagna stationed as a wing-back to retain the width usually provided by Raheem Sterling down the right.

With Sterling stretching play on the left instead, Guardiola instructed left-back Aleksandar Kolarov to play more cautiously. The Serb often tucked inside next to the two centre-backs to give Manchester City a three-man defence when they attacked. This provided Guardiola with two wide players in Sterling and Sagna, while David Silva and De Bruyne could continue to operate centrally as per usual.

The tweak created advantages and disadvantages. Sergio Aguero’s clinical opener came after a cross from Sagna, but the same defender slipped when Fernando Llorente smashed home the equaliser, and was then booked when forced to foul Kyle Naughton after getting caught out of position. Still, Sagna’s role created more good than bad, particularly since it allowed De Bruyne to collect a series of passes in dangerous areas centrally.

In fact, only wasteful play from the normally incisive Belgian had prevented City from scoring more by the time Sagna’s cross led to a penalty converted by Aguero. Near the hour mark, Guardiola switched De Bruyne to a permanent central role, before Sterling made it 3-1 on the break. “We created a lot of chances so that Kevin and David were at times attacking the central defenders with the ball,” Guardiola said. “When that happens it makes it more complicated for the opponents so we did that well, but just missed the final pass.”

4. Southampton shine in midfield diamond

On Sunday, Claude Puel secured a second straight league win with his 4-4-2 diamond shape. The system is not often seen in the Premier League, but offers a lot of fluency in the final third, where Dusan Tadic operates as an advanced playmaker behind Charlie Austin and winger-turned-striker Nathan Redmond. The three often exchange positions, as they did in the 40th minute against West Ham, when Tadic found Ryan Bertrand down the left who then crossed to Austin for the opener.

While Puel’s full-backs are crucial in retaining width, Redmond is also charged with working the flanks and drawing defenders out of position. This invites Tadic to exploits pockets of space in the middle, and he got a chance near the penalty spot in this way when played in by Cedric Soares. He missed it, but soon got another opportunity when Austin found him unmarked inside the box for 2-0.

That was one of three instances in which Tadic recorded attempts from central positions, and showed how dangerous the Saints can be with proper cohesion between the front three.

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Best pass combination – Santi Cazorla to Mesut Ozil (26)

Arsenal’s superb 3-0 victory over Chelsea was partly the result of some excellent attacking play between Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but largely because Chelsea’s lacklustre performance saw them camped in their own third.

Antonio Conte’s team struggled to pass out from the back because their full-backs sat square on with the central defenders, meaning that Arsenal’s wingers weren’t pinned back and Thibaut Courtois had few passing options. Furthermore, Chelsea’s timidity played a big part; they rarely pressed Arsenal and instead sat deeper and deeper, allowing Cazorla and Ozil to dictate the tempo under no pressure at all.

Unsurprisingly, it looks as though Cazorla’s ability to weave into the final third will once again be crucial to Arsenal’s title challenge this season.

Most take-ons – Son Heung-min (9/16)

No Premier League player has attempted more take-ons in a single match than Son did against Middlesbrough on Sunday, and there is no doubt that his dribbling skills directly impacted upon the game. Six of the South Korean’s successful take-ons took place in the build-up to his two first-half goals.

Son is now averaging 4.7 successful take-ons per match, which is both a career high and the most in the Premier League this season. One thing that Spurs lacked last campaign was a penetrative winger (hence the £30 million acquisition of Moussa Sissoko), and in ex-Bayer Leverkusen Son, Mauricio Pochettino has (eventually) found the final piece of the jigsaw.

Most passes in attacking third – Philippe Coutinho (46/58)

Jurgen Klopp was right to claim that Liverpool’s counter-pressing was the most impressive aspect of their 5-1 victory over Hull on Saturday. This felt like a turning point in the Klopp project; we have seen Liverpool find space in the final third against expansive teams (such as in the 3-0 and 4-1 victories over Manchester City last season) but this was their most accomplished performance against a more defensive outfit.

Philippe Coutinho was able to complete so many passes in the final third because Liverpool were essentially camped in this zone of the pitch. Ordinarily this territorial advantage would lead to aimless possession for central midfielders as they look for gaps in the defensive block, but here Liverpool’s superb pressing of the ball when possession was lost meant that spaces opened up for Coutinho on the counter.

Liverpool attempted 16 tackles – and recovered the ball 26 times – in the Hull half.

Most crosses – Wayne Routledge (5)

Swansea matched Manchester City for an hour at the Liberty Stadium, and were perhaps unlucky to finish without a point. Their key player was Wayne Routledge, who looked a constant threat from the right wing – an area that Man City struggled to defend.

David Silva was used as the left winger in Nolito’s absence, but unsurprisingly the Spaniard drifted constantly away from his flank to join Kevin De Bruyne in central areas. Aleksandar Kolarov was expected to provide the width in attack, which meant that the away side’s left side was frequently left free for Routledge on the counter.

Pep Guardiola will need to come up with a much better Plan B for when Nolito is unavailable – a more confident side would have punished their lopsided shape.

Most aerial duels won – Christian Benteke (9/19)

Crystal Palace’s Benteke won this category a fortnight ago and is set to win it most weeks, but it was the position of his headers on Saturday – and how he interacted with Jason Puncheon – that makes his performance noteworthy.

After winning one header in the box against Middlesbrough and zero against Stoke, Benteke won four out of five duels in the penalty area against Sunderland. This suggests that the Crystal Palace players are slowly learning how best to utilise their new targetman, with Puncheon in particular forging a good partnership with the Belgium international.

Puncheon completed eight passes to Benteke, seven of which were long balls and five of which led directly to goalscoring opportunities. As a direct result of his drilled long balls to Benteke, Puncheon created more chances this weekend (eight) than any other Premier League player.

Most unsuccessful touches, most dispossessed – Ross Barkley (12)

Ronald Koeman was frustrated by the line of questioning following Everton’s 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, telling reporters: “I don’t like that every game I need to explain the performance of Barkley.” Perhaps criticism of the 22-year-old is too frequent, but this weekend he was particularly poor.

Barkley had seven unsuccessful touches of the ball and was dispossessed five times in a wholly disappointing display against Bournemouth. He also completed just 31 passes and made just one successful tackle across the 90. With Jack Wilshere impressing for the Cherries, Sam Allardyce is unlikely to include Barkley in his next England squad (again) unless his performances become more consistent.

Most fouls – Danny Simpson (4)

That Leicester’s right-back had a torrid time at Old Trafford is testament to Manchester United’s excellent attacking play. The main difference between Saturday and previous United performances was that Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba all bunched up around the ball, offering numerous short-passing options on the left.

Jose Mourinho deliberately targeted Simpson’s flank because Riyad Mahrez often fails to track back and support his right-back. With so much close support to Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and Marcus Rashford’s width forcing Simpson wider than he would have liked – United dominated the centre-left zone. Strong individual performances certainly helped, but the number of bodies that the home side managed to get around the ball was the biggest factor in their victory.

It was the kind of high-tempo performance they haven’t managed in some time. If only we could work out who’s been slowing them down all this time…

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Arsene Wenger will be glad the game coinciding with his 20-year Arsenal anniversary won’t involve a clash with nemesis Jose Mourinho, but there's another villain the Frenchman will have to stomach. An in-form Diego Costa, who will lead the line for Antonio Conte’s men at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, always poses problems for the Gunners – even more so when Cesc Fabregas is supplying the ammunition.

That, at least, is what recent history indicates: Arsenal haven't beaten Chelsea in nine league games and have gone six without finding the net, a record not helped by Costa succeeding Didier Drogba as their chief tormentor since transferring from Atletico Madrid in 2014. 

Only twice have Arsenal avoided defeat since his arrival, namely the scoreless draw at the Emirates in April last year and their 1-0 win in the Community Shield a few months later. One thing those two fixtures have in common is that Costa was out injured and didn't feature.

When that's not been the case, Chelsea have won three out of three, with Costa the protagonist. He clinched the second goal in the 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in October 2014, then engineered the dismissal of Gabriel Paulista to facilitate another 2-0 win in September 2015; last January, with Guus Hiddink in charge, he got Per Mertesacker sent off and struck the winner in a 1-0 triumph.

Masterly movement

His performances have offered a mix of provocation and actual play, but if histrionics are hard to predict, the tactics Conte will use to get Costa scoring are easier to analyse. The studious Italian will no doubt have noted that on two of the occasions his star striker punished Arsenal, he did so by making clever runs in behind the backline.

It was such an initiative that brought the second goal in 2014, with Fabregas sending the ball over the top as Arsenal chased an equaliser. Last January, Costa curved his run to poke Willian’s through-ball past Mertesacker, who was tempted into fouling him as the last man.

Worryingly for Arsenal, Costa’s movement now looks sharper than ever. His five league goals this season include a trademark strike at Watford, where he sprinted in behind the defence to collect a sumptuous pass on the break. Again, the delivery came from Fabregas, who had entered the fray late in the second half. 

On Wednesday, in the 4-2 win at Leicester in the League Cup, Costa came off the bench to launch several dangerous runs and could easily have scored. The danger is thus clear for Arsenal: Chelsea will look for Costa in transitions, with incisive passes designed to pierce the backline. 

Conte’s rehearsals 

What increases the risk of this happening is the venue of the fixture. At the Emirates, Arsenal will be expected to run the game and send players forward; they were the team with the most possession at home last season (58.3 per cent).

The good news for Wenger is that Mertesacker, who's out injured anyway, has been replaced with Shkodran Mustafi. The German centre-back who signed from Valencia for £35 million in August is more mobile than his older compatriot and should, alongside Laurent Koscielny, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, give Wenger decent cover when Chelsea break forward.

Yet besides sheer pace, counter-attacks are also about planning and organisation, and Conte is a master at both. Evidence of this was provided at the Euros, where Italy shone on the break against Belgium and Spain with pre-determined moves rehearsed so well that it looked as if the players could have carried out the gameplan blindfolded. 

Though the formation will not be 3-5-2 on Saturday, a similarly reactive approach will surely be applied. Conte positioned his team deep at home to Liverpool and, though Chelsea lost the game, the two goals they shipped came via set-pieces. A high defensive line would make little sense at the Emirates against Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott, and so the game could fall into the familiar pattern of Arsenal keeping the ball against a deep-lying Chelsea side. 

Route one

Should that happen, the scenario would surely suit Fabregas. The Catalan playmaker has started none of the five league games so far due to his inability to maintain the high-octane tempo Conte demands, but that would be less applicable should Chelsea cede control of midfield anyway. Even Fabregas is capable of holding his position in a deep-lying block. In January, for instance, he put in an all-action man-of-the-match display as Chelsea won at the Emirates.

Conte is likely to play Eden Hazard and Willian out wide in his 4-3-3, but neither would have the same conditions for playing passes over the top. Both tend to be involved when the game reaches the final third, whereas Fabregas drops deeper to collect the ball and can launch long passes far quicker. This dimension will be lost almost entirely if Conte benches him in favour of Oscar and Nemanja Matic as the pairing in front of N’Golo Kante.  

The understanding between Costa and Fabregas is also well developed after their title-winning season under Mourinho in 2014/15. Even against a backline as mobile as Arsenal’s, the duo’s capacity for combining at a high level of speed and precision could undo Mustafi and Koscielny, who have only played three games together and kept a clean sheet in none. The advantage of intuitive understanding would be with Chelsea.

On Wednesday, Fabregas also entered late to score the two decisive goals at Leicester. He's clearly in fine form and, whatever reservations Conte may have about his defensive work, this seems an occasion where the pros of including him outweigh the cons.

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There were contrasting fortunes for the Italian managers on a weekend where Chelsea and Manchester United lost ground on Manchester City and Arsenal. Many were surprised when Antonio Conte left it until the 84th minute to make substitutions in the home defeat to Liverpool, whereas Walter Mazzarri tweaked his defensive shape to stop United.

Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola used transitions and counter-attacks to make it five wins out of five in the league, while Ronald Koeman continued to tighten up the Everton defence.

1. Man City prevail through transitions and counter-pressing

Guardiola has long been associated with possession football and elaborate passing, but the attacks that handed Manchester City their 4-0 win over Bournemouth did not feature many moves. The hosts actually struggled to break down the Cherries in established play, at least initially, encountering a tight 4-5-1 shape that put space in the final third at a premium. Only when the visitors tried to pass their way out and lost the ball did City create their best chances.

This is a cornerstone in the Guardiola method that is often overlooked and the Catalan tactician later praised the way in which his players had worked without the ball. They took the lead on 15 minutes when Fernandinho moved up to tackle Jack Wilshere on 20 yards. A lacklustre Wilshere responded by barging into Nolito and conceding a dangerous free-kick, which Kevin De Bruyne sent under the wall and into the net. Only a few minutes later, City won the ball 40 yards upfield to launch another transition that culminated in De Bruyne playing in Nolito for a poor miss.

When City added their second, it came from a pure counter-attack. They cleared a free-kick deep inside their own half and launched a blitzing move that saw De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Kelechi Iheanacho outplay a backtracking defence. Also for the third, in the 48th minute, the build-up was direct: a long punt by Nolito reached De Bruyne, who quickly played in Iheanacho, who again found Sterling. By that point City had made numerous tackles and ball recoveries in advanced positions.

2. Conte leaves his Plan B unused

There was a point in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat on Friday when many expected the 4-2-4 to be wheeled out once more. The Blues had not played well but nonetheless scored through Diego Costa in the 61st minute and were pushing for another late goal, having secured dramatic wins against West Ham and Watford earlier this season.

But Conte didn’t make a single substitution until six minutes remained. By that stage Chelsea had created few clear chances, and little about that would change as Liverpool ran out winners.

One notable tweak Conte did make was to move Oscar closer to Costa, who had lacked service in the first half. But the striker received only six passes in the 28 minutes after his goal, and though Oscar did nod down a long ball to set up his only effort within that period, it would surely have been better to have the powerful presence of Michy Batshuayi next to him. Chelsea were resorting to long balls, and it was precisely one of these that Batshuayi had knocked down for Costa when the Brazil-born forward scored the winner against West Ham.

Batshuayi also hit the first of two late goals at Watford the week after, at which point it was worth considering whether Conte would stick to the 4-2-4 as a permanent solution. That the system was not even used on this occasion seemed, on the face of it, an odd decision.

3. Ighalo’s wide role fortifies Hornets

Mazzarri has long been known for his 3-5-2 system, but that does not preclude formational tweaks. Facing Manchester United at home, the former Napoli boss assigned Odion Ighalo a wide left role when Watford were defending and thus split up his two-striker partnership.

This is not a necessity when using this system – recall how Conte’s Italy successfully alternated between a 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 shape at the Euros – but Mazzarri evidently felt the defence needed more support against such a strong opponent. His judgement proved to be shrewd: Watford were able to switch between a 4-5-1 and 5-4-1 without being outnumbered in key areas, with Ighalo as a makeshift winger designed to help stop Antonio Valencia.

United did have some chances – Paul Pogba hit the crossbar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have converted an angled finish – but far from as many as Jose Mourinho would have wanted. Only after the Portuguese had replaced Valencia with Juan Mata on 61 minutes did the visitors reply to Etienne Capoue’s opener, but Watford kept the score at 1-1 until substitute Juan Camilo Zuniga struck seven minutes from full time. When Troy Deeney hammered home a stoppage-time penalty, it capped a triumph to savour for Mazzarri.

• More Watford vs Man United analysis: Pogba's stats under the microscope

4. Settled defence underpins Everton win

Everton have been forced to improvise a little under Koeman – they have used a 3-5-2 and deployed a number of defenders – but the project now seems more settled. The system has changed to 4-2-3-1 and both Ashley Williams and Seamus Coleman have slotted into the backline next to Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka. With Gareth Barry and Idrissa Gueye just ahead, the set-up looks more durable than that of Roberto Martinez.

The 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday would have been their third consecutive clean sheet in the league had the officials spotted a blatant foul by Alvaro Negredo on Maarten Stekelenburg that saw the Toffees go 1-0 down. The hosts struck back quickly anyway, and Boro ended the game without a shot on goal. In fact, only one of Boro’s efforts came from within the box.

The Everton display followed a 1-0 win over Stoke and 3-0 win over Sunderland, and though such opposition may be described as modest, they already look strengthened under Koeman.

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Most take-ons – Raheem Sterling (10/13)

Pep Guardiola has simplified Sterling’s role by instructing him to stand still on the wing rather than float infield in search of the ball, removing the England international’s mental blockage while creating space for Kevin De Bruyne to flourish. Guardiola instructs his wingers to hug the touchline and only move infield once the ball enters the final third – that way the opposition defence has to stretch wider, which in turn creates space in central areas.

Sterling benefits from this by receiving the ball with space ahead of him in which to build up speed. Unsurprisingly, his dribbling skills suddenly look a lot more refined. Sterling still needs to improve his final ball, but is already indirectly creating chances; his mazy runs are a huge distraction for opposition defenders.

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Most ball recoveries – Marouane Fellaini (16)

The Belgian may have picked up more loose balls than any other player, but this merely reflects Watford’s domination and the amount of work Fellaini was forced to do. He made just two tackles and zero interceptions, often struggling defensively in between the excellent Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo.

Watford’s 3-5-2 shape was impressive. Walter Mazzarri played Ighalo as a left-sided targetman, with Deeney and Roberto Pereyra constantly finding space in Fellaini’s zone as the Belgian was pulled out of position to track Ighalo. Daryl Janmaat shifted up and down the right wing constantly and his team-mates shuffled across to cover the spaces – essentially allowing Watford to flit between 5-3-2 and 4-4-1-1. Jose Mourinho’s midfield had no idea how to handle the situation.

Most accurate long passes – Aleksandar Kolarov (11/17)

Guardiola’s preference for short passing football has been overstated. He likes to play quick, penetrative football and the centre-back plays an important role as some of his bravest passers. It’s why John Stones was signed from Everton, and why the adventurous Kolarov has been given a new position.

Most of the Serbian’s long balls were in search of Sterling (see above), but occasionally they were slightly more wild. Guardiola has decided to take a more direct approach against deep-lying teams, who may be naively assuming that the Catalan plays a predictable system.

Most tackles – Idrissa Gueye (8/10)

Only N’Golo Kante made more tackles and interceptions than Gueye’s 248 last season, and while the Senegal international’s good form has continued at Everton, his style of play has changed slightly. Last year he completed 4.1 tackles and 4.0 interceptions per match, but this season his spread is more lopsided – 6.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions.

One reason for this is that Gueye is given licence to be more aggressive in his defensive play, whereas at Villa he was expected to sit deep and control the onslaught. His eight tackles against Middlesbrough were decisive, preventing Stewart Downing and Gaston Ramirez from counter-attacking effectively. Everton’s great start to the season is largely thanks to Gueye’s magnificent form.

Most passes – Mesut Ozil (104/110)

Arsenal amassed 24 shots in their victory over Hull, and their dominance in this game (61% possession) enabled Ozil to dictate the tempo from deep within the opposition half. The German also topped the charts for most passes in the final third (62/68).

Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott stole the show, causing havoc for Mike Phelan’s side, while Alexis Sanchez was lethal in his false nine role. Hull’s defenders couldn’t cope with how he dropped off the frontline, which in turn created space for Iwobi and Walcott to sneak into the box ahead of him. Ozil’s role in this was also crucial – he largely played simple one-touch passes in the No.10 slot, setting the tempo and gradually wearing down the surrounding defenders.

Most shots – Son Heung-min (7)

Tottenham’s South Korean star looked full of confidence after his brace against Stoke, and injected a directness into Tottenham’s attack that was missing on occasions last season. The 24-year-old could have a big role to play in 2016/17.

Son is considerably less delicate or technically gifted than most of Tottenham’s attacking players, but for games in which Mauricio Pochettino’s team will face deep-lying opposition (such as Sunderland) his forceful demeanour prevents them from appearing blunt-edged.

Moussa Sissoko should provide a similarly aggressive approach from the other wing, although he was largely ineffective on Sunday. Spurs will be frustrated that they failed to convert more of their chances, but the variation these two players are adding to their build-up play is hugely encouraging.

Most aerial duels won – Alvaro Negredo (8/15)

Middlesbrough’s tactics largely revolve counter-attacks and quick distribution to the flanks, where their wingers look to whip early crosses into the box for targetman Negredo. The simplicity of their approach against Everton was clearly not effective, although fans will be encouraged by how quickly Negredo is settling back into English football.

After scoring once and assisting twice in his first two games, the Spaniard has gone a bit quiet. However, he continues to look menacing in the air and has now won 60 headers this season – more than any other Premier League player.

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It's four weeks since Paul Pogba made his debut for Manchester United – a marauding, hugely influential performance that guided Jose Mourinho's men to a 2-0 home win over Southampton. United had started the season with a 100 per cent record, and their £89m record signing looked to be up and running.

Gradually though, things have started to unravel, both individually for Pogba, and collectively for Mourinho's United. “I don’t know what position he played,” Mourinho joked after Pogba's debut display. “We have to build a certain organisation around him, but he has to play free.”

Since then, Pogba's wandering role has continued to puzzle, and yet the Frenchman no longer looks like he's playing with freedom either – or confidence for that matter.

In that debut game against Southampton, Pogba received 72 passes, and completed 60 of the 72 he attempted himself. He had four shots in that match, created two chance and made 14 ball recoveries. Against Manchester City, those figures were down to 39 passes received, 35 completed from 45 attempts, one shot, one chance created and eight ball recoveries.

True, Manchester United had less possession in total, completing 284 passes compared to 340 against Southampton. But that was down 16%, while Pogba's own passing contribution was down 42%.

At Watford, United completed 345 passes – more than they managed against Southampton. But Pogba mustered just 47 passes, misplacing a worrying 16. He received 60 passes, recovered possession only six times and created no chances, although he did have two shots and was unlucky not to score with a brilliant 25-yard effort that came off the crossbar. It was a flash of genius that showed what he is capable of, but for the rest of the match he was far too quiet for United's liking.

Different position, same issues

Pogba has largely played alongside Marouane Fellaini in a 4-2-3-1 since returning to the club, but he started in a slightly more advanced role against Watford. Mourinho opted for a 4-3-3, with Fellaini sitting on his own and Pogba alongside Wayne Rooney in an attacking midfield position.

It was designed to help Pogba become more influential – he sometimes struggled as part of a two in holding midfield for France at Euro 2016, but flourished in a midfield three at Juventus. It didn't really work though. Pogba had marginally more influence, completing 27 passes in the first half compared to 20 in the second half – but still not enough.

The change also had the negative effect of forcing Rooney to play a more withdrawn role – the very one Mourinho previously said he wouldn't give his skipper, having insisted that the 30-year-old is not a No.8. Rooney was ineffective and Mourinho switched things back around for the second half at Vicarage Road, returning to a 4-2-3-1 with Pogba deeper alongside Fellaini.

Pogba used his strength several times against Watford, holding off opponents in impressive fashion to start moves, but in both halves there wasn't enough sign of the mobility he clearly possesses. He didn't get forward anywhere near as often as he did on his debut against Southampton, completing only 10 passes in the final third compared to 17 against Saints – and the diagrams below show that most of those 17 were in far more advanced, dangerous areas.

Dribbling skills have gone missing

Paul Scholes gave his thoughts on Pogba's struggles before this game, having seen the midfielder toil in a Europa League defeat at Feyenoord. Scholes is very much the people's curmudgeon – far from the world's most cheery man, but most of what he says United fans tend to agree with. His criticism of Louis van Gaal last season received widespread support from the Old Trafford fanbase.

"He's trying to beat three or four players, he's running with the ball," was Scholes's assessment. "He should keep it simple for now. That’s not the player Manchester United bought. They didn't buy a Messi to go and beat five players and stick it in the top corner all the time."

Whether because of Scholes's words or via sheer coincidence, Pogba hardly ran with the ball at all against Watford – he didn't attempt a single take-on all game. Even against Manchester City he completed five take-ons; against Southampton he attempted 14, completing nine.

Zlatan isn't benefiting from Pogba presence

"If he just plays one-two touch, sticks the ball into Zlatan and runs, nobody can live with that," Scholes added.

Pogba did actually find Ibrahimovic with 10 passes at Vicarage Road – he passed the ball to the striker only three times against Southampton. But only one of those found Ibrahimovic in the final third, the same as against Saints, so while he seemed to focus more on finding the Swede, the benefit wasn't huge and running with the ball actually might have done more damage – as it did on his debut.

The service Ibrahimovic received in general was poor – he received 26 passes against Watford but only four in the final third. From one of those he set up United's goal and, considering his lack of service, the five shots he got in during the game was a decent tally – although there was one occasion when he should have scored in the first half.

Fellaini may not be perfect partner, but he justified place

Scholes's suggested solution is to pair Pogba with Michael Carrick in holding midfield, rather than Marouane Fellaini. It's an interesting conundrum, given that Mourinho does need to get more out of Pogba, but Fellaini was arguably United's best player against Watford.

The Belgian completed 65 passes – 18 more than Pogba, and anyone else on the field for that matter. Even more impressively, he gave the ball only twice.

True, Fellaini often opted for a simpler pass than Pogba, who gave the ball away 16 times – 13 of them while attempting to move it forward. But the former Everton man generally held the fort well for United, making 16 ball recoveries, seven more than anyone else. He also completed seven headed clearances, the highest tally of the match.

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A young Portuguese star was thrust into the limelight at the Euros this summer, helping his country make history before being named as the young player of the tournament. That player was Renato Sanches – but he might not have gone at all but for a late twist of fate.

Monaco’s Bernardo Silva looked like the man most likely to take the final midfield spot in the Portugal squad that went on to win the the Euros, only for the 22-year-old to suffer a thigh injury in the penultimate match of the Ligue 1 season. Silva was out, Sanches was in.

At Wembley against Spurs, Silva looked like a man determined to make up for lost time. His poise, intelligence on the ball, slight 5ft 8in frame and wand of a left foot were reminiscent of another Silva, the man who has dazzled for years at Manchester City.

Tottenham’s fatal mistake was to play into the Monaco man’s hands. “The fact that it was a larger pitch may have affected them,” boss Leonardo Jardim asserted afterwards. “They like to play a pressing game but on a bigger pitch it’s harder to close everyone down.” 

Never was that better illustrated than in the 15th minute, when Silva got the ball in the right channel, and Tottenham failed to close him down. They were punished: the Portuguese was allowed to cut back onto his stronger left foot by Jan Vertonghen, before rifling a brilliant effort into the far corner. The momentum of the game had shifted irreversibly.

Silva was the key to Monaco’s counter-attacking strategy. He didn’t have a lot of the ball but he seldom wasted it, carrying it upfield, linking well with Joao Moutinho and Radamel Falcao. Almost always he picked the right pass, most of them short, but this was not a night for Hollywood balls. Despite Spurs' dominance of possession, he actually completed more passes in the attacking third than any other player.

“He had a very good game,” Jardim added via not one but two translators, first Portuguese to French, then French to English, in some sort of bizarre Champions League version of Chinese whispers. “He fitted in perfectly to our tactical plans, he created problems offensively for the Spurs defence throughout and he showed what an agile, nimble player he is. He was very important on the transitions, he helped us to keep the ball when he had it.”