Sky Sports' football writers review Saturday's action as David Moyes outwits Frank Lampard with a big win for West Ham, Mykhailo Mudryk shows potential for Chelsea, Unai Emery continues to improve Aston Villa, Leicester can take positives and there's VAR frustration for Southampton...
Sunday 22 January 2023 10:16, UK
"I knew I would win," beamed David Moyes as he faced the press after a week where men potentially losing their jobs had reached pantomime levels. Instead, it was Frank Lampard, not Moyes, facing the difficult questions about his future. Perhaps the experience of Moyes won the day for him here.
He knew a clean sheet was the most important aspect of this decisive encounter. West Ham played in a pretty dour and defensive fashion yet Everton could have still been playing late into the night at The London Stadium and not found a way to score a goal. Such is West Ham's quality on the counter-attack - as seen for much of the Moyes era - he knew he could rely on his attackers to pounce at key moments in the match.
Jarrod Bowen provided the spark and quality when required, doubling his season tally in an important seven-minute period that may just have kickstarted West Ham's season.
"I am trying to get West Ham into the best position and to try and win a trophy," added Moyes. It seems fending off relegation isn't even seen as success by the West Ham boss. He knows this team have huge capabilities. And now he just may get the time to try and take them to such outlandish heights.
Lewis Jones
The longer Everton's 2-0 defeat at West Ham went on, the easier to see just how much belief is lacking within this current crop of players. They were like a deflated balloon by full-time. Limp and useless. As Frank Lampard noted in his post-match duties, it isn't for a want of trying but this group are playing like they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Perhaps it's a case of trying too hard. The clear issue is in their forward line. On countless occasions, usually through the drive of Amadou Onana or skill of Alex Iwobi, Everton got into some promising positions. That is shown through their 28 touches in the West Ham box - seven more than the hosts - and whopping total of 93 final third entries. West Ham only managed 53 but were much more clinical with their time when tasked with attacking.
From all that territory, Everton posted just five shots at goal to an expected goal figure of 0.67.
Confidence is clearly an issue and the backdrop of the fan unrest towards the board is playing a part, according to Lampard.
He said: "I don't feel like [protests against the board] distract me. But if you're asking about the players that is a different question. I've played at West Ham as a young boy and with England in tough times, tough times personally. I was fortunate at Chelsea there wasn't that many.
"I understand the difficulties this game can give you. People say you should have a thick skin but it doesn't work like that. It's not that simple. I understand the players are affected by it. And I understand the passion of the fans. I'm not here to tell anyone about the bigger questions as I've been here a year and I try to focus on the football."
That focus might be someone else's responsibility soon enough as this team look crying out for a change of approach.
Lewis Jones
Newcastle are learning the harsh realities of being in a battle at the top.
Just like against Leeds, just like against Fulham, teams like Crystal Palace will look at their players and their league position and look to frustrate Newcastle to nothing.
They got away with it against Fulham last week but were it not for that late Alexander Isak winner, they would have mustered goalless draws in their last four games.
Normally the solution, particularly in January, is to add more potency up front. After all, Eddie Howe previewed this game by saying the Magpies are on the lookout for a new striker to replace Chris Wood, who is now at Nottingham Forest.
But Newcastle have the player they are looking for, in several forms. Strikers Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak put good headers straight at Vicente Guaita as they took turns in the centre-forward role. Joelinton and Miguel Almiron have been reborn this season but didn't fare much better against this Palace defence.
What Eddie Howe's side are lacking is enough people with experience of breaking teams down. How many of their players on Saturday have played for a 'Big Six' club before - or the European equivalent? Kieran Trippier is one, Joe Willock is two and Bruno Guimaraes at a push.
There is also the need of a good start, which can help calm the nerves in a difficult environment like Selhurst Park. Newcastle have failed to score in the first half in their last six games, the only time they have managed to net in the opening period since the World Cup break was in their first game against Leicester.
Howe will be hoping that the Newcastle side which dazzled Premier League audiences before the World Cup can find their shooting boots again. But back to the harsh reality, every moment they don't is a boost for those behind them.
Sam Blitz
"When you spend millions, you move faster to where you want to be."
Patrick Vieira was talking about Newcastle in his post-match press conference but he also may just have been sending a message to the Crystal Palace hierarchy with 10 days to go in the January transfer window.
Bring in the players I've asked for or the team can't improve.
Vieira's side have shown plenty of heart in their last three games - challenging ties against Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle where they've emerged with two points. But a run of one win in seven Premier League games is still a concern, with Palace staying in 12th and needing to rock the boat in order to go forwards.
Data last week showed that Palace have spent the third-lowest amount in the Premier League this season. Only Bournemouth and Leicester have invested less money in their squad this season than the Eagles.
And speaking to Sky Sports, Vieira said he has done everything he's needed to do with regards to identifying the talents his side need. Now the business side of the club need to step up.
"Everything is in the chairman's hands. We have identified the profiles and the names, now we will try to make it happen. It's not going to be easy, that window is always challenging and tough. But I hope we can bring players because we need more support and help.
"What we've been showing is we will need, as well, a couple of players to help us to be more competitive. There are still 10 days to go, hopefully we will bring them in to make them stronger."
Sam Blitz
There are a few caveats required here before getting too excited. Chelsea's goalless draw at Liverpool was not the most difficult of games to lift given the miserable lack of quality on offer, while 37-year-old James Milner is hardly the quickest full-back in the competition.
Mykhailo Mudryk might feel he should have marked the occasion of his Chelsea debut with the winning goal too. Even so, the £88.5m signing from Shakhtar Donetsk showed more than enough at Anfield to suggest that he can be an exciting addition to the Premier League.
Graham Potter insisted that Mudryk was not ready to start the game. "He has not played since November," explained the Chelsea head coach. "It was about managing his minutes at the back end of the game." But the 22-year-old winger looked particularly lively.
"He will get better the more he is with us," added Potter. "He has only had two sessions with us but from watching him at Shakhtar and seeing his quality there, he is dangerous in one-on-one situations, makes things happen, gets the supporters off their seats."
There were signs of that, encouraging interplay with others too, just as Joao Felix had impressed prior to his red card on debut. "Sometimes coaches think we magically turn these players into top players but they are top players." Both could be huge for Chelsea.
Adam Bate
Competition was not exactly fierce for player of the match but Thiago Silva shaded it for doing more than anyone else to secure the clean sheet at Anfield. Playing alongside an inexperienced centre-back partner in Benoit Badiashile, Silva was as serene as ever.
"I am sure he benefits from playing with Thiago Silva," said Potter of the new defender. "Everyone benefits." Chelsea are a team in transition and how long the 38-year-old Brazilian will be part of it remains to be seen, but they are not ready for life without him yet.
There was a moment in the second half when he was exposed one-on-one against Darwin Nunez. The home crowd were up but the old maestro saw out the danger. "He has got a footballing brain that is above everybody, pretty much," added Potter. That sums it up.
Adam Bate
Jurgen Klopp is trying to be upbeat. In the press conference after the draw with Chelsea, he even pointed out that Arsene Wenger lost his own 1000th game as a manager by six goals. A point at Anfield was something to build on, he argued. But it was not entirely convincing.
His team certainly aren't convincing at the moment. As Klopp acknowledged, his best players are struggling for form. "Even Thiago, who is obviously a great player, gave the ball away with unforced errors." When he is doing that, you know you are in trouble.
"I expect progress and I think from the last league game it was progress, definitely. That is important." Important but not difficult after they were outplayed so comprehensively at Brighton. Much more will be needed to close that alarming gap to the top four.
It starts with the defence and back-to-back clean sheets this week, in the FA Cup and here, is an encouraging sign. "Massive," said Klopp. "Sometimes you have to defend with passion. We did not do that two weeks ago. Today we did. These things are positives."
The worry is that the cohesion further forward is absent. It has not clicked for Cody Gakpo. Others are below par. If that changes, Liverpool's ceiling could yet be high. "All of a sudden it looks completely different." Right now, finding it still feels some way away.
Adam Bate
After winning five of his first seven Premier League games in charge, it’s fair to say Unai Emery has made a highly impressive start to life at Aston Villa.
The wins at home to Manchester United in his first game in charge and at Tottenham on New Year’s Day stand out, but the former Villarreal boss may take even greater encouragement from Villa’s past two results.
After being held at Villa Park by Wolves and then suffering a shock home defeat to Stevenage in the FA Cup, Emery told Sky Sports that he wanted his side to “improve with the ball” against sides who were happy to concede possession.
Leeds - Villa’s opponents last Friday - and Southampton did just that, but Villa found a way to take maximum points from both games.
Emery can now claim to have a team capable of winning games when they spend more than half of the game out of possession - such as against Man Utd and Spurs - and when they have to take the initiative, such as at St Mary’s.
They may remain 11th in the Premier League, but Emery’s team are now just five points behind fifth-placed Spurs. The sky’s the limit during the second half of the season.
Joe Shread
Aston Villa snaffle victory at St Mary's after a debatable VAR decision. We've been here before. Another game marred by controversy and one that was ultimately not settled on the pitch, but 70 miles away at Stockley Park.
Southampton were toppled 1-0 by Villa under similar circumstances back in January 2021 - when Ralph Hasenhuttl was manager - where VAR was once again in the spotlight after refusing Saints a blatant penalty.
In this instance, video assistant referee Richard West instructed on-field referee Michael Salisbury to consult the monitor after James Ward-Prowse established Saints' lead, directing him towards a supposed foul on Jacob Ramsey by Mohamed Elyounoussi in the preamble.
The incident looked innocuous. Certainly not enough to be deemed a "clear and obvious error" but less than a minute later, the goal had been chalked off. Whose to say whether Jones' side would have held onto their advantage, should the goal have stood, but odds are they wouldn't have finished the day empty-handed.
Saints have won fewer home points (six) than any other side in the top four tiers of English football this term.
It's a desperate state of affairs on the south coast. "The referee blew up at every single opportunity, he couldn't wait to give free-kicks," Jones said afterwards. The irony is, on the occasion in question, the referee's whistle stayed silent - unfortunately for Southampton, VAR did not.
Laura Hunter
This was a hugely important match for Brendan Rodgers and Leicester, who came into it on the back of a worrying four-game losing streak since the return to Premier League action after the World Cup and were left with hearts broken as Brighton snatched a deserved late draw at the King Power.
The Foxes face Midlands rivals Aston Villa, then Tottenham, Manchester United and runaway league leaders Arsenal in their next four league games, meaning they really needed a result against an in-form and high-flying Brighton team.
After showing great spirit to turn the contest on its head and lead 2-1, having trailed to Kaoru Mitoma's solo stunner, Rodgers and Co will feel this was a defeat, rather than a draw, after conceding late on.
It would have been worse, though, had the visitors been more clinical in front of goal, or indeed the Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason decided Danny Welbeck had been tripped in the box after the break, and Rodgers will hope his players can use this battling display to stir memories of their form earlier in the season, when they won five out of eight in October and November.
Richard Morgan
As far as Premier League debuts go, Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara's was a pretty impressive one.
The 20-year-old Burkina Faso international, who joined the club for £20m from French club Lorient this week, was thrown straight into the starting line-up for Saturday's game against Nottingham Forest. He did not disappoint.
Ouattara was a threat all afternoon down the right-hand side. His raw pace and bravery on the ball gave Bournemouth's attack a new dimension. He set up Jaidon Anthony's opener with some brilliant wide play and almost capped his first appearance in English football with a goal late on.
The first Bournemouth player to provide an assist on his Premier League debut, Ouattara has already shown head coach Gary O'Neil what his side's been missing in recent weeks. The Cherries had lost six games in a row since top-flight football resumed after the World Cup. They had failed to score in five of those.
Bournemouth didn't win this weekend, but crucially they found the net and ended that woeful losing run. Ouattara's arrival could breathe some much-needed life into their fight for survival.
More signings are needed on the south coast before the January transfer window closes, but Ouattara's instant impact will give the Cherries confidence they have what it takes to beat the drop.
Dan Sansom
Snatching a last-gasp draw against strugglers Bournemouth may not raise excitement levels at Nottingham Forest too much, but in the context of their season it could prove to be a vital point and crucially kept them heading in the right direction.
Steve Cooper's side have now collected 11 points from their past six league matches, more than they managed in their opening 14 fixtures this season. That impressive run has seen them climb to 13th in the table and move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Forest are a different team from the one that were bottom as recently as November. They're now playing with more confidence on the ball, have tightened up their defence, and demonstrated against Bournemouth they can grind out results when not at their best.
The 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium extended their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to four games. Including a penalty shoot-out victory over Wolves in the Carabao Cup, they've won six of their last 10 in all competitions.
Forest have taken a giant stride towards Premier League safety in recent weeks and look in no immediate danger of slipping back into the bottom three. With a cup semi-final against Manchester United to look forward to this week as well, the future at the City Ground is shaping up to be a promising one.
Dan Sansom
