Analysis
Liverpool clicking into gear as pressure mounts on Pierre Sage - Premier League hits and misses
Sky Sports' football writers analyse Sunday's Premier League action as Liverpool click into gear under Andoni Iraola, whose former club Bournemouth storm Old Trafford yet again; Meanwhile the pressure is on for Pierre Sage after another defeat
Sunday 25 October 2026 21:30, UK
Liverpool looking like an Iraola team
Momentum is building for Liverpool under Andoni Iraola. Their victory over Brighton made it four in a row in all competitions. It's eight in 10 going back to the start of September.
They had to ride their luck at times at Anfield. Yasin Ayari should have put Brighton in front before their opener. But the hosts were rewarded for attacking quickly and directly, in the style of their head coach. They are starting to look like an Iraola team.
Liverpool won possession in the final third five times - their second-highest total in the Premier League this season. Iraola values speed and incisiveness above possession, so the fact they had only 36 per cent of the ball is unlikely to concern him.
Instead, he will take satisfaction from the contributions of his forwards. Bradley Barcola provided an assist for a second straight Premier League game, this time having been swapped to the right flank. Alexander Isak led the line with another clinical display.
Florian Wirtz had bright moments too, taking the shot that forced the opening goal before coming off in the second half, while Rio Ngumoha, their star man in the midweek win over Villarreal, was only needed for a quarter of an hour with Cody Gakpo also impressing.
Liverpool did the damage in the first half and failed to capitalise on counter-attacking openings after the break. But Iraola will take encouragement that his messages are landing with the players in the way their playing. "I'm liking a lot of things," he told Sky Sports.
Nick Wright
Time for Palace to make the SOS call?
Crystal Palace need to decide what sort of club they want to be over the next few weeks. If Pierre Sage is to pay the price for another damaging defeat, the priority should not be finding another progressive footballing philosopher. It should be finding someone who can stop the rot.
Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Selhurst Park, following last weekend's 5-0 humiliation at Brighton, was another sobering afternoon for the Eagles. Newcastle's 11-minute double shortly after half-time exposed a side desperately short of defensive resilience with the confidence draining out of them as the game slipped away.
- Crystal Palace 0-2 Newcastle - Match report and highlights
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
- Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
The numbers make grim reading. Palace have conceded 19 goals in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. It is a structural problem that needs urgent attention.
Sometimes, when the house is on fire, you do not call an architect. You send out an SOS and call the fire brigade.
Palace may need to go back to basics, appointing a manager who specialises in organisation, discipline and making teams difficult to beat. Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira fit that firefighter profile, both possessing the experience of arriving in difficult situations and getting teams fighting again.
Neither appointment would necessarily set pulses racing among supporters craving attractive football. But survival is not a beauty contest and Palace's immediate need is to rediscover some defensive security.
Lewis Jones
Adams and Cook expose the glaring flaws in United's recruitment
Michael Carrick is fighting for his job, but Manchester United's problems run far deeper than the man in the dugout. Their 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth was another brutal reminder that you cannot build a competitive midfield simply by throwing money at the problem.
All three summer signings started. Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos were supposed to give United the engine room needed to compete. Instead, they looked like strangers completely outclassed and outbattled by Bournemouth's outstanding pairing of Tyler Adams and Lewis Cook.
That is the damning part. Adams and Cook might not possess the glamour of United's recruitment targets, but they understand the dirty work of Premier League midfield play. They win duels, protect space, move the ball quickly and make life uncomfortable for opponents. United's trio looked ill-equipped to cope with any of it.
Carrick may pay the price, but changing the manager will not magically fix a midfield that looks so poorly assembled. United's recruitment has left them with a fundamental problem in the engine room and this defeat laid it bare for everyone to see.
Lewis Jones
Bournemouth's brilliance is a story too
"It was always about us," said Marco Rose in the press conference after his Bournemouth side's 3-0 win over Manchester. That was hardly the mood inside Old Trafford on a day when the home side's crisis deepened but you understood his point.
The Cherries were so deserving of their victory that the three-goal margin flattered United not them. Rayan himself could have had four. It was a display of devastating counter-attacking football and controlled possession, aggressive and effective.
Rose did not have the best of starts in the job with the 5-1 defeat to Chelsea an alarming result. But the response since has been emphatic. The historic win over AC Milan on Thursday night and now this, another grandee of the game mercilessly dispatched.
It is four wins in a row in all competitions with 11 goals scored in those four games and not one conceded. "We were just Bournemouth," said Rose afterwards. But it turns out that just Bournemouth is more than some of the most famous clubs around can handle.
Adam Bate
Sunderland's goals problem is becoming a worrying trend
There is a growing concern that Sunderland's attacking limitations could become a problem if they are not addressed quickly.
The 0-0 draw with Leeds at the Stadium of Light was another afternoon of frustration in front of goal. Sunderland have now scored just six times in the Premier League this season, the joint-fewest of any side, and have failed to score in three consecutive home league games.
There is a temptation to point the finger at finishing but the underlying numbers suggest Sunderland's problems run deeper than simply missing chances.
In each of their last two games at home, they have failed to generate even one expected goal. That points towards a side struggling to manufacture enough high-quality opportunities in the first place. Leeds were quite comfortable with only a few fizzy strikes from distance truly testing James Trafford.
Sunderland have shown they can frustrate opponents but they need to offer more in the final third. At some point, the attacking numbers have to improve otherwise it will be a season where relegation is a serious possibility.
Lewis Jones
Brighton's wasteful week can't become a theme
"It was a missed opportunity," said Fabian Hurzeler after Brighton's defeat at Liverpool. His side have had an unusually wasteful week.
On Thursday, they drew 0-0 with Czech side Jablonec in the Conference League and then on Sunday had 17 shots at Anfield, their most in a Premier League game when managing just one or fewer shots on target.
Brighton had averaged 3.3 goals per game in the league prior to their blank against Liverpool. Yasin Ayari's early chance, before Liverpool went ahead, was a key moment.
"If that goes in, the game is completely different," said Hurzeler. "We have to learn we don't have to chase the game. We lost our structure a little bit at 2-0 down."
Brighton remain third after having their four-game winning run ended, and starting a new streak won't be any easier with a trip to Manchester City up next. It is another opportunity to make a statement in their bid to remain among the league's top sides. Hurzeler will hope they can take this one.
David Richardson
Hull are proving they belong in the Premier League
Hull will be frustrated not to have taken all three points against Brentford, but there is plenty for Sergej Jakirovic to be encouraged by.
Eight games into their return to the Premier League, the Tigers are sitting in the top half and looking increasingly comfortable at this level. They were the better side for large periods against Brentford, pressing aggressively, defending resolutely and creating opportunities to win the game late on.
The caveat is their form. Hull are now winless in six Premier League games, and while their performances remain encouraging, they need to start turning those displays into victories.
Oli McBurnie believes the days of Hull being underestimated are over.
"We're past that now," he said. "People are taking us seriously as a team in the Premier League, and we just want to show that we can compete at this level."
It is difficult to argue with that assessment. Hull have made their home a difficult place to visit and showed again they can trouble established Premier League sides. But their inability to see out a lead against Brentford underlines the next challenge: turning promise into points.
Their top-half position is a reflection of a positive start, but ending this winless run will determine whether they can sustain it.
William Bitibiri
