Welcome to The Debrief, a Sky Sports column in which Adam Bate uses a blend of data and opinion to reflect on some of the key stories from the latest Premier League matches. This week:
How Man City won Liverpool duelFernandes’ passing for West HamGueye still pressing for Everton
Bernardo’s key role in Man City win
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool
Both Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot agreed that Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Liverpool was a game decided in the duels but not for the reason that the term is often used. This was about tactics and technique, not being more physical and wanting it more.
“It is also easy for players to win their duels if the game plan and the tactics are working,” conceded Slot. “We struggled a lot with them bringing so many players into the centre of the pitch.” He added: “We were constantly one or two short in midfield.”
It was a deliberate ploy by Guardiola to control the game, having stressed to his players the importance of the duels. “We talked a lot in the last two or three days about this,” he explained. Not about winning the ball but about stopping Liverpool from winning it.
“With the duels, everybody has the mindset of how I win the ball off you,” Guardiola pointed out afterwards. “But what about the duels when I have the ball and I don’t lose the ball? When I am being pressed and I keep the ball and I make an extra pass?”
There was a clear example of how this made the difference in the very first minute of the match. Look at the image below in which Bernardo Silva is facing his own goal deep inside his own half, being pressed with an opponent tight at his back. It is not ideal.
Bernardo Silva managed to withstand the pressing from Liverpool here
But Bernardo somehow manages to free himself enough to angle a forward pass towards Erling Haaland from this position. Within seconds, City were breaking on Liverpool, the ball exactly where they wanted it to be – at the feet of the sensational Jeremy Doku.
Midway through the half, another example. In this image, it seems almost inconceivable that Bernardo is going to be able to twist and turn away from trouble before sending a pass into the chest of Haaland but it is the same outcome. Doku is sent clear again.
Bernardo Silva again picks up the ball under pressure but somehow finds Erling Haaland
Bernardo’s brilliance was to be able to receive the ball in congested midfield areas and pick out a team-mate more effectively than anyone else. Despite his deeper-lying role for City, he was still the player who played the most successful passes in the final third.
Bernardo Silva completed the most passes in the final third of the pitch
Even in the second half, when Slot adjusted his setup, switching Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike so that he had an extra player in midfield at times to combat this, Bernardo impressed. There was a moment just after the hour mark that illustrated it well.
It was nothing remarkable on the face of it, engineering a bit of space before opting to pass backwards. But it drew applause from the crowd because Liverpool were pushing and the fans were anxious to keep the ball. Bernardo, as ever, was able to smell the game.
“In the way we played today, he is a master,” said Guardiola. “The tempo, winning the ball, accelerate, decelerate, the intuition [to know] where the space is, how to manage the situations and so many things. He is one of the most clever players I have ever met.”
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Pep Guardiola said his players and staff gave him a good present in beating Liverpool
It was not so long ago that many were wondering if Bernardo’s time at the top was coming to an end. While it is Liverpool being accused of being ‘leggy’ after this defeat, it had been the Portugal midfielder facing this criticism for much of last season.
While Guardiola acknowledges that dip in performance, he has a different take on it. “Bernardo struggled last season, but he was there. Every. Single. Game. Exhausted. After 50 or 60 minutes [of matches last season], he could not run one more minute.
“At certain moments, he said, ‘Pep, I’m drained. My mind is not [there] any more, the feet.’ But he was there. And I said many times to my players, and to him, that will not be forgotten. That is why he is my captain. Because in the bad moments, he was there.”
The win over Liverpool was a good moment.
And Bernardo Silva was there.
Fernandes’ progressive passing
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Highlights of the Premier League match between West Ham and Burnley
Mateus Fernandes has not made a spectacular start to his West Ham career but since coming on late to score a consolation goal in the defeat to Leeds, he has been very impressive as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side picked up much needed back-to-back wins.
In the 3-2 win over Burnley on Saturday, Fernandes showed why West Ham paid the money to Southampton for him, completing 52 of his 53 passes and having more touches than any of his team-mates. Nobody on the pitch created more chances.
The presence of Freddie Potts in midfield looks to have helped too, that midfield triumvirate alongside Lucas Paqueta looking more robust – the three men each made three tackles. But Potts has also freed Fernandes to focus on more progressive passing.
He was the player who both Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen received the most passes from. Fernandes arrived for a fee in excess of £40m but the 21-year-old is perhaps just the sort of signing that West Ham need to be making after their recent follies in the market.
Gueye’s high-speed pressing
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Everton and Fulham
Idrissa Gueye found the net for a second time in seven games during Everton’s 2-0 over Fulham, as many as he had managed in his previous 46 appearances. It was a product of him popping up inside the opposition penalty box far more than has been usual.
The midfielder had five touches in the box. That was not only the most by any Everton player but it was only the second time in his Premier League career that he has done so – the previous occasion coming against Sunderland in 2017 during his first spell at the club.
Idrissa Gueye is top for high-speed runs while pressing in central zones
Gueye has been to Paris Saint-Germain and back since then but is still going strong. His 351 high-speed runs while pressing this season still ranks him among the top 10 players in the Premier League. Very impressive given that he is now 36 years of age.
“He is not a spring chicken,” said David Moyes in April. But when it comes to central zones of the pitch, Gueye actually ranks top for this pressing metric. His tackle numbers are down just a little but after a slight dip in form this was a reminder of his ongoing importance.
