Joe McConnell
Kovacic, ‘first class’, helps Manchester City overcome Rodri obstacle
Kovacic has stood out at the base of Manchester City’s midfield
Chelsea’s three-man midfield against Manchester City cost the club a total of £255m, yet it was one of their former players who was the most impressive in a City shirt as his side won 2-0.
Mateo Kovacic made 221 appearances during his five-year spell at Stamford Bridge, but impressed in Rodri’s absence at the heart of Guardiola’s midfield.
“His greatest quality is his mum and dad,” the City manager said afterwards.
“His mom and dad have given him an incredible human being. He’s a first-class person. Top notch. He’s incredibly loved and that’s hugely important in our group.”
Not known for his goals, his winner was a fine, disguised finish that was well deserved. Considering City lost three of their four games in Rodri’s absence last season, it was a major hurdle to overcome in the opening game by the champions, who are unbeaten in the Spaniard’s first game for the last 18 months.
“We’ve broken another record,” Guardiola joked afterwards, referring to the fact that City had allayed any fears that they wouldn’t be able to win without Rodri. With Kovacic running through the gears and in such form, the race for a fifth successive Premier League title already looks threatening.
Well Reasons
Jackson’s offside tendencies and finishing remain huge problems
Do people really change? Can Nicolas Jackson really become a top striker in the Premier League?
The 23-year-old remains very raw. He can light up a game with a flash of expert play and intelligent movement, but what remains a key issue is his performance in front of goal.
There were two great moments wasted against Manchester City. You can’t afford to waste one against these people, let alone two.
His lack of awareness in staying onside when Ederson lost his head in his path cost Chelsea a draw: it was his 30th offside since the start of last season in the Premier League. Only Darwin Nunez has been flagged more (33).
Then came the big chance. It was a tough one, on the turn, but from no more than a few metres away these are the chances that the best strikers seize, although, to Ederson’s credit, it was a brave and brilliant reaction. Jackson has missed 25 big chances – as defined by Opta – since the start of last season. Only Nunez (27) and Erling Haaland (34) have missed more.
Nicolas Jackson has had ups and downs since arriving at Chelsea
“These are the things he has to improve on if he wants to be a top-level forward,” Micah Richards noted of Jackson’s performance.
He has an important role to play in this Chelsea team, but whether he can be counted on over the course of a season to score the goals the team needs remains a big question.
Lewis Jones
Brentford show signs of life without Toney
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Premier League match highlights between Brentford and Crystal Palace
The day appears to have finally arrived when weeks of speculation about Ivan Toney leaving Brentford will become reality.
“I will miss him if he goes, I won’t miss the questions,” Thomas Frank said with a smile in his post-match press conference, hours after revealing that the England striker had been left out of the squad for the game due to transfer interest he did not want to discuss.
Part of his cheerfulness was fueled by the encouragement of what he had just witnessed in Toney’s absence. Yoane Wissa picked up where he left off last season in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, scoring his 13th Premier League goal since the start of last season.
Bryan Mbeumo was even more encouraging, scoring with a fine solo shot and proving particularly dangerous on the counterattack.
Kevin Schade, who missed most of last season through injury and was the last of the three forwards, felt like a “new signing” in the words of his manager. His outspokenness was impressive, and he was unfortunate not to round out the entire set of forwards on the scoresheet.
Brentford finished with an xG of 1.39 against Crystal Palace, a team they clearly surpassed under Oliver Glasner, and all this without their talisman.
Without his replacement, record signing Igor Thiago, who was seriously injured in his first pre-season match and won’t return for several months.
The toughest tests will come when Brentford can no longer sit back and launch counter-attacks, when Toney’s guile and physical intensity will come into play against low blocks and tight defences.
But there is a reason Frank admitted after the match that Brentford will not be looking to replace the key man if and when he leaves.
He already has a lot to work on and, given early signs that he may have tightened his defense again this season, the disappointment surrounding Gtech when Frank made his bombshell announcement before kickoff may dissipate sooner than initially feared.
Ron Walker
Palace’s unbeaten run ends, but no reason to panic over Glasner
Palace manager Glasner was particularly upbeat about Eberechi Eze’s controversial free-kick disallowed in the 2-1 defeat by Brentford, preferring instead to focus on his side’s shortcomings at the Gtech.
“We have to be very critical of ourselves,” said the German. Vscek after the match, after seeing Palace lose in the Premier League for the first time in eight games, a run dating back to a 4-2 home defeat by Manchester City in April.
“We concede too many goals and we need to find a better balance in transition, because we had some difficulties with their speed in attack. We need to analyze this aspect and improve in the next matches.”
However, having lost striker Michael Olise to Bayern Munich in the summer, and having rebuffed Newcastle’s recent attempts to lure influential England centre-back Marc Guehi away from Selhurst Park, the Eagles can perhaps be forgiven for, as Glasner put it, not being “in the rhythm we want”, as evidenced by the half-time substitution of last season’s top scorer, Jean-Philippe Mateta.
And yet, in the end, the visitors were more than unlucky not to leave west London with at least a share of the spoils, especially considering the fortuitous nature of Brentford’s winner, as well as other risky situations that didn’t go their way.
Glasner, however, will be desperate for the summer transfer window to close now so he can keep hold of Guehi and Eze, his key England duo at either end of the team. If he does so, Palace can look forward to another promising season.
Richard Morgan
