Six Knee-Jerk Reactions to the Premier League Weekend

Every Monday, we react to the Premier League‘s action by jumping to some conclusions that may need to be thought out a little more. Here’s what we made of Matchday 15.

Losing Your Best Player Doesn’t Have to Be Painful

Brentford had a while to prepare for Ivan Toney’s departure, but they nonetheless deserve plenty of praise for making the most of what could have been a really tricky situation.

With Saturday’s 4-2 win over Newcastle, Brentford moved up to ninth, just two points off fifth, having already scored 31 goals in 15 games. Only Chelsea (35) have scored more this season than Thomas Frank’s Toney-less side.

They have leaned on their home form a little more than perhaps Frank would like, having now taken 22 points from their first eight home games, compared to just one point from seven on the road. Their difference in home vs away points per game (2.75 vs 0.14) of +2.61 is by far the biggest for any team in a single season in Premier League history, ahead of Fulham’s +1.79 in 2005-06.

But at the same time, they have had very difficult away fixtures, many of which they wouldn’t have expected to get anything from, and in the meantime they have done so well at home that their away struggles haven’t mattered. They have won seven and drawn one of their eight games at the Gtech Community Stadium, and all without their best goalscorer from the last few years.

There are a few teams across the Premier League who might be concerned about losing their best player in the near future – either as said player comes towards the end of their career or because bigger clubs might be circling – but Brentford are showing there’s nothing to be scared about, as long as you plan properly for it.

Sancho Can Make Chelsea Move a Success

Jadon Sancho’s time at Chelsea hasn’t been entirely positive. Since his summer loan move from Manchester United, he has started only six Premier League games, and until the trip to Southampton in the middle of last week, he hadn’t scored a single goal. Manager Enzo Maresca has openly stated that Sancho failing to hold down a first-team place has been for “tactical” rather than fitness or injury reasons.

But following his brilliant strike to kickstart Chelsea’s comeback win at Tottenham on Sunday, Sancho has now scored in successive Premier League games for the first time in his career. He has waited until his 67th appearance in the competition to manage that feat, and now he needs to kick on to make his Chelsea move a success.

He was a constant menace at Spurs, stretching the game by playing high and wide, hugging the touchline and providing an option for Chelsea to switch the play. He had three shots and created two chances, while he also played the pass for Moisés Caicedo’s run that led to Chelsea winning their first penalty.

Momentum has been hard to come by for Sancho when playing in England, and he can use this mini hot streak to make the most of his move to London.

There’s Now No Excuse to Leave a Game Early

Another week, another late turnaround in the Premier League. Again it was Bournemouth responsible, coming back from a 1-0 deficit as late as the 87th minute to win 2-1 at Ipswich. They are the first team in Premier League history to be trailing as late as the 87th minute in two different away games they went on to win in the same season (also vs Everton in August).

Across the country, meanwhile, Leicester were hauling their way back from 2-0 down to Brighton in the 86th minute to draw 2-2, and they very nearly snatched a win, too.

Late comebacks are nothing new in the Premier League. Games are longer than ever before and late goals are at their most common in the history of the competition, so there’s even more reason to stick around right to the very end. There were swathes of empty seats at the King Power Stadium when Jamie Vardy halved the deficit, and those fans who left early will surely have come to regret their decision to try and beat the traffic.

There is more reason than ever before to stay in your seat until the bitter end.

Nobody Wants Fourth Place

Before the start of the season, the Opta supercomputer made Chelsea favourites to finish in fourth place, but their recent form has led to their ambitions for 2024-25 being altered. Fourth could therefore be up for grabs, particularly with Manchester City seemingly broken.

But the other main contenders are all faltering terribly. Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester United were the other favourites for fourth, but after all three lost this weekend, conceding 11 goals between them, they find themselves 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.

Aston Villa have recovered from a poor recent run to win back-to-back games, but it is only the second time they have managed consecutive wins all season, so who knows how long this form will last? Nottingham Forest are the unlikely frontrunners in the race for fifth, which could be enough for a Champions League spot this season.

There’s a huge opportunity for so many teams to grab, but the biggest sides all seem to be making very heavy weather of challenging.

Ipswich’s Home Form is a Genuine Problem

After the Bournemouth defeat on Sunday, Ipswich remain the only team yet to win a Premier League home game this season, going winless in their opening eight league games. It’s only the second time they have done so in a season in their history, after 2018-19 in the Championship (first 10).

They shouldn’t completely lose hope just yet. They have caused good teams some real problems and do have one win to their name in the Premier League this season, away from home against Tottenham.

But if you are going to survive in the Premier League, you need to make your home ground a difficult place to come, and Kieran McKenna’s side certainly aren’t doing that.

The Bournemouth defeat was probably the toughest to take so far given how late they fell apart, and they will need to use that pain as motivation going forward. Ipswich can’t afford many more games like that this season or they will be making an immediate return to the Championship.

Bournemouth Can Get into Europe

With that win at Ipswich, Bournemouth moved to within three points of the top four. They have won three top-flight games in a row for the first time since April, and they are now one of only seven teams – along with the current top six – to have managed three consecutive Premier League wins at any stage this season.

Andoni Iraola has done a fine job, and there’s good reason for the fans to start dreaming of a first ever foray into European football. Bournemouth’s best finish was ninth in 2016-17, and this team has what it takes to better that.

They run and press more than most other teams in the Premier League – no team has won possession in the final third more times this season than Bournemouth (99), who also rank second for both pressures (2,833) and pressures in the final third (1,181).

As long as Iraola’s players can maintain these levels for a full season (admittedly easier said than done), there’s every chance Bournemouth can finally qualify for Europe.

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