Leeds, Howe and Zaha are thriving but Rodgers, Moyes, Gerrard and Tuchel are all losers

There are more winners but far bigger losers from a Premier League weekend in which Leeds and Zaha shone, but Rodgers and Chelsea failed.

Leeds United
The moment of realisation was almost immediate under Marcelo Bielsa. Every Leeds fan recalls that game against Stoke, the eye-opening first taste of a faster, more intense, pulsating and visceral style of football.

It has taken a little longer to arrive for Jesse Marsch, but this was every bit as enlightening, extraordinary and potentially era-defining.

“I think I was identified by the club as a good follow-up to what Marcelo has created,” Marsch said upon his appointment five months ago. “I think my style of play, my aggressiveness, the desire I have for teams to be intensive and to run and to make things difficult for the opponent fits with what has been done over the last three-and-a-half years.”

Those words have not always aligned with what Leeds have produced on the pitch under the American but it is a dictionary definition of what they did to Chelsea. The Blues were caught in the headlights at Elland Road.

Marsch once spoke of mastering “the important and simple things right away” before “building complexity as we continue to move forward”. He separated his task into two distinct parts: avoid relegation and push on from there. While the former was hardly achieved convincingly, even the most optimistic supporter would have struggled to keep their half-full glass down when predicting this start to Leeds’ season.

That this has come after not only the departure of Bielsa but the sales of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips is remarkable. Leeds have lost their three key individuals, the men who perhaps best encapsulated their identity, but the American Express is in full flow. Marsch deserves the utmost credit, Tyler Adams has reimagined the most difficult role in this team and Brenden Aaronson is presumably still running.

Eddie Howe
In 12 prior games against Manchester City, Eddie Howe’s record with Bournemouth and Newcastle was W0 D0 L12 F5 A39.

In 10 prior games against Pep Guardiola, Eddie Howe’s record with Bournemouth and Newcastle was W0 D0 L10 F4 A30.

Some will lazily put a 3-3 draw in which Newcastle led Manchester City for 25 minutes and trailed for 23 down to the obvious increase in investment. Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn were excellent and Bruno Guimaraes rose to the occasion, while it was a chastening afternoon for Sven Botman.

But this was proof of Howe’s…