Have Man Utd really turned a corner or will they revert to type at Chelsea? Also: Spurs and Marsch need a swift response, while Calvert-Lewin requires service.
Game to watch – Chelsea v Man Utd
United are back… maybe.
The Red Devils were fantastic while brushing Tottenham aside at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. They produced the most complete performance in Lord knows how long to offer the first real glimpse of what Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United might look like.
Now what? United have teased us before only to revert to the shambles they have been for long periods of the post-Fergie era. We’ll see at Chelsea whether they have any intention of making the Spurs win a genuine turning point.
We won’t see Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old didn’t bother to stick around for the final whistle, or even a shower, on Wednesday night. That felt like a watershed moment in Ronaldo’s brief, complicated relationship with Ten Hag. And he didn’t exactly apologise when it was confirmed he was dropped from the first-team squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
If Todd Boehly had his way, Ronaldo might be Graham Potter’s problem this weekend. Instead, the Chelsea boss has enjoyed a serene, drama-free start to his reign over the Blues.
His main concerns may surround how leggy his team look. Their winning run under Potter came to an end at Brentford on Wednesday when the new boss dug deep into his bag of tactical tricks in a bid to light a spark. They aren’t anywhere as fluent as Potter would like but they have kept five clean sheets on the bounce; United won’t get the 28 shots they were generously allowed by Spurs.
It won’t be a thriller. It might not even be all that exciting. But it will be intriguing, with United looking to crack the top four.
Team to watch – Tottenham
This week, Tottenham are sh*te. Next week, who knows?
So poor were they against United, an instant response is required on Sunday to avoid further erosion of the early-season optimism, strained towards breaking point by p*ss-poor performances in big games.
It was almost a zombie Spurs that surrendered at Old Trafford. And Antonio Conte was oddly apathetic to it all. The manager made no changes until the 82nd minute, by which time it was about preservation rather than resurrection.
We have to assume he has been rather more animated since getting his players back to Spurs Lodge. None of them, Hugo Lloris aside, could complain if they were dropped for the visit of Newcastle,…
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