Cunha, mbeumo offers hope for man utd
Another defeat Old Trafford. But this was not the same old Manchester United.
There were Shoots of Hope in their 1-0 loss for Arsenal.
They played with sharp outbursts of electricity and actually harm the gunners from different corners with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo who maintain their Premier League form from last season.
Ultimately, Ruben Amorim has players in central areas that can cause chaos with their direct running and power.
Cunha ranked TOP for Dribbels (6) and duels (20), while everything Mbeumo did was very positive, even though it was firmly marked in the most meeting.
If they play in Old Trafford this season, the place could be a difficult place for external teams to play. An expected goals of 1.59 suggests that they were good for at least one goal. No points but promising start.
Something to build. Lewis Jones
What else does Nuno want?
Nottingham Forest made a bit of a mockery of Nuno Espirito Santo's pre-match during a fertile season opener.
Nuno had referred to a 'lack of options' in his Squad-Midweek, something he doubled after a emphatic 3-1 victory. “The club knows the needs of the team, so we have to be patient and see. The faster they get, the better,” he said.
Perhaps Forest needs extra bodies to compete on European borders alongside Premier League obligations, but this is already a fairly complete team.
New signing sessions Omari Hutchinson and James Mcatee were unveiled before they kicked off at the city grounds before new teammates set up a class show. They did everything better than Brentford, which in reality was not difficult.
Nevertheless, Morgan Gibbs-White trickled in the style. Elliot Anderson ran in midfield and produced an early competition for the season assist. Chris Wood continued where he had stayed last year and scored twice. Callum Hudson-Odoi was also a handful.
Nuno should happily count himself. This is an exciting team with exceptional talent. What else could he want? Laura Hunter
Chelsea suffer with CWC Hangover
When Chelsea was sent the Saint-Germain of Paris Saint-Germain in the New Jersey hit in July in July, there was a sense of excitement that grew around the team of Enzo Maresca. Maybe they can be a dark horse for the Premier League title of 2025/26.
Cut to their opening match against Stamford Bridge and the difference is day and night. Of course nobody expected a similar game style. Crystal Palace would never be as open as the European champions, and the hosts would not rely on sizzling counterattacks. But the drop-off intensity of the men of Maresca was clearly visible.
Chelsea looked slow, as if they are still dusting the spider webs. And it raises how their preparation was before the start of the new campaign. Because they go all the way in the World Cup club, the blues only returned to the training on August 4 and only played two friendly games for the season.
After the game, Maresca even admitted that this was the first right game since the tournament, because he had taken the exhibitions with Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan as possibilities to distribute for minutes evenly, rather than just his star players.
Some can indicate that Manchester City was also present at the Club World Cup and managed to comfortably steer Wolves 4-0 in their opening fixture. Their shocking elimination by Al Hilal, however, gave Pep Guardiola the opportunity to bring his players back a few days earlier – July 28 to be precise – and that clearly helped them.
In the end, Chelsea's fall in their preparations might remained the size of their team, with the willingness of Maresca to give everyone minutes for the season that they cost at a well -drilled palace side.
They have to recover and get back to speed quickly, while they visit West Ham on Friday, live on Sky Sports, and the hammers will be desperate to bounce back after a tough start to the season itself.
Is Raya the best keeper of the Premier League?
A goal of a set piece and a lot of defensive resilience. The characteristics of Arsenal could be seen when they hit Manchester United in Old Trafford. But they also owed the heroic deeds of their no. 1 David Raya, who argues a matter as the best goalkeeper of the Premier League.
Raya, who shared the Golden Glove Award last season with Matz Sels from Nottingham Forest, after he had fully won it in the previous campaign, the excellent performer was rightly appointed player of the game for keeping Manchester United at a distance.
His best moment came in the first half, when he got his fingertips to an oblique attempt by Matheus Cunha. Even he wasn't sure how he got it. “I don't know how I made it to be honest, it was very close to my feet,” he told Sky Sports afterwards.
Gary Neville was impressed in the same way. “That's a hell of a rescue,” he said on co-commentary. It was one of the seven made by Raya in the course of the game, most by every goalkeeper during the opening weekend of the Premier League to date.
It was not just the rescues that stood out. While his opposite song Altay Bayindir was punished because he had not booked his box for Arsenal's goal, Raya was dominant, claimed crosses, connected with bumps and spread calmly through his defense.
There are of course others who have a case as the best of the Premier League, Liverpool's Alisson Becker is head among them. But Raya's performance in Old Trafford was a continuation of last season, and a reminder that he should be part of the conversation. Nick Wright
Eze's rejected strike a memory of importance
If someone probably seemed Crystal Palace to give all three points at Stamford Bridge, it was Ebereechi. And he almost did that, if not that VAR came in to exclude the free kick that he shot past Robert Sanchez.
“I expect he will be back and play against Frederikstad for us,” was Oliver Glasner's reaction when he was asked by Sky Sports about the future of the 27-year-old. But if it turns out that it was the last time that Eze is seen in palace colors, it was another memory of how influence he is.
Since the beginning of the 2023/24 season, the Eagles have won once in 15 games without the English international. Palace has previously lost large players and replaced them. Ismaila Sarr is proof of this, because he introduced himself beautifully after Michael Olise has come to Bayern Munich.
However, a Eze expiration can have major consequences for the FA Cup winners who are making progress.
Andrews offered an early size for tasks at Brentford
Based on a one-off 90 minutes, it granted a small sample size, pre-season defenses that Brentford could struggle this season are directly on the money. The exhausted side of Keith Andrews, missed Yoane Wissa, impressed by every department in the city.
No team reaches a highest level on the opening weekend, it is unrealistic to expect that. But as Andrews himself recognized, there was very little fun about the performance levels of every player in a Brentford shirt. They were in fact the antithesis of stylish Nottingham Forest.
Andrews has undergone a baptism of fire, had to swallow a bitter pill after he had a permission to grant a routine of Chris Wood Corner for five minutes in the match – of which the irony was not lost with the former coach of the set piece. He made the right sounds after the game, with the emphasis on “players who take responsibility”, but it is clear that he needs a little help.
If the Brentford – Hierarchy sells Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo has already left in this window, they have to reinvest – and Fast.Laura Hunter