Liverpool\u2019s defensive questions were a recurring theme across the weekend, and Ryan Gravenberch\u2019s absence was notable. After missing the Community Shield to attend the birth of his child and then serving a suspension for the Premier League opener, the 23-year-old will be available for a tough trip to Newcastle next Monday night. Gravenberch was a revelation last season. Reinvented in a deep-lying role, he ranked third in the division for interceptions. His return should provide extra protection for Liverpool\u2019s backline as the champions seek balance in a new-look midfield.<\/p>\n
Sunderland\u2019s opening-day display offered reassurance to supporters and directors who have invested since promotion. Regis Le Bris has added fresh talent but several promotion heroes showed they can handle the step up. Eliezer Mayenda opened his Premier League account with a brilliant header in the 3-0 win over West Ham, while Dan Ballard was the standout at the Stadium of Light. The centre-back scored the second with a towering header and made a crucial goal-line clearance to preserve the clean sheet. At 25, Ballard\u2019s place has been questioned following the signing of Omar Alderete from Getafe this week, but he looks unwilling to give up his shirt without a fight.<\/p>\n
Erling Haaland continued his August habit, scoring twice as Manchester City won 4-0 at Molineux. The Norwegian has now scored on every opening weekend since his arrival in the Premier League. Incredibly, Haaland has 21 Premier League goals in August from 12 games; only two players have ever scored more in that month, and both have played more than triple the number of games. His pre-season programme needs to be studied.<\/p>\n
There were encouraging signs for Manchester United amid the defeat to Arsenal. Ruben Amorim insisted there were positives to take from Manchester United\u2019s opener, despite defeat to Arsenal. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo both threatened throughout; Cunha came close to a spectacular solo goal and Mbeumo was a constant menace. With Benjamin Sesko still to be integrated, the new-look forward line offers a potential solution to last season\u2019s scoring issues.<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s victory at Old Trafford underlined the value of a goalkeeper. Arsenal\u2019s winner came from a goalkeeping gaffe, with Altay Bayindir\u2019s blunder gifting the Gunners an early goal. The Turkish goalkeeper unconvincingly flapped at a corner under pressure, allowing Riccardo Calafiori the simplest of finishes. At the other end, David Raya made seven saves, more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this weekend, to keep his side\u2019s clean sheet. Manchester United have spent heavily this summer without addressing a glaring issue, with neither Bayindir nor Andre Onana breeding confidence. Few teams succeed without a solid goalkeeper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gravenberch returns, Sunderland impress, Haaland\u2019s August run continues, goalkeepers proved decisive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[260,797,272],"class_list":["post-1836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epl","tag-bryan-mbeumo","tag-dan-ballard","tag-erling-haaland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1837,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions\/1837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}