Matchweek 6 of the 2020-21 Premier League season produced a few surprising results and performances. The two Merseyside clubs – Everton and Liverpool are still setting the pace at the top end of the table, followed by Aston Villa and Leicester City.
There were not many goals over the weekend and even a surprising 0-0 draw in a high-profile clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Let’s take a look at 5 talking points of matchweek 6 2020-21 Premier League season:
Premier League Matchweek 6: Talking Points
#1 Patrick Bamford silences his critics, again
The Matchweek kicked off with a clash between an unbeaten Aston Villa side and the flamboyant Leeds United team. The Whites came out on top at Villa Park as they dominated the game after a bright start by Aston Villa, and won it 3-0.
Striker Patrick Bamford was the player of the match as he scored a hat-trick to give Marcelo Bielsa’s men all three points.
Bamford’s goals and performance was a good way to silence his critics who wrote him off before the season even began as a striker who could not make it in the Premier League. Bielsa should be credited for sticking by the Englishman, who has played Bamford in the striker’s role ahead of club-record signing Rodrigo.
#2 Liverpool introduce a new-look attack
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp tried a new-look attack against Sheffield United this weekend as the German manager switched to a 4-2-3-1 system.
Mohamed Salah led the attack, with Roberto Firmino playing behind him, and Jota taking up Salah’s spot on the right while Sadio Mane continued on the left.
The system worked reasonably well against the Blades, with Jota and Mane shining for the Reds. It will be interesting to see if Klopp continues with the setup in the big games.
#3 Manchester City stutter once again
While Liverpool seem to have turned a corner after an indifferent start to the season, Manchester City stuttered once again over the weekend as they could only secure a draw against West Ham United. City are five points behind the leaders, although they do have a game in hand.
Pep Guardiola will be worried about his attackers who could not penetrate the Hammers defence and looked too predictable.
The Catalan manager will be even more worried now that he has found out that his star striker Sergio Aguero, will be out of action once again. The positive is that Kevin de Bruyne is back.
#4 Everton’s flat performance
Everton were dominated by Southampton at the St. Mary’s this weekend as they lost 2-0. They conceded two goals in the first half and didn’t look a threat at all.
Southampton outplayed Everton at home (Photo by Andy Rain – Pool/Getty Images)
To make matters even worse for manager Carlo Ancelotti, left-back Lucas Digne, who has been exceptional this season, was sent off in what seemed like a harsh decision.
The Toffees seemed to badly miss the energy and work-rate of Richarlison on the left flank, and will have to come up with a different plan when some of their regular players aren’t in the starting XI.
#5 Anti-climactic clash at Old Trafford
Ahead of this past weekend’s games, one match that stood out was the clash between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Both sides have leaked plenty of goals this season and with the exciting attackers on offer, many predicted a high-scoring game.
But the match ended 0-0 as both sides played out a boring game, perhaps trying to play it safe and not risk another loss.
The two sides have improved defensively over the last week or so, which will be the only positives that both managers will take from the game.