Welcome to The Debrief. In his Sky Sports column, Adam Bate combines data and opinion to examine the key stories from the latest Premier League matches. this week:
Guehi’s pass highlights City Somerville’s quick impact with touches in the box, where West Ham Maartzen’s dynamism will be a key element for Aston Villa
Marc Guehi is a quality player in the Premier League and has already shown that he can adapt smoothly to the Manchester City team. His signing was a huge mistake for Liverpool and there is still time before he arrives at the Etihad Stadium to make an impact in the Premier League title race.
Guehi almost scored within minutes of his City debut and would have also had an impressive assist had Antoine Semenyo finished. However, his £20m deal from Crystal Palace will be settled if he keeps a clean sheet on his debut in a 2-0 win over Wolves.
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Watch for free: Manchester City vs Wolves match highlights
Pep Guardiola needed just two training sessions to see up close why Guehi is one of this season’s bargain players. “How he moves, how he speaks, how he looks at what’s going on around him and reads the situation,” Guardiola said. “It was really good.”
As City’s manager told reporters in Saturday’s post-match press conference, “There’s no need to talk about Marc and who he is,” as there is no big surprise that Marc has been able to make such a strong start in a City shirt. This was as expected.
Guehi’s pass map of Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Wolves
“There was a feeling from the first day. I remember that Ruben (Diaz) showed incredible concentration in every action and won the duel. He had incredible composure with the ball,” Guardiola added, “He is a man you can trust.” Still, joining a team like City is an adjustment.
Guardiola stressed that they had yet to work together much, but Guehi himself told Sky Sports that he had already noticed a difference in the “attention to detail” at City. “The level has increased,” he said, “and the demands on him in possession are higher than before.
Guehi had 115 touches against the Wolves. He completed 98 passes, which was not only 20 more than in Crystal Palace’s Premier League games this season, but also more than any other player in the competition throughout the weekend.
Guehi completed more passes than any other player in the Premier League this weekend.
You need more concentration on the ball, but in some ways you need more concentration off the ball as well. Although there was less defensive action, he proved able to make tactical adjustments while playing in different formations, as City often defended high up.
“It’s a good start, but there’s a lot to learn,” he said.
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Guehi and Clinton Morrison talk about their love for each other on Soccer Saturday
While City fans left the stadium instantly charmed by the England defender, Liverpool’s renewed performance away against Bournemouth suggested their supporters were already regretting the loss.
With Ibrahima Konate and Giovanni Leoni out injured, Joe Gomez was sent off with his own problems early in the game, while Virgil van Dijk was responsible for the opening goal, but the other two could have been better. His final partner was Wataru Endo.
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Premier League Bournemouth vs Liverpool highlights
Liverpool spent huge amounts of money in the summer without a clear plan on how to adapt to the same team. Perhaps Konate did enough last season to make the same argument against investing in Guehi, but he would have future-proofed their defense.
Guehi prefers to play on the left and would have been a natural long-term replacement for Van Dijk. Instead, City have brought in a centre-back at their peak age (Gehi is 25) who could play a big role in their future and help them win here and now.
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Gary Neville thinks Liverpool have become softer both offensively and defensively
When Guardiola was asked if this was in contrast to City’s approach last winter, when they introduced Abdukkodir Kusanov and Vitor Reis, he agreed the team’s moves this time represent something different.
Guardiola said of Guehi and Semenho: “They haven’t been here for six months yet. They’ve been here for many years, so the transfer is a very good price and they’re the perfect age, 25, 26 years old, so it’s an incredible signing for Manchester City for many years.”
As for this year, Guehi has clear goals. “We’re chasing Arsenal and trying to win that title,” he told Sky Sports. “Every training session and every recovery is aimed at winning.” Guehi’s signature will help with that. And sabotage all of City’s rivals.
Somerville shines at West Ham
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Watch for free: West Ham vs Sunderland highlights
West Ham have spent this period prioritizing rebuilding their front line and introducing two new attacking options, so there was some irony in how it was diminutive Crisencio Somerville’s powerful header that sparked their 3-1 win against Sunderland.
It was an important victory for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who ended the weekend with renewed hope, although they remain just five points from the Premier League. Somerville will play a key role in his pace. His change was significant.
West Ham vs Sunderland Crisencio Somerville touch map
Some West Ham supporters criticized the winger, but that has changed with more movement around him. Somerville is finding more space and he has the quality to make an impact if he can get it in the final third of the pitch.
Somerville had nine touches inside the opposition penalty area against Sunderland. This is the most he has scored in a Premier League match this season. If Nuno can find a way to keep getting the ball to Somerville in those areas, more wins will follow.
The key to the dynamism of the Maatsen villas
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Watch for free: Newcastle vs Aston Villa match highlights
Another player who has taken some time to convince his own supporters is Ian Maartzen, who was snapped up by Aston Villa from Borussia Dortmund for a hefty fee last season. Lucas Digne held the left-back position for a while, but Maassen now holds the position.
His dynamism was a feature in Villa’s 2-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday. Unai Emery has endured some difficulty in the past dealing with the physicality of Eddie Howe’s side, but Villa more than matched that at St James’ Park and the statistics prove it.
No player did more sprints during the Premier League weekend than Ian Maassen.
Not only did Morgan Rodgers cover more ground than any other player over the course of the Premier League weekend, he was also two of the three Villa players who took part in the competition to make 28 sprints. Ollie Watkins, who scored the second goal, was one of them. The other one was Masen.
The 23-year-old Dutchman even shifted up to play as a left-winger towards the end after Digne’s arrival, and is more than capable of doing so going forward. However, what has earned coach Emery’s trust is the fact that he has improved defensively. He’s having a great season.
