EPL Review: Man City officially in tailspin, Bruno back on track

Following every weekend of Premier League action, theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points to emerge from the slate of matches. Below, we dissect Matchweek 11 of the 2024-25 season.

Sound the alarm 🚨

Is it time to panic yet?

Pep Guardiola is enduring the worst streak of his managerial career, losing four consecutive matches (in normal time) for the first time ever after his reigning champions capitulated late and fell, 2-1, to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Man City are scoring fewer goals than last season on average and conceding more at the other end. It’s not an ideal combination. So, what gives? We wrote in this space last week that Guardiola still hasn’t figured out how to best set up his team without Rodri. That remains true despite Mateo Kovacic’s best efforts to fill the Spaniard’s enormous shoes. But it’s more than that.

City, more than ever before under Guardiola, look out of gas. Mentally, more than anything. Perhaps several years of Guardiola demanding the absolute maximum out of the squad and extracting every last ounce has finally taken its toll. Aside from a few recent additions, these players have won absolutely everything. At some point, motivation and drive have to wane a little bit. At the sport’s upper echelon, and with Liverpool on a tear, the slightest dip gets magnified. That’s happening to City right now.

Sure, injuries have compounded the issue, but that explanation will, understandably, be met with rolled eyes and tiny violins by rival fans. Even for a club with unlimited riches, an uneven track record in the transfer market will eventually catch up with you. That’s a factor, too.

This may all be moot, of course.

Man City are still only five points off top spot despite the walls seemingly caving in. There are 27 games left. It’s a long season. Two seasons ago, they erased an eight-point deficit at the start of April to reel Arsenal in and claim the title. It’s still November.

Writing them off now would be foolish, but it seems like this is the most vulnerable City have been since Guardiola’s arrival.

Quick free-kicks 📝

Nice to have you back

It’s not a big revelation to say that Arsenal badly missed captain Martin Odegaard while he was sidelined for two months with an ankle injury. Still, Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea was a good reminder of how influential the creative Norwegian is for Mikel Arteta. Odegaard, who’s created more chances from open play than any Premier League player in 2024, crafted the Gunners’ goal at Stamford Bridge with a delightful assist for Gabriel Martinelli. In his absence, the middle of the field was a black hole for Arsenal, relying almost exclusively on Bukayo Saka and set pieces to generate scoring opportunities. Odegaard changes that entire equation.

Mo Salah appreciation

With another decisive display in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Mohamed Salah is up to 10 goals and as many assists in all competitions this season. We haven’t even reached mid-November. No other player across Europe’s top five leagues has hit double figures in both categories. Salah, 32, is a machine, producing at an elite level every season without fail. Liverpool’s blistering start to the campaign and five-point lead atop the table is the product of several factors, but the Egyptian’s continued greatness is chief among them. Get his contract situation sorted out, Liverpool.

The great entertainers

Looking for a guaranteed thrill ride every week? Watch Brentford. The Bees are the most entertaining team in England. Only Tottenham Hotspur have scored more goals than Thomas Frank’s men, who’ve found the net 14 times in their last five league games after Saturday’s seesaw 3-2 win over Bournemouth. On the flip side, only 19th-placed Wolves have conceded more than Brentford. They haven’t kept a single clean sheet in the league on the campaign but have only been shut out once – in August by Liverpool. There’s never a dull moment.

Class of ’22

Nottingham Forest are sitting in a Champions League spot. Fulham have climbed into the top half of the table after two victories in less than a week. Bournemouth, meanwhile, are comfortably mid-table after beating Arsenal and Manchester City over the past month. The three clubs all climbed into the top flight together in 2022. Considering how badly overmatched so many promoted teams look when making the leap from the Championship, this trio is quickly building a case as one of the best promoted classes in Premier League history. The 2001 triumvirate, which also featured Fulham along with Blackburn and Bolton, holds that title for now after coming up together and staying in the top tier for over a decade.

One step forward, two steps back

The only thing consistent about Tottenham this season is their inconsistency. On the back of an excellent display against Aston Villa in the league last week, Spurs crashed back down to earth Sunday, losing at home to previously winless Ipswich Town after an atrocious first-half showing that Ange Postecoglou dubbed “unacceptable.” Spurs might be the most erratic team in the league, and it’s becoming increasingly clear into Postecoglou’s second season that the squad and coach aren’t compatible. So, really, what are we doing here? How long should Tottenham persist? They can be one of the better teams in the league at their best but only show their best sporadically before inevitably taking a step backward.

Star performer 🌟

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

It took him a while, but Fernandes is finally on the board this season.

The Manchester United captain marked his 250th appearance for the club with a goal and an assist in the Red Devils’ 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday, continuing the rich vein of form that has directly coincided with Erik ten Hag’s firing. The Portuguese midfielder, who publicly apologized for his lack of production under the Dutchman, didn’t score in 13 games with Ten Hag at the helm this season. In four matches with Ruud van Nistelrooy as the interim coach, Fernandes has four tallies and two helpers.

His slump to begin the campaign was an outlier. Fernandes isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, far from it, but he’s been enormously productive since arriving in Manchester. He’s been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 Premier League appearances and is the only Manchester United player to create seven or more chances in a single league match since 2020, doing so 10 times.

You can stomach the histrionics when you’re getting that type of output.

Incoming manager Ruben Amorim will be hoping his compatriot can keep shining and help him get off to a strong start at the club.

Best XI 😎

(Courtesy: FotMob)

Highlight of the weekend 🎥

Sammie Szmodics went for a bike ride to help Ipswich Town sink Tottenham Hotspur and finally pick up their first win of the Premier League season.

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Stat of the weekend 🔢

Manchester City are setting all kinds of unwanted firsts right now.

Social media moment 📱

It was quite a day for this Fulham supporter at Selhurst Park:

Where we stand 👀

View more stats here.