Three lessons from the midweek Premier League action feat. Manchester United and Chelsea

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Midweek football is a great reason to disrupt the week’s workflow, in different ways depending on your timezone.

This week we were treated to the greatest show on earth on a Tuesday and Wednesday.

As the general theme of the Premier League goes, this matchday was wildly different to the last and conjured some surprises and drama.

Here are three reflections from the last two days of football…

Jose Mourinho may finally adopt attacking football

For those that love to hate him, the go-to criticism against Jose Mourinho is that he kills the fun of the sport and stifles creative players with his pragmatic style of winning only by enough. Despite being no Tony Pulis, the fiery Portuguese has an affinity for 1-0 wins over more exciting and dynamic 3-2 wins. Master of the excuse, after a draw or loss where his side failed to create the winner or equalizer, the blame will go towards the referee and he will praise his defenders.

However, if Mourinho’s reaction to United’s 1-1 draw with Everton is meaningful, he may be looking for a more attacking style next season.

Speaking post-match, Mourinho said, “I would happily sign up now to go 20 matches unbeaten next season but to win more games we need to score more goals.”

While it may sound like an obvious platitude, contemporary Mourinho typically prefers to say fewer goals should be conceded than more goals should be scored.

Mourinho is understandably frustrated with a 20-match unbeaten run that still has them lingering in 6th. United have no lack of attacking potency at the same time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been class despite his age, Marcus Rashford remains bright and energetic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is hitting his stride, Paul Pogba showed at Juventus his knack for the fantastic, and Juan Mata is as good an attacking midfielder as one can ask for.

Mourinho is likely aware of this and for next season will seek to change the tactics at Old Trafford and open up United’s style of play. At the same time, finishing will be in order at United’s training ground as the Red Devil’s have the third worst goal conversion rate in the league.

Crystal Palace’s defensive injuries have reinvigorated the relegation battle

From delirium to mild disappointment, Palace fans came into Wednesday’s match against Southampton brimming with pride and confidence after a historic 2-1 defeat of the seemingly unstoppable Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. While the trip to St. Mary’s was never going to be easy, coming off the back of four straight wins, Palace fans expected another three points against Southampton. Yet the battle scars caught up to Palace with a trio of Allardyce’s top choice defenders injured; Patrick Van Aanholt, Scott Dann, and James Tomkins are currently all out.

The defensive casualties left Allardyce with an even more impromptu backline than the one he’d been using since the injuries began. Martin Kelly playing at centre-back proved ineffective as the star of Palace’s last matches, Mamadou Sakho, struggled to coordinate his fellow defenders. The Saint’s attack enjoyed breaking down a free form loosey-goosey marking system, devoid of any discipline.

The Saint’s attack enjoyed breaking down a free form loosey-goosey marking system, devoid of any discipline. Unlike last weekend’s noble defensive performance that frustrated the league’s best side, on Wednesday night Palace’s defending was reminiscent of past matches at times.

On the up side, Swansea’s loss to Tottenham gave the Eagles some breathing space and the Eagle’s hold a game in hand and three points over 18th place Swansea. So, while it’s definitely not the time to press the panic button again at Selhurst Park, Hull and Swansea must see a new hope with Palace’s concerns at the back.

Antonio Conte Masters the Counter-Attack

Last season, Eden Hazard was stifled. He was dull and insignificant in matches. He rarely got the chance for his little pivots and flicks and mostly only got the chance for them in his own half. Mourinho liked to counter-attack and he wanted everyone to be a part of the gameplan. Chelsea always struggled, however, to excite when they’d break, often taking to long to transition out the back with players loaded back defending and few options to break with.

On Wednesday, Hazard proved to be the difference not only between Chelsea and City but also Conte and Mourinho. Despite the absence of Victor Moses, Conte engineered a compartmentalized team that Mourinho never wanted. Conte assigned roles strictly; Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Marcos Alonso had to defend, N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas had to connect, and Eden Hazard, Pedro, and Costa had to score.

Simple but effective. Mourinho envisaged a total-football styled counter attacking mindset at Chelsea where even the most attackingly able players such as Hazard got back. Conte embraced the diminuitive Belgian’s desire to run with the ball and set him free against City and it worked wonders as he shone once more and put Chelsea one step closer to the title.

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