Can Leicester turn around the Premier League's predictable opening weekend? | Leicester City
NO SURPRISES
As we approach the end of an opening round of Premier League While the fixtures played on Friday afternoon were packed with promise and possibility, the number of genuine surprises produced by the nine games played so far has amounted to what can, charitably, be calculated as the square root of nothing. Manchester United’s stumble to victory against Fulham got the ball rolling in suitably predictable fashion on Friday night. Then an Ipswich side that has been patronised to near death in recent weeks was crushed by Liverpool’s incarnation of Arne Slot, despite a suitably brave first-half performance from the Tractor Boys, which saw the TNT Sports cameras spend more time lingering on the hobbit-like head of a local busker in the stands than on the actual pitch. It was only after Ed Sheeran left at half-time to go play a gig that Liverpool hit their stride, their minds no longer preoccupied with the potential torment of him strapping on a guitar and ruining their day with an impromptu rendition of the exercise in auditory and faux-torture that is Galway Girl.
While the five o’clock radio switchboards were filled with angry Everton fans, eager to vent their anger over their team’s predictable performance in defeat to Brighton, there was little else to say as Saturday’s 3pm games had gone more or less according to script, one of which featured Southampton’s Ben Brereton-Diaz as an unlikely pantomime villain. In a subsequent plot twist that could not have been more expected or more conventional had it been written by Dame Barbara Cartland, Aston Villa’s inevitable winner against West Ham was scored by Jhon Duran, a brash youngster who recently got himself into all sorts of trouble by taking to social media to agitate for a mooted but now unlikely move to West Ham.
Sunday brought the first official mea culpa of the day, after rookie referee Sam Barrott used his whistle too much and left Crystal Palace fans fuming after their side’s defeat at Brentford. The hosts won despite being without Ivan Toney, a striker who may or may not be harassing defenders on the flat pitches of the extremely lucrative Saudi Pro League. At this stage of a weekend that could hardly have been more tedious had it been given a lick of paint and sat back to watch it dry, the top flight really needed a Chelsea win over reigning champions Manchester City. Sadly, Pep’s band prevailed despite their final tribute act having more talented musicians at their disposal than the London Philharmonic Orchestra. And so, with just one game remaining, it is up to plucky underdog Leicester to spring a surprise by taking three of the points they will almost certainly take from Spurs later in the season. Considering it's only been eight years since they pulled off one of the most catastrophic upsets in sporting history – and considering tonight's opponent – can we really rule it out?
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Join Scott Murray on Monday evening for live Premier League updates from Leicester 1-2 Tottenhamstarting at 8pm BST.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Passion, love, enthusiasm are all in line with my passion for football. Then there are other things that are out of my control, which are cultural. It seems that I am the one who has to adapt and not the other way around. I am the one who arrived, I am the foreigner. I am not going to change the state of things. I need to adapt… I am not a magician, I have experience.” Is Jose Mourinho already getting tired of life at Fenerbahce? On Saturday, he oversaw a 2-2 draw at Göztepe, in which club president Ali Koc was pushed by a pitch invader after the hosts had come back from 2-0 down to earn a point.
DAILY LETTERS FROM THE ELITIST PREMIER LEAGUE
” 'I want Raheem Sterling but we have 30 players', says Chelsea of this season scapegoat Head coach Enzo Maresca, whose basic arithmetic is so poor that he managed to get the number of players in Chelsea First Team Squad “He was off by 12. With such poor math skills, it’s no surprise he gets along so well with Todd Boehly” – Noble Francis.
“As I watch Maresca, the latest former Pep Guardiola assistant to land a Premier League coaching job, I wonder if we might one day see a dystopian future where Pep Guardiola can’t get a job because everyone wants to hire one of his former assistants” – Christopher Jersan.
“I hope Kieran McKenna from Ipswich is Happier Now that he has some of Ed Sheeran's money to help him get stronger. The A-TeamThey won't get it All the starsBut I hope you are happy if Don't dive straight to the championship. Although they are not my team, so in reality I don't mind” – Steve Allen.
“Believe it or not, there is more to football than the Premier League. Change the title of your newsletter to Elitist Premier League Daily or include articles about ‘real’ football,” Tony Dunbar.
Send letters to el.jefe@theguardian.comThe winner of today's non-prize Letter of the Day is… Christopher Jersan. The terms and conditions of our competitions can be found here here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Football Weekly is here to Choose the Premier League weekendEverton are the first to take up the baton from the crisis-hit club as all the title contenders hit the ground running. Listen here or wherever you get your capsules.
NEWS, THINGS AND STUFF
Partick Thistle have given a positive update on Courtney Stewart, who I had to wait three hours for an ambulance. after suffering a head injury in a game against Rangers. “I think something needs to change in that respect,” said Partick head coach Brian Graham. “I just don't think we have that in men's football.”
Raheem Sterling wants “clarity” after being omitted from Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to his former club Manchester City. New Stamford Bridge manager Enzo Maresca called it a “technical decision” so that clears it up.
He Nottingham Forest midfielder danilo He has promised to return “soon” after breaking his ankle seven minutes into a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.
Leicester City have dealt a psychological blow to rivals Tottenham by signing one of their players this afternoon. Midfielder Oliver Skipp has signed a five-year contract before hastily changing his training kit.
Thierry Henry has made a strong effort to leave the French Under-21 team after losing the Olympic final to Spain. The former Arsenal striker had one year left on his contract but has resigned for personal reasons.
And the time for fun arrived in South America: Atlético Awajun player, Sebastián Muñoz, was sent off for urinate on the side of the field before taking a corner in their Copa Perú match against Cantorcillo.
ONE AND DON
Friday: Ross County manager Don Cowie is targeting a League Cup semi-final and a trip to Hampden Park and believes his side can go all the way. “I want to get to the latter stages of the Cup because once you get to the semi-finals, anyone can win. We will respect the opponents on Saturday, Spartans, but we are a Premier League club taking on a League Two team so we have to be confident. Why can’t it be us[who win]this year? That has been the message from the start of the tournament.”
Saturday: Spartans 1-0 Ross County. Cowie: “You have to give the Spartans credit. They deserved to win the game. We were very disappointed today. We had a real chance of making it to the quarter-finals and we fell way short.”
DO YOU STILL WANT MORE?
Pastel outfits, a reckless live stream and a wonderful stop: it's all in our hands 10 talking points since the opening weekend of the Premier League.
All aboard the Trans-Euro-Express, stopping in Marseille, where Eric Devin is thinking… Bobby De Zerbi could give PSG a real chance of fighting for the title …
…and we continue towards Naples, where Nicky Bandini catches up with Antonio Conte's first game at Napoli. It didn't go well…
Finally, to Mallorca (it's a metaphorical train, okay?) where A hacker broke into Kylian Mbappé's welcome party in La Liga. Sid Lowe reports.
Grimsby Town vice-chairman Jason Stockwood talks about how watching the olympics made him question his attachment to football.
Jonathan Wilson reports that Chelsea is still a disaster.
AND The mill is backIvan Toney to Al-Ahli? A new Scottish midfielder at Napoli? Let's dream for a couple of weeks.
MEMORY LANE
On this day in the year 1989, that is to say 35 years agoeveryone – Michael Knighton gestured with his hand in a Manchester United shirt before the team’s opening league game against Arsenal. Knighton had seen his £20m bid for the club accepted but his takeover ultimately fell through and, although he briefly sat on the board, he left for Carlisle United in 1992. “I think I’ve generally been perceived as a charlatan or a circus act, someone who didn’t have the money when it mattered,” He told Paul Wilson in 2019. “To which I would reply: 'Why on earth would someone like that be accepted as a club director?'”
