Fulham 3 West Brom 0, Arsenal 6 Southampton 1
Summary:
A battle of wingers settled by a red card and West Brom's lack of a second right back. West Brom sticking to the short pass/pass-and-move game which probably yields more results at home than away, where they have more confidence.
Errors from both teams, but Arsenal's midfield outclassed Southampton's. Gervinho playing as a lone forward good against a midfield consisting of central midfielders (United and Liverpool come to mind first), but might fall short against a diligent defensive midfielder (Mikel for Chelsea or Javi Garcia and/or Yaya Toure for City, Sandro for Spurs). Southampton need to get the basics right and their fullbacks positioning themselves wider, or maybe pushing one of the central midfielders really wide to cover them properly.
Much of the focus in the news and analysis articles were on Berbatov's strikes and Odemwingie's sending off. But let's focus on what both sides could've done and then how the sending off changed the game (so that we know what West Brom would probably do if they wanted to protect a lead). With Fulham's and West Brom's quality both on the wings, West Brom's Odemwingie and Fortune would aim to expose Kacaniklic and Duff's attacking forays and vice versa. The difference between the two sides is while Fulham will aim to use new signings Berbatov and Rodallega up front to link up play, West Brom have to count on Morrison to outnumber the Fulham midfield in order to boss possession in midfield. On paper, Fulham certainly had the better quality, but West Brom had the commitment and the form behind them to more than match Fulham's quality.
Fulham's strategy was evident as early as the 3rd minute when Berbatov linked up Baird and Duff for Duff to take a shot at goal. West Brom, however, adopted the patient game by utilising Mulumbu's energy in order to link up defense and attack, which resulted in Odemwingie's shot at goal from distance. His shot from the middle suggested the front three of Fortune, Odem and Morrison is a fluid 3 instead of an attacking midfielder and 2 wingers, which is important to note should the 3 play up front again. Fulham's wingers were to strike first blood, however, as Kacaniklic was allowed to run at Billy Jones' beating him and then playing a simple pass for Berbatov's goal. After Odemwingie's sending off, what's interesting is that Fulham pressed West Brom even harder Billy Jones' flank even though Liam Ridgewell was the one exposed being a man down. Another long ball found Kaca, who drew the foul from Jones again for Berbatov's penalty.
What made things interesting is how West Brom went for broke by bringing on Brunt and Lukaku for Fortune and Long. Missing Long's lateral movement, Yacob became more defensive as the Baggies traded their widemen for quality through the centre with Lukaku attempting shots supplied by Morrison and Brunt. This new direct approach yielded some counterattacking chances like Brunt's and Lukaku's efforts, but ultimately with the amount of chances Fulham created, it was only a matter of time before Fulham exposed West Brom's narrowness and Kasami had an effort on target from the wing which Rodallega couldn't finish, and Fulham's follow up central midfielder Sidwell finished the job.
When Cazorla received the ball dropping from attack, no one pressured him; he looked up and was free to pass to Podolski, who drifted infield and should've been marked by Puncheon. By the time Podolski takes a touch after beating Davis and Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse is guilty of ball watching, and Puncheon, drawn in by Podolski in the first place, has to make a decision: He either marks Cazorla, who moved into the wide space to cover Podolski, or to track Gibbs, who had doubled up against Clyne in the first place. He just ball-watches. Clyne has the obvious duty of coming out, but was it necessary? Fonte was 1v1 against Podolski, and he backed and backed because there was simply no one behind him. Had Ward-Prowse, who let Carzola play the pass in the first place, at least raced towards the six yard box, even if Fonte is drawn out, at least Ward-Prowse had a chance of intercepting the pass. As Gibbs shoots, and the goal is conceded, only the 4 defenders are still in the PENALTY BOX. The funniest thing is the own goal itself; Recognising that Fonte was being drawn out, Hooiveld drops, and when Gibbs shot, it went through Davis' legs and eluded Gervinho completely. Hooiveld, for all the running he did, also was guilty of ball watching, and by the time he had shifted his body to clear the ball, it had hit his knee and was on the way into the back of the net. Such is the tragedy of Southampton.
On set pieces the Saints were weak too; if they weren't winning the aerial duels, (Mertesacker had a free header at goal) they were second to the second ball, and Davis' weak goalkeeping as he fluffed the ball on one occasion didn't help their cause. The second goal was conceded firstly from a foul on Coquelin after Southampton were second to a corner clearance and Podolski scored the resulting free kick after Davis midjudged its flight. Does he assume every free kick by a player he uses in FIFA goes into the top corner?
When the midfield tightened up, the marking was atrocious. Arsenal's third came from Gervinho drifting into Cazorla's space after Cazorla had received the ball in midfield himself. Taking advantage of
no midfielder marking him, the Ivorian skinned Yoshida for pace and Arteta just needed to pass into space for the Ivorian to take a free shot at goal. For Arsenal's sixth, Southampton had multiple chances to intercept the ball: Ramsey to Cazorla (Clyne or Ramirez), Cazorla to Vermaelen (Schneiderlin didn't get anywhere near), Cazorla's follow up after Vermaelen shot (Schneiderlin) and Walcott's goal (Ward-Prowse or the left winger).
The positives of the game: Arsenal attacked Southampton through more ways than one; Gervinho constantly dropped to receive the ball from midfield as well, forcing a 3v2 situation against Clyne and Puncheon or Fox and Lallana. With Gibbs far more advanced than Jenkinson on the left flank, Gibbs and Podolski constantly teamed up with the Ivorian (Cazorla occasionally helped out for the short option too) to create chances. Another instance was Clyne's own goal, where Gervinho took Podolski's spot and received the ball away from the attention of Puncheon. He was allowed to run at the defence, waited for a center-half to be drawn out and let Gibbs make the cross, causing another own goal.
It is also very important to note that Arsenal have executed the fluid midfield system they are quite famously known for, as constantly even when Gervinho and Cazorla dropped to receive the ball and Arteta was the pivot, players like Coquelin was allowed to drift into the empty space to be an option; It was why Coquelin's substitution for Ramsey didn't alter Arsenal's playing style at all.
A word on Southampton's attacking shape as well: Gaston Ramirez' introduction produced a more direct approach for the Saints,but Puncheon attempting shots aside, the rest were relatively muted. There was nothing wrong with Southampton fielding 3 in the middle really; Had they executed their gameplan, most of the goals would've been at least decently contested, but Hooiveld's spot in center of defense might come under question now, considering his early hook from the scene. Another word on the Saint's defense is that Clyne and Fox tend to defend very narrowly, which allowed Gibbs, O-Chamberlain and Walcott to receive the ball under almost no pressure. Nigel Adkins really has to sort that out.
Errors from both teams, but Arsenal's midfield outclassed Southampton's. Gervinho playing as a lone forward good against a midfield consisting of central midfielders (United and Liverpool come to mind first), but might fall short against a diligent defensive midfielder (Mikel for Chelsea or Javi Garcia and/or Yaya Toure for City, Sandro for Spurs). Southampton need to get the basics right and their fullbacks positioning themselves wider, or maybe pushing one of the central midfielders really wide to cover them properly.
Fulham v West Brom
Lineups:
With Richardson injured, Kacaniklic directly on the left while Chris Baird started in the absence of Diarra, who was had a "knee" problem. Bryan Ruiz also couldn't recover in time from his injury, leaving Rodallega and Berbatov to lead the line. Strangely, Mladen Petric didn't even make the bench, which is worrying for many of his Fantasy owners. As for West Brom, Odemwingie took the place of Dorrans on the left, as well as Billy Jones, a midfielder, taking the field in the absence of rightback Steven Reid (hamstring).Tactical Notes:
- Fulham expose Billy Jones again, and again, and again
Much of the focus in the news and analysis articles were on Berbatov's strikes and Odemwingie's sending off. But let's focus on what both sides could've done and then how the sending off changed the game (so that we know what West Brom would probably do if they wanted to protect a lead). With Fulham's and West Brom's quality both on the wings, West Brom's Odemwingie and Fortune would aim to expose Kacaniklic and Duff's attacking forays and vice versa. The difference between the two sides is while Fulham will aim to use new signings Berbatov and Rodallega up front to link up play, West Brom have to count on Morrison to outnumber the Fulham midfield in order to boss possession in midfield. On paper, Fulham certainly had the better quality, but West Brom had the commitment and the form behind them to more than match Fulham's quality.Fulham's strategy was evident as early as the 3rd minute when Berbatov linked up Baird and Duff for Duff to take a shot at goal. West Brom, however, adopted the patient game by utilising Mulumbu's energy in order to link up defense and attack, which resulted in Odemwingie's shot at goal from distance. His shot from the middle suggested the front three of Fortune, Odem and Morrison is a fluid 3 instead of an attacking midfielder and 2 wingers, which is important to note should the 3 play up front again. Fulham's wingers were to strike first blood, however, as Kacaniklic was allowed to run at Billy Jones' beating him and then playing a simple pass for Berbatov's goal. After Odemwingie's sending off, what's interesting is that Fulham pressed West Brom even harder Billy Jones' flank even though Liam Ridgewell was the one exposed being a man down. Another long ball found Kaca, who drew the foul from Jones again for Berbatov's penalty.
- West Brom react by going direct and narrow
What made things interesting is how West Brom went for broke by bringing on Brunt and Lukaku for Fortune and Long. Missing Long's lateral movement, Yacob became more defensive as the Baggies traded their widemen for quality through the centre with Lukaku attempting shots supplied by Morrison and Brunt. This new direct approach yielded some counterattacking chances like Brunt's and Lukaku's efforts, but ultimately with the amount of chances Fulham created, it was only a matter of time before Fulham exposed West Brom's narrowness and Kasami had an effort on target from the wing which Rodallega couldn't finish, and Fulham's follow up central midfielder Sidwell finished the job.Fantasy Implications:
Kacaniklic had a field day going up against Billy Jones, and is certainly a prospect, especially when going up against defensively suspect fullbacks. While Berbatov's quality is never in doubt, he certainly creates as many chances as he scores but how long this run of his will last against better opposition I am not sure. On a plus for West Brom, Ridgewell performed superbly despite his team being a man down, and for his price, is certainly a started for his coming home games.Arsenal v Southampton
Lineups:
Szczesny (I misspelt that 3 times typing that. Calling him THE WOJ from now on) returned to Arsenal's starting XI while Coquelin steps in for the injured Diaby. Gervinho also starts as the lone forward in place of Giroud. Southampton fielding the same XI as their home game against Man United. With Coquelin expected to firmly sit in front of the back four, expect Arteta and Santi Carzola to link defense and attack, while Podolski and Ox will attempt to make use of the space left vacant by the Southampton midfield. With Southampton fielding five central midfielders (Puncheon and Lallana are not exactly orthodox wingers), one would expect Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse and Davis to press Arteta or Santi as they receive the ball, and perhaps Lallana and Puncheon to force the issue further up the field. Southampton do have the pace in Lallana and Puncheon to break away if they do get the ball, and Lambert is also a decent targetman to aim at if Lallana and/or Puncheon are defending deep with the midfielders.Tactical Notes:
You could say the writing was on the wall for Southampton when you consider that prior to the first goal, Arsenal already had 3 efforts on target, 2 of them involving Arteta suggesting that Southampton weren't executing their defensive gameplan at all. It was ironic that Arsenal's first goal originated from the center of the park; All the Southampton central midfielders played a part in the first goal.
- Errors, errors everywhere
When Cazorla received the ball dropping from attack, no one pressured him; he looked up and was free to pass to Podolski, who drifted infield and should've been marked by Puncheon. By the time Podolski takes a touch after beating Davis and Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse is guilty of ball watching, and Puncheon, drawn in by Podolski in the first place, has to make a decision: He either marks Cazorla, who moved into the wide space to cover Podolski, or to track Gibbs, who had doubled up against Clyne in the first place. He just ball-watches. Clyne has the obvious duty of coming out, but was it necessary? Fonte was 1v1 against Podolski, and he backed and backed because there was simply no one behind him. Had Ward-Prowse, who let Carzola play the pass in the first place, at least raced towards the six yard box, even if Fonte is drawn out, at least Ward-Prowse had a chance of intercepting the pass. As Gibbs shoots, and the goal is conceded, only the 4 defenders are still in the PENALTY BOX. The funniest thing is the own goal itself; Recognising that Fonte was being drawn out, Hooiveld drops, and when Gibbs shot, it went through Davis' legs and eluded Gervinho completely. Hooiveld, for all the running he did, also was guilty of ball watching, and by the time he had shifted his body to clear the ball, it had hit his knee and was on the way into the back of the net. Such is the tragedy of Southampton.On set pieces the Saints were weak too; if they weren't winning the aerial duels, (Mertesacker had a free header at goal) they were second to the second ball, and Davis' weak goalkeeping as he fluffed the ball on one occasion didn't help their cause. The second goal was conceded firstly from a foul on Coquelin after Southampton were second to a corner clearance and Podolski scored the resulting free kick after Davis midjudged its flight. Does he assume every free kick by a player he uses in FIFA goes into the top corner?
When the midfield tightened up, the marking was atrocious. Arsenal's third came from Gervinho drifting into Cazorla's space after Cazorla had received the ball in midfield himself. Taking advantage of
no midfielder marking him, the Ivorian skinned Yoshida for pace and Arteta just needed to pass into space for the Ivorian to take a free shot at goal. For Arsenal's sixth, Southampton had multiple chances to intercept the ball: Ramsey to Cazorla (Clyne or Ramirez), Cazorla to Vermaelen (Schneiderlin didn't get anywhere near), Cazorla's follow up after Vermaelen shot (Schneiderlin) and Walcott's goal (Ward-Prowse or the left winger).
- The role of the lone forward: Gervinho and Cazorla's movement creating space for the Gunners
The positives of the game: Arsenal attacked Southampton through more ways than one; Gervinho constantly dropped to receive the ball from midfield as well, forcing a 3v2 situation against Clyne and Puncheon or Fox and Lallana. With Gibbs far more advanced than Jenkinson on the left flank, Gibbs and Podolski constantly teamed up with the Ivorian (Cazorla occasionally helped out for the short option too) to create chances. Another instance was Clyne's own goal, where Gervinho took Podolski's spot and received the ball away from the attention of Puncheon. He was allowed to run at the defence, waited for a center-half to be drawn out and let Gibbs make the cross, causing another own goal.It is also very important to note that Arsenal have executed the fluid midfield system they are quite famously known for, as constantly even when Gervinho and Cazorla dropped to receive the ball and Arteta was the pivot, players like Coquelin was allowed to drift into the empty space to be an option; It was why Coquelin's substitution for Ramsey didn't alter Arsenal's playing style at all.
A word on Southampton's attacking shape as well: Gaston Ramirez' introduction produced a more direct approach for the Saints,but Puncheon attempting shots aside, the rest were relatively muted. There was nothing wrong with Southampton fielding 3 in the middle really; Had they executed their gameplan, most of the goals would've been at least decently contested, but Hooiveld's spot in center of defense might come under question now, considering his early hook from the scene. Another word on the Saint's defense is that Clyne and Fox tend to defend very narrowly, which allowed Gibbs, O-Chamberlain and Walcott to receive the ball under almost no pressure. Nigel Adkins really has to sort that out.
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