ALEX CROOK: Tales of the Unexpected

ALEX CROOK: Tales Of The Unexpected

Our football ambassador ALEX CROOK is back with his latest Tales Of The Unexpected, highlighting five takeaways that might not have been expected from the Premier League weekend…

Anything that caught you by surprise over the weekend? Email content@starsportsbet.co.uk and we’ll include the best submissions in next week’s TOTU!

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1️⃣ CHAMPIONS’ SLOT MACHINE LOOKS BROKEN

When does a blip become a full-blown crisis? In the case of Arne Slot and Liverpool, the answer is right now.

With members of the Reds’ hierarchy watching on from the stands in disbelief, Liverpool’s pitiful title defence reached a new low as they lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.

Where they looked almost unbeatable for the majority of last season, the champions have now lost SIX of their last SEVEN matches and two of their last three at fortress Anfield.

British record signing Alexander Isak looked lost. Fellow summer buy Milos Kerkez had another horrid afternoon and the previously invincible Virgil van Dijk looks anything but.

Slot has so many issues to resolve, he must be wondering where to start.

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2️⃣ CHELSEA HAVE A NEW SUPER FRANK

It is a mark of how far Chelsea have come that even without the services of talisman Cole Palmer they are emerging as one of Arsenal’s main title challengers.

One of the big reasons for that is the impressive form of captain Enzo Fernandez, whose box-to-box performance in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Burnley reminded me of a certain Frank Lampard.

In Palmer’s absence, Fernandez has been tasked with operating in a more advanced role and since the turn of the year nobody in a Chelsea shirt has had more goal involvements than the Argentine.

Fernandez has mastered that useful knack of breaking into the box late to score goals. It is very Lampard-esque.

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3️⃣ RAISE A GLASS TO PINO

Yeremy Pino had big shoes to fill when he was signed by Crystal Palace to replace FA Cup final hero Eberechi Eze.

After a somewhat slow start to his Eagles career, the silky Spaniard is starting to look like he can be a force in the Premier League.

Pino was Palace’s main creative force as they ended Wolves boss Rob Edwards’s hopes of a dream homecoming with a 2-0 win at Molineux.

The £26m man crowned a man-of-the-match display with a stunning strike to seal the victory that has Palace fans dreaming of another European tilt.

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4️⃣ TROSSARD HAS BECOME AN UNLIKELY KEY MAN FOR ARSENAL

For much of the summer transfer window, it looked highly likely Leandro Trossard would be allowed to leave Arsenal.

Instead, the Gunners showed their faith in the former Brighton man by giving him an improved contract.

That has turned into a masterstroke by Mikel Arteta and while hat-trick hero Eberechi Eze stole the headlines in Sunday’s demolition derby win over Tottenham, Trossard’s role in the triumph cannot be overlooked.

It was the Belgian who broke the deadlock and he also came up with an assist for Eze’s final goal. At a time when Arteta is without some key players, Trossard is fast becoming one of his main men, especially as he seems to love popping up with key goals in the big games.

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5️⃣ GARNER COMES BACK TO HAUNT UNITED

I won’t try to mince my words here. Manchester United were shocking in Monday’s 1-0 defeat at home to ten-man Everton.

The manner of the defeat, having had a numerical advantage for the best part of 80 minutes, was as humiliating as being dumped out of the League Cup by lowly Grimsby.

I could write a whole essay on what Ruben Amorim and his failing system and gutless players got wrong.

But instead, I’ll point out the pivotal role former United midfielder James Garner played in an unlikely Toffees triumph.

Garner ran his socks off to make up for Idrissa Gueye’s bizarre red card for slapping his own teammate and looked after the ball like his life depended on it.

Could this be another player United regret letting leave?

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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