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!

---

1⃣ PEP NEEDS A PLAN B

Erling Haaland’s remarkable 12-match scoring streak came to an abrupt end as Manchester City’s hopes of regaining the title suffered another body blow.

Haaland has been almost unstoppable for club and country this season but drew a rare blank in City’s limp 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Pep Guardiola’s side are now six points behind leaders Arsenal and they badly need other players to start sharing the scoring burden with their striking Viking.

If he stays fit then Haaland should run away with the Golden Boot.

However, the fact Burnley defender Maxime Esteve is City’s second highest Premier League goalscorer with two own goals is not good enough if they are to stand any chance of overhauling the Gunners.

---

2⃣ CANNY KEITH CONTINUES TO SILENCE THE DOUBTERS

I for one thought Brentford had taken an unnecessary risk when promoting Keith Andrews to replace Tottenham-bound Thomas Frank in the summer.

I for one was wrong!

The tactically astute Andrews again proved he is much more than a humble set-piece coach by outmanoeuvring Liverpool’s title-winning boss Arne Slot in Brentford’s 3-2 win over the champions.

Frank is arguably Brentford’s best-ever manager so his were big shoes to fill but Andrews is doing a brilliant job.

I have already seen enough to retract my pre-season prediction that the Bees would be relegation fodder.

---

3⃣ BOURNEMOUTH RECRUITMENT TEAM DESERVE A MEDAL

Never mind facing a fight to keep their best players, how long until somebody comes in with a bid for Bournemouth’s recruitment team?

The Cherries were tipped by many pundits to struggle after selling the likes of Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi for a combined £150m in the summer.

Instead Andoni Iraola’s brilliantly coached side are going from strength to strength and find themselves in the previously unchartered heights of second place.

The latest gem unearthed by the south coast side is 19-year-old striker Eli Junior Kroupi, who scored his fourth goal in three games to seal Sunday’s 2-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest.

Kroupi cost just £10m from Lorient. Sign them up!

---

4⃣ GRANIT IS BLACK CATS’ ROCK

How many of you predicted Sunderland would be sitting amongst the top four nine games into the season?

After the dross served up by the three promoted teams in each of the two previous seasons, the Black Cats have been an absolute breath of fresh air.

I was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and their stoppage-time 2-1 come-from-behind triumph was certainly no smash-and-grab raid.

Manager Regis Le Bris has assembled an exciting young team, but their heartbeat is undoubtedly the veteran former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka.

The Swiss has been one of the Premier League’s players of the season so far and produced his latest midfield masterclass to drive Le Bris’s men on to their first win at the Bridge since 2014.

---

5⃣ TOTTENHAM TAKE A LEAF OUT OF THE ARSENAL PLAYBOOK

‘They are copying our set-pieces’ said one outraged ex-Arsenal player after Micky van de Ven headed Tottenham in front at Everton on Sunday.

The Toffees had not conceded to a corner all season but it was soon a case of Double Dutch as van de Ven repeated the trick in first-half stoppage time.

The win means Spurs remain the only Premier League team yet to lose away from home this season.

In a match where both teams lacked a punch from open play, perhaps Thomas Frank decided if he cannot beat Spurs’ north London rivals he will join them.

---

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

---

STAR PROMOTIONS