There's a man of the moment in the Premier League right now, and it's Fulham's Harry Wilson. The Welshman has been on fire this season for club and country after spending most of last season being used as a substitute more than a starter. He has 5 goals and 2 assists in 15 games for Fulham already, with three of those goal contributions coming this gameweek as he was involved in all three goals for Fulham's 3-2 win over Burnley. It was one of the most interesting games in a gameweek filled with goals, drama, and the first Tyne-Wear derby in a decade. Here are all the winners and losers from the week's action.
If you look at the scoreline for the Manchester City game, you would think that City dominated the game and tore Crystal Palace apart. No such thing happened in fact. Crystal Palace was the better side for much of the game, created the better chances, and lost 3-0. This is Pep Guardiola juju at its finest, pulling out spectacular wins from a rabbit's hat after dreadful performances. It's also a reminder that having good finishers in your team means that you can get away with performances like this one sometimes. You can concede a million chances, but as long as the score is 0-0, all you need is for one cross to find Erling Haaland free at the back post and you win the game.
Needless to say, when your fierce rivals from across town that have been languishing in the lower leagues for years finally make it back to the big time, you need to beat them rather thoroughly in the first derby to assert dominance. Newcastle did not do that at all. Sunderland have been the better team this season and sit above them on the table, but these considerations don't matter when it comes to derby logic. All that mattered was winning, and Newcastle failed to do that. Everybody on Tyneside is going to be waiting with bated breath for the reverse fixture, lose that and some might even ask for Eddie Howe's head, no matter how well Newcastle do elsewhere this season.
No one on Wearside cares how that goal came about. In fact, they probably love it all the more for the fact that it was a Newcastle player who scored the goal that condemned his team to defeat in the first Tyne-Wear derby in a decade. This might very well be the crowning jewel of Regis Le Bris work since Sunderland came back up to the Premier League.
Thomas Frank's shaky start to life as a Tottenham manager continued this week. Just when it seemed like Tottenham were building up a head of steam, Sean Dyche's boys rolled up and put three past them without response, a reminder of just how much work remains to be done if Thomas Frank will turn this club into title challengers. It's not that Tottenham are a bad team per se, it's simply that they're incosistent. Being a top team means learning to apply a level of consistency to games across a variety of game states. For example, Tottenham have struggled against teams that sit deep and let them have possession this season, and of course, Sean Dyche's teams sit deep like few others do. Against teams that come out and play Tottenham give good accounts of themselves, they just have to figure out how to translate that, and the clock is ticking.
Just as an aside, Nottingham Forest have now beaten both Liverpool and Tottenham 3-0 this season.
The ship seems a little steadier after the chaos of the last few weeks on the red side of Merseyside. Hugo Ekitike's brace helped them beat a Brighton side that has been a thorn in Liverpool's side in recent seasons. It also means that Liverpool have won two games against tough opponents (Inter and Brighton) on the bounce without conceding a goal. It's the clean sheets that will particularly delight Arne Slot and his team I'm sure, as we all know Liverpool aren't exactly lacking in firepower, all their problems have been at the back. If Slot has figured out a way to make Liverpool defend well again then they might be well and truly back.
Had Bournemouth held on to their lead against Manchester United, it would have been not just a massive three points but the end of a six-game winless streak. No team has lost momentum quite like Bournemouth this season. Their form at the beginning of the season fueled expectations that they would challenge for European spots this season. However, things have changed as the season has progressed. Iraola's high-intensity style, coupled with injuries, has led to a situation where the players are fatigued midway through the season. Their last three games of the year will see them face Burnley, Brentford, and Chelsea, which should offer them some chances to take all three points in a game and start building some momentum again. But beyond regaining momentum, Andoni Iraola and his team need to figure out a way to balance his desire for high-intensity football with the physical realities of his players. Ideals are all well and good, but if your ideals are unsustainable in the long run, then maybe they should be tweaked.


2 comments
another great weekly premier league winners and losers essay from @chukwukaosakwe
gameweek 16 might be my favourite gameweek of the season so far, so much happened and it's taken me a while to get my head around it all and write this week's edition of winners and losers. - liverpool's ship steadying? - man city win despite bad display - the first tyne-wear derby in ten years and so much more in this edition https://paragraph.com/@thefalsenine/epl-gw16-winners-and-losers