of pro soccer talk this week who impressed us most in that
opening weekend of the Season. We're going to focus on some
clubs and players who did particularly well. And it meant
Olan come to you first
Manchester City and erling Harland, he scored twice on his
Premier League debut, a dominated, West Ham, I mean,
Harland at this point, what's the over-under on the goals are
going to score 30? 35, because
across-the-board Man. City look like they didn't miss a beat
all over the summer, right? They were they were really,
really impressive. It was a 476 and you gotta think
there will be weeks. He plays in the Champions League and not
and you know, no I am so impressed and
I want to like hedge because Andy had made a point that he's
going to take him some time to really be at its best. But
that's the fact of the matter is,
that's true. He s scored two goals every week, but we saw it
in the times when he had to be a little bit tidier and he
in fact, he showed me, he was ahead of himself there. We
didn't have to see that a lot Dortmund played. A lot of dirt
Or if not, it was Marco Royce who much like Kevin De bruyne.
It can play a ball that very few players can play
to set him up but Andy's are right in that way. It's not
always going to look clean but we also forget that like that
commercial where
it's in there. There's an insurance commercial
where Charles Barkley, gets selected first in the game
against kids Holland is like combination, robot dinosaur,
whatever he is. Literally a specimen, is the word I keep
using
and there were just times where he
He was too fast, too big, too strong, too powerful
for West Ham, to deal with now. West Ham is not the best
backline in the world but that's the other thing to worry
about for if you're not a man city fan is just
that's a decent West Ham team
and man city had very little problem
Andy. I mean we saw Holland obviously just boosts through
for second goal. They're deploying the founder of
an inch perfect pass and that really summed up the extra
Dimension, he gives man city, right? We talked about his
brute strength, How we bullies Defenders can hold the ball up
and finish in and around the six-yard box.
But we saw there.
He's got a great motor as well and again, we keep saying he's
young
but it's so huge and just
just destroys defenses. But that s gone particular showed okay,
if man city of it doesn't quite work and they can't quite find
that final pass of knocking it around side to side. They can
go direct and hook teams to and that was pretty scary for
the rest of the Premier League to watch them.
Yeah, I stand by absolutely everything. Thing I said in
the summer about Man City about pep about Holland in
the acclimation to this is the getting to know each other and
figuring out how to make it work period.
And after one game, I don't know that any of it matters
like that. Yes. All of those issues are still going. There
will be bumps along the way and I think Nick put it absolutely
perfectly saying, it won't always look perfect, or smooth.
And I think that's kind of the standard
that we're holding Manchester City to is,
we need you to win every weekend. We need you to win
three nil every weekend and we need you to do a plain. The
Beautiful football that can possibly be. That is
the standard they have set for themselves.
And so rightly, so
and I just don't know that it matters that he doesn't
completely get it. It's, this is completely different to
a year ago when it was Jack grealish. And we were talking
about figuring out how to play in that team and play in pep
system.
And the little tactical tweak of bringing both the full-backs
inside into Central Midfield. Now from Pep, you know,
everybody else is just catching up to one full back plays
inside and adds an extra Central midfielder.
He's already a step ahead. Well, what are we? We going to
do next, let's bring them both inside and let's flood
the middle of the field, that's possible because of Holland
because he's no longer, there's no longer false-9 taking up
that space underneath. You need an
extra body in there and I think it's not actually about how
they attack. It's about how they control the game, it's
about how they defend as well and how they keep that
Stranglehold on games, we think of false 9 as well. There's no
forward up top to attack but it really is about a numbers game
in the
middle of the field and Peppa's, just found another way
around that you give him a traditional big, massive Center
forward. That doesn't fit the tiki-taka style, doesn't
matter. He'll find a different way to make it work. He really,
really is a genius.
He is a genius for sure, and seeing
can sell over the number 7 shirt as well. It works, right?
He is not really a fullback, he does it like an attacking
midfielder when he gets on the ball and what I loved about
City,
you could see, they were working it out in terms of
having a slightly different style of play and fold, and
greenish were encouraged to get further forward, tuck inside,
and then clip. Those crosses in the Harlan. Nearly got on one
in the first half, where he Mr. Header
and we're going to see a lot of that from City to season even
more variation to their already. Superb game,
Nick Tottenham, Hotspur
impressive, 4-1 win against Southampton opening weekend,
cooler chefs. Key we love him here at PST. He was brilliant.
I mean, the cross for the opening goal, he scored one of
his own and he will talk about him in a Min X. I know singular
favorite of yours, but
Nick are taught them. The real deal. This season is early on
early doors. We Vault it them to do well. But that is kind of
underlying And just how dominant they can be under
Antonio. Conte.
Absolutely. He's convinced the the death spend and that's
absolutely huge and it's a real depth spend. It's not all with
these guys get hurt. It's a,
we can be interchangeable. We can, we can mix it up. I,
I look at it this way, and a little bit of NFL banter, which
is going to happen a lot. This season
Bills fans here in Buffalo. Got a little bit excited, even
though he was coming into Vision that Tyreke Hill was
leaving Kansas City,
because it was well, there's one less weapon too. I worry
about, you know, it's Kelsey and whoever else is there,
I'm looking at Putnam. Now if your
game planning for that much like man city, right, it used
to be Kevin De bruyne. I was the quarterback. And who's he
going to pass it to? Who's his number-one Target will? Now he
has one
Tottenham now has like
the NFL equivalent sticking with that. A wide receiver core.
Right? Like you know, pay attention to this guy. This
guy's going to be open and it's funny because we don't yet know
necessarily who is the string puller there and Andy may be
able to tell us.
I think it's about Kane has
Hold up, man. Who he decides to go with his? He going to take
you on directly or is he deferring to his Wingers? And
that's a problem because if you're Liverpool or city or
United and you're getting ready to plan for this team
and the manager is Antonio Conte about his brilliant and
big winner. As you're going to meet,
you don't know what he's going to do to you on a given week
and that makes Putnam potentially. If I'm honest
strategically, may be more dangerous than Liverpool.
Then Joe, I know a part of that metaphor. Might have been lost
on you but Nick nailed that one actually, and I think it is
kind of the perfect way of describing, what the situation,
the weapons,
just the pieces, the tools for Conte to use the season. It's,
it's interesting to hear somebody else now, kind of say,
what I've been kind of seeing and thinking about the Spurs
team over the summer, where it just makes so much sense to you
bring in
depth, but it's not depth that you're afraid to play its depth
that eventually three or four of them will Challenge and
probably overtake for starting spots in this team. But it
Have to happen on week one either. He didn't start
a single new signing in week one. It was almost the exact same
lineup that and when everyone was healthy
got them through the end of the season last season and got them
to a fourth place. Finish that depth is not needed to come in
from day one. Save us be a star. Make us a different team.
What was already, there was good enough. It just needed
a little bit more
behind it and to push it forward as well. So I just
I look at the way Conte and party chi have gone about this
summer with the squad that they And when they came in, and by
the way, it's,
it is amazing to think that this time, last year, new no
Espirito Santo was the manager of Tottenham. And they looked
the way that they did for 10 games and with almost
without having seen aside, from
I guess Benton corn, coulis chefs you came in. In January,
they haven't done anything to change the squad. It's just
that the the quality the Brilliance the genius.
I'm almost ready to say if Conte
taking this first team, I think to the next level it's going to
be a special These, I don't know how to quantify that
trophy, what place it's going to be a special ride, I think
for Spurs fans this year,
all very pulls. It feelings, around Sultan and as we said, the
parasites can come in on the left. He can start.
You can play multiple positions. Do you have
the charlatans now back from suspension. So he can come into
that front line. These are quality high level
international, callable players who are just waiting in
the wings and like, mixer going to rotate and everyone's going to
stay fresh and they've got the Champions League to worry
about, but yet taught,
Them things going to be a really special season. You said
it there, andy moving across North London, I think it could
be a special season for Arsenal as well. They won against
Crystal Palace in the
opening game, for the opening 30 minutes of that game. They
look like Brazil. I know they got a lot of Brazilian players
in the team, but they were
passing moving the fluid movement, Gabby! Jesus, was excellent,
Nick. What do you think about are still? The only kind of
alarm Bell of got? In the back of my mind is
defensively, are they sound enough? Because we saw Zohar
and others get in behind them and not make the most of those
opportunities. He's but that's Palace. It's a way selhurst
Park. Tough place to go but they withstood that got a clean
sheet. So
Arsenal they're probably the real deal, right? Alongside
Tottenham for to finish in the top for the season.
Do you agree?
You have to like them. You wow. You don't have to like that.
Mandy but you have to like their chances this year.
Gabby je sus led the time for the Premier League lead in
successful dribbles
and that is not something he was asked to do at Man City now
because he couldn't
But, because that was the role in the system, that was his job.
His job is now to be
meant this. Consump, so stereotypical, and I apologize
in advance be a little bit more Brazilian, right?
Be a little bit more of the airport commercial from
the late 90s, that we all love so much at the World Cup and he
showed us some things. We would use this with Richard. Listen,
a little bit too when he was at Everton
and then he would go on Brazil Duty and be like, oh yeah he
can do that the system sometimes
limits you, but also makes you better Other areas
and I think maybe McKellar, Ted is biggest. Worry
will be, can he take a BJ zoos
and can he give him Freedom with while keeping
the discipline that made him so
successful as well
at Man City. Yeah I love that. He was just popping up
centrally all the time. He didn't really go out to
the flanks too much heat. That was his role. That's his job in
this
Arsenal team. I think it was after three or four minutes of
the game. He turned not make someone ran past. Another
three, pal.
It's Defenders. And then they somehow got a block in to deny
a man in Martinelli. Should have scored the rebound, and
that is why they sign Jesus. Because even if he's not
scoring the goals
and there are some question marks about his,
you know, his clinical Edge in front of goal, is scored a lot
but I had a lot of other chances but even if he's not
scoring, he's creating spaces for
Saca Martinelli odegard, Smith row,
and that kind of
that chaos that you created. And that first game especially
in the first half of it, I think will really benefit those
other Arsenal attackers. So, Offensively then, keep
improving I think been white of right back is
an interesting experiment. Let's say that, but
it's going to be fun. It's going to be fun to watch,
Arsenal, and Tottenham and the other teams we mentioned so
far. But
before we move on to the next segment, anybody else, any
teams or players stand out for you guys this weekend? Any big
surprises? Nick coming to you first because you grimacing,
I'm grimacing because
this is going to happen. Now that the team that I tend to like
is halfway Decent,
I watched Newcastle the second half of last season. I saw
Bruno kumaresh. I said to myself.
They shouldn't have him this early in the project.
He was absolutely Sensational. Granted Nottingham Forest also
looked like a team that maybe we all had a dark horse and
maybe they're not there. Maybe there's something to worry
about there.
Well, when you look
fresh, holy cow, I mean it was he's not the same player. So
I'm not saying they're on the same level, but his role Pause
When de bruyne I was at Wolfsburg
and he was a little less surrounded by Talent. That's
what it looked like. And I start to wonder during that
game, how long will Newcastle keep this guy
because that's how good he looked.
That's how good he looked
and if anybody else stand out for you Mike?
Yeah, I'll go back to
a couple of points ago. It was actually Arsenal to me. They are
absolutely incredible to watch.
They are those 30 minutes were some of just the most fluid And
quickest. Prettiest one touch, move one, touch move. One touch
move stuff that has probably ever been played in the Premier
League. They
are going, they'll probably be
aside from the dominance at the top of the league. Probably
the best
neutral viewing experience for someone that just wants to
watch how the game is. Played this season for
the interchangeable parts, the technical ability, the,
the mental understanding that they have with one another. It's
been long enough under Miguel arteta. I think you would
expect that to be there.
The question and you were right? Yeah. I think it will
come down to how how strong can he make that defense? I think
that we'll probably determine our they
top 40 more. Are they actually
you know maybe in the same conversation
with Spurs can they challenge the top two?
Who knows it's going to be excited. I was actually
impressed with dowon units for Liverpool. We came off
the bench and totally spot that attack into life and they
looked really sluggish Liverpool for most of that game
away at Fulham where they got the tool drawer,
but his presence just bought the
status Allah and everyone else around him do you. It was just
really really excellent to watch to see this guy that we
expect a lot from the livers and he was hungry
and he could have scored a couple more but score one set
up. Another live for got a draw, pretty much because of
his impact. So exciting times
in terms of a new Superstar coming to the Premier League
but remember over a Osaka talk and NBC sports.com will keep
you updated with how the watch these games previews
Recaps analysis of all the Premier League games. This
season. All 380 was just started the Season. But my word
that was a lot of fun. Thinking about what is to come
in the other 37 games for each team.