While Manchester City showed that life carries on without Kevin de Bruyne, Inter’s big summer spending came to nothing with a loss to Sassuolo
Winners
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s side continues on the journey to becoming the best Premier League side ever and anyone standing in the way will be demolished. This time around it was Huddersfield’s turn, and poor them: six goals to one, Sergio Aguero scoring three and David Silva netting a wonder goal.
The usual business for the Citizens, with the aim of winning the title again and doing so by imposing their football on every opponent. If they can replicate last season and also export that form to the Champions League, they will be on course to winning everything.
Carlo Ancelotti
After Lazio’s opening goal, many started saying that this Napoli side was not the same without Maurizio Sarri. And well, it isn’t the same. But not in the negative sense a lot of critics meant. Napoli turned things around and ended up winning 2-1 away to Lazio, one of the toughest grounds in the entire league.
And they did so on the day of Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut. Lorenzo Insigne’s beauty gave Ancelotti all three points, and showed what the former Real Madrid coach brings: more pragmatism, without losing Napoli’s spirit from last year. The team can play as they prefer and as they think necessary to get results. It worked for now.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA72RZOcd8c[/fve]
André Silva
More goals scored already this season than the whole of last season: two in 24 games for AC Milan, a hat-trick in his first match for Sevilla. Who is the real Andre Silva? Too early to tell, but for now he gifted the three points to his new club and started the new adventure in the best possible way. He was one of the most interesting young prospects last year, will he show it all in La Liga this season?
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPEzm0RUfNE[/fve]
Losers
Inter
On paper the team that improved the most in the transfer window compared to last season, then this: defeat to Sassuolo and all round criticism. Mauro Icardi and Lautaro Martinez flopped, Radja Nainggolan – the biggest signing of the summer – is still out recovering from an injury. Simply not good enough at the moment. Not being able to sign Luka Modric cannot be a good enough excuse: many big names were brought in, and Inter need to do better.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPshhIqChiQ[/fve]
José Mourinho
One of the worst Manchester United performances since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, doubled by José Mourinho’s press box attack on Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. All good for the Portuguese to play mind games off the pitch, as long as his team wins on it. This time round, it just doesn’t feel right. Something is simply wrong at Manchester United, and perhaps the only solution is to change the manager.
Villareal
Home loss to Real Sociedad: acceptable but not ideal, especially considering the additions in the transfer window. Gerard Moreno’s goal wasn’t enough to avoid defeat, and the club needs an immediate turnaround to get on the right tracks.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0InGiBEMzk[/fve]
