“Top Four Talk” is a column by Marco Haynes about the 2024-25 English Premier League in which he breaks down the week’s four most consequential talking points.
Arne Slot takes the Reds to the top
Taking Jurgen Klopp’s seat would have been difficult for any manager. Klopp is a man who transformed Liverpool’s misfortune into glory, winning one Premier League, a Champions League, an FA Cup and three EFL Cups in nine years, all while going up against a juggernaut Manchester City team. But his replacement, Arne Slot, has taken over and already has his new squad progressing upward in the league.
A 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park secured the Reds’ top spot in the Premier League going into the international break and cemented the Dutch coach into Liverpool’s managerial history. After 10 games, the Dutch coach has had the best start in all competitions in the club’s Premier League history, with nine victories and one defeat.
Key players Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah are thriving under their new manager. The Columbian winger has scored five goals and the Egyptian superstar has added four goals and four assists in the Premier League.
The Reds faced an early-season setback after a surprising 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, the club’s first win at Anfield in 55 years. Since the defeat, Liverpool has won six games in all competitions, including a 5-1 blowout against Premier League-side West Ham United in the EFL Cup.
Slot will face his first big test when the players return from the international break. He’ll be missing goalkeeper Allison, who sustained a suspected hamstring injury during the win against Crystal Palace. The Brazilian international goalkeeper has kept three clean sheets from six games in the league.
It’s still early in the season, but the results produced by Slot’s Liverpool team have made it one of the favorites, putting pressure on reigning champions Manchester City to retain its title.
Liverpool plays against Chelsea in a heavyweight matchup at Anfield on October 20.
Tottenham throws away a two-goal lead
We could ask many questions to determine what went wrong in Tottenham’s defeat to Brighton on Sunday. Was it the team’s mental weakness in holding onto results or just a faulty defensive display?
What we do know is that Tottenham can never seem to escape their ‘Spursy’ ways.
A 3-2 defeat to Brighton at the American Express Stadium on Sunday created further problems for Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, who must now solve these issues to secure a Champions League spot. They dropped to ninth position.
Tottenham had a two-goal lead by halftime, with goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison in the team’s dominant showing. But over the next 45 minutes, Postecolgou witnessed his side collapse and give up three goals to the Seagulls.
This is the 10th time in Premier League history that Spurs have led a game by two or more goals and lost. They’re the first Premier League club to hit double figures in this stat, meaning it’s not a problem unique to Postecoglou’s tenure.
Postecoglou has a lot of work to do to fix his team’s mentality. Still, he can take at least one positive from recent results: Welsh winger Brennan Johnson has turned into a goalscoring machine since he received heavy criticism for his performance against Arsenal in a 1-0 defeat September 15. In his last six games in all competitions, he’s scored six goals, including one in the 3-0 demolition against Manchester United on September 29.
Tottenham returns for a London derby matchup against West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 20.
Buoanotte seals Leicester’s first league win
Facundo Buonanotte handed Leicester City its first win after defeating AFC Bournemouth 1-0, lifting immense pressure off manager Steve Cooper’s shoulders.
The club was recently promoted, winning the English Championship last season, thus returning the team to the top flight that the club miraculously won in 2015-16.
In the summer, Steve Cooper took charge of the club after the previous manager, Enzo Maresca, accepted the Chelsea job.
The win is Cooper’s first league victory in his Foxes managerial career. Before the game against the Cherries, the Foxes were one of five clubs still searching for their first victory.
The victory against the Cherries is a huge confidence booster following the Foxes’ heart-wrenching 4-2 defeat against Arsenal last weekend, when a Wilfried Ndidi own goal in the 94th minute prevented the Foxes from securing a point.
The Brighton loanee Buonanotte has been a bright spark for Leicester this season, scoring his second goal and adding two assists.
Leicester is a heavy favorite to face the drop, but another win would move them up to 15th on the table and put them in a great position to secure safety if the team can keep up mediocre form for the remainder of the season.
Leicester travel to fellow newly promoted side Southampton on October 19 in a relegation six-pointer.
Time is ticking for Wolves manager Gary O’Neil
At this stage in the season, heading into an October international break winless — with one draw and six losses — and sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table, is not what you want. But that’s where Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has found his team.
Wolves suffered a 5-2 defeat on the road to Brentford this past weekend and haven’t won a game since last season, when they defeated a soon-to-be relegated Luton Town 2-1 at Molineux Stadium on April 21. With results like this, the bookies will have O’Neil’s name atop “first manager sacked” lists.
Last season, Wolves struggled for most of their campaign and hovered around the relegation zone. A run of good form in the second half of the season, with significant victories against Chelsea and Tottenham, helped the club stay in the top flight for another season. But consistent relegation battles and a lack of investment in the squad will eventually lead to a drop to the English Championship.
In the summer transfer window, the club sold two key players, right winger Pedro Neto to Chelsea and centerback and captain Max Kilman to West Ham United. This has cost Wolves this season, as they have conceded 21 goals — the most in the Premier League this season and seem like they lack the attacking spark Neto used to provide.
The additions of Brazilian defensive midfielder Andre and experienced Premier League goalkeeper Sam Johnstone haven’t worked out yet for O’Neil. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll face the sack unless there’s a miraculous turnaround.
The Wolves board has two weeks to decide whether to keep O’Neil or let him go. He deserves credit for preventing the club from being relegated last season and previously finished No. 15 with a lackluster AFC Bournemouth squad. O’Neil is experienced in this position and could help his side find their form again, but needs a win as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Wolves return to Molineux Stadium against Manchester City for their next match on October 20, so O’Neil will probably have to wait even longer for a victory.
“Top Four Talk” runs every Wednesday.