Mark Hughes talks tactics after Stoke see off City at the Britannia. Aaron Ramsey revels in his central role, Manuel Pellegrini is worried over City’s fatigue, whilst Louis van Gaal remains unconcerned over Anthony Martial’s struggles up top.

Hughes explains tactical tinkering

Stoke adapted their line-up slightly for the 2-0 win over Man City last weekend. Mark Hughes dropped Jonathan Walters to the bench, with Bojan Krkic pushed up top and Ibrahim Afellay handed the role in “the hole” after scoring in a midweek cup win over Sheffield Wednesday. The Potters boss explained that he’d long harboured the desire to adopt that approach as his side bounced back from a disappointing loss to Sunderland in the previous Gameweek.

“I know the quality that I have got inside the building and I went with Bojan up front today with Marko and Shaqiri either side of him. To be perfectly honest it has been in my mind for a good number of weeks now but I was never able to commit to it beforehand. Maybe that was a consequence of not being brave enough up until now, but I thought today was the perfect opportunity to go with it. It could have gone the wrong way of course, but in fairness I was incredibly confident that the players were ready to have a real go at it today.”

Pieters Discusses Arnautovic Partnership

Stoke’s win over City came courtesy of a double from left winger Marko Arnatovic, who took his tally to five goals for the season last Saturday. The Potters’ left-back Erik Pieters talked up his blossoming understanding with the Austrian, who is finally proving his worth to the Staffordshire outfit after netting just one of his 44 attempts on goal in 2014/15:

“I think people can see that Marko and I have started to build a solid partnership on the left-hand side. Everyone knows that he is a very good player and I know how to link up with him by giving him the balls and by running on the overlaps for example. We help each other a lot, we know when we both need support and I think we are making a very good team together.”

Mourinho hails Hazard versatility

Eden Hazard was deployed as a false nine for Chelsea’s trip to White Hart Lane and turned out one of his better performances this campaign. Although the Belgian winger failed to produce any attacking returns, he operated in dangerous areas and was thwarted only by a top-class save from Hugo Lloris in the second half. Jose Mourinho was impressed enough with Hazard’s display to retain him up top for Bournemouth’s visit the following Gameweek and now reckons the Belgian can play in any of the four attacking berths in the Blues’ 4-2-3-1:

“The performance was good in every aspect, he knows that because he got the feedback. He even got written feedback because we analysed his performance in great detail and I felt it was good for him to get the written document and graphics. He knows how good he was and hopefully he can build from now. He knows how much we need him. It had lots of everything; my comments, my feedback, my vision, numbers, figures and stats. Because he was so impressive I felt he needed that and he also needed to know his efforts were recognised by me. With that attitude and that dynamic defensively he can play in every position: 9, 10, 7, 11, no problem.”

Pellegrini concerned over City fatigue

Manchester City had no answer for Xherdan Shaqiri’s scything through balls or Marko Arnautovic’s movement in behind at the Britannia Stadium, resulting in their second defeat in three outings. Aside from surrendering the joint-most big chances (four) last Gameweek, the Sky Blues were outfought by a sprightly Potters outfit – as evidenced by the fact Man City lost seven more challenges (27) than any side. Discussing the loss post-match, Manuel Pellegrini reckons the busy schedule, allied with City’s ongoing injury worries, were the cause for his players’ jaded display:

“It is difficult because we are the only team that are involved in all the competitions. That’s why we need to play now again on Tuesday. If we have the complete week to recover maybe it could be easy. Today we didn’t have the legs to defend as we needed to or attack in the way we liked and we didn’t create many chances. We have had to play the same 12 or 15 players for most of the season, but the fault is the whole team’s because we defend as a team and we attack as a team and we didn’t do either well today.”

Van Gaal bemoans United’s attacking struggles

Manchester United were held to a 0-0 stalemate against West Ham United, despite ranking second for attempts (21) and shots inside the box (13) that Gameweek. Regardless, only Man City and Norwich City (both zero) served up fewer big chances than the Red Devils (one), underlining their paucity of clear-cut shooting opportunities. Furthermore, their attacking contingent tested Adrian with just one of those 21 efforts, engendering a pitiable 4.8% shot accuracy. Louis van Gaal was pleased with how the team fashioned chances but bemoaned the poor finishing that saw his side register a fifth goalless draw in nine outings across all competitions:

“You can train every day on shooting at the goal and you have to know that we are doing that. We put players in the position to score but you need composure and luck to score. The most important thing is that we are creating and we are dominant. Today, we were dominant and attacking, we were creating chances – only we forgot to score. When you create these kind of chances, you must finish. I cannot say we played bad. The question is shall Suarez score here or shall Aguero score here? It’s also a question mark. You never know. I think they would. It’s dependable on how many chances he would get. In my team a lot of players get the chances, not always the fixed player.”

Van Gaal Relaxed on Martial’s Lack of Goals

The United manager was reluctant to place the blame on youngster Anthony Martial, who has now produced just two assists in his last eight league appearances. Prior to scoring in their Champions League exit last night, the summer signing from Monaco had netted once in 13 appearances in all competitions but Van Gaal was keen to ease the pressure on his big-money signing:

“I think he is very talented but we have to say also he is just 20 years old. We have to give him time and that’s always difficult when you are playing for a team like Manchester United because the expectations are very high, but I’m very convinced that he shall continue with his performances and also that he shall score at the right moment again. But you cannot expect that a 20-year-old player, who is coming through his first year in the Premier League, shall score every week. I didn’t expect that when he came [in the summer]. He was accelerating in the start of his campaign at Manchester United, I know that but I have to explain it to everybody – he doesn’t need that pressure to score in every match.”

Ramsey thriving in central role

In light of Santi Cazorla’s long-term injury, Aaron Ramsey has been shifted back into the double pivot – a move that harvested instant rewards with a goal and an assist against Sunderland. The Wales international rose to prominence in the 2013/14 season while operating from that position, tallying 10 goals and nine assists across just 1761 minutes of pitch time. Indeed, Ramsey asserts that he’s much more of a goal threat when playing centrally rather than on the flank:

“Injuries like these happen in football. I wish Santi a speedy recovery, and Francis as well, we have been hit hard by injuries this season but it gives players the opportunities to take. I have made no secret that I prefer to play in the middle and hopefully now I can stay there. My performance today was good and hopefully I can keep building on that now to play where I prefer to play. I feel a lot more comfortable [in midfield] and it suits my game a lot better. I can time my runs into the box and get on to the end of things. On another day I could have had two or three goals but I’m happy just to score the one.”

Wenger Looking for More Ramsey Goals

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger also agreed with the Welshman’s assessment. Having finally handed him his preferred role, Wenger suggested that Ramsey – who produced seven attempts against the Black Cats on Saturday – should have netted more than once:

“Aaron is a player who creates a high number of chances when he plays through the middle and his expected goals when he plays through the middle is quite high, one of the highest in the Premier League. So I’m not surprised when he plays through the middle he’s always attracted [to the ball]. He could have scored three today. That’s why he was so happy when he scored. In the first half he had a back pass from Nacho when he could have scored, after that he hit the goalkeeper when he could have scored, and then he did.”

Pulis praises versatile Evans

In the absence of the suspended Claudio Yacob, Tony Pulis elected to field Jonny Evans as a holding midfielder in West Brom’s clash with Spurs. The Baggies did well to restrict their visitors to the fewest shots inside the box (four) of any team last Gameweek, ensuring that the encounter ended as a 1-1 draw. Evans also filled in at left-back against West Ham, demonstrating a versatility that delights Pulis:

“He’s been smashing. We missed [Chris] Brunty last week at left-back because he was suspended so Jonny went there and he played in midfield today because [Claudio] Yacob, who has done really well for us, was suspended so we’ve moved him around a bit and he’s been fantastic. He’s enjoyed the opportunity of playing in different positions, which is really, really refreshing.”

Flores on Deeney and Ighalo Work Ethic

Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney have emerged as the league’s standout strike duo, chalking up eight goals and five assists between them in Watford’s previous five outings. As a consequence, Ighalo (96) and Deeney (70) place third and fourth, respectively, with regards to total score among forwards in FPL, rendering them prime picks in the budget bracket. Whilst Quique Sanchez Flores commended the pair’s attacking contribution, the Hornets boss also reckons their work-rate is vital to his side’s defensive prospects after a 2-0 win over Norwich earned them a sixth clean sheet of the season:

“Of course they have the responsibility to score but it is important that they understand the system. They are putting in high pressure on the opposition defence every time. But if we set up just to defend it would be very boring for the players and not very good news for the strikers. Our plan is not just to defend, our plan is to attack. Sometimes with the ball on the floor, sometimes long ball or sometimes more direct. We have a lot of possibilities and we use the characteristics of Ighalo and Deeney very well.”

Garde pleased with Gestede impact

Rudy Gestede earned his first start in five matches when Aston Villa secured a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Although the Benin international didn’t register a single attempt, he proved to be an effective focal point for the Villains’ attack, winning the third-most aerial duels (seven) of any forward. Moreover, he dovetailed well with Jordan Ayew, who ranked top among his counterparts for touches (67) as a result of Gestede’s admirable hold-up play. Remi Garde reserved special praise for the ex-Blackburn Rovers frontman and how he augmented Ayew’s game:

“Rudy didn’t play a lot in previous weeks so it was not easy for him. When you are tall you need many games and many training sessions to be fit. When you are small it is easier to come in and to start. I’m very pleased with the way Rudy coped. He was very helpful for the team. He held the ball really wall and it was very interesting… it’s not only about Rudy it’s the way he plays with Jordan Ayew which is also interesting. To be fair, I’m also pleased the way Ayew performed.”

Lukaku Delighted with Goal Record

A late leveler at home to Palace continued Romelu Lukaku’s fine scoring form. The big Belgian has now netted in five successive league matches and his Monday evening strike means he’s already beaten last term’s haul (11 to 10) with 23 matches still remaining of the current campaign. Lukaku has now notched 50 times in 100 appearances for Everton and the striker revealed that he’s determined to at least match that level of output from this point onwards:

“To be honest that is the standard I’ve set myself since I was 16…I always had one out of two so you always put your standard there, but if you can do better you have to do better. I am privileged to be in this position but I need to keep working, working, keeping my head down and staying focused on the next game. I don’t feel the pressure now because I am in a flying high moment.”