Is Harry Maguire turning his Man United career around?
Man United have barely put in a convincing performance this season. But one player who has stepped up in more recent games has been Harry Maguire. He's had a tough time over the last couple of years but after some decent performances in recent games; Is Maguire beginning to turn around his Man United career?
He more than stepped up on Saturday against Fulham as he won every aerial duel, played passes through the lines and was always up for winning a challenge. United fans held up a banner during the game which said "play like you mean it" and Maguire definitely did.
He also impressed in games against Sheffield United and Copenhagen the latter of which he scored the winner in. He was close to leaving the club in the summer as he wasn't being given enough game time. To go from that to produce the performances he's producing deserves a huge amount of credit.
Losing the captaincy in the summer has definitely benefitted him because he's relished not having that extra responsibility. Wearing the captain's armband was arguably affecting his performances on the pitch because of the pressure it brought and his recent performances suggest that he plays without the armband.
His recent performances will definitely give him confidence in turning around his United career and all he needs to do is to keep playing the way he is. If he can do that, he'll definitely turn his United career around.
Is Vincent Kompany under pressure?
Burnley are the first side in top flight history to lose their opening six home games following another loss at Turf Moor on Saturday against Crystal Palace. With the Clarets joint bottom of the Premier League and struggling for points; Is manager Vincent Kompany under pressure?
The Clarets have played some good football at times this season and they're willing to play the brand of football that got them promoted. But the way they play has at times left them exposed defensively and they've been punished for it on a number of occasions.
They're also struggling at the other end as they haven't been clinical enough in front of goal. They created a lot of chances against Palace on Saturday but they didn't have anyone to finish them. To survive at this level, you need to have someone who is capable of putting the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis.
The longer both problems continue, the results will continue to go against them. And if the Clarets continue to be naïve as they have been for much of the season, Vincent Kompany could find himself under pressure.
Could Jeremy Doku be Belgium's new Eden Hazard?
Jeremy Doku has made a good start to life at Man City and he had an outstanding game on Saturday against Bournemouth where he was involved in five of the six goals they scored. He was excellent throughout against the Cherries and with the potential he has and the kind of player he is; Could he ben Belgium's new Eden Hazard?
He's a similar kind of player to Hazard in that he's quick, very skilful and can link up well with teammates as he did against Bournemouth. He could still add goals to his game and there is plenty of time for him to do that as he's only just 21 years of age. With Hazard having retired recently, Doku could see this as a chance to take his place in the Belgium team.
It's good for Belgium to have an exciting young talent like Doku among their ranks as they need their upcoming young players to step up with the majority of their golden generation now gone. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are still around but are both heading into the latter stages of their careers.
He isn't by any means the next Eden Hazard as he's still young and can still improve. But if he can start adding goals to game and be an important player for both City and Belgium, he could well be Belgium's new Hazard.
Could Nicolas Jackson be the man to fix Chelsea's goal scoring problems?
Scoring goas was Chelsea's Achilles heal last season and has been much of this season. Their main striker in Nicolas Jackson has had a rather mixed start to life at Stamford Bridge but he could be starting to turn a corner after scoring a hat trick in the blues' 4-1 at Spurs on Monday. Could he be the man to fix Chelsea's goal scoring problems?
Jackson has shown flashes of his abilities since he's been at Chelsea but has also had moments where he's been frustrating. He was criticized by Alan Shearer on Match of the Day the weekend before for his poor performance against Brentford where he rarely got into goal scoring positions.
His movement against Spurs was much improved as he got himself into the right positions to score his goals. He was in the right place at the right time for his first two which came from crosses delivered by Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher respectively. For his third, he timed his run well to latch onto a Cole Palmer pass before rounding the Spurs keeper to complete his hat trick. Spurs going down to nine men played a big part but he still had to deliver on the pitch no matter how many players the opposition have.
His hat trick against Spurs will definitely give him confidence and all he needs to do now is score goals on a consistent basis. Consistency has been his problem since joining Chelsea and if he can do something about it, he could be the answer to the blues' goal scoring issues.
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