10 Things We Learned From The English Premier League Football Weekend (23-25 Sept 2017)

6. ...On Goal Difference

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho sits on the bench during the Capital One Cup Semi Final, First leg at Anfield, Liverpool.
Peter Byrne/PA Wire

A mundane game, this, but one useful in defining Jose Mourinho for those somehow unaware of the most successful and controversial coach in modern football.

His teams are austere and clinical, and this was an austere and clinical performance. There was no City-style incision leading to Romelu Lukaku's sole decider. Nemanja Matić slowly eroded Southampton's midfield with patient persistence. Ashley Young seemed to dilly-dally over his delivery - but with a forward as brutish and free-scoring as Lukaku, all you need to do is knock it, with pace, in his general vicinity. Almost all; not for the first time this season, he needed two bites to finish the job after great work by Fraser Forster. That Lukaku still has fairly sizeable room in which to improve must be a worry for Man City fans. The man is squandering as many chances as he's scoring. If he develops yet further, the seemingly injury-proof Belgian might make the difference. His side have already shown, after absorbing significant pressure from a quietly classy Southampton team, that they can handle the pressure.

Mourinho is also an absolute hothead, a trait perhaps inherited by the homeland of mentor Bobby Robson - but stepping onto the pitch wasn't his most obnoxious transgression, let's face it.

 
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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!