1 Haaland’s off-day nothing to fret about
Erling Haaland had nine shots and failed to score a single goal against Chelsea. It will get many people supremely worked up, so they can knock down one of the best strikers in the world. Has Haaland lost his powers? No, he’s just had an underwhelming game.
There were a couple of poor finishes, a fine save and a few last-ditch blocks to prevent Haaland adding to his 16 Premier League goals this term. How will Haaland recover from this heinous 90-minute slump? Probably by taking his frustration out against Brentford on Tuesday where he should get a similar number of chances.
He is the top scorer in the league for a reason and has the best goal-to-game ratio around, so there’s little need to be too harsh. Annoyance might have taken hold on Saturday but Haaland knows how to harness that. Will Unwin
Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
2 Casemiro looks a liability for United
Luton were entitled to wonder how Casemiro escaped a second yellow card as they began to overrun Manchester United towards the end of the first half. Perhaps his tackle on Ross Barkley was below the required tariff for a bookable offence but the Brazilian, struggling to replicate the influence of last season, had become a liability, his half-time substitution a necessity.
A leading item for whoever becomes United’s sporting director is how to solve a midfield problem for which Casemiro cannot be the long-term answer. Sir Dave Brailsford, looking on, surely noted it down. Erik ten Hag could point to a truckload of missed chances and a five-game winning streak but his team continues to lack control.
The previous week Luton were dominated in midfield by rock-bottom Sheffield United but there were spells when Ross
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