Football
Nick Miller, ESPN.com writer 6y

Weary Tottenham need an energy boost, Romelu Lukaku's defensive effort

Breaking down the highs and lows from the latest round of Premier League action.

Goal of the weekend

We have the "most valuable player" conversation quite a lot, but if the Premier League was to introduce an award for the player upon whom his team leans most, Wilfried Zaha would be a shoo-in. The Crystal Palace forward had done little vs. Huddersfield -- beyond having his ankle nearly snapped by Mathias Jorgensen -- when, seven minutes before half-time, he cut in from the left and lashed a shot beyond a cluster of defenders and into the corner of the net to earn his side three points. What would they do without him?

Player of the weekend

Andriy Yarmolenko's full West Ham debut might have taken a while to arrive, but he was the driving force behind a surprisingly easy 3-1 win at Everton. His first goal came thanks to Marko Arnautovic's unselfishness, but the second was all his own work, as jinking feet set him up for a beautiful whipped finish that recalled Arjen Robben at his best. He might not be on that level but West Ham, who moved off the bottom with their first points of the season, only need him to be half as good.

Question of the weekend

Why have none of the big clubs made a serious play for Abdolaye Doucoure? He was not even at his best for Watford against Manchester United, but was still one of the most impressive players on the park. It is tough to imagine any team that would not be improved by his combination of movement, intelligent passing, dynamism and strength.

Tackle of the weekend

The best moment of the game at Vicarage Road was not any of the goals, nor either of David de Gea's superb saves, or even Marouane Fellaini's latest exhibition of chest control. No, it was Romelu Lukaku -- in the 89th minute -- charging 60 yards to make a tackle in his own right-back position. Superb.

Problem of the weekend

No set of Premier League players clocked up as much time on the pitch at the World Cup as those from Tottenham. In total, their men appeared for 4,813 minutes in Russia; of the other big-six teams, only Manchester City (4,498) really came close.

The players who appeared against Liverpool notched 3,519 World Cup minutes, more than double the visitors' 1,543. Throw in 525 minutes from Son Heung-min -- brought on to provide energy and impetus from the bench -- at the Asian Games and you have a squad that has not exactly had a restful summer.

It is not a new point to suggest Tottenham should probably have signed someone in the summer, but we are starting to see an illustration of why. Mauricio Pochettino's men looked tired and sluggish in Saturday's defeat at Wembley, a squad in need of something fresh, of something to liven them up.

Worry of the weekend

It is tricky to criticize Rafa Benitez, because of the circumstances under which he has to work at Newcastle, but a negative vibe around the team is damaging their chances.

Pressing Arsenal worked for a while and, having been edged out by Tottenham and Chelsea already this season, his side suffered another narrow home defeat against a big-six side. But Benitez isn't exactly helping when he says things like: "To lose against the top sides and to lose by this margin is something that everybody could have expected."

Maybe that is true, but his comments suggest these games had written off before they began. That is not just a problem because it is defeatist, but also because it puts added pressure on Newcastle's other games. They have Crystal Palace next weekend; they dare not lose that one.

Perfectionist of the weekend

Pep Guardiola was not just dissatisfied with Manchester City merely beating Fulham 3-0, he was actively angry, apparently.

"I am upset with my players and they know that," he said, bemoaning how the champions moved the ball. "We spoke about that many times... a mistake doesn't matter. But control the ball and pass the ball simple, if they miss that...that's why I am going to show them we can improve."

Perhaps Guardiola genuinely was upset, but equally this could just be the best way to guard against complacency. If you tell the best team in the land they are not good enough, they will strive to improve.

Game over of the weekend

It is a sad sight when a great player's race is run, particularly one who has meant so much to a single club, but it is time for Leicester to say goodbye to Wes Morgan, who has been with them since the days in the Championship, through to lifting the Premier League trophy in 2016.

His place in the team has become untenable, the latest piece of evidence being his red card against Bournemouth. The issuing of a second yellow might have been harsh, but Morgan needlessly put himself in position to receive it with a series of stumbles and poor decisions that have characterised his play over the last year.

Jonny Evans was on the bench at the weekend; perhaps Morgan's upcoming suspension will be a good time to begin his dignified withdrawal from the starting XI.

Luckiest moment of the weekend

Leicester, who were among the most fortunate teams last season according to ESPN's Luck Index, were so bad at times in that 4-2 defeat to Bournemouth that they might have lost badly anyway, but at 0-0 they were denied what looked like a certain penalty when Asmir Begovic took down Jamie Vardy. Had that been given, it might have been a completely different game.

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