1- Anthony Martial Needs To Be Trusted.
The 22-year-old was once again the toast of Manchester United after he masterminded their victory over determined Bournemouth.
The Martial we are watching of late is a throwback to the boy who arrived three seasons back from Monaco. What the Frenchman needs to perform is love, trust and responsibility. Give him all three and Martial will repay you with goals, assists and a contract extension.
2- 100 Points For Paris Saint Germain.
On Friday night, French Ligue One leaders subdued Lille to set a new record of twelve consecutive victories at the start of a season. On the evidence of their display against an obdurate Lille, PSG are almost guaranteed to break the 100 point barrier. Ligue One teams are simply not equipped to stop Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and company. Emerging starlets Stanley Nsoki, Moussa Diaby, Timothy Weah and Christopher Nkunku would walk into starting line ups of half the divisions teams.
3- Callum Wilson Tops Olivier Giroud.
Would be surprised if Maurizio Sarri renews Giroud’s contract when it expires next June. The French World Cup winner is a good player, but he is not a striker capable of powering a team to Premier League success. Enter Wilson. The Bournemouth striker is a workaholic, fast, highly mobile creator and scorer of goals. Sarri says Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater don’t suit his style. Add onto that Giroud.
4- Solari Has No Quick Fix For Real Madrid.
Though Santiago Solari’s arrival at the Bernabeu has stemmed the rot, he won’t turn Los Blancos into Liga Santander favourites overnight. The record champions were mighty luck to dispatch Real Valladolid on Saturday evening. Club president Florentino Perez must address systemic problems that forced Zinedine Zidane to throw in the towel. Frequent changing of managers is no solution.
5- Kylian Mbappe Best Teenage Striker Since Pele.
In four decades of watching football, I have never seen a teenager who is a more accomplished goal scorer. Blessed with blinding pace, Mbappe is the ultimate fox in the box who is also a team player. Not even the great Lionel Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo were that good, or that strong at 19. And both were most definitely not World Cup winners. Only Pele was as good at nineteen.