Manchester United squeaked home in a penalty shoot and are not the United team of old or anything even close to it.
This week we have seen the premiership teams competing in one of the smaller Cup competition that involves all the teams in the various leagues. In the past this was a hindrance and a nuisance for the top teams as it took away from their preparations that were all aimed at the league. Most teams sent out sacrificial teams blooding the youngsters to see what they have to offer on a bigger stage.
Personally I think some teams have looked at it negatively and haven't used it as an opportunity to fine tune their proper team. If we are honest with ourselves there are only a handful of teams that would see this Cup game as a negative mainly Liverpool and Manchester City.
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Southampton all smiles and full of confidence now.
The other Premiership teams need to build confidence and find a groove and these games are perfect for doing just that. I think only a handful of teams really used it to their advantage and maybe a spring board for better results in the premiership. Strikers work on confidence and scoring a goal against a lower team doesn't matter as long as the ball finds the back of the net.
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Arsenal scored 5 and just maybe can kick start their season now.
The teams in my thinking who gained the most out of these ties is Chelsea (7 goals),Arsenal (5 Goals),Leicester and Southampton (4 goals each). They may have cruised to their victories but scoring goals boosts confidence and it doesn't matter about the opponents as you still have to beat them. Manchester United and Tottenham struggled to find the net against"weaker" opposition and paid the price by relying on a penalty shoot out and lost.
This weekend I am sure we will see this confidence being bought into games against teams low of confidence. Tottenham play Southampton and this could be tighter than the Spurs fans would like to say. Manchester United play Arsenal and the Gunners should sweep United aside. Chelsea play Brighton and should be the tonic they need now to start getting their season back on track.
All it takes is one game to get the confidence back and the teams that scored well during the week are back in the groove and ready.