Manchester United manager Michael Carrick

The Big 6 Review: Is Carrick closer to the exit than De Zerbi?

October 12, 2026 Olaoluwa Nwobodo 0 Comments

In this episode, we look at two marquee games that turned out to be interesting for different reasons. Chelsea and Arsenal won their games, but the Gunners still showed signs that all is not well in paradise. With just one loss to a Big 6 side this weekend, let’s get into the Big 6 Review for GW 6.

Manchester City: Beneficiaries of funny officiating

Man City was the beneficiary of Chris Kavanaugh’s questionable refereeing. Enzo Maresca’s men ended up scoring three goals, but by then, they were up against 10 men. The first yellow was arguable, which is what made the second devastating.

That said, Man City still had to put the ball past Alisson Becker, and they did, with ruthless efficiency. Erling Haaland has not been firing at the frequency we expect, but he still has six goals in six games. The league leaders are now still three points clear. Rayan Charki and Jeremy Doku contributed the rest of the goals.

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Liverpool 0-3 Man City

Liverpool: Things are getting worse

As much as Reds fans can say they should not have been a man down, Gravenberch did not help himself. Already on a yellow, he fouled a player who was leading a counter attack, giving the referee a decision to make. From that point on, the game was out of Liverpool’s hands.

Florian Wirtz has again failed to make his mark, though he wasn’t the only one. The home side certainly missed the services of Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai. The red card made things so much worse, especially since you could say Andoni Iraola’s men were the better side up until that point.

Liverpool 0-3 Man City

Manchester United: Carrick needs tactical solutions…or Baleba

Look, sometimes the difference between being good and being poor is just the players you have in your toolbox. For large parts of last season, Man United struggled to control games, and it was easy to see that the team needed a central midfielder.

The Red Devils hierarchy secured three. Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos, and Carlos Baleba. Santos was benched against Spurs, and Baleba did not start. When the latter came on, he looked good. Very, actually. He created Man United’s only big chance in the game, and his passing was exceptional. Bruno Fernandes did a lot for ball progression, but he was nearly a non-factor in chance creation.

What was obvious, was that Carrick’s side looked second best throughout the game, and now sits just 3 points ahead of 18th placed Spurs.

Man United 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham: Better…but are they better?

Roberto De Zerbi’s men were better than their opponents on the day, but are they better than the team that took five games to score one goal in the league season? No one knows. Some fans expect the Italian to do special things as soon as they “click”, but is taking this long to “click” a cause for concern?

Against Man United, Spurs looked more coherent as a team. They pressed well, created good chances, and only poor finishing stopped them from getting the three points. Rodrigo Bentancur got himself sent off, but his team still left with something.

Man United 1-1 Tottenham

Chelsea: Excellent outing, but still no clean sheet

Chelsea was tip-top against AFC Bournemouth. The Blues deserve credit because the cherries are usually tricky for them. Scoring twice in the first five minutes certainly had an effect. Xabi Alonso’s plan couldn’t have been to score two in three minutes, but when he got it, his team took full advantage.

Jordan Henderson was the hero, scoring a sumptuous long shot and free kick, then adding an assist to top it all off. Joao Pedro produced a brace, making him the second highest Premier League scorer so far. He now has eight goal involvements in five appearances. The Blues are now up to 5th.

Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth

Arsenal: Needed win, but still shaky

After the Brighton embarrassment, Arsenal needed a response. It was a win, but not as convincing as Gunners fans would want. The champions went behind after trying – and failing – to unsettle Leeds. It looked like it’d be another loss.

Going down in the 55th minute gave Mikel Arteta’s men enough time to respond. And respond they did. Seven minutes after going down, Riccardo Calafiori equalized, though he got help from Leeds’ goalkeeper. The Gunners then needed a Bruno Guimaraes wondergoal to push ahead. The UEFA Champions League finalists were able to maintain the lead and see out the win.

Arsenal is barely keeping up with Man City, but the season is still young, so no cause for alarm yet.

Arsenal 2-1 Leeds United

With Champions League returning this week, these clubs now have to worry about load management and fitness ahead of Gameweek 7, but that’s why the managers are paid the big bucks. See you in the next one.