I disagree there was no route one like but like you say there was a lack of movement off the ball so sometimes it just needed to be hoofed.
I was really impressed with the technique yesterday in terms of control, passing, etc and for a while I was struggling to spot the difference versus top-level players. I think the difference is (and it's clearly an important difference) decision-making in the final third. The final ball was never quite there but all of the other stuff, in other words the basics, weren't far off what I'm used to seeing. Also there's the fact that Premier League footballers are stronger and bigger and fitter, but that's honestly the end of it IMO.