Premier League: 10 talking points from this weekend's action
1) Reds leave opponents dizzy to give themselves a rest
Which is your favourite Klopp Liverpool team? The title one? The Champions League one? Or the one the year before that didn’t win anything but broke like an avenging swarm of bees and left their opponents dizzy? For some it is still the last of these, when Klopp was still grooving his patterns, working out the best way to win, and building to the supreme efficiency of last year. In which case there will have been a fond echo in the destruction at Selhurst Park, where Liverpool did give chances in the first half-hour but attacked with fury either side. This was the first time in a year they have scored five in the league with the title race still alive. In this muddled season they do have the power to terrorise opponents and kill games early. This game was spectacular. But it was also, by the end, a much-needed stroll. Barney Ronay
• Match report: Crystal Palace 0-7 Liverpool
2) Wilting Pépé sums up Arteta’s problems
Both managers praised their respective team’s spirit here but one assessment was more convincing than the other – Carlo Ancelotti witnessed it in every Everton player; Mikel Arteta in a select few. The contrast was encapsulated in the battle between Ben Godfrey and Nicolas Pépé. Everton’s summer signing from Norwich, a right-sided central defender by trade, has been deployed as a makeshift leftback in the absence of Lucas Digne. Resolute and determined, the 22-yearold was one reason Arsenal’s secondhalf improvement did not yield too many problems for Jordan Pickford. Pépé’s performance was another. He wilted in the face of Godfrey’s opposition. A well-taken penalty to equalise in the first half was a rare example of the Ivory Coast forward taking responsibility for helping a team in desperate trouble. Andy Hunter
• Match report: Everton 2-1 Arsenal
3) McTominay setting standards for others to follow
As teams become fixated by how Bruno Fernandes can win games singlehanded, space will open up for others to make key interventions. Scott McTominay demonstrated a willingness to utilise the vacant areas to Manchester United’s advantage against Leeds. The midfielder is one of the fittest players in the Premier League and is making the most of it with his running into parts of the pitch where he knows chances will be created. First, he drove a vicious shot low into the bottom corner and then ran beyond the Leeds defence to finish with the confidence of a striker for his second. Some have doubted McTominay’s ability to change a game, seeing him as a reliable member of a squad rather than a match-winner. He is, however, showing his growing confidence and finally looks like he truly belongs in the United midfield, relishing the battle with those around him at Old Trafford, setting the standard the others need to follow. Will Unwin
• Match report: Manchester United 6-2 Leeds
4) Wilson shows his importance to Newcastle
It is no exaggeration to say Callum Wilson is as important to Steve Bruce as Darren Bent once proved during the Newcastle manager’s time in charge of Sunderland. Without Wilson and his eight goals, not to mention much impressive link play, Bruce’s current side would surely be stuck in the relegation zone. Instead, with Wilson finding his new employer’s counterattacking approach better suited to his skills than Bournemouth’s more patient buildups, they are mid-table and four points better off than Arsenal. Not for the first time Wilson got Newcastle off the hook, cleverly delaying his fall to ensure he collapsed inside the box after being fouled just outside it by Fulham’s Joachim Andersen, who was shown the red card. Wilson converted the penalty, earning his team a barely deserved point. Louise Taylor
• Match report: Newcastle Fulham 1-1
5) Stones make most of chance to shine
As Manchester City delivered the kind of gritty performance not usually associated with Pep Guardiola teams, it was John Stones who set the tone in a resilient defensive display. Vocal and calm, he combined well with Rúben Dias in central defence, helping City hold on for a precious win. The 26-yearold was focused against Southampton, never giving the impression that he was going to ruin a commanding display. Saints were limited to few chances and, as City continue to search for leaders following Vincent Kompany’s departure in May 2019, the challenge for Stones is to ensure he keeps his place. The talent is not in doubt but Guardiola has not always trusted him, especially in the big moments. Stones, desperate to win back an England place, has a chance to prove he can excel consistently. Jacob Steinberg
• Match report: Southampton 0-1 Manchester City
6) Alli’s absence could be final straw
On paper, Dele Alli seems a perfect match for José Mourinho: a hardrunning creator with a strong fiendish streak. But increasingly it looks as if Alli is going to be rendered collateral damage of Spurs’ Mourinho revolution. He was not among the nine substitutes against Leicester, a development in keeping with a year in which Tottenham’s former golden boy has been shunted to the peripheries. Alli’s defenders could claim that his meagre output has been caused by this sidelining but the truth is that his form turned bad long before Mourinho arrived at the club – what has changed is that it is now keeping him out of the team. At 24, Alli has time on his side. But he will be acutely aware that he plays in a position in which England is suddenly teeming with young talent. If he wants to reassert his status as above Grealish, Foden and the rest, he might want to start looking for a new employer – and soon. Alex Hess
• Match report: Tottenham 0-2
Leicester
7) Allardyce needs signings to save Baggies
There were few positives for Sam Allardyce to take from the derby defeat to Aston Villa. Instead, the performance and nature of the loss reinforced the numerous issues West Brom have suffered from since their return to the Premier League. Their defensive problems were laid bare early on when they went behind and, once Jake Livermore was dismissed for a lunge, there was no coming back. It would surprise many if Allardyce does not make plenty of moves in January, as without them the Baggies’ fate will be sealed sooner rather than later. Apart from Sam Johnstone in goal, there does not seem to be an area on the pitch that cannot be improved; West Brom look porous at the back, lacking creativity in midfield and are completely absent in the final third. Without heavy investment, Allardyce will suffer his first relegation from the Premier League but he will do all in his power to avoid such peril. WU
• Match report: West Brom 0-3 Aston Villa
8) Albrighton still at Foxes’ forefront
He rarely makes the headlines, but Marc Albrighton is again becoming integral to this Leicester side. Even when they won the league in 2016, the midfielder felt old-fashioned, chugging up the wing, as N’Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez (and even Danny Drinkwater) stole the midfield limelight. Yet nobody made for appearances for City that season. He’s not big, nor fast, nor the team’s set-piece specialist, and has yet to register a goal or assist this season. His xG is presumably shocking. Yet the 31-year-old was brilliant against Spurs, playing the full 90 minutes, just as he has for each of Leicester’s last three league wins. The last three games he has been rested (versus Everton, Zorya and Fulham), Leicester have lost. Against Spurs, he brought versatility, tactical intelligence – even his yellow card was a cynical ( but clever) tackle to bring down Harry Kane on a Spurs counterattack – stamina to cover Leicester’s attacking full-backs and quality when it mattered, providing the cross that led to Toby Alderweireld’s own goal. He is Brendan Rodgers’s unsung hero. Michael Butler
• Mourinho rues poor Tottenham start as Rodgers hails ‘amazing’ Leicester
9) Berge blow adds to Blades worries
If matters could not get any worse for Sheffield United, they will have to approach mission impossible without one of their shining lights. Chris Wilder confirmed after the draw with Brighton that Sander Berge will miss the next three months with a hamstring injury and it hardly helps matters that Berge’s deputy at the Amex, John Lundstram, now faces a threematch ban after his red card. “I’ve just been on the phone to John Gannon and Bob Booker so I think they’ll be in training on Monday morning,” quipped Wilder, who remains grounded whatever the weather. “I might give TC [Tony Currie] a call.” The less amusing truth, though, is that his side simply cannot catch a break: they are very rarely outplayed but last season’s ability to shape events in their favour appears long gone. Berge’s absence may hasten what, according to the league table at least, is a particularly unsightly demise. Nick Ames
• Match report: Brighton 1-1 Sheffield United
10) Diallo in line to prove worth
This has been a scintillating season for Southampton. Ralph Hasenhüttl is now being linked with the Manchester United job. Jannik Vestergaard is moonlighting as the best Southampton defender since Virgil van Dijk. In James Ward-Prowse, they have – according to Pep Guardiola after City’s 1-0 win – “the best free-kick taker I have seen in my life”. High praise from someone who has coached Lionel Messi. Oriel Romeu has been sublime in midfield but, with the Spaniard picking up his fifth booking of the season against City, he will miss the trip to Fulham on Boxing Day and Danny Ings is also likely to be sidelined with a hamstring strain. Two big blows for Hasenhüttl, who could opt to give Ibrahimo Diallo his first start since his £11m move from Brest. The Frenchman has never played more than 11 minutes in a match since joining Saints – will the France Under-21 midfielder be trusted to fill Romeu’s boots? MB