This past weekend showed exactly why the Premier League is regarded as the most exciting league in Europe as there were shocks, surprises, and fantastic football all around. The league leaders Liverpool and Leicester City, secured comfortable wins, but reigning champions Manchester City fell even further from the leaders after their loss to Manchester United.
Chelsea fell prey to a reinvigorated Everton side, while Spurs secured a comfortable win as Jose Mourinho’s men have now won 3 of their last 4 league games since the self-anointed ‘Special One’ took charge.
Let’s take a look at the 5 talking points from the weekend of Premier League action.
Manchester City’s leaderless defence
Most fans and pundits predicted that Manchester City would struggle without key central defender Aymeric Laporte, but no one expected such a big fall in their performances at the back. City lost to rivals Manchester United, and for the first half of the game at the Etihad, they looked a shadow of their dominant self.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up his side well as they exploited the holes in City’s defence and they should have gone into the half with a comfortable cushion if not for Ederson’s saves.
Pep Guardiola has to spend big in the January transfer window to strengthen his backline or they could possibly fall further below.
Duncan Ferguson’s turnaround of Everton
Duncan Ferguson, the much-loved and revered former Everton striker, took charge of the Toffees for their game against Chelsea and had a dream start to life as interim manager of the Merseyside club. The atmosphere at Goodison Park was rocking when Ferguson made his way to the pitch and his players delivered for him, running their hearts out, putting their bodies on the line, and playing front-footed football.
Ferguson used a 4-4-2 formation, much like the old days, and the Everton players seemed to enjoy playing under their new interim manager. The Scotsman’s goal would be to take the Toffees out of the relegation battle, before handing over the reins to the next manager.
Newcastle make it four wins out of six
One manager that was under pressure and scrutiny even before a ball was kicked this season was Steve Bruce at Newcastle United. The fans were not impressed at the board replacing Rafa Benitez with him, and many expected the Magpies to be involved in a relegation dogfight, but that does not seem to be the case.
Newcastle registered their fourth win in their last six Premier League games on Sunday, defeating Southampton 2-1. That win took them to 10th in the league, 7 points away from the drop zone. Bruce will want his strikers to start scoring, but he will be happy with the form of midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, who once again got on the scoresheet, taking his tally to 5 goals this season.
Spurs maul Burnley
Jose Mourinho seems to have had an immediate effect on the Spurs side, as the north London club registered their third win in four league games over the weekend. Spurs smashed Burnley 5-0 at home, thanks to goals from Harry Kane, Lucas Moura, Moussa Sissoko, and a wonder goal from Son Heung-min.
The win takes Spurs to 7th in the league, six points behind Chelsea in 4th. The free-scoring nature of this Spurs team has banished doubts of Mourinho setting them up to play dour football.
Leicester City the only ones who can stop Liverpool (!)
The biggest winners of this weekend’s action, apart from Liverpool, were Leicester City, as they kept up with the Reds with a win, and extended their lead over third-placed Manchester City by 6 points. The Foxes defeated Aston Villa 4-1 at Villa Park, in what was a confident and dominant performance by Brendan Rodgers’ side.
This month will be crucial for them as they face Manchester City and Liverpool back-to-back in the league, which could make or break their unlikely title-tilt this season.