It was more of the same this weekend in the Premier League as the title challengers both picked up maximum points while those vying for the Golden Boot added to their tallies. But what were the biggest talking points?
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Salah steals the show against Spurs
Liverpool went into their game against Tottenham Hotspur knowing they had a great opportunity to claw back some points on rival teams. They went into the half-time break 2-0 up courtesy of a Mohamed Salah double.
The prolific wide forward now has 10 goals in his last 10 appearances across all competitions and 17 goal involvements in 18 matches. For a player who got off to a sluggish start, something we covered in a recent feature, this is an impressive return.
He put on a finishing clinic at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. His two goals had an xG value of just 0.45, but his xG on target total was 1.15. Salah made the most of his chances with some expert finishing.
A home debut to remember
Unai Emery got off to a winning start as manager of Aston Villa as he watched his side romp to a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Villa Park.
However, the game wasn’t quite as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. The hosts racked up opportunities worth just 0.66, just slightly higher than Manchester United’s haul of 0.52. Some superb finishing was the difference on the day, with Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey all confidently firing the ball past David De Gea.
Emery will no doubt be happy with how his side limited the visitors. This was a United team unbeaten since the 6-3 loss to Manchester City over a month ago. However, he will probably be looking at his team to carve out more repeatable chances moving forward. Still, it was a huge three points and an encouraging performance.
Southampton’s bad luck
At the time of writing this, Ralph Hasenhuttl is still the manager of Southampton. According to reports though, it is a matter of when and not if the Austrian tactician is removed from his post at St Marys (UPDATE: he has now gone!).
The 4-1 loss to Newcastle United on Sunday means the Saints find themselves in the relegation zone. They have just one win in their last eight, a 1-0 win over Bournemouth, and things are not looking good. Only three teams have scored fewer goals (12) this season while only five teams have conceded more (24).
If he does lose his job following the defeat to Champions League-chasing Newcastle, Hasenhuttl can count himself somewhat unlucky. The Saints had more shots and had an xG total that was double that of their visitors. The Magpies scored four of their seven chances in what was a freak result, all things considered.
Another statement victory for Arsenal
Arsenal looked a little uneasy a couple of weeks ago. They eked out a 1-0 win over Leeds United and then played out a 1-1 draw with Southampton. The performances matched the results too, the Gunners weren’t as confident or as dominant as they had been.
Yet they have put in two back-to-back statement performances over recent weeks. They followed up the 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest with a 1-0 win over Chelsea. Their performance at Stamford Bridge, however, deserved much more.
They had chances worth 2.11 Expected Goals and on another day it could’ve been yet another humbling defeat for Graham Potter and his side, just a week after the 4-1 loss to Brighton.
Arteta’s men are serious about their title challenge.
The return of Haaland
Manchester City are serious about their title challenge too.
Pep Guardiola’s side were down to 10-men inside half an hour at the Etihad on Saturday after João Cancelo was shown a straight red card. The resulting penalty was converted by Andreas Pereira and Fulham had over an hour to find a winner away to the reigning champions.
Erling Haaland started the game on the bench but was introduced with a little under 30 minutes remaining. He had the ball in the back of the net soon after but it was disallowed for offside. The goal machine eventually scored the winner, in the fifth minute of added time, after a controversial penalty was awarded. Antonee Robinson was adjudged to have fouled Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland’s tame effort somehow managed to wriggle past Bernd Leno.
It is the sort of result that people look back on at the end of the campaign and claim that is when they knew they’d win the title. It would be hard to argue with that.
A turning point for Leeds
Back-to-back wins have lifted Leeds into 12th position. They managed to build on their momentum following victory over Liverpool last weekend, but at half-time on Saturday it was a different story.
Rodrigo had given the hosts an early lead from the penalty spot but Bournemouth went into the break 2-1 up. Dominic Solanke then added a third not long after the break and it looked as though things could get messy at Elland Road.
The hosts netted twice during a frantic six-minute spell around the hour mark to restore parity and then it felt like a knockout game for the remaining 30 minutes, with both teams going for a win.
Leeds won it, with Crysencio Summerville again proving to be the match-winner, and you have to say they probably deserved it on the day, with more shots and better opportunities.
(Images from IMAGO)
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