Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Some observers look at Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou and see the same thing: stubbornness. But there is a big difference between them. With Tottenham, you have no idea what to expect. With Manchester United, you know exactly what to expect. A whole lot of nothing in the first half. Some flickers of fight in the second. Dismal results against middling Premier League teams. Decent ones against teams at the top and the bottom. This was Amorim’s first home game against a “big six” club, but it might as well have been away. He parked the bus. His nominal 3-4-2-1 was actually a 5-4-1. United started with no No 9 and just one real forward, Alejandro Garnacho. It’s three months since any of their strikers scored in the league. Their only goal threat, Bruno Fernandes, has been shunted back to central midfield. Where once they had wingers, now they have full-backs. Even when the bus moves, the handbrake stays on. Tim de Lisle

Sometimes you can spot the moment when a player’s legs give out. For Gary Neville, it happened in an away game at West Brom on New Year’s Day 2011, as Jerome Thomas tore him apart. He has since said he should have been sent off and was almost relieved when he was taken off midway through the second half. He never played again. But for others, the decline is slower or at least less pronounced. Son Heung-min has not had a good season. He’s 32 but has played a lot and there is a general sense he may be on the way out. But perhaps he has been written off prematurely. He was devastating in the first half at Ipswich two weeks ago, admittedly against Ben Godfrey, whose performance was reminiscent of Neville at the Hawthorns, and he was a threat again in the second half against Bournemouth. Perhaps, used sparingly, there is still some spark left. Jonathan Wilson

Arne Slot is confident the energy levels that dropped in the first half against Southampton will not be an issue when Liverpool face Paris Saint-Germain at a fired-up Anfield on Tuesday. The head coach said that, with hindsight, he “would have started differently” against the Premier League’s bottom club given the exertions of the midweek victory in Paris. But such are the demands of winning a Premier League title. Slot retained eight of the team that started at Parc des Princes while Luis Enrique rested eight for PSG’s 4-1 win at Rennes. Andy Robertson got to the heart of the issue. “The [Premier] League is more competitive – that’s no disrespect to the French league,” he said. “That’s two games now we have struggled against Southampton who are bottom of the league. You can’t take any team lightly.” Andy Hunter

Andy Robertson (right) congratulates Darwin Núñez on his equaliser as Liverpool fight back to defeat Southampton. Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Perhaps there should be more than just the veterans in Manchester City’s departure lounge at the end of a season in which they have already equalled the highest number of league defeats in a season (nine) under Pep Guardiola. Kevin De Bruyne, now 33, and Ilkay Gündogan (34) are tangibly performing below the tempo of an elite team, while injury and form suggest John Stones, Nathan Aké, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva (all 30) and Jack Grealish (29) are vulnerable. “Players are getting older,” Martin O’Neill, the former Nottingham Forest and Manchester City midfielder, said after the reigning champions’ 1-0 defeat at the City Ground. “[Look at] Bernardo Silva: just no impact in the game, not just this game, but for most of the season. He’s been a great player [but] maybe there will be a change in personnel at the end of the season.” Peter Lansley

Chelsea were grateful for another big contribution from Marc Cucurella during their unconvincing 1-0 win over Leicester. With Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu injured and the rest of Enzo Maresca’s attack short of inspiration, Cucurella’s fifth goal of the season was the difference. “Marc has something that is difficult to find,” Maresca said. “He is clever. He scored goals against Wolves and Brentford and he is probably the smallest one in the team and this showed you how intelligent he is because he is in the right position. He is playing like an attacking midfielder and is doing fantastic. You also have to realise we are playing without a No 9. Both Nicolas and Guiu were deadline day injuries. Pedro [Neto] is doing fantastic – he was running everywhere today. This spirit is what we need.” Cucurella is a spiky competitor and Chelsea need more players with his defiance and desire. Jacob Steinberg

Last season Arsenal’s tilt at the league title went all the way to 19 May. This season it fizzled out 10 weeks earlier. It’s happened because they scored only one goal in three winnable games. It’s happened because they couldn’t start their first-choice front three, because they didn’t have an arsenal. In the long and spicy history of their trips to Old Trafford, this may have been the first time neither starting XI included a centre-forward. The false 9s were so false that they had only shot each – off target from Mikel Merino, more accurate but no more incisive from Joshua Zirkzee. Arsenal were left playing intricate passes along the edge of United’s box, in a flashback to the last days of Arsène Wenger. Mikel Arteta has made them much better than they were then, but not quite good enough. TdL

From Griffin Park’s favourite son to Gtech bogeyman, Brentford have seen quite enough of Ollie Watkins. His name caused Thomas Frank’s face to fall, an already low mood descending further. “I like Ollie, he’s a good player,” said Frank, who offered nothing more. Last season, Watkins scored Aston Villa’s winner on an occasion soured by a confrontation with an abusive Bees fan. This time, Watkins was booed from his first touch, and most loudly when celebrating the deflected strike that decided a grapple of a game. Having put seven points of daylight between his current and former clubs, the focus was Villa’s next target, the top five. “We still have to play Forest, we still have to play Newcastle,” Watkins said. “We have City as well. If we win those games we are right up there. We are now focusing on the Champions League but the boss is always telling us to concentrate on the Premier League as the most important competition.” John Brewin

Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring for Aston Villa against his former club Brentford. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Despite Bernd Leno’s heroics in Fulham’s penalty shootout victory over Manchester United last week in the FA Cup, not many would have backed him to save João Pedro’s spot-kick in the last minute of injury time at the Amex. The Brazilian had missed only one of his previous 15 penalties since moving to England in 2020 with Watford. He duly tucked away his third in three months in the Premier League to seal a crucial victory for Brighton that moved them into serious contention to finish in the top five. Fabian Hürzeler revealed after that the 23-year-old practises “every week” and praised his ability to keep cool when it matters. “He trains a lot,” said the Brighton head coach. “It’s about understanding that it’s a situation full of pressure – everyone looks at you but you have to stay calm, find the right technique and find the right corner.” Ed Aarons

Wolves have a Brazilian who will be the subject of summer transfer interest, and his name is not Matheus Cunha. The central midfielder André has become integral to Vítor Pereira’s side and helped Wolves dominate in the middle of the park against Everton, forcing David Moyes to change formation by putting an extra man into that area of the pitch, where André and João Gomes were getting the better of James Garner and Idrissa Gueye. The 23-year-old André, who has 10 caps for Brazil, is a tenacious player, eager to break up attacks and possesses the stamina to keep going. He had a 97% passing accuracyon Saturday night and repeatedly won the ball back. Defensive midfielders are highly sought-after and André will attract suitors because he has the quality to play for a team much higher in the table than 17th. Will Unwin

André, a master at breaking up attacks, puts in a challenge on Everton’s Carlos Alcaraz. Photograph: Godfrey Pitt/Action Plus/Shutterstock

Crystal Palace continued their winning run despite missing their injured star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Oliver Glasner’s side instead started with Eddie Nketiah up front and the former Arsenal forward should have opened the scoring within the first two minutes, receiving a lovely through pass from Adam Wharton before firing his effort straight at the Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer. For all of Nketiah’s linkup play, Palace’s biggest goal threats were Eberechi Eze and Ismaïla Sarr. The former struck a post with a deflected cross and the latter eventually broke the deadlock via a sublime chip to secure all three points with seven minutes to go. The Senegalese winger then recreated Mateta’s trademark corner flag celebration. Speaking after the game, Glasner said: “[Sarr’s] celebration just shows the spirit in the group, the togetherness, the great characters we have.” Xaymaca Awoyungbo