Only half of England’s top flight teams faced off this weekend due to the Premier League’s winter break, but the five matches still managed to provide fans with lots of entertaining football.
Premier League champions Manchester City came from behind to triumph 3-2 over Newcastle United in injury time, Tottenham took part in an enthralling 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and a six-pointer at the foot of the table saw Luton rescue a late 1-1 draw at Burnley.
Meanwhile, Cole Palmer’s penalty helped Chelsea edge out a narrow 1-0 win over west London neighbours Fulham, and Aston Villa squandered the chance to go level on points with league leaders Liverpool, drawing 0-0 with Everton.
Despite the shortened weekend of football, there was still plenty for players, managers and fans to chew over both on and off the pitch, with the January transfer window fully in motion.
Mail Sport takes a look at the main things we learned from the Premier League weekend.
Although it was a shortened Premier League weekend, there was plenty to entertain fans
Rodrigo Bentancur’s equaliser at Old Trafford earned Spurs a 2-2 draw with Manchester United
Meanwhile, Manchester City left it late to triumph 3-2 over Newcastle United at St James’ Park
Man United have found their front three
If £72million Rasmus Hojlund needed a goal to silence the critics, he certainly delivered it against Tottenham. His thunderous effort inside three minutes at Old Trafford showed his potential in front of goal.
His hold up play also supported Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho brilliantly on the flanks. With Jadon Sancho exiled on loan to Dortmund and Antony well off the pace at the moment, Erik ten Hag has certainly found his best attacking line.
De Bruyne’s return makes City title favourites
Few players in world football truly have the talent to take your breath away, but there’s no doubt Kevin De Bruyne is one of them. The Belgian’s 26-minute cameo against Newcastle showed fans exactly what Manchester City have been missing this season — the best midfielder on the planet.
Having not played a Premier League match since August, De Bruyne hopped off the bench to slot home City’s equaliser and assist Oscar Bobb’s winner in the dying moments. His otherworldly talent makes City title favourites from here.
Erik ten Hag has finally found his best front three, with Marcus Rashford (left) on the left flank, Rasmus Hojlund down the middle (right) and Alejandro Garnacho off the right-hand side
Garnacho (above) has been moved over to the right flank since Rashford’s return from injury
Kevin De Bruyne’s superb 26-minute cameo makes Man City clear title favourites from here
Gordon is Newcastle’s big game player
Arguably Newcastle’s player of the season so far, Anthony Gordon has turned up for Eddie Howe in the biggest matches this campaign. After his well-taken goal against the champions at the weekend, the winger has now scored or assisted versus Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa in the Premier League this term.
With seven goals and seven assists to his name, this is no doubt Gordon’s best campaign to date, and he’ll be rightly knocking on Gareth Southgate’s door for an England call-up at this summer’s Euros.
Everton need to find the net
Goodison Park held its breath as Dominic Calvert-Lewin charged through on goal during Everton’s drab 0-0 stalemate with Aston Villa at the weekend, but the English forward squandered the best chance of the game to make it three goals in all competitions without a goal for Sean Dyche’s men.
The Toffees forward is now 16 hours and counting without a Premier League goal. While he should shoulder the responsibility of scoring, Calvert-Lewin also hasn’t been helped out by his team-mates. Everton must start scoring and quickly.
Few Premier League players have enjoyed a better campaign than Anthony Gordon, who netted in another big game for Newcastle, firing the Magpies 2-1 ahead against the champions
Dominic Calvert-Lewin wasted a huge chance for Everton as his side drew 0-0 with Aston Villa
Tottenham will rely heavily on Richarlison while Son Heung-min and James Maddison are away
In-form Richarlison can cover in Son’s absence
With James Maddison injured and Son Heung-min absent through international duty, Ange Postecoglou will be delighted by Richarlison’s purple patch in front of goal. His headed equaliser against Manchester United marked six goals in six league games for the Brazilian forward.
Postecoglou refused to rule Tottenham out of a title challenge last week and with only five points separating Spurs and league leaders Liverpool, it’s all to play for. Richarlison’s goal-scoring will be key until their talisman returns from the Asia Cup.
City starlet Bobb is a real talent
Oscar Bobb’s sumptuous last-gasp finish at St James’ Park showed a composure beyond the youngster’s years. To control the ball on the half-volley so deftly and react quickly enough to finish past Martin Dubravka with two shrewd touches made his winner one of the goals of the season so far.
These are the sorts of moments that win titles and Pep Guardiola knew it. Expect to see more of the 20-year-old Norwegian in the near future.
The composure and presence of mind Oscar Bobb showed to score Manchester City’s winner at Newcastle demonstrates what a talent the Premier League champions have on their hands
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be happy with their 1-0 win, but they need to start scoring more
It’s not looking good for Vincent Kompany after Burnley dropped points late on against Luton
Blunt Chelsea can’t rely on Palmer
Of course, winning football matches is the most important thing for Chelsea at the moment. And a feisty clash with west London neighbours Fulham was never going to be easy.
But once again, Mauricio Pochettino was left to rely on the composure of Cole Palmer to slot home Chelsea’s winner at the weekend. The Argentine will need goals from elsewhere if he hopes to overturn the Blues’ 1-0 deficit to Middlesbrough in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Kompany should be panicking
Penny for the thoughts of Vincent Kompany. The Burnley boss was minutes away from triumphing 1-0 over relegation rivals Luton on Friday, but Carlton Morris’ injury-time equaliser denied the under pressure manager some much-needed respite.
Five points adrift of 17th, Burnley face Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal in their next four games. Unless the Clarets can find an upset from somewhere, they may already be all but down by the end of February.
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