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This weekend that saw a few exciting games also saw Manchester City take their first loss of the season. Liverpool surged to the top of the Premier League. Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United took all 3 points to keep the race for Champions League places as interesting as ever. Everton and Watford played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, whereas Fulham, Southampton and Huddersfield all suffered defeats, confining them to the relegation places as we approach the halfway mark of the PL season.
Here we take a look at some of the major talking points from last weekend's action in the Premier League.
#1 Chelsea and Kante show Manchester City are not Invincible
The biggest game of the weekend was between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge. Kante's goal (a rarity in itself) and David Luiz's header led Chelsea towards a rare victory over last year's Champions. Both the teams started without specialized strikers in their starting XIs. But, looking at the result, City were the team which missed that focal point in their attacks. Sergio Aguero is injured and Gabriel Jesus has been misfiring for a long time now.
If City want to be the best in Europe and the world, then they could do with a striker who will lead them to Glory in the Champions League.
#2 Liverpool & Manchester United gearing up for the big one
Liverpool and Manchester United prepared for next weeks big game at Anfield by scoring 4 goals each. For Liverpool, this game came as a confirmation that Mohamed Salah has found his form again. Salah scored a hat-trick, moving to the top of the PL scoring charts. Klopp will be glad that Salah has found his groove as Liverpool go into the festive period where they have to face Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City in a period of under 3 weeks.
Manchester United's 4-1 win against bottom-placed Fulham will give them confidence before the big game next week. Goals from 4 different goalscorers in Young, Mata, Lukaku and Rashford will give the side a huge boost ahead of the game against arch-rivals Liverpool.
For Liverpool though, a win against United will confirm their status as the PL pacesetters. On the other hand, a win for Manchester United, will ensure that Mourinho's United have a say in this season's title race.
#3 Crucial few weeks for bottom clubs
Fulham, Huddersfield & Southampton; the bottom 3 clubs all suffered defeats over the weekend. They all have different issues to solve and very less time to solve them. Going into the hectic festive period, all of these clubs have some crucial games against other relegation candidates.
The challenge for each one of them is not to be left too far behind before the January transfer window begins. Fulham and Southampton are both under new management and both will be looking to make a positive impact in the upcoming weeks.
#4 West Ham have a good chance to push for top 7
Pellegrini's West Ham took off to a slow start going into the season but now sit comfortably just outside the top 10. Their next five games are against Fulham, Watford, Southampton, Burnley and Brighton. On paper all of these games are winnable, and if West Ham want to push for the European places this season, they should aim to get the maximum points from these fixtures.
Hernandez, Anderson and Snodgrass are all in good form; with Perez and young Diangana impressing in their substitute roles. West Ham might not get a better chance to make a push for the European Place, this season.
#5 Arsenal and Spurs need to keep up the momentum
Arsenal and Spurs are trying their best to keep up with the Top 2 Premier League teams, but the overall feeling is that they are operating at a level just below than the top two teams. It will be important for both of them to keep up their momentum if they are to have a say in this seasons title race.
Arsenal have a few defensive woes for the upcoming weeks which is compounded by the injury to Rob Holding. Koscielny is back into the fold and might be looking to start his first PL game this weekend.
Both of them have the quality to trouble any side but need to be more consistent in their ruthlessness and take the games away from the opposition especially against the teams they are expected to beat on paper.
