Manchester City are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League after beating Arsenal and seeing rivals United fall at Chelsea.
Here, Sportsmail’s Ralph Ellis shares 10 things he learned from the weekend’s action throughout the leagues.
Kevin De Bruyne continued his excellent form, setting Manchester City en route to victory
1) Keeping N’Golo Kante fit will be vital for Antonio Conte if Chelsea are to make any sort of attempt to defend their title. The Frenchman’s return made all the difference in the 1-0 win over Manchester United as he filled the gaps in midfield, winning the ball back 11 times. It also enabled Cesc Fabregas to concentrate on a more attacking role. He set up six chances during the game, the most he’s achieved all season.
Keeping N’Golo Kante fit will be vital if Chelsea are to make any sort of title defence
2) Liverpool’s decision to make Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wait for a starting place while they put him through intensive fitness work seems to have paid off. The former Arsenal midfielder marked his first Premier League start since a £40m transfer with a goal in the 4-1 win at West Ham. He also recorded a top sprinting speed of 21.6mph – the fastest he’s achieved since Premier League partners Chyron Hego/Tracab began tracking running in 2013. He’s still not quite the fastest this season – that was logged by Leroy Sane in Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Chelsea.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got on the scoresheet too, netting his first league goal for Liverpool
3) Serge Aurier’s Tottenham career made the worst possible start when he was sent off at West Ham but the Ivory Coast international is quietly rebuilding his reputation. The 24-year-old, who cost £23m from Paris Saint-Germain, played his third Premier League game in a row in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. He set up two chances for his team mates, as well as fighting most duels (12) and making most tackles (5).
4) What was Michael Oliver thinking about when he asked his barber for the haircut that was on display as he took charge of Manchester City and Arsenal? Bordering on a 1990s Paul Gascoigne look, the 32-year-old gave the impression he likes being the star. It was the first time he’d been in charge of a game involving a top-six club since September, a long wait for the man who got most of the big games last season.
Michael Oliver’s haircut gives the impression that he likes to be the star of the show
5) Jack Butland, who is edging closer to replacing Joe Hart as England’s No 1, might be fortunate his performances aren’t coming under the same sort of scrutiny. The Stoke goalkeeper has now conceded 16 goals in his last six Premier League games and has kept only two clean sheets all season. While his defenders made mistakes to give Riyad Mahrez the chance for Leicester’s second goal in the 2-2 draw, Butland shouldn’t be happy at how the ball went under his body.
6) It is astonishing that Chris Hughton’s name doesn’t get linked with jobs at bigger Premier League clubs, given the depth of his CV. Brighton’s 1-0 win at Swansea meant he had taken the club from 22nd in the Championship when he took over in December 2014, to eighth in the Premier League, on a net spend of around £20m per season. The 58-year-old also took Newcastle to 11th before being harshly sacked by Mike Ashley, and has experience of handling big players from his years as Tottenham’s No 2.
It is astonishing Chris Hughton doesn’t get linked with jobs at bigger Premier League clubs
7) After several full starts Tom Ince seems to finally be finding his feet in the Premier League since his £11m move to Huddersfield. The 25-year-old son of former England captain Paul is encouraged by Terriers’ boss David Wagner to show his attacking flair and he’s flourishing in that atmosphere. Ince has missed only two minutes of Huddersfield’s Premier League campaign so far, and had most shots on target in the 1-0 win over West Brom.
8) Norwich boss Daniel Farke is facing a bit of a test after losing three games in a row – the latest away to Bolton who were bottom of the table before their 2-1 win. The 41-year-old, who had no significant playing career and never managed higher than Borussia Dortmund’s reserve team, blamed bad finishing for the defeat. But after starting the season bottom following the first five games, he has to prove he can mount a second recovery.
9) Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst deserves credit for his approach to the FA Cup, bearing in mind what promotion to the Championship would mean for the League One leaders. He chose not to rotate his side even though they faced only National League opposition in Aldershot, making only three outfield changes to the side that had lost their unbeaten league record a week earlier at Peterborough. He was rewarded with a 5-0 romp.
Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst deserves credit for his approach to the FA Cup
10) Hereford’s FA Cup exploits in the 1970s effectively launched John Motson’s broadcasting career, and their latest adventure won’t do any harm to the managerial ambitions of Peter Beadle. The 45-year-old, best remembered for a successful spell as a striker at Bristol Rovers in the early 1990s, has already won back-to-back promotions since he took charge in 2015 when the Phoenix club was launched. Beating Telford in front of a full house 4,700 crowd means his side must now be guaranteed a live TV game with a significant cash windfall to go with it – plus the sort of exposure enjoyed by the Cowley brothers at Lincoln last season.