MX23RW : Saturday, December 14 00:49:55| >> :60:2860:2860:

Five talking points from this weekend's Premier League action

Edinson Cavani lifted Manchester United with his brace this weekend while Manchester City got back among the goals at the expense of Burnley.

Tottenham returned to the top, Sheffield United remain rooted to the bottom and Manchester City got back in the groove.

Meanwhile, Chris Wilder found himself accused of selfishness by Jurgen Klopp.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.

Klopp takes aim at Wilder

Jurgen Klopp called Chris Wilder "selfish" after Liverpool's 1-1 draw at Brighton (Peter Powell/PA).

Liverpool boss Klopp had already made clear his frustration over fixture scheduling and Premier League clubs not being able to make five substitutions this term prior to his side's 1-1 Saturday lunchtime draw at Brighton – but as he did so again in a heated post-match interview at the Amex Stadium; a new element was a dig at his Sheffield United counterpart Wilder. Asked about clubs voting against the five-substitute rule, Klopp called Wilder "selfish" before adding: "they have three subs and one point if I am right." It seems unlikely the two bosses will be on each other's Christmas card lists.

More misery for the Blades

Chris Wilder's Sheffield United remain winless in the Premier League this term after a 1-0 loss at West Brom (Lindsey Parnaby/PA).
Chris Wilder's Sheffield United remain winless in the Premier League this term after a 1-0 loss at West Brom (Lindsey Parnaby/PA).

If that made for a less-than-enjoyable start to the weekend for Wilder, things got worse later in the day when his bottom-placed side were beaten 1-0 at West Brom, who had been the only other side in the division yet to win this season. That made it nine defeats in 10 games for the Bramall Lane outfit and things really are starting to look worrying now in the troubled follow-up to their impressive 2019-20 campaign.

Tottenham on top again

The team currently leading the division are Jose Mourinho's Tottenham, who moved back above Liverpool on goal difference on Sunday following a 0-0 draw at his old club Chelsea. The Portuguese played things down afterwards, insisting his side are not in the title race, describing them as "not a horse... just a pony". It remains to be seen how they fare over the full distance – but what Mourinho, a three-time Premier League winner with the Blues, might achieve with Spurs is an increasingly interesting question.

Cavani makes an impression

Also on Sunday, Edinson Cavani gave the clearest demonstration yet since his his move to Manchester United last month that he can still make a significant impact. Having come off the bench at half-time at Southampton with his side 2-0 down, the 33-year-old Uruguay striker proceeded to tee up a Bruno Fernandes goal and then add a brace of headers as the visitors sealed a 3-2 win.

City find their shooting boots

Manchester City also showed some notable goalscoring form as they thrashed Burnley 5-0 on Saturday. The rout, in which Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick and Benjamin Mendy and Ferran Torres also netted, was a considerable boost for Pep Guardiola's men, with them having previously scored only 10 goals across the opening eight games of their league campaign.

ID:424413: cacheID:424413:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10037:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne celebrates scoring against Roma in Serie A on November 29, 2020
Read Next:
European roundup: Napoli draw inspiration from Maradona to beat Roma
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!