Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend, featuring twists in the title race and Brentford’s brilliant forward pair.
Is the Premier League already a two-horse race?
It’s far too soon to make sweeping statements on the title race but are we already heading towards a two-horse race? Liverpool lead the running and opened up their advantage to five points with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa. It’s been a record-breaking start for Arne Slot, with no manager in Premier League history having won more points after 11 games (28). Only once have Liverpool won more points at this stage of the season (2019/20) and the Reds ended that campaign as champions.
Manchester City are faltering and the defeat at Brighton made it an unprecedented four-in-a-row in all competitions under Pep Guardiola. The Citizens, however, remain the team to beat even when navigating a troubled period.
But what of Arsenal? Dubbed potential champions before a ball had been kicked, the Gunners sit nine points behind Liverpool after a draw at Chelsea this weekend. Mikel Arteta’s men lack a ruthless touch in the final third and are without a clean sheet in seven Premier League games. Arsenal can not afford to drop further behind.
Salah showing no sign of slowing down
Liverpool will not want the contract situations surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to rumble on this season. Arne Slot’s side are flying right now but the noise around the key trio – each out of contract in the summer – is impossible to ignore.
For Van Dijk and Salah, Liverpool face the dilemma of offering lucrative deals to two players who remain elite but, at 33 and 32, for how much longer? However, Salah in particular is showing a few signs of slowing down, with the Egyptian leading Liverpool’s lightning counter-attacks against Aston Villa.
Mo Salah this season… just WOW. 👑 pic.twitter.com/tyAObGh0Sm
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 9, 2024
Another goal and assist for Salah took him to double figures on each metric across all competitions. He’s the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach that milestone this season and remains as good as ever. A phenomenal professional and athlete, there’s still miles in the tank.
Delap can put himself in England contention
Liam Delap is coming of age at Ipswich Town this season. The 21-year-old was sold in the summer after finding Erling Haaland in his path to first-team football at Manchester City and has made an excellent start to the season.
In a struggling side, Delap has scored six goals in 10 league starts and netted a predacious winner at Spurs this weekend. His goal earned Ipswich their first Premier League win since 2002 and Thomas Tuchel will be keeping a close eye on his development.
At 21, there are few forwards in the division with such potential and Delap appears on the right path towards international honours. With Ivan Toney out of the picture in Saudi Arabia and Callum Wilson ravaged by injuries, the queue behind Harry Kane has reduced of late.
Brilliant Brentford duo continue to fly under the radar
Are Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa the best Premier League partnership no one is talking about? When Ivan Toney set sail for Saudi Arabia in the summer, the big question mark around Brentford was who would replace his goals. Having passed the audition during Toney’s suspension last season, Mbeumo and Wissa have continued to thrive in tandem.
The latter scored twice in the 3-2 win over Bournemouth at the weekend to take his total to seven for the season, just behind Mbeumo (8). Wissa has now scored 15 non-penalty goals in the Premier League in 2024 with only Erling Haaland (19) having managed more.
Pure Poetry.
Wissa with today’s winner 🔥🇨🇩 pic.twitter.com/23PrZcA4z0
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) November 9, 2024
The duo sit in the top five scorers in the Premier League this season and have helped Brentford to the best home record in the division. Underrated.
Amorim should utilise Van Nistelrooy
Ruben Amorim was cryptic on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s future at the weekend, insisting he will hold talks with the Dutchman before a decision is made on his role at Old Trafford. Van Nistelrooy was brought in to support Erik ten Hag before taking the reins on an interim basis, where he has led Manchester United to a four-game unbeaten run.
His future is up in the air but Amorim could do worse than keep Van Nistelrooy around. He clearly commands the respect of the dressing room and has overseen an improvement in the atmosphere around the club.
Ruud van Nistelrooy concludes his spell as Man Utd interim boss with a 3-0 win over Leicester City ✅
It’s Ruben Amorim time ⌛#MUNLEI pic.twitter.com/L2GsVIo5oJ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 10, 2024
The question mark, perhaps, is Van Nistelrooy’s individual ambitions as a coach but he has stated his desire to help Manchester United in any capacity. His axing is likely but could be an early own goal from Amorim.
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