Another week and another Manchester City defeat – what is going on?!
That’s five in a row now and it is undoubtedly advantage Liverpool in the title race. So, of course, the two of them meet next weekend in one of the biggest games of the season to date.
Ruben Amorim got his welcome to England moment down at Ipswich Town as his new-look Manchester United side clung on for a draw in Suffolk, while Arsenal quelled talk of a crisis with a routine turning over of Nottingham Forest.
Defeat by Chelsea was the final straw for Leicester as they sacked Steve Cooper and Brighton’s bid for an unlikely Champions League berth was strengthened by an impressive win away at Bournemouth in the south coast rain.
Wolves upset the odds with a 4-1 hammering of Fulham but there is still cause for concern for a lot of the relegation candidates with Crystal Palace and Southampton coughing up leads to give up crucial points.
In the latest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport pick out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League over the weekend.
Manchester City suffered a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat at the weekend
Ruben Amorim (right) got his Man United reign underway with a 1-1 draw against Ipswich
Liverpool must extend Mo Salah’s contract
I don’t want to hear about his age, about the amount of money he’s after. None of that.
Liverpool, if Mohamed Salah is to be taken at his word, not having a contract offer on the table for their best player and arguably the Premier League’s best player this season is laughable.
‘We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club. I’m probably more out than in,’ he told a small group of reporters after his match-winning brace at Southampton sent his team eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
‘You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.’
From Liverpool’s point of view they are looking to future proof, make the non-emotional decisions about whether their highest paid player is worth extending.
Is Salah worth extending? Perhaps one of the most asinine questions I’ve ever posed.
Salah has no plans to retire. He isn’t slowing down. He’s on track to be the star man en route to a Premier League title. He likely wins all the Player of the Year awards come May. A Golden Boot may well be coming his way, too. Heck, he could even guide them to Champions League glory in this form.
Mohamed Salah revealed after scoring twice against Southampton that he hasn’t been approached over a new contract
Salah scored two vital goals at St Mary’s as Liverpool came from behind to seal a 3-2 win
Now, in late November, he has 12 goals and 10 assists through 18 games for Liverpool in all competitions this season. So, make that 223 goals in 367 games for the Reds since joining in 2017 in a deal from Roma.
His two at Southampton, and if it wasn’t for the post would have been a hat-trick, as clutch as they come in a title race, too.
And yet in 37 days he could, theoretically, sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas team and his Liverpool story will be on it’s final pages.
‘I’m very professional. Everybody can see my work ethic,’ he said.
‘I’m just trying to enjoy my football and I will play at the top level as long as possible. I’m just doing my best because this is who I am and I try to give it all for myself and for the club.
‘We will see what happens next.’
If what happens next isn’t a new contract, Liverpool will be left ruing the total mismanagement of one of their all-time greats.
Reds boss Arne Slot (left) has so far got the best out of Salah with Liverpool top of the table
Amad impresses Amorim in new position
Ruben Amorim promised to shake things up but, even so, not many expected to see Noussair Mazraoui as a centre back and Amad Diallo at right wing back.
Amad in particular was a fascinating case study and one that will continue to intrigue as weeks roll on.
The Ivorian struggled for minutes under Erik ten Hag and many had earmarked him for one of the two inside forward/No 10 roles in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system.
But it is perhaps at wing back where Amad can find his quickest route to regular minutes, even if his showing at Ipswich was both good and bad.
He had to do a lot of defensive work – and still got caught out on occasion. There was one moment early in the game where he thundered into a sliding challenge on Leif Davis which caused a roar from the away end.
What he offers from that wide position is a genuine attacking threat when United break and that was on full display when his one-two with Bruno Fernandes allowed him to burst down the left with purpose and then a pinpoint cross to Marcus Rashford and it was 1-0.
Even late on when United’s attack had become anaemic, Amad took responsibility from a deeper role to surge into the box, dancing around flailing legs to eventually see his fizzing effort blocked.
United boss Amorim hailed the performance of Amad Diallo (right) against Ipswich
Diallo assisted United’s only goal against Ipswich and was a constant attacking threat
‘I think he was very good,’ Amorim said after. ‘Since these three days, he improved so much defensively.
‘The opponent that he had all the team was the left back, so it’s like a winger that follows the left back. It’s so much easier I think, because he doesn’t have to think, “can I jump on the centre back or no?”.
‘You just follow one guy, and go forward with the same guy, it’s man-to-man in that area. He was so focused on everything. I think he did a great job.’
He ranked first for clearances (5), second for sprints (22), second for top speed (33.93mph) and first for dribbles (5). Amad also got the crucial assist for United’s goal.
Amad may well prove to be a temporary fix as Amorim gets to grips with his squad and who can best carry out his tactics but the Ivorian has certainly given his new coach food for thought.
In games where United are set to dominate and attack is their best form of defence, Amad could well prove to be the key.
Diallo also impressed with his defensive duties playing in a new right wing back position
Southampton’s rising star steals the show
He may have ended up on the losing side on Sunday but if anyone hadn’t been paying attention: Tyler Dibling is the real deal.
Dibling is only 18 and while he is very shy and introverted away from the pitch, he plays with a freedom and a swagger onit that suggests Southampton have nurtured the latest superstar attacker from their academy.
‘He’s 18 years old and he plays like he’s playing in the park,’ team-mate Jack Stephens said post-Liverpool.
‘I’ve run out of words to describe him because he’s so, so good.
‘I really believe he can do whatever he wants in the game and I hope that’s with us for a long time. He’s got the ability to impact games against any team in the league.’
Playing off the right he’s maturing before our eyes and already has shown he can rise up in the biggest games having earlier given Diogo Dalot a headache when Manchester United came to town.
Mail Sport went out to cover England’s Under-21s in the last international break and Dibling received his 21s debut in the camp, playing against Spain and then the Netherlands.
England coaches were effusive in their praise of the Southampton teenager, with one suggesting that the sky is the limit for him to go to the very highest level if he continues on his trajectory.
If Southampton go down expect every club in the Premier League to be fighting it out to get hold of one of the most exciting young wingers in years.
Southampton youngster Tyler Dibling was a class act despite being on the losing side against Liverpool
Dibling’s maturing before our eyes and already has shown he can rise up in the biggest games
Ruud’s the man for Leicester?
So, slumped in 16th, just two wins from 12 and defeat by Chelsea proving the final straw as Leicester City sacked Steve Cooper, it’s back to the drawing board.
And so here comes calls to turn to Ruud van Nistelrooy – who never left Old Trafford in his four-game interim spell in charge of Manchester United in which he beat Cooper’s Leicester twice – or Lee Carsley, another who impressed as interim boss of England recently.
But, to point out the obvious, Van Nistelrooy had players on hundreds of thousands per week, while Carsley theoretically had England’s finest players at his disposal. This fire-fighting job with Leicester is a completely different challenge altogether.
That is why Leicester must not overthink this appointment and go for David Moyes, a man who is available immediately and is a tried and trusted candidate.
Leicester rank 16th in home form and 16th in away form with an identical one win, two draws and three defeats in each metric.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy is among the favourites to be named the new Leicester City head coach
Van Nistelrooy twice beat Steve Cooper’s Leicester team during his interim stay at Man United
Leicester pulled the trigger on sacking Cooper after Saturday’s defeat against Chelsea
They must become harder to beat, for one, and alter to a set-up that gives them a fighting chance to score.
Against Chelsea on Saturday they had one shot on target… which came via a Jordan Ayew penalty in the 94th-minute.
As for the other end of the pitch they are conceding an average of 1.92 goals a game this season, with one clean sheet from 12 games.
Moyes is not the glamour appointment that gets anyone excited but if Everton or Wolves were to make a change tomorrow he would be top of their list and should be top of Leicester’s. Do the right thing – or it’s Championship for 2025-26.
Everton’s dismal goal woes continue
Make that two wins from 12 and now three successive games without a goal for Sean Dyche’s Everton.
They are 15th, two points above the relegation zone in late November, but their stalemates against West Ham and Brentford, where they had a man advantage in the latter for a long spell, should be sounding an alarm.
As they have in recent seasons, Everton look stagnant in attack, shots aplenty but no meaningful chances created and Expected Goals (xG) does little to inspire much confidence that things will turn around without a roll of the dice in the January transfer market.
‘We’ve been working endlessly since I’ve been here to attack better,’ Dyche said after the 0-0 with Brentford.
Make that two wins from 12 and now three successive games without a goal for Everton
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin (left) hasn’t scored in the league since mid-September
‘We have got very good players here and it is my responsibility to make them better or, if I can’t make them better, make them as a unit win.’
But individuals aren’t improving, not really, if we’re being honest. Only Southampton (9) have scored fewer goals than Everton this season and one of those goals came in a 1-0 win over the Toffees at the start of the month.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin hasn’t scored in the league since mid-September, while Iliman Ndiaye, who joined from Marseille for £16.9million in the summer, has mustered two league goals this season.
A look at the stats sheet shows Everton have had 61 shots at goal in this goalless three-game stretch. Only 14 of those were on target – 23 per cent.
In those games they created what stats gurus highlighted as a total of four ‘Big Chances’. The quality is a real concern.
Dyche and Everton are in a real state of flux amid ownership change but if there is one thing that could not be clearer – failure to land a reliable goalscorer in January could prove their undoing.
