

Some observers look at Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou and see the same thing: stubbornness. But there is a big difference between them. With Tottenham, you have no idea what to expect. With , you know exactly what to expect. A whole lot of nothing in the first half. Some flickers of fight in the second. Dismal results against middling Premier League teams. Decent ones against teams at the top and the bottom. This was Amorim’s first home game against a “big six” club, but it might as well have been away. He parked the bus. His nominal 3-4-2-1 was actually a 5-4-1. United started with no No 9 and just one real forward, Alejandro Garnacho. It’s three months since any of their strikers scored in the league. Their only goal threat, Bruno Fernandes, has been shunted back to central midfield. Where once they had wingers, now they have full-backs. Even when the bus moves, the handbrake stays on. **Tim de Lisle**

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1. Sun hasn’t yet shone on Son’s career
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Sometimes you can spot the moment when a player’s legs give out. For Gary Neville, it happened in an away game at West Brom on New Year’s Day 2011, as Jerome Thomas tore him apart. He has since said he should have been sent off and was almost relieved when he was taken off midway through the second half. He never played again. But for others, the decline is slower or at least less pronounced. Son Heung-min has not had a good season. He’s 32 but has played a lot and there is a general sense he may be on the way out. But perhaps he has been written off prematurely. He was devastating in the first half at , admittedly against Ben Godfrey, whose performance was reminiscent of Neville at the Hawthorns, and he was a threat again in the second half against Bournemouth. Perhaps, used sparingly, there is still some spark left. **Jonathan Wilson**

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2. Leaders’ slow start shows league’s strength
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Arne Slot is confident the energy levels that dropped in the first half against Southampton will not be an issue when Liverpool face Paris Saint-Germain at a fired-up Anfield on Tuesday. The head coach said that, with hindsight, he “would have started differently” against the Premier League’s bottom club given the exertions of the midweek victory in Paris. But such are the demands of winning a  title. Slot retained eight of the team that started at Parc des Princes while Luis Enrique rested eight for PSG’s 4-1 win at Rennes. Andy Robertson got to the heart of the issue. “The \ League is more competitive – that’s no disrespect to the French league,” he said. “That’s two games now we have struggled against Southampton who are bottom of the league. You can’t take any team lightly.” **Andy Hunter**

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3. Competitive Cucurella charges up Chelsea
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Chelsea were grateful for another big contribution from Marc Cucurella during their unconvincing 1-0 win over Leicester. With Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu injured and the rest of Enzo Maresca’s attack short of inspiration, Cucurella’s fifth goal of the season was the difference. “Marc has something that is difficult to find,” Maresca said. “He is clever. He scored goals against Wolves and  and he is probably the smallest one in the team and this showed you how intelligent he is because he is in the right position. He is playing like an attacking midfielder and is doing fantastic. You also have to realise we are playing without a No 9. Both Nicolas and Guiu were deadline day injuries. Pedro \ is doing fantastic – he was running everywhere today. This spirit is what we need.” Cucurella is a spiky competitor and Chelsea need more players with his defiance and desire. **Jacob Steinberg**

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4. Lack of firepower cost Gunners the title
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Last season Arsenal’s tilt at the league title went all the way to 19 May. This season it fizzled out 10 weeks earlier. It’s happened because they scored only one goal in three winnable games. It’s happened because they couldn’t start their first-choice front three, because they didn’t have an arsenal. In the long and spicy history of their trips to Old Trafford, this may have been the first time neither starting XI included a centre-forward. The false 9s were so false that they had only shot each – off target from Mikel Merino, more accurate but no more incisive from Joshua Zirkzee.  were left playing intricate passes along the edge of United’s box, in a flashback to the last days of Arsène Wenger. Mikel Arteta has made them much better than they were then, but not quite good enough. **TdL**

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5. Competitive Cucurella charges up Chelsea
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Chelsea were grateful for another big contribution from Marc Cucurella during their unconvincing 1-0 win over Leicester. With Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu injured and the rest of Enzo Maresca’s attack short of inspiration, Cucurella’s fifth goal of the season was the difference. “Marc has something that is difficult to find,” Maresca said. “He is clever. He scored goals against Wolves and  and he is probably the smallest one in the team and this showed you how intelligent he is because he is in the right position. He is playing like an attacking midfielder and is doing fantastic. You also have to realise we are playing without a No 9. Both Nicolas and Guiu were deadline day injuries. Pedro \ is doing fantastic – he was running everywhere today. This spirit is what we need.” Cucurella is a spiky competitor and Chelsea need more players with his defiance and desire. **Jacob Steinberg**

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6. Lack of firepower cost Gunners the title
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Last season Arsenal’s tilt at the league title went all the way to 19 May. This season it fizzled out 10 weeks earlier. It’s happened because they scored only one goal in three winnable games. It’s happened because they couldn’t start their first-choice front three, because they didn’t have an arsenal. In the long and spicy history of their trips to Old Trafford, this may have been the first time neither starting XI included a centre-forward. The false 9s were so false that they had only shot each – off target from Mikel Merino, more accurate but no more incisive from Joshua Zirkzee.  were left playing intricate passes along the edge of United’s box, in a flashback to the last days of Arsène Wenger. Mikel Arteta has made them much better than they were then, but not quite good enough. **TdL**

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7. Watkins haunts former club again
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From Griffin Park’s favourite son to Gtech bogeyman, Brentford have seen quite enough of Ollie Watkins. His name caused Thomas Frank’s face to fall, an already low mood descending further. “I like Ollie, he’s a good player,” said Frank, who offered nothing more. Last season,  on an occasion soured by a confrontation with an abusive Bees fan. This time, Watkins was booed from his first touch, and most loudly when celebrating the deflected strike that decided a grapple of a game. Having put seven points of daylight between his current and former clubs, the focus was Villa’s next target, the top five. “We still have to play Forest, we still have to play Newcastle,” Watkins said. “We have City as well. If we win those games we are right up there. We are now focusing on the Champions League but the boss is always telling us to concentrate on the Premier League as the most important competition.” **John Brewin**

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8. André excels in Pereira’s engine room
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Wolves have a Brazilian who will be the subject of summer transfer interest, and his name is not Matheus Cunha. The central midfielder André has become integral to Vítor Pereira’s side and helped Wolves dominate in the middle of the park against , forcing David Moyes to change formation by putting an extra man into that area of the pitch, where André and João Gomes were getting the better of James Garner and Idrissa Gueye. The 23-year-old André, who has 10 caps for Brazil, is a tenacious player, eager to break up attacks and possesses the stamina to keep going. He had a 97% passing accuracy on Saturday night and repeatedly won the ball back. Defensive midfielders are highly sought-after and André will attract suitors because he has the quality to play for a team much higher in the table than 17th. **Will Unwin**

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9. Sarr soars as Palace cope without Mateta
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Crystal Palace continued their winning run despite missing their injured star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Oliver Glasner’s side instead started with Eddie Nketiah up front and the former Arsenal forward should have opened the scoring within the first two minutes, receiving a lovely through pass from Adam Wharton before firing his effort straight at the Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer. For all of Nketiah’s linkup play, Palace’s biggest goal threats were Eberechi Eze and Ismaïla Sarr. The former struck a post with a deflected cross and the latter eventually broke the deadlock via a sublime chip to secure all three points with seven minutes to go. The Senegalese winger then recreated Mateta’s trademark corner flag celebration. Speaking after the game, Glasner said: “\ celebration just shows the spirit in the group, the togetherness, the great characters we have.” **Xaymaca Awoyungbo**

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10. Sarr soars as Palace cope without Mateta
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Crystal Palace continued their winning run despite missing their injured star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Oliver Glasner’s side instead started with Eddie Nketiah up front and the former Arsenal forward should have opened the scoring within the first two minutes, receiving a lovely through pass from Adam Wharton before firing his effort straight at the Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer. For all of Nketiah’s linkup play, Palace’s biggest goal threats were Eberechi Eze and Ismaïla Sarr. The former struck a post with a deflected cross and the latter eventually broke the deadlock via a sublime chip to secure all three points with seven minutes to go. The Senegalese winger then recreated Mateta’s trademark corner flag celebration. Speaking after the game, Glasner said: “\ celebration just shows the spirit in the group, the togetherness, the great characters we have.” **Xaymaca Awoyungbo**
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