Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table despite managing just a 1-1 draw with Burnley this weekend.
If anything, that makes it even more frustrating for Tottenham that they couldn’t take any points from their abysmal trip to Anfield, as this would have been the perfect chance to close the gap.
And so, the season is another weekend older, and we’re another game closer to Chelsea being crowned champions.
Here’s five things we learned from the latest round of fixtures:
5 – Tottenham don’t have enough depth at the back, and there’s absolutely nothing Mauricio Pochettino can do about it. Ben Davies doesn’t have Danny Rose’s pace, and Eric Dier is no longer a centre-back. It was inevitable that Liverpool would try and exploit them down that left-hand side, but Spurs aren’t going to convince two players of Jan Vertonghen and Rose’s quality to come in as cover and sit on the bench for most of the season.
4 – Georginio Wijnaldum deserves credit for Liverpool’s win over Spurs, not just Sadio Mane. It was Wijnaldum who played a brilliant ball into the returning Senegal star for the second goal, though Mane is obviously key to the Reds’ revival having only just come back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
3 – Antonio Conte needs to play Cesc Fabregas instead of Nemanja Matic. The Spaniard was dropped to the bench again, and Matic was poor – yet again. N’Golo Kante seems to do both his and Matic’s roles, and against Burnley, the Serbia international didn’t make a single successful tackle.
2 – It’s only a matter of time for Claudio Ranieri before the board can no longer back him. The teams around him are picking up points here and there, with Swansea and Hull showing the most fight. For Leicester, defeat to the Swans was their fifth on the bounce. Jamie Vardy is in woeful form, Islam Slimani missed chances, and Kasper Schmeichel, regardless of his pretences of being furious, hasn’t been good enough himself – especially for Martin Olsson’s goal.
1 – Anthony Martial has exactly the mentality which Jose Mourinho has accused him of lacking. It was great to see the Frenchman’s celebration against Watford, and it must have sent a message to his manager. The winger is undoubtedly playing for his future at Manchester United, and this was the perfect statement.
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