Talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
RONALDO DOES IT AGAIN
Once again Manchester United put in a below-par performance. Once again they needed David de Gea saves to bail them out, and once again Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue with a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur moved into the Premier League top four after a second-half blitz of goals from Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn fired them to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Newcastle United on Sunday.
Spurs are now level on 54 points with Arsenal but their London rivals have two games in hand and can move back into fourth place when they visit Crystal Palace on Monday. Newcastle are 15th with 31 points, nine clear of the relegation zone.
Tardó siete meses, pero al final llegó: Santi Muñoz convirtió su primer gol vistiendo el jersey del Newcastle Sub 23, en la victoria 4-3 sobre el West Bromwich Albion.
El delantero mexicano aterrizó en las Urracas con bastantes expectativas mediáticas, debido a la similitud de su nombre con la del ficticio Santi Muniz de la película "Goal!", quien en busca de la gloria mundial empieza su carrera europea, justamente, en el Newcastle.
Ever listen to a pundit or so-called football expert talk about goalkeepers? It's usually pretty evident with their first few sentences that they have no clue what they are talking about.
Their understanding of technique is minimal, and if you hear any mention of saves made, save percentage or any similar stat, you might as well stop listening (or reading).
The tweet below is a perfect example of a stat that seems useful but doesn't reveal much about the quality of a goalkeeper:
Chelsea played its first home match since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government and disqualified by the Premier League — leaving the club in limbo and immediately needing a new owner — on Sunday, and it was fittingly against Newcastle, which has been steadily climbing the table since its own new owners flexed their financial might in the January window.
A handful of times during the season, there are results that can only cause one reaction among neutral fans: laughter. Such matches are rare because they usually involve a larger club losing in embarrassing fashion. Arsenal's 5-0 loss to Manchester City in August certainly falls in this category, as does Manchester United's 5-0 defeat to Liverpool and 4-1 loss against Watford.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to bring on Kepa Arrizbalaga late in the 2022 EFL Cup Final was not unprecedented — both for Chelsea and the footballing world. Kepa had replaced Mendy in the waning moments of extra time in the UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal earlier in the year, saving two penalties in Chelsea's shootout victory.
In fact, the Spaniard is an above-average keeper in his career when it comes to saving penalties.
Christian Eriksen made his first professional appearance on Saturday for Brentford eight months after collapsing from a cardiac arrest during the Euros. In the 52nd minute of Brentford’s game against Newcastle the entire crowd inside Brentford Community Stadium stood on its feet to welcome Eriksen back to the field.
A month ago, Manchester City's trip to Everton on Saturday looked like a game which would just be one more step on Pep Guardiola's side's inevitable march to the Premier League title.
But a series of results in recent weeks makes the game not only a vital one for City, whose lead over Liverpool has been cut to just three points, but also has left Everton in desperate need of points in their battle for top flight survival.