Five Things: Mourinho proves a point, Liverpool right to make changes, Eriksen the key for Tottenham

Mourinho
Mourinho

That’s another weekend in the Premier League record books and it once again provided loads of areas for debate.

Manchester United managing to delay Manchester City’s march to the Premier League title by at least another week with a thrilling comeback victory at the Etihad Stadium was the undoubted highlight, but there was plenty happening elsewhere too.

Sportslens takes a look at five big talking points from the weekend.

Mourinho proves a point

United boss Jose Mourinho will have been entitled to have a little chuckle in the direction of his doubters over the weekend.

United looked in trouble at 2-0 down against City and the title victory looked like it was going to be confirmed.

Mourinho inspired his team to come back and stop City in their tracks and this win will give them confidence that they can eventually overhaul their local rivals in the future. City will still win the title, but the last week has shown that they are far from being the greatest team we’ve ever seen.

Pickford boosts England claims

England manager Gareth Southgate was at Goodison Park for the Merseyside derby on Saturday and he’ll have been impressed by a couple of smart saves from Everton’s Jordan Pickford.

His clean sheet on England duty against the Netherlands last month will have helped his cause and his shot-stopping ability was on show in the first-half against Liverpool.

Pickford currently looks a better option than both Joe Hart and Jack Butland and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him handed the number one jersey in Russia.

Liverpool drop in quality was inevitable

Liverpool made five changes from their Champions League victory over City and they inevitably suffered a drop in quality.

Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke came in for Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, while Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were replaced by Nathaniel Clyne, Ragnar Klavan and Georginio Wijnaldum, respectively.

Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp will have been happy to take a point from the derby game, particularly if Liverpool safely navigate Tuesday’s second leg against City.

Hernandez quality shines through

Javier Hernandez’s goal grabbed an important point for West Ham United at Chelsea and highlighted that he can still be an asset in the Premier League.

His move to the Hammers hasn’t really worked out, but the 30-year-old remains one of the best finishers around.

Hernandez has been linked to Newcastle United in recent weeks and that would potentially be a great move for both the striker and the Magpies.

Eriksen shines again

Christian Eriksen’s double for Tottenham Hotspur at Stoke City on Saturday means he now has 14 goals and nine assists this season.

He makes Spurs tick, linking everything together for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. The visitors came alive in the second-half as soon as the Dane sparked into action.

There are many big clubs who would love to buy Eriksen, but Spurs would be crazy to consider selling perhaps the most important member of their squad.

Arrow to top