7 Truths: Jamie Vardy's new party, Marcus Rashford must start

The fears were needless. Jamie Vardy, blue cast on his arm, is just as lethal as ever. Leicester continue to employ the counterattack to great effect, and Vardy is sharp. He pounced on a ball over the top after a delectable passing combination from Daniel Amartey, Riyad Mahrez and the sublime Danny Drinkwater, and lasered it into the back of the net to get his 2016-17 account up and running. Fitness permitting, he'll get himself another 20 goals this season - and his impact in front of goal will have impressed the watching England manager Sam Allardyce.

Even if it had finished goalless, Marcus Rashford would have emerged from the clash with Hull City boasting a boosted reputation. The 18-year-old immediately committed defenders upon his introduction from the bench before he grabbed a dramatic winner at the death. It may only have been a two-yard tap-in, but it was the ultimate finishing touch on a superb cameo.

Who he replaces is a bigger quandary. Wayne Rooney was ineffective, but provided the match-winning assist, while Juan Mata also impressed. But United lacked a cutting edge, one that slowly reappeared when Rashford graced the pitch. He deserves to start in their next match: the Manchester derby.

Antonio Conte’s job in the short term is simply to bring the feel-good factor back to Stamford Bridge, and that’s certainly been achieved so far. Tactically, he’s made only tweaks to the team, with N’Golo Kante coming in for Cesc Fabregas, with no major changes in personnel during the summer. Conte is certainly making his mark though, not just as a motivator. Chelsea are smothering opponents at home and playing on the counter-attack away - and best of all, he appears to be getting the best out of Eden Hazard. Conte may looked like a tortured soul on the touchline, but he can be very happy with the impact he’s had at Chelsea so far.

Mauricio Pochettino was forced to rip up ‘plan A’ during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool when Kyle Walker hobbled off. On came summer signing Vincent Janssen, pushing Harry Kane into a No.10 role and Dele Alli deeper still. While it’s far too early to appraise the Dutchman’s claims to a first team spot, it does appear that a 4-2-3-1 featuring him and Kane together will not be fruitful. The main issue: they are too similar. Strike partners typically have skillsets that complement each other and not a complete like-for-like. Effectively, they are two hard-working forwards with decent movement, strong hold-up play, average pace and – presumably – great finishing.

Sadly for Tottenham fans, they’re not seeing the best of Kane or Alli in the current system. Sure, Pochettino didn’t plan on bringing on Janssen so soon, but in future he may be better off trialling a 4-4-2 – allowing, in theory, the attacking trio more freedom.

Four points may seem a healthy haul from a voyage to north London, but Liverpool will be bewildered at how they failed to beat both Arsenal and Tottenham. After decimating the Gunners – before their late collapse and hanging on to win 4-3 – they played Spurs off the park for the majority of proceedings at White Hart Lane. Their passing was slick, with the decision to deploy Roberto Firmino in a lone attacking role seemingly fully justified. The Brazilian may not grab the goals, but his hold-up play, energetic pressing and smart passing caused Spurs endless problems.

Which is why it’s so baffling that: a) they can’t see out a victory, and b) they threw away those points against Arsenal by losing to Burnley. Chuck in the 4-0 preseason win over Barcelona, then the subsequent 4-0 loss to Mainz, and it would appear this Liverpool side is heading for a topsy-turvy season.

Liverpool have started the season better than Spurs and Arsenal. They have four points, the same as Arsenal. Spurs have five. Given the form of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, those could well be the teams scrapping over the top four. They must cut out the lapses.

Santi Cazorla's classy display against Watford showed how much he was missed at the end of last season. Arsenal have had a terrible injury record in recent years and the problem disrupts their continuity continually. But when everyone is fit they have an exceptional team - as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez showed as well - so could push for the title. Arsene Wenger confirmed that Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez are on the verge of joining as well which should give them a boost in defence and going forwards. But the key for Wenger is simply keeping his stars off the treatment table if he wants to have any realistic chance of winning the title.

David Moyes has been pretty negative over the past few weeks. He's admitted that Sunderland will be in a relegation scrap just two games into the season, and later bemoaned the fact his club cannot compete with the big boys in the transfer market. However, on the positive side, he has Jermain Defoe. The 33-year-old's penalty put his side within five minutes of their first win of the season - before Jay Rodriguez cruelly stole a point for Southampton. So if Moyes is right, and the Black Cats do end up fighting relegation, Defoe will give them half a chance of staying up. Last season he scored 18 goals and his team just might need a similar effort this time.