7 Truths: Mane's magic, Sanchez stars and Spurs Spurs it up
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Updated 11/02/2017 at 22:22 GMT
Seven things we learned from Saturday's Premier League action, with Liverpool and Manchester United looking impressive, Arsenal needing some luck and Spurs, well, being Spurs...
Sadio Mane, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial
Image credit: Eurosport
1. Magical Mane is the pick-me-up Liverpool desperately needed
It has been a bleak, bleak 2017 for Liverpool but they finally got their act together with a 2-0 win against Tottenham – and it was no coincidence that Sadio Mane did the damage. The forward missed eight games due to the Africa Cup of Nations and the only one Liverpool won was in the FA Cup against Plymouth. He played in last weekend’s 2-0 loss away at Hull after returning from Senegal duty but the Spurs showdown represented a true return to form, for both Liverpool and their most dangerous player.
Assisted by some seriously horrible defending by Spurs, more on that later, Mane opened the scoring on 16 minutes when he utilised the electric pace Liverpool missed so badly to run onto a gorgeous through-ball from Gini Wijnaldum and finish past Hugo Lloris. Less than two minutes later, Liverpool’s famously intense press forced a mistake from Eric Dier high up the pitch and Mane finished after Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana were both denied by Lloris.
The French keeper then promptly made two more excellent saves to stop Mane gobbling up a hat-trick inside 23 minutes. It was a whirlwind of menace from Mane, who threatened to completely take apart one of England’s best teams. With Liverpool having dropped down the table in his prolonged absence, it was also a reminder that whatever Jurgen Klopp achieves this season, Mane will be the inspiration behind it. Their title hopes likely departed when Mane got on the plane to Gabon, but second must be a real target.
2. Spurs hit their glass ceiling
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Tottenham's Dele Alli looks dejected after the match with Tottenham's Harry Kane
Image credit: Reuters
Just when people are talking up Tottenham as the only credible challengers to Chelsea… Spurs do seem to have a habit of serving up disappointment just when they are building up a real head of steam and the shocking aspect of the Liverpool defeat was not the scoreline so much as the disastrous defending which caused it. Ben Davies had a complete nightmare, while Dier and Victor Wanyama were not far behind him. But this was in truth a system failure by Spurs, with rank displays all over the pitch.
It is not the kind of breakdown you expect from a team managed by Mauricio Pochettino, who is so meticulous in his preparation and gets so much effort and energy out of his players. But it is exactly the kind of result you expect from Spurs when they travel to face a side of real substance:
On their day, Tottenham can very easily look like the best team in England. At times, they play with such clarity and purpose that you convince yourself there must be a title coming down the line for this talented young team. And yet, evidence of a glass ceiling is emerging. Now nine points behind the leaders having played a game more, their hopes of challenging suffered a huge blow on Saturday.
3. Arsenal need Sanchez more than they need Wenger
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Arsenal's Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Hull City at the Emirates Stadium in London on February 11, 2017.
Image credit: AFP
All the talk around Arsenal at the moment surrounds Arsene Wenger’s future, with Ian Wright’s loose lips on radio on Friday night sparking a bit of a frenzy – one which Wenger downplayed after the win over Hull as he insisted he has not decided to retire at the end of the season. But events at Emirates Stadium suggested that if Arsenal could tie one prominent figure down to a new deal, it would not be their manager.
Once again, Alexis Sanchez elevated himself above his team-mates by providing the cutting edge for Arsenal in their 2-0 win over Watford, moving onto 17 goals and eight assists in 25 league games. Admittedly, his first should have been disallowed for an obvious handball and his second only arrived from the spot after Sam Clucas had earned a red card for a handball of his own. But Sanchez, with 18 months left on his deal and talks apparently at an impasse, is clearly the most important person at Arsenal right now and a better guarantee of future success than the man in the dugout.
4. Manchester United’s things that make you go Mmm
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Manchester United's Anthony Martial celebrates scoring their second goal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata
Image credit: Reuters
There was a point in the first half at Old Trafford, when Heurelho Gomes had kept out a header from Zlatan Ibrahimovic from close range, when it felt like being one of those games where United have 30 shots and draw 0-0. But then the three players operating behind the big Swede combined to beautiful effect to give them the lead. Mkhitaryan played it to Mata, who backheeled it back to Mkhitaryan and darted forward in the box. Mkhitaryan laid it wide to Martial and his cross was tucked home beautifully by Mata.
The Spaniard in particular was an effervescent force for United, full of trickery in the box as he knitted things together from his position on the right. Martial then doubled the lead with a really clever finish after cutting in from the left, sending a message to his manager, who has been all too happy to bench him this season. It was an aggressive and positive United performance from the off and the alchemy across the attack was spot on. They've still got some work to do but Jose Mourinho has an attacking blueprint for the rest of the season. Speaking of which...
5. United looking good for top four, despite Jose's sixy football
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho acknowledges fans
Image credit: Reuters
There was much fanfare at the final whistle of Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Watford as, for the first time since the start of November, Jose Mourinho’s side managed to get out of sixth place in the Premier League. Two hours later they were back there, as Liverpool beat Tottenham. It has been a bizarrely long run, especially given United are now 16 games unbeaten in the league, stretching back to that humiliating 4-0 defeat to Chelsea on October 23. It was their last meaningful defeat in any competition and yet they have been unable to move up the table at all.
Clearly the embarrassment inflicted by Chelsea had a galvanising effect on Mourinho, who has coaxed quite the response from his side. The competition for the top four is going to be fierce this season – two of Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United will have to drop out, assuming Chelsea don't – but few would bet against Mourinho’s men given their all-conquering form of the past three-and-a-half months. They might be back in sixth as Saturday draws to a close, but they continue to serve notice of their ability to climb the table quickly.
6. Southampton may have found their Man
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Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini celebrates scoring their second goal
Image credit: Reuters
Manolo Gabbiadini did not arrive at Southampton with much of a reputation for goalscoring despite his £17m transfer fee: the 25-year-old never reached double figures in a Serie A season during his spells with Atalanta, Bologna, Sampdoria and Napoli, where he played for two-and-a-half years. But he has made quite the impact at Saints, with his two goals against Sunderland on Saturday making it three in two games – the same as Gabriel Jesus at Manchester City.
His first looked a handball but the second was sublime, as he took a touch and span inside two markers before burying his shot. Southampton have Charlie Austin injured and Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long haven’t found the net with regularity, so there is a vacancy for a talismanic striker. Maybe in Gabbiadini they have that player. A 4-0 win at the Stadium of Light puts them 11th in the table and suddenly, after three consecutive defeats, they look upwardly mobile again.
7. Sam Allardyce is in the fight of his life
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Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce looks dejected after the game
Image credit: Reuters
A 1-0 loss for Crystal Palace against Stoke City gave Sam Allardyce officially his worst ever start with a Premier League club, with one win from his eight matches in charge leaving the Eagles stuck in 19th, level on 19 points with Sunderland. Hull are a point higher on 20 while Sunday's huge relegation scrap between Leicester and Swansea, both two points above Allardyce's men on 21, will make the extent of Palace's plight much clearer by the end of the weekend.
Allardyce has been in some tight spots before, particularly with Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers, where he battled relegation, yet this season is the one which will test his credentials to the limit. Despite his England nightmare, Big Sam was seen as a safe pair of hands who was too savvy to suffer relegation from the Premier League. That hard-earned reputation is in big danger.
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