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By NATHAN SALT Published: 23: 00 AEDT, 23 December 2024 | Updated: 23: 06 AEDT, 23 December 2024 4 View comments Liverpool sent another pointed reminder to those doubting their endurance in this title race by blowing Tottenham away in a game where they could conceivably have scored 10. Arne Slot’s side are the toast of the league this season and they look like a runaway train led by undoubted Player of the Season Mohamed Salah. Meanwhile it was a tale of familiar woe for Manchester City and Manchester United, both of whom fell to defeats that become less and less surprising by the week. It was an opportunity missed for Chelsea away to an Everton side that are becoming tougher to break down, while Aaron Ramsdale and his four-fingered gloves helped give new Southampton boss Ivan Juric a platform to build from after a lesser-spotted clean sheet on the road for the Saints. Elsewhere there were key talking points around Sandro Tonali and Newcastle, the form of Gabriel Jesus and whether Bournemouth are legitimate Champions League contenders. In the latest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League over the weekend. Liverpool could have scored 10 against Tottenham in a lively weekend of festive football There were more tales of woe for the Manchester clubs, with both United and City losing Chelsea will be glad to see the back of Goodison Park after being thwarted there once again OK, there is no Rodri. OK, Erling Haaland is a shell of himself right now. OK, Manchester City are losing games. What is most striking about this version of Manchester City, and it was on full display in the defeat at Aston Villa, is how mentally fragile they look. This side look shot mentally. Villa’s deserved win in Saturday’s early kick-off means City have already lost nine games in all competitions this season. Only in 2019-20 (12) and 2016-17 (10) has a side managed by Pep Guardiola lost more matches in a season (both with Manchester City). It is now five successive league away games without a win (one draw and four defeats) which is a new low under Guardiola. I have been writing in this column for weeks that they are still in the title race, they surely figure it out. Forget that. It’s now a real battle to finish inside the top four. Since November, City have been the worst-performing team in the Premier League managing just four points from eight games. Even Southampton, who picked up a point at Fulham on Sunday, have managed more with five points from their eight games. ‘Step by step, ’ Guardiola said at Villa Park. ‘We have nice personalities in the team and, sooner or later, we are going to find it. ’ But in truth, they concede and heads are dropping where they never would in seasons gone by. Manchester City look mentally shot and are the league's worst team in the last eight games They appear too mentally fragile and now face a battle to even finish inside the top four There will come a moment, if it hasn’t already, where the message inside Bournemouth’s dressing room will be that the Champions League is a realistic target and a not a pie-in-the-sky dream. This season alone Andoni Iraola has masterminded wins over Arsenal (2-0), Manchester City (2-1), Tottenham (1-0) and Manchester United (3-0). They also went on the road to earn impressive draws at Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, two of their challengers for European football next season. Bournemouth’s blows landed on the so-called Big Six are no fluke. They’ve deserved each and every one of those ‘scalps’ if we can call them that these days. Expand the data out and you see that Bournemouth’s 280 shots in the Premier League this season is second only to Manchester City, while their Expected Goals of 34. 59 x G ranks third only to Liverpool and Chelsea. Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Bournemouth owner Bill Foley ditched Gary O’Neil and went all out for Iraola. No one is questioning that now. The Spaniard was finding his feet last season but still guided the Cherries to their highest ever Premier League points tally (48). Now the goal is to crack Europe - and anyone doubting their credentials is, frankly, a fool. ‘It feels great, back-to-back wins at Old Trafford - my second time here and my second win, ’ Antoine Semenyo told BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday. ‘We know we have a good team and we are taking it game-by-game. I am not going to say too much and I don't want to jinx it. ’ Bournemouth know people won’t truly believe in them at this point in the season… perhaps that’s exactly how they want it, too. Bournemouth can aim for the Champions League - they've already beaten four of the 'Big Six' They are being rewarded for keeping faith in Andoni Iraola, who has them fifth in the league If entertainment value is what you’re after, go and get a Tottenham ticket. In the past three games they have provided five goals at Southampton (5-0), seven goals versus Manchester United (4-3) and nine goals against Liverpool (3-6). Double figures at the City Ground next then? For a neutral they are the Great Entertainers with their unwavering boom-or-bust style that is not allowing them to make any tangible progress. ‘Within five minutes of this game starting, we all knew Liverpool were going to win this comfortably, ’ Sky pundit Jamie Carragher moaned of Tottenham’s style on Sunday. ‘It was so easy for Liverpool, and no matter how many injuries they [Spurs] have got, it shouldn’t have been that easy, and that comes down to the manager not relenting on how he wants his team to set up. ’ Postecoglou has bristled at criticism from the likes of Carragher about his style of play, but there is something to the stubbornness with which he won’t lean on a more pragmatic game plan. ‘I get the idea it’s not about a style of play. Every manager who comes in has a different way of doing things, ’ Carragher added. ‘You’ve got to have your idea, you’ve got to have something that’s a little bit different that makes you special. But when you’ve got your best team, not when you’re down to the bare bones. Ange Postecoglou will get himself sacked if he so stubbornly continues his boom-or-bust style ‘Nobody has ever won anything playing like that. ’ With eight defeats from their first 17 league games this season, it constantly feels like one step forward and two steps back for Postecoglou and his side. They lost 4-3 at home to Chelsea, lost 6-3 at home to Liverpool, while they also lost the opening North London derby on their own patch to Arsenal. They were 2-0 up away to Brighton earlier this season but lost 3-2. Add in leads they have thrown away, such as the one against a Fulham side that ended up reduced to 10 men and it’s an endless cycle of boom and bust. Focus specifically on the month of December and Tottenham are dead last for goals conceded in the Premier League (12), dead last for shots faced (85), dead last for shots on target faced (37), dead last for Expected Goals against (13. 5), and dead last for Big Chances faced (25). ‘Are you not entertained? ’ Postecoglou said after the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United during the week. Everyone, especially opposition managers, is - and that’s the problem. Yes, they are entertaining, but they have lost eight of their last 17 games and are vulnerable It would have been easy for Sandro Tonali to question everything after a chastening first year in English football, which included a ban for betting violations. But now that attention is solely on his football, a small-but-significant tweak to his positioning is allowing him to show his class. Eddie Howe has the Italian operating as a No 6 while Bruno Guimaraes has pushed on higher up the pitch as a No 8. The results are paying off tenfold. ‘It certainly helped both of the players and, more importantly, it helped the team, ’ former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day. ‘Tonali will sit there in midfield - he is very good at that and I think he feels very important in that role. He is certainly a better player for it because he has the skills to do that. ‘A lot of the time, when he gets the ball, within one or two touches he likes and wants to play the ball forward. So for the forward players, that is much better. ’ Against Ipswich it was his team-mate Alexander Isak that stole the headlines with an impressive hat-trick. But it was Tonali that ran that game and he was a player that Ipswich simply had no way to nullify or get close to. Moving Sandro Tonali to number six, from which he can spray passes, has paid dividends He endured a tough first season in English football but is showing his quality regularly now Against the Tractor Boys he went 59/68 on accurate passes, and made 10 recoveries, only being dribbled past once. ‘The understanding of both Tonali and Guimaraes in their roles was absolutely superb, ’ Shearer added. With Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham an unknown quantity by the week - and more often than not these days a disappointing quantity - Newcastle look like they have finally found their wings with the top four firmly back in sight. When Gabriel Jesus backed up his hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup with two more days later against the Eagles in the Premier League, it looked like he had finally found the formula for success. ‘I always work hard, ’ Jesus said. ‘When a player is playing constantly it is different, [in terms of] confidence and physicality. ‘I'm happy to get more chances. I'm trying to keep my mind strong and help the team. ‘I am happy to be back scoring. I want to keep scoring. ’ Jesus became the first player to score five consecutive goals in all competitions for Arsenal since February 2011 when Robin van Persie managed it. Factor in too that Jesus’ five goals this week came from just 10 attempts on goal. At the weekend, no Arsenal player had more shots than him, or shots on target, and only Gabriel Martinelli had more touches in Palace’s box than him. He was at the heart of everything. But prior to the Palace double header, Jesus had just one goal to his name this season. Gabriel Jesus has hit his stride but he needs to prove he can thrive every week - his flurry of goals is a flash in the pan Mikel Arteta and Arsenal must decide if they want to bring in another striker to score regularly The 27-year-old’s flurry of goals is exciting but there is also a reticence to get too excited in case it is a flash in the pan. No 9 has been a problem position for Arsenal and in recent weeks they have struggled to carry much of a goalscoring threat from open play. Arsenal will undoubtedly still be scouring the market for a striker as they look to be the team taking the fight to Liverpool in the title race, but perhaps their best option is right there under their nose. ‘I'm happy to get more chances but it is down to me to put myself in a good position to score, ’ Jesus added. ‘I know I can score. I just have to put myself in a good position to finish the action, like today. I understand I have to be more in the box to finish the action. ’ Now the onus is on Jesus to prove his formula can work week in, week out… and not just against Crystal Palace. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group