Manchester City had a golden chance to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the league but misfired as not even $AUD558m worth of talent could buy Chelsea a goal.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s argument with a journalist said it all about his side’s fortunes this season while Everton’s 6km difference proved why they might just stay up.
Review the biggest moments in the latest edition of Premier League Talking Points!
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CITY LET GOLDEN GUNNERS CHANCE SLIP AS TOP TWO MISFIRE
Just as the tag of title favourites looked to have finally affected Arsenal’s young guns, they were handed a massive let-off by the defending champions.
Pep Guardiola’s team selection will be questioned after he left Kevin De Bruyne on the bench.
The decision to let Joao Cancelo leave on loan to Bayern Munich this week also looks increasingly bizarre as 18-year-old Rico Lewis toiled when forced to deputise out of position at left-back.
City have already lost more league games this season that they did in the entirety of last season.
Guardiola criticised his side’s lack of hunger to retain their title after they had come from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-2 last month.
But a public berating has not had the impact he desired as City are currently well off the heights they have hit in the Guardiola era.
KLOPP’S FROSTY ANSWERS SAYS IT ALL ABOUT LIVERPOOL’S FORTUNES
First, it was Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s bizarre claim that Ruben Neves’ third goal in a 3-0 win for Wolves did not count because “it was the first time they passed the halfway line in the second half.”
Wolves’ social media team took the mickey out of the struggling German boss, posting a full-time graphic stating the result was 2-0 with Neves’ goal evidently not counting.
But in the post-match press conference, we got yet another clear sign that Klopp’s seventh-season syndrome is in full swing.
James Pearce, a journalist for The Athletic, asked the Liverpool boss a question regarding how he prepares his teams for games and their mentality from the get-go, a reasonable query given the Reds conceded twice in the first 15 minutes.
However, Klopp bit back in astonishing fashion.
“It’s very difficult to talk to you to be 100 per cent honest, I would prefer not to do that,” Klopp said.
“You know why, for all the things you wrote. If somebody else wants to ask that question, then I’ll answer it.”
In a major twist, Pearce has since stated Klopp was “reacting to something he had read elsewhere in the past few days” and “nothing I’d written.”
It’s yet another sign of the increasing pressure Klopp is under as he looks to salvage what’s left of Liverpool’s season in the second half of the campaign.
$558M OF TALENT … BUT NO GOALS?
Enzo Fernandez made his Chelsea debut after becoming the most expensive player in British football history with a $186m move from Benfica.
The Argentine midfielder’s arrival capped a record-breaking $558m January spending spree from the Blues.
Chelsea’s total spending on signings in their first season under new ownership has now eclipsed half a billion, yet they are still languishing in ninth in the table.
For all the money spent, Graham Potter’s men still lack a natural goalscorer. Chelsea have scored just 22 goals in 21 league games this season. Kai Havertz is their top scorer with five, but the German showed he remains ill-suited as a number nine by missing a hat-trick of first-half chances against Fulham.
The solution for Todd Boehly’s consortium appears to be even more spending with a deal for RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku reportedly agreed for the summer.
But it looks increasingly likely that the Frenchman may have to sacrifice Champions League football next season if he does make the move to Stamford Bridge.
THE 6KM FIGURE PROVING THE DYCHE DIFFERENCE
Sean Dyche’s first game as Everton boss couldn’t have gone any better, with two of his former Burnley troops combining to earn the Toffees a much-needed three points.
Dwight McNeil whipped in a free-kick which was thumped home by James Tarkowski to send Goodison Park into raptures as the win moved Everton to within one point from safety.
Dyche’s immediate impact since arriving the club was evident on the pitch, with one statistic in particular standing out like a sore thumb.
According to The Athletic, Everton ran a collective 6km further than any of their other fixtures this season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Onana and McNeil were the main men behind the Toffees’ highest running distance, with the trio covering more ground against Arsenal than any Everton player had done this season.
For all the talk of Everton being dead and buried, Dyche could etch his name into club folklore should he keep the club afloat in the Premier League for another season.
UNLIKELY TRIO DARE TO DREAM OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURE
Chelsea and Liverpool’s struggles see them looking up at Brighton, Brentford and Fulham in the table.
Brighton have shrugged off the loss of their former manager Potter mid-season and the sales of Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard to Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal respectively.
Despite being made aware of their place in the Premier League’s food chain, the Seagulls continue to thrive.
Kaoru Mitoma is likely already near the top of the big six’s wishlist for the summer after the Japanese’s fifth goal in seven games secured a 1-0 win over Bournemouth to go sixth.
Brentford are just one point behind after rolling over Southampton 3-0 to extend their unbeaten run to nine league games, with Fulham are a further point back in eighth.
Manchester United and Newcastle’s progression to the League Cup final has likely ensured that sixth will be good enough for a place in Europe next season.
On current form, there is no reason for Brighton, Brentford and Fulham not to dream.
