The Premier League is back, and it's come out swinging. There's narratives unfolding everywhere you turn and there's no sign of it stopping. It's full steam ahead from here for months to come.
This weekend saw Mohamed Salah pull an error-strewn Liverpool eight points clear of the pack by firing two goals against a somehow more-error-strewn Southampton, who make a habit of this kind of thing from the foot of the table. Salah underlined his importance to Liverpool on the pitch yet again but threw his club under the bus off it as he publicly revealed his disappointment at not yet receiving a new contract offer.
Chelsea went about their business effectively again and are moving from strength to strength under Enzo Maresca, who went to his former club Leicester to take three points. The man who succeeded him at the King Power, Steve Cooper, has since lost his job after only 15 games in charge, the last five of which were without a win.
Rúben Amorim's much-anticipated first fixture in charge of Manchester United at Ipswich saw some awkward moments and plenty of old habits brought to the surface. He knows he's got his work cut out to turn United's fortunes but will hope next time, for the media duties he already doesn't want to do, to not be interrupted by Ed Sheeran.
The wackiest moment of all came at the Etihad Stadium. Tottenham, who in their last fixture lost at home to Sheeran's Ipswich, rolled into the home of champions Manchester City, who hadn't been beaten in 52 home matches, and won 4–0 in one of the biggest shocks in the league's history. Pep Guardiola might have signed a new contract, but that is no magic fix.
Here's what we learned from around the Premier League across a weekend for the ages.
The End of Manchester City's Era of Dominance Is Becoming Clearer
Five losses in a row does not happen for Pep Guardiola, and does not happen for Manchester City. Plenty will point to City making a habit of faltering in midseason only to steam through and win it all towards the end, but Tottenham's victory on City's own turf, in such convincing fashion, only added credence to this time feeling entirely different.
Their famed intensity is waning and intensity has underpinned their success under Guardiola. Intensity is brought about through burning desire to win, and this is a group of players who have won it all all together for what feels like forever. Guardiola has extended his contract, but City face big decisions on how best to break up a group of players who are reaching the end of their cycle, while maintaining the success they've become accustomed to.
Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones, initially signed in 2015 and 2016, plus Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker, signed in 2017, are all the wrong side of 30 and showing signs of decline in their own different ways, or have been making noises about wanting new challenges. Even Ballon d'Or winner Rodri was speaking with a gaze towards Real Madrid last week. This an entire spine of a team that will need regeneration soon regardless of whether fortunes turn this season, and the nature of Tottenham's emphatic win made more people realize this is coming.
Tottenham Hotspur Continue to Haunt Man City
Spurs's win in Manchester was a massive surprise, but simultaneously, entirely predictable. Tottenham have made a habit of being City's bogey team dating right through Guardiola's era of dominance. The night where VAR sent City out of the Champions League in 2019 lives long in the memory but might finally have been topped on Saturday in what was a Spurs win for the ages.
It was Ange Postecoglou's finest moment but the challenge remains for Tottenham to continue this feeling and performance no matter the opponent, and we're talking inversely. Tottenham's difficulty, as has proven the case, is beating teams that they're expected to beat—the teams that sit in and stay difficult to break down.
"It’s always great to play great teams because they always want to play. When you play lower teams, sometimes it’s not," said Dejan Kulusevski after an outstanding performance. Tottenham's, and Postecoglou's, challenge is to get it all right no matter which style faces them. That's what makes soccer so interesting—sitting in and being defensive can be just as fruitful against the right opponent as an open attacking display.
Rúben Amorim Finds Out Exactly What He's Up Against at United
Manchester United's new manager cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at Portman Road, as well as in his media duties talking about the game afterwards. His team were lucky to escape with a point despite Marcus Rashford's opening goal within 81 seconds.
What came after was a regression from his group of players, many of whom will not survive in the latest chapter of squad transition. Amorim credited his players for having the mindset to get into his tactical philosophy, but old habits die hard and the same problems that spelled the end of Erik ten Hag remain.
"I think you will see an idea," was one of Amorim's first remarks in his new position about the changes we could expect to see. In credit to him, we did see a new tactical identity, but his concerns about United being careless in possession and being unable to deal with the intensity of the Premier League were again exposed against a team newly promoted from the Championship.
This is not a quick fix for Manchester United. More patience required.
London's Chasing Pack Get Back on Track
After a 1–1 draw between the teams prior to the international break, Arsenal and Chelsea each got back to winning ways in their latest fixtures ahead of equally favorable runs in the weeks to come.
There's an upcoming busy period both domestically and in Europe but plenty of reason to suggest that both teams are well set up to keep pace in the race to qualify for the Champions League and potentially capitalize on any slip ups leaders Liverpool make. Ethan Nwaneri's emergence and first Premier League goal brings hope that Arsenal might have their very own version of Cole Palmer in the pipeline.
Arsenal and Chelsea have identical league records so far with six wins and 22 points, while they both sit one point behind faltering Manchester City. If the champions fail to defeat at Anfield on Dec. 1, which looks entirely possible at current state of play, they both have the opportunity to leave City in their wake. They will rarely get a better chance to finish ahead of them or end their respective league title droughts.
Salah Underlines His Legendary Status and Uncertain Situation
Arne Slot is setting an incredible pace. Liverpool sit top of the Premier League and Champions League group stage at this point and while they remain imperfect in some aspects, the most important matter at this stage is picking up points. That's exactly what they're doing and they embark on one of those famous weeks at Anfield, with Real Madrid and Manchester City next to visit in blockbuster fixtures.
Slot deserves massive credit for building on the work of Jürgen Klopp, even while uncertain contract situations with key players remain issues under the surface which occasionally spring back to prominence. His ability to continue to extract the best from his players should be commended and the Dutchman deserves all the plaudits coming his way.
But those employing Slot owe it to him to make his situation easier. Mohamed Salah again made a point of going public about his dissatisfaction at the lack of an incoming extension offer from the club, something he has made a habit of throughout the season so far, providing yet another reminder that the upcoming six months could be the final six months of the Egyptian King's Merseyside reign.
"We are almost in December and I haven't received any offers yet to stay in the club. I'm probably more out than in," Salah told reporters. With every week that passes, one of the league's greatest ever provides more moments to cherish laced with reminders that it's up to his club to keep these moments coming. There are certainly no signs that Salah is letting up at any point soon.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as What We Learned in Premier League Round 12: Mohamed Salah Delivers Again, Sends Liverpool a Message.
