Manchester United’s woes continued on Sunday night after losig to Tottenham Hotspur. | AFP
Liverpool kept their rivals at bay at the top of the English Premier League this weekend. But not before they were given a scare by Wolves.
While the Reds huffed and puffed, the Gunners may have found the answer to a deepening striker crisis. And for a large part of their match against Leicester it looked like the decision not to buy a striker in January would come back to haunt them.
There was even talk of buying a free agent to fill the gap.
Thankfully for Gunners fans, Mikel Merino showed that he could do the job. The defensive midfielder netted twice against the Foxes to suggest that he could be a potential short-term fix.
Having fired the opening salvo in the ongoing battle with the Reds at the weekend, it was over to Arne Slot’s men.
It looked like Liverpool would cruise to the win after taking a 2-0 lead into half-time. But Wolves have proven to be made of sterner stuff in recent outings. They clawed their way back into the match with a second-half goal to ensure a nervy finish for the Reds.
Liverpool did not manage a single shot in the second stanza. That is a shocker for a team boasting the attacking talents of Mo Salah, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo.
There must have been fears among Reds fans of a repeat of the late Goodison fireworks in midweek as the match dragged into six minutes of extra time. But there was to be no repeat of the late drama that saw the Reds come unstuck at the home of their great rivals.
There is suddenly a nervous tension underpinning the mood at the league leaders.
Even the seemingly unflappable Slot has shown that he is not immune. But it is job done for now and Reds fans can revel in the fact that they are still seven points clear at the summit.
Everton built on that emotional last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park with a Palace raid at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Manchester City warmed up for the return leg of their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid with a 4-0 thumping of Newcastle.
The Magpies have been flying high of late, so the win will fill Citizens with the belief that they can create magic at the Bernabeu and overturn a 3-2 deficit. City soared into the top four on the back of an Omar Marmoush first-half hat-trick.
What a way to announce yourself on the big stage.
City’s form has been up and down this season, however.
Speaking of up and down, Chelsea again looked flat in their defeat against Brighton that dropped them to sixth.
They must be sick of the sight of the Seagulls, who also sent them packing from the FA Cup last weekend.
Bournemouth continue to enjoy a barnstorming season in fifth. But third-placed Nottingham Forest were the latest to come up short against a resurgent Fulham.
Spurs came out on top in the battle of fallen giants against Manchester United on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils continue to struggle in front of goal and look shaky in defence. They created goalscoring chances against Spurs but were caught napping for James Maddison’s goal.
More worrying for United fans will be the insipid performances. United just don’t play exciting football. Just ask club legend Gary Neville.
Ange Postecoglou may have bought himself some breathing room with the Spurs win. The Aussie manager has shown a newfound willingness to step away from his gung-ho attacking approach.
Amorim remains steadfast in his. United have now lost 12 of their 25 games so far this season. The last time they went on such a wretched run was in the 1973/74 season, when they were relegated.
Amorim’s comment that this is the worst Manchester United team in the club’s history suddenly doesn’t seem misplaced.