Here’s what happened this weekend in the Premier League, in case you missed it…
READ ALL ABOUT IT
• Saturday: Emotional day for Leicester, Spurs edge Palace & more
• RIP Srivaddhanaprabha: Leicester fans honour former owner
• Sunday: Salah scores again, City wins Manchester derby & more
• Sportsnet at the Etihad: Man United stuck in time warp after derby loss
WATCH MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Cardiff City 2, Brighton & Hove Albion 1 || Newcastle United 2, Bournemouth 1 || Leicester City 0, Burnley 0 || Southampton 1, Watford 1 || Huddersfield Town 1, West Ham United 1 || Crystal Palace 0, Tottenham 1 || Liverpool 2, Fulham 0 || Chelsea 0, Everton 0 || Arsenal 1, Wolves 1 || Manchester City 3, Manchester United 1
WHAT STOOD OUT
Khun Vichai: Forever in Leicester’s hearts
In their first home game since the passing of their owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in a tragic helicopter crash, Leicester City drew Burnley 0-0 at King Power Stadium on Saturday. James Sharman, Danny Dichio and Craig Forrest discuss what was a very emotional match for the Foxes.
Liverpool much more than just Salah
If Liverpool is to become champions of England for the 19th time this season – and first since 1990 – then Mohamed Salah will more than likely play a starring role.
The Egyptian international has six goals this term, his latest coming in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Fulham at Anfield. In total, Salah has 38 goals in 48 league appearances since joining Liverpool in the off-season of 2017. After a slow start (by his standards) to the campaign, Salah is coming good, and might even come close to matching his prolific record from 2017-18, when he finished as the Premier League’s top scorer with 32 goals.
But Salah isn’t the only driving force behind Liverpool’s unbeaten campaign thus far. Manager Juergen Klopp has done a good job of rotating his squad and going to his bench when he needed, thus keeping his players fresh and ready at all times. Bought from Stoke City during the summer, Xherdan Shaqiri has floated in and out of the team, but has managed to have an impact whenever he’s started. It was his second-half goal that put the game away against Fulham – this after the Swiss international up the winner for Salah at Huddersfield Town and scored at home versus Cardiff City in recent weeks.
Anchored by Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s defence has also been impeccable. Sunday’s win marked the club’s seventh clean sheet of the campaign. The Reds have conceded just five goals through 12 games, and they have yet to give up more than one goal in a single game.
Man City cruise through Manchester derby
James Sharman, Craig Forrest and Danny Dichio break down City’s win over United in the Manchester derby.
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BEST GOAL
David Silva opens the scoring in the Manchester derby with a right-footed shot inside the box.
BEST MATCH
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s 86th-minute equalizer allowed Arsenal to earn a point at home against Wolves and capped off an entertaining, end-to-end match that saw both teams attack with fury.
BEST MOMENT
Leicester City holds a memorial service and moment of silence for former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha prior to kickoff against Burnley.
BEST TWEET
WORTH REPEATING
“Without him, none of [the 2016 Premier League title win] would have been possible.” – Former Leicester City player Alan Birchenall addressing the crowd at the King Power Stadium prior to kickoff about Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s influence.
THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
City out-passed and outshot United, and held a decided advantage in possession (68 to 32 per cent) over their city rivals. But it was City’s pressing play to win the ball back, and their patience when in possession that was the difference, which was best exemplified in Ilkay Gundogan’s goal that sealed the victory.
CRISIS CLUB OF THE WEEK
This week’s Crisis Club is not struggling in the standings, but rather off the field. The panel looks at Manchester City and what’s going on there.
THE BIG QUESTION
Every week, Sportsnet’s soccer panel will debate The Big Question:
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SIX PACK OF STATS
• Alex Pritchard is the first Huddersfield Town player to score at home in the Premier League in 726 minutes since Tom Ince scored against Watford in April.
• Southampton’s Manolo Gabbiadini scored his first Premier League goal at St. Mary’s stadium on Saturday since last October.
• Newcastle United’s Salomon Rondon scored more than once in a Premier League game this weekend for just the second time in his career.
• West Ham United’s Felipe Anderson has scored three goals in his last two Premier League games, as many goals as he managed in his previous 24 appearances in Europe’s big five leagues.
• Mohamed Salah has scored against 19 of the 21 Premier League opponents he’s faced with Liverpool. He’s only failed to score against Manchester United and Swansea City.
• Anthony Martial is the seventh Manchester United player to score in five consecutive Premier League games. He joins Eric Cantona, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) David Silva, Manchester City: A sublime effort from the Spaniard who opened the scoring and was the main orchestrator of City’s bristling attack.
2) Salomon Rondon, Newcastle United: The Venezuelan bagged a brace to give the Magpies their second win of the season and lift them out of the relegation zone.
3) Andy Robertson, Liverpool: Helped the Reds record another clean sheet and collected an assist.
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