This weekend in the Barclays Premier League may have been a bit more predictable than the last, but it certainly wasn’t shy of standout moments.
Here are the top five things we learned from this past weekend.
Every good young player is from Belgium
You’re probably tired of hearing this. But it’s true.
England supporters may be hoping and praying that Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj pulls on a Three Lions shirt in the near future. But much like every other young player that has caught your eye in the last three years, he’s Belgian.
In fact Belgium has 11 Premier League players in the squad that will face Croatia on Friday, although Januzaj isn’t one of them – and it would be 12 if Christian Benteke was fit!
Januzaj, still only 18, played at Sunderland on Saturday with a maturity and reliability that far exceeds his age. Maybe that says a lot more about the lack of performers around him, but let’s give the youngster his due. He has earned it, and not for the first time this season.
But before you United fans get ‘Januzaj 44’ tattooed on your lower back, do what James Sharman suggested on Sunday’s edition of Soccer Central. Ask yourselves where Federico Macheda is right now.
Liverpool will get even better
It is all about the “Benjamins” for Luis Suarez – his 10-day old son, that is.
The Uruguayan paraded his newborn before the Anfield faithful in his season home debut and put on a show, linking up with Daniel Sturridge in mysterious ways that opposing defences may take until April to figure out, if at all.
Because both Suarez and Sturridge float in front of the opposing backline, interchanging constantly, they create space for the other. With a competent provider in Victor Moses giving them service, they were uncontrollable for an overwhelmed Crystal Palace side who were lucky to not have conceded more.
Just imagine how good they will be in a few weeks when Philippe Coutinho comes back. If you support another team, it’s scary.
Too many options for AVB
Gone are the days when Tottenham fans were jealous of the wealth of options that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had at his disposal. Currently, Spurs have one of the most talented squads in the Premier League.
But what Sunday’s capitulation at the hands of West Ham proved was that Andre Villas Boas still does not know what his best starting 11 is.
Jermain Defoe is more than capable of scoring goals at this level, even at 32, and Roberto Soldado has not made a good transition on English football. But Defoe’s link up play is not nearly as good. In fact, when was it ever?
West Ham passed the ball better than Spurs on Sunday. What do you put that down to? How about the lack of familiarity in Tottenham’s midfield.
Google “Allardyce tactics” and you’ll find a handful of articles outlining how Big Sam out-managed the Portuguese genius. AVB has regularly struggled to adapt to different game situations and may simply have too many options to choose from.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, Spurs should have just gone out and bought Ravel Morrison. No, I’m not.
West Brom are not half bad
After their shocking win at Old Trafford, Steve Clarke demanded his Baggies receive some praise for what they had accomplished. They earned it on Sunday.
West Brom knew that without their usual luxury of speedy wingers, Arsenal would run everything through the middle. Five natural central midfielders worked wonders against Napoli in the Champions League midweek, but failed at The Hawthorns.
If Nicolas Anelka still had the finishing touch of a few years ago, West Brom would have walked away with all three points and it would be pretty difficult to argue that they wouldn’t have deserved them.
Lescott’s days at Man City are not yet over
For those of you that wouldn’t blame Joe Hart for Manchester City’s loss at Villa Park, you most likely blamed City’s centre-back pairing of Vincent Kompany and Matija Nastasic.
The two make for one of the very best pairings in the Premier League, but were horrendous a week ago and got torn apart by Bayern midweek, which earned Joleon Lescott a return to the starting eleven on Saturday versus Everton.
The England international did well enough to contain Romelu Lukaku after his opening marker, and with Kompany set to miss more time out with an injury, Lescott should enjoy even more playing time.
Brendan Dunlop is the host of Soccer Central, airing Monday to Thursday and Sunday on Sportsnet World and Sportsnet ONE at 7pm ET. Follow Brendan on Twitter.