Plus: Leon Bailey shows he is blossoming under Unai Emery at Aston Villa, while James Ward-Prowse proves Southampton's match-winner against rudderless Everton
Sunday 15 January 2023 12:35, UK
The number seven means a lot at Manchester United. It once again came to the forefront in their derby win over Manchester City.
Marcus Rashford scored the winner to make it the seventh consecutive game in which the 25-year-old has scored. The last person to do that was United's most potent number seven - Cristiano Ronaldo.
At Old Trafford on Saturday, Rashford put in his most Ronaldo-esque performance yet.
Anthony Martial was injured and, with United falling behind, a bruised Rashford from the first half was moved centrally to try and change the game.
He did exactly that - scoring the winner and playing a huge, albeit a potentially illegal, role in another.
After having to deal with talisman after talisman during his United career, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Romelu Lukaku to Ronaldo himself, Rashford is finally stepping into that role in his own right.
And Ronaldo, who caused so many problems for Erik ten Hag's side before his departure, is now a distant memory.
Sam Blitz
Pep Guardiola was insistent that he was satisfied with Man City's display at Old Trafford and that it was a big improvement on the midweek defeat at Southampton in the Carabao Cup, which had left him feeling 'sad'.
But this was far from a polished performance. City seemed jittery early on with a string of players misplacing passes and Ederson erratically rushing off his line to hand Rashford a good chance.
Rather than a lack of focus, which Guardiola had criticised against Southampton, this felt more like City nervously searching for something against a well-drilled Man Utd side amid a raucous atmosphere.
Primarily they weren't able to get Phil Foden or Erling Haaland the ball. The two hat-trick heroes of City's 6-3 drubbing of United in October were on the periphery throughout. Haaland has now gone three games without a goal. A barren run by his standards, while Foden is far from his incisive best right now.
Defensively, Guardiola admitted his team were not always in the right position to stop United's transitions, a major problem against a team so strong in that department.
They are causes for concern with Tottenham coming to the Etihad on Thursday. Another team which will try to limit passes into City's attackers before pouncing on the break.
Guardiola has said he doesn't want his players to dwell on Saturday's game but he will have to find a solution to the emerging issues at City between now and that Spurs match. If a bad week turns into a bad 10 days, City will be in danger of slipping even further away from where they want to be...
Peter Smith
If you had just landed on planet Earth and someone told you the right-sided forward in the match between Brighton vs Liverpool had scored 175 goals in the Premier League and won major individual awards like the PFA Player of the Year gong, then you'd bet your life on that player being Solly March not Mohamed Salah.
The Brighton forward was like a man possessed by the natural talent of Salah as his performance was like a vintage Salah one. While the Liverpool man was stumbling around up the other end feeding off scraps, the former non-league player March was ripping Liverpool's defence apart and grabbed himself two goals, taking his tally to four in his last four games. This is after a run of not scoring for 58 Premier League games.
It's a remarkable turnaround and his boss Roberto De Zerbi has to take huge credit for preserving with a player that had looked lost in front of goal earlier this season. His second goal was one Salah would have been proud to call his. It was barely even half a chance as the ball dropped on his left foot at an angle with one of the world's greatest goalkeepers to beat. But beat him he did, with a dipping strike that nestled in the far corner. Solly goes marching on.
Lewis Jones
The spotlight is shining so brightly on Liverpool's defence right now it's blinding those in view - yet, to focus solely on the individuals playing at the heart of the backline would be allowing others to escape criticism.
Yes, Joel Matip was at fault for the opening Brighton goal with a sloppy pass but up until that point, he and Ibrahim Konate had defended with great cohesion and assurance. They simply had to as the pressure towards their goal was relentless from a Brighton side that are purring right now.
And why were the Liverpool centre-backs so busy? Well, it stemmed from the Liverpool midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago, who was playing in a very odd role just off the two strikers. It did not suit him.
Brighton's duo of Alexis Mac Allister and Moses Caicedo made the Liverpool trio look like they should be considering playing in a veterans league.
The midfield is the heart of a Jurgen Klopp team - when it malfunctions, like it is right now, then the forward line and backline suffer. This Liverpool team are not only malfunctioning but threatening to spin out of control.
Lewis Jones
After slipping into the relegation zone, alarm bells have to be ringing at West Ham now.
Their 1-0 defeat at Wolves means the Hammers are now in serious trouble, with manager David Moyes rightly under huge pressure.
Having been backed to the tune of £182m in the summer, West Ham are severely underperforming and are in an embarrassing position considering the squad they have.
Winless in the league since October 24, West Ham have now lost six of their last seven Premier League games and are 18th in the table with only goal difference keeping them off the bottom.
In fact, Moyes' side are breaking all the wrong records: West Ham have lost 12 of their 19 league games this season - they have never lost more at the halfway point in any previous top-flight campaign.
The club have continued to back Moyes amid their poor form, but it feels like time could be running out for the 59-year-old.
It is easy to see why they have stuck by him having led the club to sixth and seventh-placed finishes in the last two seasons, as well as a memorable Europa League semi-final run last year.
But it just feels the club are now at a critical juncture with him - and he knows it.
"I would never look at myself and say I've got credit in the bank," the former Manchester United boss said after the defeat at Molineux.
"Lots of people are after jobs in this league. I'm not daft, I've had enough games in it to understand. You have to do well in it to keep your job. We have to try and do better than we're doing at the moment."
West Ham's next game could go a long way in determining his future as they face fellow relegation strugglers Everton at home next Saturday. Defeat for Moyes in that one would be unthinkable.
Declan Olley
Kool & the Gang's 1980s classic Celebration rung out at full-time and the good times are here in this corner of west London. Could Brentford make a run for Europe?
Thomas Frank has been keen to play the idea down but the Bees are in excellent form. Victory at home against Bournemouth is their fourth in five and their unbeaten streak now stands at seven.
They have lost only four times, fewer than anyone outside the Champions League places and look wonderfully attuned to what is being asked of them.
When asked about his side's chances of qualifying for Europe, Frank said: "It is important we have dreams. Everyone needs dreams and ambitions.
"[Manchester United boss] Erik ten Hag said something about Alex Ferguson who said the season starts in April. If we think too far ahead we will have a problem. It is important to celebrate our wins but after we have to work very hard and see where we will end."
The visit of Gary O'Neil's side was the first of five home assignments between now and the middle of March with Fulham the only current top-half side among them. It is why Frank described this as a season-defining win. It wasn't the prettiest of his side's successes this term but Brentford are asserting their credentials.
They may only be a few key injuries away from running into issues, which is why Kevin Schade has been bought to ease the workload on Ivan Toney, taken off in the closing stages. Having avoided any semblance of second-season syndrome, the best is yet to come.
Ben Grounds
If you were an alien parachuted into the City Ground during Nottingham Forest's win over Leicester, you would never think you were watching a side who had spent most of the season taking a kicking inside the relegation zone.
True, their form has been on the rise for some while. Even before this latest result, Forest had lost only two of their previous eight league games either side of the World Cup.
But only a matter of months on from a summer transfer window which wouldn't have looked out of place in Football Manager, Forest are a cohesive unit and finally look like they feel they belong in the Premier League.
Beating Leicester earned them back-to-back league wins for the first time since their promotion but it was as assured a performance as they have produced along the way.
Harvey Barnes did miss a first-half sitter but that aside, they were solid at the back - also earning a third clean sheet in five games - and after half-time, following the introduction of Sam Surridge, impressive going forward.
Their opponents Leicester are in free fall with this their fourth defeat in a row, but even so, in the second 45 minutes there was only one team who looked like they had been a Premier League constant in recent seasons, and it wasn't the Foxes.
Of the eight teams separated from bottom side Southampton by five points or less, Forest now sit top of the mini-league. They may soon escape it on this trajectory.
Ron Walker
Asked after the game against Leeds if he had considered dropping Leon Bailey following his wasteful evening against Wolves, Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery appeared to suggest that he had. It was certainly a wise decision for him to opt against it.
Bailey scored one and set up another in a man-of-the-match performance under the lights on Friday evening. Leeds had their moments at Villa Park but it was Bailey who was decisive - thriving in what is a slightly different role for him since Emery took over.
Though he continues to drift towards the right flank, he is nominally playing as a striker in Emery's eyes, particularly when Ollie Watkins is on the pitch to mirror his positioning on the left. The result is that he is having more touches in the opposition box than before.
It was Bailey's goal against Manchester United that got Emery's reign up and running after just seven minutes. Now, he has already scored more Premier League goals under him than he did under either Steven Gerrard or Dean Smith. Bailey's talent is blossoming.
Adam Bate
When Leeds forward Wilfried Gnonto was born in November 2003 Ashley Young had just made his professional debut for Watford. He scored off the bench against Millwall that day.
Fast-forward 19 years or so and the two were pitted against each other at Villa Park. The 37-year-old veteran winger turned full-back tasked with keeping the teenage Italian quiet.
Young was busier than anyone else on the pitch as Gnonto terrorised him down the left wing. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who coached Young for England, picked out the head-to-head before the game and was particularly moved by Gnonto's performance on Friday Night Football.
"I've not seen a player like Gnonto at that age understand the game as well as he has for a long, long time," said Neville on co-commentary. "I'm massively impressed with what I've seen. Absolutely brilliant. So mature in his decision-making on the ball."
Despite Young winning more tackles than anyone else on the pitch and a game-high eight duels, it still felt as though Gnonto had the edge in the individual battle. He wasn't shy on the physical side of things, either.
Leeds were impressive overall but a blunt instrument in the final third. Gnonto saw to that with his side two goals down. First outmuscling Young before beating two men and setting up Patrick Bamford for an easy finish.
"Gnonto, you little beauty," said Neville after the goal. "Young gets done by the youngster. The composure, the class at the end, which so many young players don't get right. This lad is really, really special."
The Italy international looked as though he was playing in the wrong team.
"Leeds fans won't like me for saying this but when you look at a player like Gnonto, he just looks like a Manchester City winger," added Neville.
"To see someone so mature, so young is very unusual in that position."
Leeds now find themselves in a perilous position after seven games without a win. Gnonto might have to grow up even quicker to help drag his side out of a relegation scrap this season.
The 19-year-old can give Leeds fans hope in a dark moment.
Zinny Boswell
Southampton's shining light. Their beacon of hope. The captain who leads by example while illuminating the middle of the park with his creativity, tenacity and incredible workload. He is their saviour.
He could have gone elsewhere in the summer - offers have been tabled during multiple transfer windows. But he has stayed, demonstrating the kind of loyalty that seldom exists in Premier League circles - sometimes to his own detriment.
The midfielder missed out on England selection for the Qatar World Cup. It would be speculative, perhaps even naive, to suggest Ward-Prowse would have been a shoo-in were he not playing for the league's worse side (statistically). But the burden he assumes at Saints is surely holding him back.
He's scored six goals in his last nine appearances in all competitions and overtaken James Beattie's record for away goals scored for Southampton (28). His importance to this side cannot be overstated.
"For me, he is the best technician in the Premier League," manager Nathan Jones said post-match. "The best thing is his humility...and desire to do well for Southampton Football Club." It was a performance that even prime Lampard, circa 2011-12, would have been proud of. The Everton boss also noted the 28-year-old's immense "quality" after the game.
Indeed, it's difficult to imagine where Southampton would be without him - sliding ever closer to the Championship, you would assume.
Laura Hunter
On a miserable afternoon for Everton at Goodison Park, during which Frank Lampard's side slumped to a fifth defeat in six Premier League games to a backdrop of fan protests against the club's board, there was one player in blue who deserved better.
Amadou Onana was outstanding at the heart of Lampard's malfunctioning team, his well-taken header from Demarai Gray's corner looking like it might haul them to a victory they so desperately needed before their second-half capitulation.
Even then, though, the 21-year-old continued to shine, his performance ultimately earning him, and only him, the applause of the otherwise furious home supporters as he made his way down the tunnel.
The statistics underlined the breadth of his contribution.
Onana's goal was one of three shots - he was a persistent threat in the Southampton box - and his distribution was consistently impressive, the Belgian completing 36 of his 39 passes, his 92 per cent accuracy rate the highest of any Everton player.
There was impressive off-the-ball industry, too. Premier League tracking data showed Onana covered more ground (10.5km) than anyone else on the pitch, while he also won the most duels, coming out on top in 12 of the 15 he contested.
His blend of physical and technical attributes makes him a thrilling talent, even in the circumstances of Everton's malaise. On this evidence, he is their best hope of turning their season around.
Nick Wright
When Bournemouth's £100m-plus takeover was confirmed in December, new owner Bill Foley vowed "there's no budget" when it comes to the January transfer window. Two weeks into 2023, though, the club are yet to confirm any new arrivals.
Saturday's defeat by Brentford in west London only reiterated Bournemouth's need for reinforcements. A sixth consecutive loss in all competitions is their worst run since 1983. They're now just one position and one point above the Premier League relegation zone.
Foley saw for himself just how much work is required when he watched in person on New Year's Eve as Bournemouth produced what boss Gary O'Neil described as their worst performance under him against Crystal Palace.
The Las Vegas-based billionaire's aim to add "four to five more players" to O'Neil's squad this month desperately needs to come to fruition if Bournemouth are to remain in the top flight.
Injuries to Dominic Solanke and Lewis Cook have only made Bournemouth's situation a more precarious one, but their lack of depth was already clear. The window shuts on January 31. The next two-and-a-half weeks are pivotal.
Dan Sansom
