As the Premier League breaks for two weeks, we take a look at FIVE big talking points from the weekend’s action in England’s top division.
SEE ALSO:
Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli flashes the FINGER at Man United fans!
Arsenal pair fire title warning to Chelsea & Manchester City – surely it’s too late?
Premier League team of the weekend: Arsenal & Tottenham stars in attack, Man United dominate
5) Liverpool look to be coming unstuck with the 3-4-2-1 formation
When it works it’s a difficult system for the opposing team to contend with… Problem is, there are signs that teams are beginning to work it out.
Blackburn forced a FA Cup replay at Anfield, Swansea were the better team at the Liberty Stadium, then against Manchester United they were outplayed in the first half hour.
United were able to nullify Liverpool’s attacking threat in wide areas by making it difficult for their wing-backs, in particular Raheem Sterling, who had to do more defending than attacking.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have been very impressive in the league since switching to three at the back, but after a setback against United, the Reds’ manager may need to tweak his tactics again.
4) Ryan Bertrand continues to impress..
…Everybody except England manager Roy Hogdson it seems. After helping Southampton to a 2-0 win over Burnley at the weekend, news broke that Luke Shaw had pulled out of the squad due to injury, many assumed Bertrand would be the replacement but instead it was Danny Rose who got the call.
Leaving Twitter rather bemused by Roy’s decision…
3) Olivier Giroud can do no wrong at the moment (just don’t mention the Monaco game)
The Frenchman is simply on fire at the moment, a brace against Newcastle at the weekend took him to 13 league goals for the season, level with teammate Alexis Sanchez, prompting many to wonder whether the Gunners could have mounted a serious title challenge had he not been injured for three months.
2) Thibaut Courtois goes from zero to hero
After the first 10 minutes against Hull City, it looked as if the league leaders would cruise to victory at the KC Stadium. But the Blues looked very shaky at the back and could have conceded more than the two that they did.
Courtois made an uncharacteristic mistake which lead to an equaliser, before making amends in the second half by pulling off a terrific triple save.
1) Harry Kane scores the worst hat-trick ever!
Everything the new England international has touched this season seems to end up in the back of the net. Saturday against Leicester was no different as his treble helped Tottenham win 4-3, but on closer view how good was his hat-trick?
The first was a tap-in, the second took a massive deflection and the third was from the spot.
Whilst he will treasure scoring his first ever Premier League hat-trick, and rightly so, it will not go down as a memorable one will it?