1) Dyche continues to steer Burnley under radar
There is a temptation to regard Burnley’s presence in the upper reaches of the division as an early-season aberration. One of their alumni argued otherwise, while maintaining that improbable interlopers will benefit if they continue to be overlooked. Andre Gray, who traded Turf Moor for Vicarage Road in the summer, said: “The table doesn’t lie. It’s 16 games, not four or five where they’ve had a great run, and they’re seventh. They’ve been consistent.” The striker was jeered by some fans on his first return to Burnley, but had nothing but praise for his former colleagues and his old manager, Sean Dyche. “They’ll all know in the dressing room what they’re capable of. But Burnley will never get spoken about until the end of the season. It’s better for the team if they keep going under the radar and keep putting in the performances they have this season because the sky’s the limit.” Richard Jolly
Burnley 1-0 Watford: Arfield capitalises after Zeegelaar red
2) Benteke must start scoring to save Palace
Christian Benteke was one of the first Crystal Palace players to escape Selhurst Park on Saturday, still haunted by his decision to wrest the ball from Luka Milivojevic in stoppage time only to miss the penalty which would have breathed life into the team’s campaign. If his self-confidence was laudable, his eagerness to put the individual ahead of the collective was shoddy. Roy Hodgson might also question why Milivojevic and his side’s senior players did not insist the regular penalty taker retained duties at such a critical moment. It said little for on-field leadership. The striker will be full of remorse and, according to Hodgson, “is the sort of guy who will be thinking: ‘I need to make this up, so I owe the team one’.” He must start against Watford on Tuesday, when the announcement of his selection may prompt another round of boos. The reality is that, unless Palace find a way of reviving Benteke’s form, they are slipping into the Championship. Somehow, they have to put Saturday’s incident behind them. Dominic Fifield
Crystal Palace 2-2 Bournemouth: Benteke penalty miss a horror for Hodgson
3) Wagner and Hughton lead by example
This season’s Premier League is a particularly curious state, stretched at the top, concertinaed at the bottom – and as such, the respectable starts made by Huddersfield Town and Brighton & Hove Albion tell us little about their prospects of going straight back to where they came from, namely the Championship. “There was energy, aggression, desire – everything we wanted to show,” said David Wagner of his side’s victory, aesthetic sensibility not even in contemplation. Meanwhile Chris Hughton, the Brighton manager, moved to defend Lewis Dunk, who had a bad day but whose partnership in defence with Shane Duffy is Albion’s strongest aspect. Come May, it is entirely possible that both sides will go down to the Championship – but if they do it will not be because their managers did not understand how best to deploy, inspire and protect their players. Daniel Harris
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion: Mounié returns to form
4) Allardyce puts misguided Klopp straight on penalty
Jürgen Klopp’s anger was understandable after Everton took a point from a Merseyside derby in which they were devoid of ambition, although he allowed it to cloud his judgment. The Liverpool manager insisted he had no regrets over the decision to rest Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino on the bench until the second half against a negative Sam Allardyce team. In fairness that might not have emerged as such an issue had Liverpool taken their chances. His insistence that Dejan Lovren had not pushed Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the costly penalty, and had merely made “body contact” with the Everton striker, however, was bewildering. Klopp even asked the press room whether anyone thought Everton’s second penalty at Anfield in 80 years was legitimate. The Liverpool manager was taken aback by the number of journalists who raised their hands. It was left to Sam Allardyce to call it correctly. “Don’t put your hands on a forward when he is in the box,” the Everton manager said. “Don’t mess with him, don’t push him, don’t touch him. If you do you run the risk of giving a penalty away. He had no need to do it. He could have stood up, he could have shepherd him away from goal which was where he was going. He didn’t, he put his hands on him and he pushed him over.” Andy Hunter
Liverpool 1-1 Everton: Rooney penalty earns Everton unlikely derby point
Klopp unhappy with penalty, but not Liverpool team selection
5) Mourinho gifts Manchester City control of the game
The manner of Manchester United’s defeat should concern José Mourinho and all fans. Defeat can happen but where was the streetwise component required to disrupt Manchester City’s Rolls-Royce pairing of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva? If United missed the suspended Paul Pogba, and Ander Herrera is not in his class, what surprised was Mourinho deciding against packing midfield to stifle space or asking the Spaniard to man-mark one of De Bruyne or Silva. Herrera did this job on Chelsea’s Eden Hazard last April at Old Trafford and United won 2-0. The Portuguese is billed as the arch-pragmatist. Yet he came up short by allowing City to play precisely in the Pep Guardiola way. City rolled back to their base in the north-east of the city jubilant and wondering now who, really, can prevent them becoming champions of England once more. Jamie Jackson
Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City: City defeat United with Otamendi strike
Barney Ronay: David Silva’s slow-motion grace proves too much for United
Mourinho in post-match fracas over Manchester City’s ‘noisy’ celebrations
6) Benítez fiddles formation to Newcastle’s cost
As Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley continue to negotiate a figure for the latter’s proposed Newcastle takeover the numbers are failing to stack up on the pitch. Rafael Benítez’s team have collected one point from a possible 21, losing six of their past seven games. At this stage of the 2015-16 campaign Steve McClaren’s relegation-bound side had more points. Benítez remains a top‑drawer manager but he is not a magician and Ashley’s refusal to properly strengthen the squad last summer threatens to bite the owner. Curiously Benítez, previously wedded to single‑striker systems, fielded a 4-4-2 formation once again. Although it accommodated Dwight Gayle, his best player here, the resultant loss of midfield strength against Leicester’s renascent Riyad Mahrez and co arguably explains why Newcastle have lost all four fixtures in which Benítez has deployed this configuration. Louise Taylor
Newcastle United 2-3 Leicester City: Pérez’s own goal leaves Benítez in a pickle
7) Southampton’s Stephens emerges with real credit
It was an afternoon when Jack Stephens needed to show a maturity beyond his 23 years. Mauricio Pellegrino, the Southampton manager, asked him to play as a right-back when the team had possession but tuck in on the right of a central defensive three – with James Ward-Prowse outside him as the wing‑back – when Arsenal pushed forward. There was no margin for error against attackers as slippery as Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil but Stephens read the game superbly and did not put a foot wrong. He was part of a collective effort that restricted Arsenal to precious few clearcut chances and after which Pellegrino felt empowered to say that “little by little, the team is growing”. The club remain resolutely opposed to cashing in on Virgil van Dijk. On this evidence, they have a defensive prospect that could give them a decision to make. David Hytner
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal: Late Giroud equaliser spares Arsenal
8) Bony earns Swansea and Clement breathing room
You got the feeling this could and must be a turning point for Swansea’s season. Wilfried Bony’s late winner released some of the pressure on the head coach, Paul Clement, and left just two points between the Premier League’s bottom four clubs. Neither side produced much to shout about here but Bony’s close-range finish has given Swansea some much-needed confidence before Manchester City’s arrival on Wednesday. While Clement has reason for optimism, it is a different story for Alan Pardew. The new West Brom manager had seen his team dominate the early possession, but they created almost nothing of note as Salomón Rondón and Hal Robson-Kanu wasted their best chances. Pardew admitted he was unsure whether he would have money to spend to strengthen his squad next month, but on this evidence a new, creative spark in attack is badly needed. The return from injury of Nacer Chadli – a Swansea target in the summer – may help. Alex Bywater
Swansea City 1-0 West Bromwich Albion: Bony leaves Clement jumping for joy
9) Shaqiri an unhappy witness to Stoke losing their way
The look on Xherdan Shaqiri’s face as he sat down on the bench was something between thunder and bewilderment. The Swiss international looked furious, at being withdrawn, at the state of Stoke’s performance in their humiliation by Tottenham, but he also looked like he did not know what had just happened. That could apply in terms of the match itself but in broader terms, too. Spurs cut through Stoke all too easily, especially in the second half. But it’s also true that this season a squad full of international talent has looked all too callow on more than one occasion. Despite recruiting Kevin Wimmer and Kurt Zouma, the Potters are porous and have conceded the most goals in the division. Up front they have no consistent threat. Shaqiri has been one of all too few players to flourish under Mark Hughes this season: if he were to start doubting the project Stoke really might be sunk. Paul MacInnes
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Stoke City: Kane strikes twice against hapless opponents
10) Bakayoko fails to justify position and price
On the face of things it did not reflect particularly well on Tiémoué Bakayoko when, with Chelsea needing some sort of spark at half-time, he was the man chosen to make way for Pedro. Bakayoko has had an uncertain start at Stamford Bridge although it should be pointed out that he twice came fairly close to scoring on Saturday, seeing one shot blocked and another deflected wide. Antonio Conte said the change had been “only a tactical decision”, motivated by a need for extra deftness of touch. “I liked his performance in the first half, he did what I asked of him,” Conte continued. “[But] we were 1-0 down and to play with a powerful player in that moment, I think it wasn’t the right decision.” That is sound reasoning but the longer-term question is where exactly Bakayoko, who can replace Nemanja Matic in physical terms but not in his ability to shift the ball, fits into a Chelsea midfield that already has N’Golo Kanté in situ to do much of the dirtier work. Nick Ames
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