Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football action
Erling Haaland grabs vital goal, Richard Masters gets a Molineux earful and Brighton’s season fades out
Ange Postecoglou found enough blue sky in the Spurs squad he inherited to make a pair of sailor’s trousers out of the opening 10 games of the season. The rest of the season since then feels like a return to the mean. Spurs would currently be eighth in the Premier League if their form outside of that supercharged start was rolled out across an entre season. Fifth place is probably above par for this miscellaneous group of players and the manager’s own first look at the league. And while defeat in the north London derby will sting, as will the high likelihood now that Spurs will finish outside the Champions League spots, it is also important to remember that fast start was also real, a taster of how Postecoglou can make this team hum with the right ingredients. Spurs are well-placed financially. The lesson here is that Daniel Levy needs to back his man in the summer – does this sound at all familiar? – and build on the good times of Ange Year Zero before any judgment can begin to be passed on the ultimate ceiling of this Spurs iteration. Barney Ronay
Match report: Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal
Match report: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City
Match report: West Ham 2-2 Liverpool
Match report: Manchester United 1-1 Burnley
Match report: Everton 1-0 Brentford
Match report: Bournemouth 3-0 Brighton
