MX23RW : Friday, November 22 06:52:00| >> :120:26349:26349:

Five talking points from this weekend's Premier League action

Five talking points from this weekend's Premier League action
© Reuters
Leicester went top of the table with victory over Wolves.

This weekend saw fierce complaints over fixture scheduling, Leicester move to the top of the Premier League table and a truly awful penalty cost Fulham a point.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five things we learned from the action.

Seething over scheduling

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labelled the scheduling of Manchester United's game against Everton as "a joke" (Clive Brunskill/PA).

The scheduling of fixtures was in the spotlight as Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made their dissatisfaction clear. After the pressure on Solskjaer eased with United's 3-1 win at Everton on Saturday, he branded the 12.30 kick-off time, three days after their the Champions League loss away to Istanbul Basaksehir, an "absolute joke". Klopp, whose side drew 1-1 at Manchester City on Sunday, then pointed to his side's 2-2 draw at Everton on October 17 – also a 12.30 Saturday kick-off – as he said "these kind of things should not happen". He and City counterpart Pep Guardiola both criticised the Premier League clubs' decision not to adopt the five-substitute rule this term, with Klopp, whose full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold suffed a calf injury on Sunday, accusing the competition's chief executive Richard Masters of "a lack of leadership".

Leicester lead again

While last season's top two battled out the draw at the Etihad Stadium, Leicester went top as their impressive return to form continued. Having led the table in late September following a stunning 5-2 win at Manchester City, Brendan Rodgers' Foxes then suffered two defeats on the bounce. But they have subsequently put together a winning run, the third league victory of which came on Sunday as Jamie Vardy's penalty saw them beat Wolves 1-0 at the King Power Stadium. Certainly they are looking in decent shape ahead of a trip to Rodgers' old club Liverpool after the international break.

Villa bounce back in style

Aston Villa demonstrated their own resilience on Sunday as they recovered from back-to-back losses by registering their latest eye-catching win, a 3-0 triumph at Arsenal. While Dean Smith's men have had quite the mixed bag of results this term, including a 7-2 victory over champions Liverpool and 3-0 loss to promoted Leeds, they are well-placed after seven matches of their campaign, lying in sixth position, three points off the top, with a game in hand over the sides above them.

Latest landmark for Kane

Harry Kane delivered another milestone moment as he registered the winner in second-placed Tottenham's 1-0 win at West Brom on Sunday. After reaching 200 Spurs goals earlier in the week during the 3-1 Europa League win at Ludogorets, the England captain headed in late on at The Hawthorns to make it 150 in the Premier League, bringing to the fore the question of where he might get to on the all-time list. He sits joint ninth, 110 behind leader Alan Shearer.

Lookman's Panenka pain

Ademola Lookman served a reminder on Saturday that, while a Panenka-style penalty can be a thing of beauty, it is quite the opposite when it goes wrong. The 23-year-old fluffed his attempt from 12 yards deep into stoppage time on Saturday as Fulham lost 1-0 at West Ham, leaving an angry Cottagers manager Scott Parker to say: "You can miss a penalty but when you take one like that you have to hit the back of the net." Certainly Lookman appeared embarrassed and he said in a tweet on Sunday: "I vow to put the next one in. I will not let one failure hold me back."

ID:421638: cacheID:421638:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9353:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Eberechi Eze celebrates with Andros Townsend after scoring for Crystal Palace against Leeds United in the Premier League on November 7, 2020
Read Next:
Ebere Eze vows to continue improving after starring against Leeds United
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Steelers
@
Browns
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!