Jim Ratcliffe urged to be ‘disruptive’ amid familiar Man Utd chant and other Premier League lessons
Sky SportsThe Premier League returned to action with a bang over the weekend, despite the first half of the mid-season break taking place.
Only five matches were played over the weekend but there were still plenty of talking points and drama to emerge from all of those games.
Man City moved up to second in the table with a dramatic 3-2 win at Newcastle, Aston Villa missed the chance to move level on points at the top of the table and Burnley and Luton failed to get the better of one another in a relegation six pointer.
Chelsea picked up a vital win over Fulham in the West London derby, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur cancelled each other out in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.
Here are the five key talking points from this weekend’s Premier League action.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe hears familiar chant alongside Sir Alex Ferguson amid Gary Neville advice
Manchester United’s new prospective co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at Old Trafford on Sunday to see his first match since agreeing to buy a 25% stake in the club.
Ratcliffe expects his partial takeover of the club to be ratified in mid-February but he was in the stands and sat alongside legendary ex-United boss Sir Alex Ferguson during the 2-2 draw with Tottenham.
While the INEOS magnate would have been impressed with goals from Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford, similar frailties at the back remained clear to see.
Fans chanted: “We want Glazers out,” and while Ratcliffe’s partial takeover is a step in the right direction, the ultimate aim for supporters is to see the back of the Glazer ownership entirely.
As such, former Red Devils defender Gary Neville urged Ratcliffe to be ‘disruptive’ when he eventually gets the keys to Old Trafford.
“He has got to be disruptive, and he will be,” said Neville, speaking on Sky Sports. “Imagine that everything in front of you has to be taken out.
“There is a couple of obvious starting points: there is no CEO, no sporting director and no head of recruitment. If those three are brilliant people then they will work everything out below them anyway.
“Spending £1.25billion as an extremely successful businessman, he is not going to come in and idly watch. He is going to shock the system.”
Kevin De Bruyne brilliance as Man City unearth cheat code that will save them millions
De Bruyne made his first appearance since the opening game of the season and boy did he send a reminder of why Man City have missed him so much.
The Belgium international has been recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in the 3-0 win over Burnley back in August and made a triumphant return from the bench.
With City staring down the barrel of defeat at Newcastle, as goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon gave the Magpies a 2-1 lead at St James’ Park, De Bruyne was introduced.
21 minutes, and a goal and an assist, later, City were 3-2 winners and a warning shot had been sent to their title rivals.
What’s more, youngster Oscar Bobb also came off the bench to score the winning goal and he is proving to be the latest youngster from City’s youth system that looks ready to break into the first team picture.
Despite their obvious spending power, last season’s treble winners have found a solution to FFP transfer restrictions by promoting a winger from within who is ready to make an impact at first team level, as opposed to going out and spending on an expensive Cole Palmer replacement
“We have another player for many, many years – if he decides to stay,” City boss Pep Guardiola said of the 20-year-old.
“Maybe he decides for now he is happy with those minutes. Cole Palmer was happy with those minutes, but after two or three years, they want more and it’s natural, it’s completely understandable.
“Maybe I don’t give them those minutes and they decide to go there.”
Cole Palmer’s brilliance catches eye but underlying stats prove true Chelsea importance
Speaking of Palmer, the former Man City youngster once again underlined his importance to Chelsea since joining the club at the start of the season.
The 21-year-old scored the only goal from the penalty spot as Chelsea beat West London rivals Fulham 1-0. It was his ninth goal in 17 matches since joining the club.
And while his tricks and flicks caught the eye among many fans on social media on Saturday, it is those underlying numbers that have made him so important to the Blues.
Palmer tops the Chelsea charts for goals, assists and chances created this term and he has quickly established himself as Mauricio Pochettino’s blue chip player.
Luton Town mock James Trafford as they compound misery on relegation rivals
The weekend kicked off with a relegation six pointer on Friday evening which ended in controversial circumstances.
Burnley looked set to secure a priceless 1-0 win, only for Carlton Morris to fire home a stoppage time equaliser for Luton Town.
Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford came out to claim a high ball and was impeded by Elijah Adebayo. The officials didn’t deem that to be illegal and the goal stood.
Burnley were incensed but their relegation rivals didn’t waste any time in making light of their complaints, taking to TikTok to mock the England under-21 international.
The Hatters posted a string of clips showing Trafford falling to the ground and laying on the ball, as he looked to slow play down while Burnley were winning 1-0.
But the video, accompanied by a remix of Britney Spears’ ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ that repeated the word ‘oops’, then quickly cut to Morris’ pinpoint header. Ouch…
Unai Emery lands Aston Villa first after 97 matches in charge
Aston Villa may have missed the chance to go level at the top of the table with league leaders Liverpool but Unai Emery did record a first in his 97th Premier League games as a manager.
It was the first time across both his spell as Arsenal boss, and now as Villa manager, where he has overseen a 0-0 draw in the English top flight.
