Premier League:10 things we learned from matchround 16

Although Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea continue to lead the way in the Premier League, the front runners didn’t have it all their own way at the weekend.

All three sides had to rely on penalties to win by a single goal, giving them all cause for concern with the heavily fixture packed festive season on the horizon.

Meanwhile, Manchester United and Arsenal recorded wins to put pressure on West Ham in the battle for the top four, with the Hammers only stumbling to a draw at Burnley.

It’s not got easier at the bottom though for the likes of Newcastle Untiled after a hammering by Leicester City leaves them cut adrift of safety as Sportsmail takes a look at what we learned from round 16 in the Premier League.

1. Reliant on Ronaldo

This may be Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United now, but the struggles of the team that existed under predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are still there.

While no game in the Premier League can be a guaranteed three points, United were expected to make lighter work of Norwich City than they did in the 1-0 victory at Carrow Road.

Rangnick had a fully fit team given his raft of changes for the Champions League stalemate with Young Boys midweek, yet his side still laboured in breaking down Norwich until Cristiano Ronaldo again made the difference.

The Portuguese’s penalty was his sixth goal of the season in the top flight for the Red Devils, whose poor performance could be as a result of a Covid outbreak suffered in the camp.

Even so, Rangnick’s side continue to look unconvincing even if they are still crucially picking up points to keep up their fight for a Champions League spot.

Cristiano Ronaldo proved the difference again as Manchester United saw off Norwich City

2. Liverpool hitting a wall

But it’s not one of fitness for the Reds but of a new found difficulty of breaking down ultra defensive teams.

Even if there may have been a sense of a charitable mood around Anfield on Saturday following the return of club legend Steven Gerrard as Aston Villa manager, there was still tension building at the ground when with an hour gone Villa were holding firm at 0-0.

A contentious penalty changed that, one scored by Mohamed Salah as the Reds eventually scraped by with a 1-0 win. But it’s not the first time they have had to grind out narrow victories in recent weeks.

It took a last-gasp Divock Origi strike to break the deadlock at Wolves earlier this month and there could be signs that teams have started to shut up shop against the Reds.

Prior to the win at Molineux, Klopp’s team had recorded three consecutive Premier League games of scoring four goals.

Only a Mohamed Salah penalty allowed Liverpool to overcome a stubborn Aston Villa

3. Leaky Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side have been almost watertight at the back since he took control 11 months ago, yet with little warning a leak seems to have sprung up in his defence.

The Blues saved face on Saturday when they escaped with three points against Leeds United following a stoppage time penalty by Jorginho to seal a 3-2 victory.

But that is now nine goals Chelsea have conceded in December, which is the same amount that they had conceded for the entire season before this month.

Recent patchy form doesn’t bode well for the Blues heading into a packed Christmas schedule but Thomas Tuchel believes the win was crucial for his side’s morale.

‘We needed this win desperately, for the belief, for the mood and for the atmosphere,’ the Chelsea boss stated.

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea outfit have started to concede much more goals in recent weeks

4. City cannot find Grealish solution

Manchester City made one of the headline signings of the summer by landing Jack Grealish for £100million from Aston Villa, but the England midfielder has struggled to live up to his promise since.

The 26-year-old was the driving force at Villa Park, with his confident dribbling ability in taking players on seemingly making him an assured fit at the Etihad Stadium.

But in his 11th start of the Premier League season on Saturday he once again failed to spark as City scraped by with a 1-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Grealish was replaced in the 74th minute and he now hasn’t completed 90 minutes in the top flight since September.

He has just one goal all season in the Premier League against rock bottom Norwich from back in August while also only contributing two assists. Pep Guardiola has a task in figuring out how to get his left sided attacker firing in a City shirt.

Jack Grealish has been struggling for form since joining Manchester City in the summer

5. Arsenal need a new captain

And it’s not because of poor performances on the pitch, on the contrary.

It’s because they are able to fly without their existing one, who has landed himself in hot water under manager Mikel Arteta.

After arriving back late from a period of absence, skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out of the Arsenal squad who easily breezed past Southampton to win 3-0.

Having also breached team protocol before a game with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year, Aubameyang is hardly impressing Arteta as showing someone able to show leadership skills.

But neither is he needed, as on the pitch Arsenal continue to rack up wins, with stand-in skipper Alexandre Lacazette on target as the Gunners kept up their pursuit of the top four.

With stand-in captain Alexandre Lacazette (above) Arsenal strolled to a win over Southampton

6. Testing times for the Hammers

West Ham have enjoyed a superb 2021 after finishing sixth in the Premier League and building on that to emerge as Champions League contenders this term.

But Sunday’s 0-0 draw at struggling Burnley may have offered rivals hopes that the gas tank might be running low on David Moyes’ outfit given their Europa League and League Cup commitments this term.

Moyes though believes his team are not applying themselves fully saying after the Turf Moor draw: ‘Some of them need to get back up to the high standards if they’re going to remain in this position,’ he said.

‘I’d rather tell them that than not. There’s no point in me pussy-footing around it and not saying it. I want to win, I want us to play better and a few of them can certainly do that.’

The Hammers have an excellent first-team but the squad is already suffering fitness issues, especially at centre-back where injuries have already ruled out key men such as Angelo Ogbonna for the rest of the season.

Fans will hope it is just a blip, but they travel to in-form Arsenal on Wednesday having won just once in their last five games.

David Moyes was disappointed with the level shown by his West Ham side in a draw at Burnley

7. Maddison revived at Leicester

It wasn’t too long ago there were concerns over James Maddison’s future at Leicester City following a poor start to the season which had already seen him dropped from England recognition.

But the midfielder appears to have finally got going again and he was central to the Foxes’ 4-0 victory over Newcastle United.

The stats read he scored once and grabbed one assist but he was influential in all four goals, including winning a penalty and starting a move that led to Patson Daka finding the net.

After his first 12 games of the Premier League season he scored just once, but his recent four outings are the first time he has played more than 86 minutes, and he has found the net three times while creating as many assists.

Even Gareth Southgate won’t be able to ignore this form for much longer.

James Maddison (front) is starting to find his best form again in a Leicester City shirt

8. No quick fix for Newcastle

Just when it looked Like Newcastle were ready to kick-start their season after gaining a first victory of the campaign, it all went rapidly downhill again.

A win over Burnley should have been the catalyst for the Toon to start climbing out of the relegation zone, instead they got ripped apart 4-0 at Leicester City.

What is becoming clear for Eddie Howe is that whether his existing squad need to adapt to his coaching methods or he just needs a fresh injection of players, a quick turnaround in fortunes does not look like coming in the next few weeks.

It’s not about to get easier either as they visit Liverpool before hosting Manchester City, Manchester United and ending the year with a trip to former manager Rafa Benitez’s Everton side.

Those are four games they will not be favoured to get any sort of result and already sitting three points off safety with the joint fewest points in the league, they could be in serious relegation trouble heading into the new year.

Newcastle United boss Edie Howe saw his side come crashing down with defeat at Leicester

9. Gallagher one of the signings of the season

While Grealish is struggling to look the part following his £100million fee in the City midfield, one of the summer’s more low key transfers continues to go from strength to strength.

Conor Gallagher was barely a blip on the radar when the young Chelsea midfielder joined Crystal Palace on loan but he is already proving to be one of the sensations of the season.

His brace in the 3-1 victory over Everton took him to six goals for the season and he has also played three assists in that time marking himself out as a key player in one of the Eagles’ most exciting sides in recent times.

Even having won his first England cap this term, Palace boss Patrick Vieira claims the midfielder remains down to earth, saying: ‘I am not surprised at all and Conor is not the kind of person who will be too busy.

‘He wants to improve, he is really humble, is working hard and the challenge for him is to maintain that level to fulfil his expectation.’

On loan from Chelsea, Conor Gallagher is proving to be one of the signings of the season

10. Brentford halfway to top flight survival

It’s a rarely needed total, while on extremely freak occasions it’s not even been enough, but the benchmark to reach 40 Premier League points is the one any side aspiring to remain in the top flight hopes to reach.

Which is why Brentford’s victory over Watford on Friday night was more than just a stunning comeback in the final 10 minutes to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

The win saw them end the weekend inside the top 10 and boast 20 points, exactly where they would have hoped to be three games ahead of schedule marking the halfway point of the campaign.

Home games against both the Manchester clubs are to come before the year is out, and they are far from safe from getting sucked into a relegation fight. But Thomas Frank’s side have so far proven their worth in their first ever Premier League season.