Premier League takeaways: Klopp concerns, Manchester spot of bother, Arsenal title boost

We pick out the talking points from the latest round of English top-flight fixtures

LATEST ROUND OF PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS: Thursday, January 12, 2023 - Fulham 2 (Willian 25', Carlos Vinicius 73') Chelsea 1 (Koulibaly (47'): Joao Felix became the 22nd player to be sent off on their Premier League debut to help increase the pressure on Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who said: "It sums up where we are at the moment - everything that can go wrong, is going wrong." Reuters

Thursday, January 13 - Aston Villa 2 (Bailey 3', Buendía 64') Leeds United 1 (Bamford 83'): A late goal from Patrick Bamford was not enough to prevent Leeds from falling to defeat, which meant they remained only two points above the relegation zone. Villa sit 11th in the table. "It was the most complete performance we have had since I've been here," Leeds manager Jesse Marsch said. "It is a really positive sign for me." AP

Saturday, January 14 - Man United 2 (Fernandes 78', Rashford 82') Man City 1 (Grealish 60'): Two goals in four minutes helped turn the derby on its head, the first coming in controversial circumstances when Bruno Fernandes scored despite Marcus Rashford clearly being in an offside position ahead of the finish. United have now lost only once in 19 games in all competitions. Manager Erik ten Hag said: "The belief is back and we're in a good direction." EPA

Brighton 3 (March 47', 53', Welbeck 81') Liverpool 0: Solly March's double and a late Danny Welbeck strike earned Brighton a thumping win over hapless Liverpool that left the Seagulls seventh in the table, two places and two points ahead of Liverpool. "I have a fantastic team of fantastic players," said Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi. "It is an honour to work with them." AFP

Everton 1 (Onana 39') Southampton 2 (Ward-Prowse 46, 78): James Ward-Prowse scored two second-half goals, including a trademark free-kick, to help the Saints follow up their shock win at Manchester City in the League Cup with victory at Goodison Park. Southampton remain bottom of the table, but only on goal difference. "It's a big, big week for the club," said Saints manager Nathan Jones. "The performances have been building and ... I'm so proud of our group." Getty

Nottingham Forest 2 (Johnson 56', 85') Leicester City 0: Brennan Johnson's second-half double in the East Midlands derby earned Forest back-to-back wins for the first time this season. While Forest moved up to 13th, a fourth defeat in a row leaves Leicester two points outside the drop zone. Forest manager Steve Cooper said: "We played really well and managed the game really well." Getty

Wolves 1 (Podence 48') West Ham 0: Daniel Podence's strike just after half time earned Wolves three points and move them out of the relegation zone for the first time in three months. West Ham have taken one point from seven games and are joint bottom of the table. "In this industry, you have to win games," said Hammers manager David Moyes. "I am not winning enough games." PA

Brentford 2 (Toney pen 39', Jensen 75') Bournemouth 0: Ivan Toney made it nine out of nine from the spot in the Premier Leagu, while the Cherries have lost six in a row since Gary O'Neil was appointed permanent manager. On potentially qualifying for Europe, Brentford manager Thomas Frank said: "It is important we have dreams. [But] If we think too far ahead we will have a problem." Getty

Sunday, January 15: Chelsea 1 (Havertz 64') Crystal Palace 0: Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game as the Blues ended a run of three successive defeats. Chelsea stay 10th despite the win. "Overall we played quite well, they had their moments as well but today was about getting the victory," said Blues manager Graham Potter. Getty

Newcastle United 1 (Isak 89') Fulham 0: A late header from substitute Alexander Isak earned Newcastle three points and took the Magpies back up to third. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored from the spot for Fulham but saw the goal disallowed for double-kicking the ball. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said: “I’m very pleased with the players’ commitment and what they’ve delivered for the team and for me and the club ... we’re in a good place." Getty

Tottenham 0 Arsenal 2 (Lloris og 14', Odegaard 36'): Two first-half goals - courtesy of Hugo Lloris' own goal and Martin Odegaard's fine finish - helped Arsenal strengthen their grip at the top of the table. The Gunners are now eight points clear of second-placed Manchester City, while Spurs stay fifth. "It felt amazing," said Odegaard. "We remembered what happened here last time and we wanted to play a better game and show a different side to us. We enjoyed the game."

Major concerns for Klopp at Liverpool

Testing times for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. The Merseysiders were comprehensively outplayed by Brighton on Saturday, a defeat that now leaves them a mammoth 19 points behind leaders Arsenal.

They have already dropped 26 points in the league this season and, after 18 games, Liverpool have scored fewer goals, conceded more, won fewer points and have a worse goal difference than at this stage of any previous full top-flight campaign since Klopp arrived in 2017.

“Bad. Really bad. I can't remember a worse game,” admitted the German coach. “Yeah, how can you not be [concerned] after a game like this? I cannot stand here and say it didn't happen. Of course, we have to be very concerned about it.”

Atmosphere at Everton takes sinister twist

Across Stanley Park, the simmering atmosphere at Goodison Park boiled over into something far more sinister this weekend.

Everton's board of directors were told to stay away from the home game against Southampton because of a “real and credible threat to their safety”.

Relations between fans and owners has hit a new low and a 2-1 defeat against the bottom club on Saturday only added to the toxicity, with thousands of supporters staging a sit-in at the ground after the match.

“I am fortunate in the fact I have been in the game a long time and you become quite tough to these things. It becomes your life,” manager Frank Lampard said after a defeat that leaves them ahead of Southampton only on goal difference.

City pay penalty in Manchester derby

The big talking point of the weekend emerged at Old Trafford as United overcame a one-goal deficit to beat City 2-1 in the Manchester derby.

It was United's leveller that caused the furore when Bruno Fernandes cancelled out Jack Grealish's opener, with Marcus Rashford clearly in an offside position but deemed not to be interfering with play by officials as he did not touch the ball.

“Rashford distracted our keeper and centre defenders,” said City manager Pep Guardiola, while even his United counterpart Erik ten Hag admitted he “wouldn't be happy if we conceded a goal like this”.

City defender Manuel Akanji called the decision “a joke”, adding “I saw Rashford, he was clearly offside, so I played him offside”. Unsurprisingly, Rashford felt “it should have stood” while Fernandes insisted his teammate's position “didn't make any influence on the defenders”.

Similar divisions appeared in the television commentary boxes. Former England striker Gary Lineker said on Match of the Day: “I don't understand how you can possibly say that Rashford isn't interfering.”

In stark contrast, ex-Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes donned his Red Devil-tinted sunglasses on BT Sport when he insisted that Rashford was “interfering with nobody” and that the goal was simply “good communication” between the pair.

Potter, Moyes and Lampard: Sack race hots up

The race to become the next winner in the Premier League manager sack race is building up nicely.

Despite receiving a vote of confidence from beleaguered Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, Lampard must be in the firing line having lost 20 of the 37 league games he has been in charge since taking over in January last year. They have also just lost four in a row on home soil in the top-flight for the first time since 1958.

Down at West Ham, David Moyes is fully aware that despite having guided the team to to sixth and seventh place finishes in his last two campaigns, one point from their last seven games pushes him fully into the danger zone.

Gary O'Neil was only appointed full-time manager of Bournemouth during the World Cup but has lost all six matches since, while Chelsea's narrow victory over Crystal Palace at least eased some of the pressure on Graham Potter.

But Chelsea remain marooned down in 10th and, after forking out another £62 million on Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, the Blues' owners will be looking for some instant signs of improvement.

Arsenal make title statement with derby win

After Manchester City's Old Trafford defeat, the spotlight shifted back to Arsenal to see whether they could come through their own derby battle on enemy turf.

And Mikel Arteta's side did exactly that with two first-half goals securing an impressive 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points.

Even the unseemly scenes at the end, when Gunners goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was involved in an altercation with home supporters, could not dampen Arteta's delight.

“I loved the way we played and the courage we showed to come here and play,” said the Spaniard. “Doing our job we can make a lot of people happy, and I'm sure we've made Arsenal fans very happy.”