Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

1. Spurs show character to answer Chiellini’s criticism

Mauricio Pochettino will be scanning the fitness bulletins. So will Gareth Southgate. Tottenham lost a trio of England internationals in their 4-1 win at Bournemouth and the most important of them, Harry Kane, may be sidelined for the longest. Dele Alli and Danny Rose also went off, but only after Spurs had produced a fine way of answering their most prominent critic.

AS IT HAPPENED: Bournemouth v Tottenham

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Giorgio Chiellini had suggested, after Spurs lost a lead to Juventus and their place in the Champions League, that Tottenham lacked mental toughness. They displayed it in abundance against Bournemouth, going a goal down and losing Kane before responding. Alli’s first goal in 16 games was a sign he relished the greater responsibility once the top scorer went off. Heung-Min Son’s third brace in four games was a reminder of the rich vein of form he is in. Mauricio Pochettino was also justified in moving the South Korean into attack when Kane went off, but his entire side demonstrated the character that promises to keep them in the top four; with or without Kane.

2. Cech rewinds time to save a penalty

It was a stop that came with schadenfreude, and not merely from the Arsenal fans. Troy Deeney, the man who questioned the Gunners’ fortitude when Watford beat them in October, seemed certain to halve his side’s deficit. He is a fine penalty taker. Petr Cech had not saved a spot kick as an Arsenal player. That all changed as Arsene Wenger’s side beat Watford 3-0. The injured Hector Bellerin was among those to take to Twitter to delight in Deeney’s misfortune.

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If it was a case of 16th time lucky in one respect, having not stopped any of the previous 15 penalties he faced, it also ended an 11-game wait for a record 200th Premier League clean sheet. It is a feat forged partly by longevity, partly by excellence and partly by fine defenders, especially in his time at Chelsea.

Cech’s inability to save spot kicks for Arsenal was rendered all the odder because he secured the greatest triumph in his former club’s history because of his prowess from penalties: had he not denied Arjen Robben in extra time and Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the subsequent shootout, Chelsea would not have won the 2012 Champions League final. Belatedly, a man who made history offered echoes of the past.

3. United prosper without Pogba as injury postpones the debate for Mourinho

It turned out there is a way to resolve the dilemma of how and where to field Paul Pogba. It came in the form of a minor injury that sidelined him. Minus his most expensive player, Jose Mourinho did not look for a like-for-like replacement. Instead, he selected an extra attacker against Liverpool, and it would be intriguing to know if that fourth forward, Marcus Rashford, would have been a substitute but for Pogba’s training-ground injury. Instead, Rashford started, starred in and scored both of Manchester United’s goals in a 2-1 victory.

IN PICTURES: Manchester United v Liverpool

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Without Pogba, it was notable Mourinho fielded two tall, physical midfielders but, unlike him, Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic, rarely strayed into the final third. Rashford and Juan Mata combined their attacking instincts with positional discipline as they offered their full-backs cover when United defended in two blocks of four.

Alexis Sanchez was upstaged by Rashford but still had arguably his best game for his new club as a No. 10 and, once again, it is tempting to wonder if Pogba may have been pencilled in for that role. Mourinho prospered finding a formula and a formation without Pogba. The harder bit may be finding one with him.

4. Lovren endures his worst day since Tottenham

If Mourinho could congratulate himself on some of his choices at Old Trafford, Jurgen Klopp may be rueing one or two of his decisions. It is easy to be wise after the event, and Dejan Lovren had impressed alongside Virgil van Dijk in their previous outings. But the Croatian was preferred to the towering Joel Matip and he was beaten twice in the air by Romelu Lukaku in the build-up to both of Rashford’s goals. Damningly for Lovren, Mourinho revealed afterwards that Lukaku had said he was confident of dominating Lovren in such situations.

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Klopp accepted Liverpool ought to have defended both goals better. With Trent Alexander-Arnold also enduring difficulties against Rashford, it was a difficult day for the right side of Liverpool’s defence. Rewind to the lowest point of Lovren’s season, when he was substituted after half an hour of the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham, and the issues were on the left, where he was flanked by Alberto Moreno. Now Van Dijk has arrived to become the left-sided centre-back but Lovren’s struggles show the world’s most expensive defender can be circumvented if opponents target a shakier sidekick.

5. Chelsea show what can happen when they attack

Yes, a home game against an out-of-form, injury-hit and rather luckless Crystal Palace side is very different to a trip to the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City have not dropped a point since August. Admittedly, Chelsea only prevailed by one goal after Palace were unfortunate to have a goal disallowed. And, true, both Chelsea goals involved deflections and one was an own goal.

But consider also that a team which failed to record a shot on target last week, and had only three off target, had 27 attempts at goal, 11 of them on target. They were kept out by the woodwork and by some remarkable last-gasp defending from James Tomkins.

AS IT HAPPENED: Chelsea v Crystal Palace

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They scored two, but it could easily have been six. It was a reminder of what Chelsea can do when they attack; when, freed from the blanket-defence tactics Antonio Conte deployed last Sunday, they are allowed to attack. Willian was brilliant again, scoring his third goal in four games. Perhaps, had Chelsea got him the ball in the final third at City, it might be four in four. A specialist striker started and, while first Tomkins and then the post stopped Olivier Giroud from registering a goal, Chelsea looked better with a target man in the forward line, rather than with Eden Hazard as a false nine. It should give them more regrets about their timid approach last week.