Yahoo Sport 
Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend
Brilliant De Bruyne gets redemption
Kevin de Bruyne probably would not call it revenge, even though Chelsea only granted him two league starts before he left for Wolfsburg. His stunning winner at Stamford Bridge had the feel of redemption, though: one of the turning points last season was when De Bruyne hit the bar from about four yards and Manchester City, 1-0 up against Chelsea at the time, went on to lose 3-1. It was one of nine times the Belgian struck the woodwork last season, a reason why a player who recorded 18 assists (in itself, only two short of Thierry Henry’s divisional record) did not earn the acclaim his performances merited.
AS IT HAPPENED: Chelsea v Man City
READ MORE: How Man City can flourish in Aguero’s absence
Perhaps it is belatedly coming. De Bruyne continues to create chance after chance from his deeper role. After scoring none of City’s first 27 goals this season, he has two of the last three, both in spectacular style. Come May, a decider against Chelsea may rank as a turning point in this title race. And while strikers such as Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane attract headlines, the City midfielder may have been the best player in the Premier League so far. Antonio Conte, who lamented the fact Chelsea lost a “complete player” may concur.
2. For once, Conte got his tactics wrong
One of football’s favourite clichés is that you are only as good as your last game. It is not true, of course, because otherwise it leads to knee-jerk reactions that are made with no awareness of context. Yet everyone can be assessed on the basis of every game. Conte’s decision-making was impeccable when Chelsea won away against Atletico Madrid. Three days later, it proved rather more flawed. Replacing the injured Alvaro Morata with Willian may have been an attempt to give Chelsea two No. 10s, or even false nines, and the City centre-backs no one to mark. It left his side with no striker to find and no focal point.
READ MORE: Why October is now or never for Chelsea
READ MORE: Christensen hoping to show Chelsea he has learned his trade
They could not hold the ball up, explaining why they had their second lowest share of possession in the Premier League since such statistics were first introduced. Eden Hazard, magnificent in Madrid, was anonymous until he went off when that striker Michy Batshuayi, was introduced, and the fact he was ignored in that initial change seemed a further sign of Conte’s lack of trust in Wednesday’s matchwinner and a player who averages a goal every 76 minutes for the club. And while he has enjoyed great success with three centre-backs, they only had one striker to mark. He could have taken one off to get an extra presence in midfield, especially as, in omitting Victor Moses and moving Cesar Azpilicueta out wide, he gave himself a more defensive right wing-back.
3. Arsenal have prospered after the transfer window shut
Since the transfer window shut, only Manchester City have taken more points than Arsenal. It seems a way of illustrating that Pep Guardiola did not really need Alexis Sanchez and that Arsene Wenger was right to keep the Chilean. Certainly his backheel to create Alex Iwobi’s goal in the 2-0 win over Brighton highlighted the class that could take the Gunners into the top four. Yet if that suggests Arsenal are benefiting from hard-headed planning, it is worth remembering they proposed including Raheem Sterling in a swap for Sanchez and that they had been willing to let Shkodran Mustafi go.
READ MORE: Arsenal ARE united after transfer chaos
READ MORE: Sanchez dazzles as Arsenal beat Brighton
Since staying, the German has been an ever-present in the league as Arsenal have not conceded a goal. With the injured Laurent Koscielny missing the Brighton game, Arsenal had a further reason to be glad the World Cup winner remains on their books. It is very Arsenal to recover after a slow start to the season, rather than spiralling into freefall, but their revival scarcely feels the product of impeccable decision-making.
4. Rooney is dropped for kids and misfits
Everton were ineffective without Wayne Rooney against Burnley and ineffective with him after the substitute came on. The 1-0 defeat scarcely suggested Ronald Koeman should build the team around the returning local or that Everton’s strongest side does not contain their most famous fan. So the most notable element was his exclusion, the first time Koeman has dropped Rooney. It indicated the Dutchman’s desperation in his failed search for a winning formula. He named four men who he had preferred to Rooney for various roles.
READ MORE: Burnley pile pressure on Everton boss Koeman
READ MORE: Fans cannot complain about players’ attitude, says Ronald
One, Gylfi Sigurdsson, is Everton’s £45 million record buy. Yet the other three are Dominic Calvert-Lewin, scorer of one top-flight goal, Nikola Vlasic, who was making his maiden Premier League start, and Oumar Niasse, the man Koeman hoped never to pick. At least when Rooney lost his place at Manchester United, it was so players such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial could start. At Everton, he has been displaced by kids and misfits. It may have been a one-off. The worrying element for Rooney is that it may not.
Ben Davies’ goal at Huddersfield illustrated how Mauricio Pochettino has made him more prolific.
5. Davies shows Pochettino’s magic touch with full-backs
The most obvious examples of Mauricio Pochettino’s ability to improve players are found further forward. Kane’s double at Huddersfield took his tally in September to an improbable 13 goals. Dele Alli has gone from a League One player into the most potent attacking midfielder in England. And yet the Argentinian’s impact with full-backs has been extraordinary. Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose have all developed dramatically under Pochettino.
AS IT HAPPENED: Huddersfield v Tottenham
READ MORE: Two-goal hero Kane – September ‘my best ever month’
Ben Davies, whose first 54 league games for Spurs yielded a solitary goal, had seemed a defensively-solid full-back who did not quite offer enough going forward. Not now. He scored one goal and set up another in the 4-0 win over a previously frugal Huddersfield. He has two goals and two assists in just six league games. He is more adventurous, more dynamic and more potent. It is an understatement to say the injured Rose isn’t being missed.
