United build fragile sense of belief

As a cure for the Sunday fear, the self-identifying worst Manchester United team in history’s trip to Craven Cottage was pot-boiling viewing. It will be some time until Ruben Amorim can stage high-end entertainment of a Wolf Hall standard but at least relegation is now unlikely to be the series conclusion. United fans were singing the manager’s name once Lisandro Martínez’s fortuitous winner span in. A fragile belief is growing. Such are the lenses on United any result is seen as a signifier, but beating Fulham is not a return of the glory days. The last United manager to lose at Craven Cottage was Sir Alex Ferguson himself. Amorim should take heart from a more solid defensive performance, Harry Maguire the organising heart of the trio, Martínez aggressive and provocative alongside him, looking closer to be the player he promised to be two seasons ago. Toby Collyer’s late clearance off the line completed a much more positive week than last. John Brewin

• Match report: Fulham 0-1 Manchester United

Battle of the new middle class

The strength of a league is not only seen at its top end. Neither Crystal Palace nor Brentford are big sides in the traditional sense. Neither has ever won a major trophy. Excluding the Anglo-Italian Cup and the Intertoto, neither have played in European competition. Yet both are now established Premier League sides whose position in mid-table feels relatively secure. “They’re someone we should look towards because of what they’ve achieved over the last 10 years,” the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, said of Palace. Brentford are four points above Palace, but both are model clubs in their way (whatever concerns may exist about Palace’s ownership as John Textor looks to sell his share). Both buy well, both have bright, engaging coaches and both play progressive, modern football. Both regularly cause problems for better sides and, if there was a sense of a mutual cancelling out for much of Sunday’s game, that perhaps is evidence of the robustness of their processes. Jonathan Wilson

• Match report: Crystal Palace 1-2 Brentford

Vardy saves his best for Tottenham

Tottenham fans were asking for it when they directed the usual mocking chants at Jamie Vardy. It was not long before the Leicester striker had the ball in the back of the net. Vardy’s 10th goal in 18 games against Spurs kickstarted a fine win for Leicester, taking them out of the bottom three, and was a reminder of the veteran striker’s enduring qualities. “A 38-year-old striker in the Premier League, performing like he is – intelligent movement in and out of possession, fitness levels, leadership – it’s remarkable,” Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester’s manager, said. “The way he looks after himself to me implies he can carry on for a long, long time.” For now, though, Leicester’s focus is on this season. Their hopes of staying up will surely depend on Vardy staying fit and scoring goals. They remain reliant on him. Spurs must be sick of the sight of him. Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Leicester

Losing Mings stops Villa in tracks

It is rare for a match to have such an obvious gamechanging moment, but Villa never recovered from Tyrone Mings’ first-half injury. In the 38 minutes Mings spent on the pitch they led 6-3 on shots, 3-0 on shots on target, and had a tackle success rate of 63.6%. In the remainder of the game they trailed 8-11 on shots, 1-4 on shots on target and their tackle success rate dropped to 50%. Having lost possession in their own half 16 times in the first 38 minutes, they did so 31 times in the remaining 52. Partly this was down to Lucas Digne’s awkwardness after being moved to centre-back – a specialist in that position will surely arrive before the transfer window shuts – but Villa’s ability to react during a game that presented many shifting challenges must have been affected by the fact that Unai Emery was watching from the stands, having received a third caution of the season against Arsenal last week which he insisted he “didn’t deserve”. Simon Burnton

• Match report: Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham

Wolves want midfield bite

After Wolves slipped to a fourth successive league defeat, Vítor Pereira made two things clear: he wants to sign a strapping midfielder, and is adamant his team will avoid relegation. The two things may well be linked. André and João Gomes scurry like Tom and Jerry but the Portuguese head coach wants a more imposing option. Emmanuel Agbadou, a £16m recruit from Reims this month, has proven just that in defence. The Ivorian impressed against Arsenal on the left side of a back three and the return of Toti Gomes is expected to shift the 27-year-old to his favoured right side. “He’s in the process of adapting to this league,” Pereira said. “He is very strong in the air, on the ground, in the duels. I’m very, very confident [new signings] will come and we will reach our targets. Next season we will be in the Premier League. I’m very confident, I feel it inside.” Ben Fisher

• Match report: Wolves 0-1 Arsenal

Haaland hails special Marmoush

While Abdukodir Khusanov’s debut was the focal point in Manchester City’s win against Chelsea, there was another first-timer in the ranks. Omar Marmoush was not overcome by nerves, offering a confident display on the left-hand side of a front three. The Egyptian showed speed and an eagerness to make runs in behind, although he might want to seek help for his addiction to being offside. City have lacked pace across the pitch and Pep Guardiola was eager to address that in January as they often failed to cope with faster opponents and were not offering enough threat going the other way. If he knew how to stay onside, Marmoush would have had a debut goal. He gave Chelsea someone else to think about, providing Erling Haaland with more space to work in, earning him praise from the Norwegian, who said: “You can see he has something special.” Marmoush certainly has a foundation to build on. Will Unwin

• Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea

Van Dijk toasts Gravenberch

Virgil van Dijk said he might celebrate making 300 appearances for Liverpool with one glass of red wine. “Just me and my wife, but that’s it,” said the club captain, whose family were present at Anfield to witness the proud moment along with a mismatch against Ipswich. Van Dijk did not want to reflect on past achievements after Liverpool’s latest win, only on what the rest of the season might hold, and made a point of toasting Ryan Gravenberch’s contribution to an outstanding campaign. The midfielder may not have been stretched by Ipswich’s passive approach but his consistent form and role in Arne Slot’s system encapsulate the impact the Dutch coach has had. Gravenberch has started every Premier League and Champions League game this season and has become, in Van Dijk’s words, “vital” to what Liverpool hope to achieve. “The way he approaches the game on and off the pitch is key to being a world-class player,” said the defender. “In my eyes, the consistency he’s been showing, he’s definitely a world-class player and he can only become better. He’s been almost flawless throughout the whole season.” Andy Hunter

• Match report: Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich

Deep-lying Tonali sets tone

Alexander Isak’s double goalscoring exploits earned him the headlines once again in Newcastle’s win at Southampton, but Eddie Howe was not alone in seeking to pick out the crucial contribution of Sandro Tonali. Deployed in a deeper-lying central midfield role than he fulfilled earlier in the season, the Italian has been vital to Newcastle winning 10 of their last 11 games, and was hugely impressive in every facet of the game at St Mary’s. Of Newcastle’s players, he had the most touches of the ball, won more duels, completed more tackles, and played the second most passes into the final third. He also showed wonderful attacking instinct and composure to score the third goal. “He was magnificent today, in every way,” said Howe. “His ball-winning ability was second to none. His understanding of what we wanted him to do, of how we wanted him to play, was first class. He scored a goal, which was a great goal to score – showed his athleticism, his speed, his coolness. But he’s just become such an important player for us in a very quick time. I can’t praise him enough after today.” Ben Bloom

• Match report: Southampton 1-3 Newcastle

Iraola defies the numbers

A repurposed TV studio at the Vitality Stadium was full of missing players. Its windows were banged in celebration as Bournemouth destroyed Nottingham Forest in the second half. The football world’s eyes turn to Andoni Iraola’s team despite the fact he has 12 senior players fit, two of them goalkeepers. If his football is ultra-modern, a development of lessons under Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Club, there is something old school about their runaway success coming from so few players. And the adaptability of those remaining. “Lewis [Cook] playing right-back against [Anthony] Elanga, the fastest guy in the Premier League, Dango [Ouattara] had to play the No 9 because of the injuries,” said the goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. If Elanga was Forest’s best performer, Cook kept him to the peripheries. Ouattara’s hat-trick came while the strikers Enes Unal and Evanilson watched from behind glass. “He’s helped us as a left-back, has played right winger, left winger. Now he’s playing as a No 9,” said Iraola. JB

• Match report: Bournemouth 5-0 Nottingham Forest

Hürzeler must sharpen attack

Fabian Hürzeler may not have agreed with the decision to award a penalty against Joël Veltman in Saturday’s defeat by Everton but the Brighton manager refused to blame that for another toothless display by his side at home. They haven’t won a league game at the Amex since beating Manchester City at the start of November, scoring only three goals in the ensuing five matches. Even with Danny Welbeck back to lead the line, there is clearly a problem with breaking down teams who come to defend – something Hürzeler must solve if Brighton are to mount a serious challenge for Europe. “It was one of the most disappointing performances,” he said. “We didn’t have a phase where we were consistently making chances. It was disappointing that we didn’t create more against a low block.” Ed Aarons

• Match report: Brighton 0-1 Everton