Solskjaer setback, sackings and slip-ups – 5 Premier League talking points

Manchester City triumphed in the derby at United, Chelsea and Liverpool both dropped points and two managers lost their jobs.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the latest round of Premier League matches.

Deja vu for Solskjaer

It must have been a familiar feeling for Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Saturday after his side were beaten 2-0 at Old Trafford by City. While the scoreline was not as striking as the 5-0 loss to Liverpool a fortnight earlier, it was another occasion where United were very much second best at home against fierce rivals to leave Solskjaer’s position under intense scrutiny, as last week’s 3-0 win at Tottenham proved only a temporary respite to the Red Devils’ struggles.

Blues slip up

Pep Guardiola’s second-placed City are three points behind Chelsea, who were held 1-1 by Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. Thomas Tuchel’s men had been in ominous-looking form heading into the contest, firing in 10 goals across victories against Norwich and Newcastle, the league’s bottom two sides, before 18th-placed Burnley denied them another win thanks to Matej Vydra’s 79th-minute equaliser, once again demonstrating the Premier League’s capacity to surprise.

Liverpool halted on the brink of history

Liverpool were replaced in third spot by West Ham on Sunday after Jurgen Klopp’s side lost 3-2 to the Hammers at the London Stadium, the Reds’ first defeat of the season and one that stopped them setting a new club record of 26 matches unbeaten. It made for a fitting way for West Ham – who have the same amount of points as City – to celebrate boss David Moyes reaching 1,000 games as a manager earlier in the week, very much illustrating the fine work the ex-Everton boss has done while in charge at the club.

Time up for Farke…

It was a contrasting weekend for Daniel Farke, with Norwich finally securing their maiden league win of the season on Saturday not enough to save the German from being sacked as their boss. The 2-1 win at Brentford had been preceded by 10 games in which the Canaries had picked up two points, conceded 25 goals and scored only three.

…and for Smith

It was also confirmed that the patience of the hierarchy at Aston Villa with their manager had come to an end as Dean Smith was axed on Sunday. Villa’s 1-0 loss at Southampton on Friday had been a fifth successive loss for the midlands outfit, who are 16th in the table.