5 things we learned from Premier League

1. De Bruyne is Manchester City’s comeback kid.

When Kevin de Bruyne was stretchered off at Crystal Palace on Sunday, it prompted the question of how much football he would miss. The answer came soon: a bit of stoppage time at Selhurst Park. The Belgian retained his place in the starting 11 when it seemed that Jason Puncheon’s shocking tackle could sideline him for quite some time. He showed no ill-effects in an all-action display against Watford.

De Bruyne was not merely the man of the match: he felt the most energetic performer, too. Typically, his was a display laced with quality. He hit the bar with a free kick that Heurelho Gomes did well to touch. His cross led to Sergio Aguero scoring a goal.

Manchester City v Watford – how the match unfolded

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He set up a series of chances with penetrative passes and inviting crosses. His Lazarus-like recovery felt timely: after the stalemate at Selhurst Park halted their record run of 18 successive league victories, Manchester City made an immediate return to winning ways. The sense is that his presence on the teamsheet was a fillip in itself. City may feel it is poetic justice that Puncheon could miss the rest of the season for his wretched lunge while his victim is back already, playing as if the challenge never happened.

2. Llorente shows Kane is replaceable – for a day, anyway.

Depending upon interpretation, it is a part-time job that can seem one of football’s easiest or more thankless tasks. Whichever, Tottenham have struggled to find the right sort of understudy for the prolific Harry Kane, a man who seems to want to play every game and scores in most of them. Vincent Janssen was exiled after a year in which he did not find the net in open play until March. Enter Fernando Llorente, who was little more productive until Kane fell ill. It led to a role reversal at Swansea: Kane was the substitute, setting up Dele Alli’s goal with a lovely pass, but Llorente was the starter and scorer.

His only previous strike in a Spurs shirt came against Apoel Nicosia in a Champions League dead rubber. This was a first meaningful goal, 20 games and five months into his Tottenham career. Yet some statistics can be deceptive: Llorente had made 11 previous Premier League appearances, but they only amounted to 140 minutes on the pitch.

Swansea v Tottenham Hotspur – how the match unfolded

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And while his goal contained more than a hint of offside, it also showcased his strengths: the aerial ability that helped Swansea survive last season was apparent when he headed in Christian Eriksen’s free kick. It helped bring Tottenham victory and suggested that, if Kane is absent more often, Llorente is better equipped to deputise than Janssen did. It also continued an unfortunate trend for Swansea, who sold Llorente, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jack Cork in the summer and have seen all score against them this season. It is one of many reasons why they could be relegated.

3. Martial shows Mourinho he can be a striker.

Go back to Friday and Jose Mourinho was insisting he could not rest Romelu Lukaku. The inference was that he lacked attacking options. The implication was that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the only alternative. Three days later, United proved they could play without Lukaku when he was removed from the team; not by managerial choice, but courtesy of a clash of heads with Southampton’s Wesley Hoedt.

Mourinho has been pleading poverty of late, suggesting City have greater resources. Like much he says, however, there was an element of exaggeration, a hint of selective vision. He rarely uses Marcus Rashford as a striker and that, in the long term, will surely prove his best position. He hardly ever deploys Anthony Martial in a central role but the Frenchman flourished in the 2-0 win at Everton, scoring in stylish fashion and giving the forward line a different dimension.

Everton v Manchester United – how the match unfolded

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Mourinho’s sides have tended to feature a target man and Martial is not one, but a faster, slicker figure gives a counter-attacking threat. It should not be forgotten that a footballer then compared to Thierry Henry spent part of his debut season at Old Trafford as a striker, nor that he excelled at times as one. He represents an excellent option, if Mourinho chooses to acknowledge it.

4. Lallana impresses on his comeback.

Jurgen Klopp objects to references to the ‘Fab Four.’ It jars with his notion of the team, rather than just a quartet of gifted individuals. Another may complain for other reasons. Last season, Adam Lallana was being bracketed with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho among Liverpool’s four most feared attackers. There are times when he has seemed Anfield’s forgotten man this season, obscured in part by Mohamed Salah’s prolific brilliance and sidelined by a thigh problem.

Burnley v Liverpool – how the match unfolded

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New Year’s Day brought his first start of the campaign and it suggested that, while it may be hard to return to Liverpool’s strongest side, he could have a major part to play in the second half of the season. Klopp called Lallana “outstanding” and he stood out for an unusual reason, tracking back brilliantly to make a tackle on Johann Berg Gudmundsson that may have saved a goal. More predictably, he showed quick footwork and an ability to link play in the final third.

5. Hughes’ gamble backfires to leave his position more precarious.

Mark Hughes had suggested that if Stoke beat Newcastle, theirs would have been a good festive period. Everything was predicated on that. And perhaps the 5-0 thrashing at Chelsea, an abject display that prompted some Stoke fans to walk out before half-time when they were three goals adrift, would have been forgotten or forgiven.

Stoke v Newcastle – how the match unfolded

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But defeat to Newcastle meant Hughes had merely compounded his problems. Losing to Chelsea is no disgrace in itself but, having rested so many players, Hughes had to ensure Stoke were competent enough defensively to limit the damage. Instead, they showed why they have conceded the most goals in the division after fielding two 18-year-old full-backs at Stamford Bridge.

Against Newcastle, they showed a different sort of failing, an impotence in attack. The reality is that Stoke have failed to score in four of their last six games. If Hughes got respite by beating West Brom, the sight of supporters with placards demanding his sacking illustrated it was temporary. A manager who stormed out of his press conference is in risk of making a more permanent departure after a damaging few days.