Whisper it quietly, football fans, but it might just be liverpool’s year.
The Reds hit top spot for the first time since that 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace in their near title-winning season after demolishing Watford 6-1 at Anfield.
Rivals Manchester City and Arsenal both dropped points at home to Middlesbrough and Tottenham respectively while Chelsea thumped Everton to move to second.
So – what did we learn from those fixtures, and the rest around the Premier League this weekend?
Look no further…
1. Liverpool could be clear at the top by
If they maintain that consistency for a couple of months, then there’s a chance Liverpool can open up a bit of a gap over the Christmas period.
And that would be an ominous position to be in, given most of their rivals at the top of the table should all still be embroiled in the Champions’ League in the New Year.
2. Yes, Chelsea are title contenders again
Back in September you wouldn’t have given a bean for their chances.
They couldn’t defence, they were embarrassed at Arsenal and Conte looked to have had a massive job on even to get them into the top four.
Suddenly they are top and look a match for anyone. Spurs may have the best defence in the Premier League but right now they can’t score. Chelsea can. For fun.
Yes, Everton were awful and will want to get this footballing disaster out of their system as quickly as possible. But Chelsea were seriously impressive here, keeping their collective foot on the throat of their opponents even at 5-0 up.
They have won back the confidence lost after that shambolic defeat at the Emirates. They have convinced those who questioned the quality of their wins against a poor Hull side and a Manchester United team in transition.
Chelsea have set themselves a new standard. And are now setting the pace in the Premier League.
3. Sergio Aguero should be undroppable
Pep Guardiola’s gamble in sacrificing Aguero in the Nou Camp to try and win the midfield battle against Barcelona backfired.
Aguero has responded with three goals since to take his City tally to 150 in just 223 games.
Great strikers average a goal every two games, but the Argentinian hitman’s is even better and he is hitting two goals every three matches.
The South American has 14 in his 15 games this season, despite a barren run of six games without a goal.
4. Harry Kane, even half-fit, is an upgrade up front
Harry Kane hadn’t pulled on a Tottenham shirt since September 18th, but was included in the starting lineup for the big one.
The England striker’s absence was masked early on by Son Heung-Min going on a scoring run but when the Korean’s goals dried up, Spurs’ results began to suffer.
Vincent Janssen, the summer signing brought in to be Kane’s relief man, has struggled for anything resembling even mediocre form.
So it was a huge boost to have local boy Kane back in their lineup.
While the £60million-rated centre-forward was clearly not back to 100%, his intelligent movement and presence was far more of an issue for Arsenal than Janssen would have been.
Kane’s back-to-back 20-goal seasons command respect, and he was given that today. The goal may have come from the spot but it was a line-leading forward that Pochettino needed at the Emirates and he will be delighted to have had one again.
After six weeks without, Poch has finally got his main man back.
5. Pogba’s fine show
£89million is an awful lot of money, and to splash it all on a midfielder who doesn’t guarantee you 20 goals is really something.
But the upside to Paul Pogba is absolutely enormous. He IS a potential Ballon d’Or winner. And he showed glimpses of why here.
Appearing much more relaxed with Michael Carrick alongside him, Pogba was in a role more similar to that he enjoyed at Juventus; working up and down, but being allowed to drift out to the left.
When he did that, Wayne Rooney tucked in. When Rooney went out, Pogba went central.
The experience of Carrick, Rooney and Ibrahimovic is something that Pogba seems to enjoy working with. They’re something of a safety net for him and allow him to express himself, while simultaneously keeping him focused.
Jose Mourinho recently said he was unworried over perceived poor form and called for time for the French star, who, lest we forget, is still only 23.
A goal and a performance like this will earn both manager and player a degree of leeway.
6. Palace defensive woes continue
It’s not exactly the record you want, but Palace have now gone 16 Premier League games without a clean sheet. What a rotten start for the Eagles who fancied turning things round at Turf Moor for once.
Within 80 seconds, they had conceded again as Sam Vokes netted with a simple tap-in after Palace’s defence was all at sea under Burnley’s full-on pressure from the start.
Within 14 minutes, the South Londoners were in deeper defensive trouble as they conceded yet again.
There seemed little understanding between Scott Dann and Damien Delaney as Icelandic International Johann Gudmondsson sliced through to unleash a fierce drive.
Spare a thought for exposed keeper Steve Mandanda, who managed to palm down, the ball then bouncing up and past him into the roof of the net.
Poor goalkeeping, but poor defending too. Palace in big trouble at the back. Watch out for moves by Alan Pardew in the January sales. He’s already looking at loan signings from Chelsea, who have defenders frustrated at being left out.
7. The 120 seconds that give Hull City hope
Although many people’s tip for the drop, if Hull City manage to survive this Premier League season they will look back at this game as a key moment in their season.
The Tigers had lost six league games on the bounce coming into this match and looked on course for a seventh when Charlie Austin fired home from the spot on six minutes.
Hull offered almost nothing in terms of an attacking threat but goals from Robert Snodgrass and Michael Dawson in the space of two minutes have given the Yorkshire outfit plenty of optimism.
8. Albion will be safe
Tony Pulis does what it says on the tin – he never gets relegated.
West Brom do not often earn high marks for artistic merit, but this was a decent performance on the road.
If Jonny Evans and Gareth McAuley’s partnership in central defence is not hampered by injury, they will collect more than enough points to be safe.
9. West Ham still do not feel at home at the London Stadium
Two more points dropped amid a strange atmosphere in Stratford and the Hammers sit just four points off the drop zone.
And the next four games after the international break are Spurs away, Manchester United away, Arsenal at home and then Liverpool away.
10. Moyes avoids unwanted record
Sunderland avoided another piece of unwanted history by claiming their first win of the season.
They had already equalled Manchester City’s 1995/96 record of just two points after 10 games and another setback here would have seen them keep stride with City, who also lost their 11th game that season.
But thanks to this spirited performance with ten men, they dodged adding that one to their list of unwanted records.
