1) Zaha and Palace moving in right direction

After a medley of mid-table finishes, could this be the season Crystal Palace return to the top half? They finished 10th four years ago under Alan Pardew and after victory at Burnley are part of a chasing pack on the tails of fifth-placed Tottenham. The win stopped a worrying rot of five games without victory and, with Wilfried Zaha having come to the fore in recent outings, there is plenty for a painfully inconsistent Palace to build on. December looks kind, too, with Bournemouth the visitors to Selhurst Park on Tuesday before matches against Watford, Brighton, Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton. After a quiet start Zaha, who has scored in successive games, is beginning to take centre stage, which is right where Palace need him. “He has been very good in recent games,” Roy Hodgson said. “We are grateful for the three points but now we need to use this feeling going forwards.” Ben Fisher

• Match report: Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace

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2) Chelsea miss Abraham’s mobility

Expect Tammy Abraham to walk straight back into the Chelsea team if he has recovered from a hip injury in time to face Aston Villa on Wednesday. They were clueless in attack during the home defeat by West Ham and badly missed Abraham’s mobility up front. Olivier Giroud started for the first time since August and a laboured performance from the striker could persuade Frank Lampard to sell him next month. However, Chelsea’s squad is not deep. Lampard made five changes after the draining draw with Valencia but it was a muddled display. Pedro, another who could be allowed to leave, struggled after being handed a rare start and it was surprising Michy Batshuayi stayed on the bench when Chelsea, who finished with the diminutive Christian Pulisic playing through the middle, were chasing an equaliser. Lampard needs Abraham back. Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: Chelsea 0-1 West Ham

3) Everton have the players but not the finish

Whatever the future of Marco Silva, Everton are not a team bereft of talent. Djibril Sidibé, playing as a wing-back, supplied the excellent cross from which Richarlison scored a diving header of which Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp, the strike partnership of the club’s 1980s golden era, would have been proud. And the Brazilian goalscorer maintained his threat right up to the point Leicester stole the game with Kelechi Iheanacho’s late winner. Moise Kean’s brief cameo started with an improvised chip that had Kasper Schmeichel beaten and scrabbling. Alex Iwobi played a second-half crossfield pass of wonderful vision amid other flashes of creativity. James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes were kept unusually quiet by the midfield endeavour of Tom Davies and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Defeat, though, came when concentration dropped. John Brewin

• Match report: Leicester 2-1 Everton

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Moise Kean brought a brief spark to proceedings. Photograph: Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images

4) Liverpool the set-piece kings

Graham Potter’s analysis of defeat at Anfield nailed the simple truth that Liverpool are impossible to stop. Brighton matched the Premier League leaders in open play but were powerless to prevent them making it 40 set-piece goals since the start of last season – nine more than Bournemouth in second. “You can be good in 90% of the pitch but if you are not good in that part they can do all sorts of things to hurt you,” the Brighton manager said. “They’ve probably got the best deliverer of the ball and the best attacker of the ball in the world.” He was referring to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk. Jürgen Klopp said: “I am not so silly that I say I only want to see a game where I only see ‘blitz’ football. A lot of teams sit back, especially in the last one and a half years, so we have to play around that wall. There are different ways to finish a game off.” Andy Hunter

• Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton

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5) Grealish takes the hits from United’s bruisers

Old Trafford was treated to a familiar sight in the opening 10 minutes, as a spindly, cocksure attacking midfielder was kicked from pillar to post by brutish opponents before responding with a wondrous goal. Jack Grealish is no Cristiano Ronaldo but it says a fair bit about Manchester United’s last decade that they are now playing the role of hapless bruisers. As for the Aston Villa man, the fact he is the Premier League’s most fouled player – and by an astonishing distance – is a reflection of defenders’ inability to deal with him legally. The 24-year-old would be wise, though, to think twice when the heavyweights inevitably come calling. The opponents he played against on Sunday, who included Juan Mata, Fred and Luke Shaw, offer all the evidence he needs about the power of a big move to derail a decent career. Alex Hess

• Match report: Manchester United 2-2 Aston Villa

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6) Shelvey too sharp for Manchester City

Before kick-off a plane flew over St James’ Park trailing a banner urging everyone to Vote Brexit Party and, perhaps warming to the election theme, Pep Guardiola’s post-match message was similarly unconvincing. “We played so good,” said City’s manager, applying the sort of spin capable of making even a politician blush. In reality his side were always vulnerable to Newcastle’s counterattacking pace and had no excuses when the former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey quite possibly handed his old club the title after being left unmarked as Christian Atsu shaped to take a late free-kick before pulling the ball back for Shelvey to equalise. “I’d love to say it was due to wonderful training-ground coaching,” Steve Bruce said, “but Jonjo saw City had nobody on the edge of the box, which is very rare for teams these days, and had a word with Christian.” Louise Taylor

• Match report: Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City

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7) VAR becomes the fans’ opera

Talking about VAR: fine. A bit tedious but sadly unavoidable. Arguing about VAR: regrettable but perhaps an inevitable corollary of a botched law and an increasingly heated public discourse. In these divided times can we at least agree that singing about VAR should be beyond the pale? Norwich and Arsenal fans were the latest ones at it on Sunday. After the technology first awarded Arsenal a penalty, and then awarded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a second go at it because of Norwich encroachment, the indignant Norwich fans struck up an indignant chant of “Fuck VAR” – the protest anthem Joan Baez never wrote. Not to be outdone, the Arsenal fans started merrily singing their praise of the new technology. This is football in 2019: rival fans engaging in VAR-themed call-and-response opera, like a doomsday Gilbert and Sullivan. Jonathan Liew

• Match report: Norwich 2-2 Arsenal

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8) Saints must not get carried away

Victory over Watford has eased the pressure on Southampton before Norwich visit St Mary’s on Wednesday but it would be foolish for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side to get carried away. Hasenhüttl said Saturday was not the time to berate his players’ worrying first-half performance but if his side can replicate the kind of urgency they displayed in the later stages of their first home win since April then they will give themselves a fighting chance. Norwich will take plenty of heart from an enthralling draw against Arsenal on Sunday and Saints could do worse than take inspiration from the way Daniel Farke’s side attacked on home soil. Too often Southampton shrivelled into their shell before Sofiane Boufal and Shane Long injected life into a desperate display. Against a playful and fearless Norwich they cannot afford to make the same mistake. Ben Fisher

• Match report: Southampton 2-1 Watford

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side saw off Watford on Saturday. Photograph: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images

9) Sissoko fits the bill for Mourinho

It has been suggested Moussa Sissoko is José Mourinho’s type of player. He has the physicality and athleticism the manager values and is capable of making an effective defensive contribution from the right-hand side of midfield. That may be true but Sissoko would surely not be in Mourinho’s team if he did not think he could trust him. He led the Tottenham team in interceptions (and fouls) against Bournemouth and buzzed around constantly in support of the right-back Serge Aurier. Sissoko was reliable and read the game well. It is surely this improved aspect of the 30-year old’s performance that will have endeared him most to Mourinho. Sissoko’s sweetly taken goal was a sign of a man playing with confidence and – for someone whose strife in front of goal has become legendary – a pleasure to watch. Paul MacInnes

• Match report: Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth

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10) Mousset the bargain buy who keeps giving

If Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United are largely a triumph of coaching (four of Sunday’s back five played on their last trip to Molineux in the Championship) then the rampant form of Lys Mousset is proof the manager is no fool in the transfer market either. After three deeply unremarkable seasons at Bournemouth, Mousset was not many people’s idea of a sparkling goalscorer but Wilder saw something in him and, having parted with the relative pittance of £10m, can feel fully vindicated. The forward has already found the net more times in 13 games for his new club than he did in 71 at Bournemouth. Pound for pound, Mousset is the signing of the season so far – although it says plenty about the grotesque wealth of the Premier League that its bargain-basement castoffs are now selling for eight-figure sums. Alex Hess

• Match report: Wolves 1-1 Sheffield United