Author: Guardian sport

Manchester United’s slump deepens, Ryan Christie inspires Bournemouth and David Moyes lets the good times roll

• Premier League top scorers | Latest table | Fixtures

Can winning a game that resembled two lurching drunks swinging at each other at closing time be regarded as vindication for Ange Postecoglou? Perhaps if Manchester United had a more mobile midfield and someone other than Rasmus Højlund at centre-forward – last goal at Plzen on 12 December – flanked by a winger in Alejandro Garnacho who last scored against Bodø/Glimt two weeks before that. It turns out Joshua Zirkzee – who has three goals in the league all season – is United’s most potent forward. The numbers point to this being United’s worst team in decades, and the only good news Ruben Amorim received on Sunday was 17th-placed Wolves’ defeat at Liverpool. Tottenham saw out a second successive Premier League clean sheet for the first time in 16 months but did so nervously. It will take much more than sketchily defeating a crashing clown car to prove Postecoglou’s pronouncement that the true Tottenham would reveal themselves once his injured players started returning. John Brewin

Match report: Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United

Match report: Leicester 0-2 Arsenal

Match report: Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle

Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Wolves

Match report: Aston Villa 1-1 Ipswich

Match report: Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth

Match report: Crystal Palace 1-2 Everton

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Arsenal go to Leicester in Saturday’s early kick-off aiming to close the gap on Liverpool who host Wolves on Sunday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue King Power Stadium

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Welington can beef up Saints, Ola Aina returns to SW6 and Raheem Sterling has the chance to roll back the years

• Premier League top scorers: Golden Boot race standings

It may have taken Brighton’s record signing a few months to settle in but the performance of Georginio Rutter in their thrilling FA Cup victory over Chelsea showed that the Frenchman was worth the £40m they paid Leeds in the summer. A brilliant header to equalise before setting up Kaoru Mitoma’s winner gave Fabian Hürzeler’s side the confidence boost they needed after their 7-0 mauling against Nottingham Forest, with Rutter justifying his manager’s decision to leave João Pedro on the bench. Rutter – who has seven goals in all competitions – did not start a Premier League game in January after struggling with a hamstring problem and Hürzeler has been mindful of protecting the 22-year-old, although he will be itching to face Enzo Maresca’s side for the second time in six days. “There were a lot of personal duels and he proved that he can win the majority of them, and that’s why I’m happy with him,” said Hürzeler. Ed Aarons

Southampton v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

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Only one of the top six made a notable signing – and they spent £172m – in a frustrating window for several managers

• All the deals from Europe’s top five leagues

Mikel Arteta’s hopes of strengthening his squad never materialised, no doubt to his frustration and that of every Arsenal supporter, despite the surprise bid for Ollie Watkins and interest in Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel. The feelgood factor generated by the famous thrashing of Manchester City will not last long if a lack of attacking options means they cannot sustain their challenge in the Premier League. Arteta, who would not allow Kieran Tierney or Jorginho to leave with their contracts expiring in the summer, will be hoping that some winter sunshine in Dubai next week can give his players extra spark when they return. Ed Aarons

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Arsenal relish City demolition as Sels shines while Liverpool carry on regardless at the top

Any successful title challenge needs a statement victory to install belief and reset previous concerns. Beating Manchester City must now be Arsenal’s foundation and not the zenith. Arsenal have played much of this season as if distracted by situations beyond their control – referees, their rivals’ dispositions and their relative luck with injuries. The second-half performance was a reminder of how Mikel Arteta previously took Arsenal to the verge of title wins, playing high-grade attacking football, pressing their opponents into mistakes. Has the high-quality football returned at the right time? Arteta’s team maintained discipline, not rising to provocations before taking advantage of City’s malfunctions to run in five goals. All without Bukayo Saka, whose loss was supposed to be the end of the affair. In Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, both on the scoresheet, the next generation made its contribution on a perfect Sunday for club and manager. One to celebrate and build on, not bask in. John Brewin

Match report: Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

Match report: Brentford 0-2 Tottenham

Match report: Manchester United 0-2 Crystal Palace

Match report: Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

Match report: Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

Match report: Ipswich 1-2 Southampton

Match report: Everton 4-0 Leicester

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Fulham

Match report: Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton

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Arsenal host an improving Manchester City on Sunday after Liverpool travel to in-form Bournemouth on Saturday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue City Ground

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There’s a huge game at Bournemouth, a huge game at Arsenal and … er, a huge game at Portman Road

• Premier League top scorers: latest Golden Boot race

Nuno Espírito Santo said that at Bournemouth last weekend, where they were humbled 5-0, his Nottingham Forest side had been “not accurate and missed a lot of passes”. It is interesting that four of Forest’s last five – and five of their last eight – Premier League games rank in their bottom eight of the season on pass completion. “We have to perform much better,” he said. “We have to be more solid and play better football. We have so many things to improve.” Though results in that period, at least until last week, continued to be good they have relied on statistically unlikely displays of finishing prowess. Before their trip to Bournemouth, Forest had scored with nine of their previous 12 shots on target in all competitions and the last time a Chris Wood shot on target failed to go in was before Christmas. Both Nuno and Fabian Hürzeler were sent off for misconduct during a rancorous conclusion to the fixture between these sides at the Amex Stadium last September. Simon Burnton

Nottingham Forest v Brighton, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Bournemouth v Liverpool, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Ipswich v Southampton, Saturday 3pm

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Sandro Tonali sets the tone, Manchester City debutants have mixed fortunes and Brighton must find their edge

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

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Chelsea travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City while Fulham host Manchester United at Craven Cottage

Saturday 3pm Venue Vitality Stadium

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