1<\/p>\n
Vital Vicario rallies after early error<\/p>\n
It is easy to say that Tottenham have a goalkeeping problem. Antonin Kinsky was brought in against Atl\u00e9tico Madrid precisely because Igor Tudor was having doubts about Guglielmo Vicario. Back in the lineup at Anfield, Vicario didn\u2019t cover himself in glory for Liverpool\u2019s opener. Dominik Szoboszlai is good at free-kicks \u2013 a quarter of the 16 scored in the Premier League<\/a> this season have been his \u2013 but he\u2019s had to come up with extraordinary strikes to beat goalkeepers such as David Raya and Gianluigi Donnarumma. His effort on Sunday wasn\u2019t too far off centre and Vicario should have saved it, a weak wrist letting him down. But the Italian rallied, producing an exceptional save down low to tip a Cody Gakpo shot on to a post. He and the rest of a sturdy, if makeshift, Spurs defence provided them with a platform to get back into the game. Tottenham can delve into the transfer market in the summer to sign a goalkeeper but, until then, they need Vicario to make vital interventions in big moments in their fight for survival \u2013 Kinsky is unlikely to get another opportunity. Billy Munday<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Carrick will not want to lose assist king<\/p>\n After Bruno Fernandes decorated Manchester United\u2019s win with two assists (his 100th in all competitions and a club-record 16th in the Premier League this season), Michael Carrick was asked if the captain, who nearly left last summer, will still be in their colours beyond the coming one. \u201cHe\u2019s certainly the type of player we don\u2019t want to lose, but it\u2019s difficult for me to get involved beyond that,\u201d said the interim manager. \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have him. He\u2019s proven over a period of time how impactful he is in the big moments. He\u2019s there all the time, he puts himself forward in training and games. You can always count on him to be there. It\u2019s a really good trait to have. He\u2019s been through ups and downs here but it\u2019s never knocked him. He was there today to make the difference.\u201d Jamie Jackson<\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes pulled the strings against Aston Villa. Photograph: Catherine Ivill\/AMA\/Getty<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Nothing dull about Dowman\u2019s magic moment<\/p>\n \u201cBoring, boring Arsenal<\/a>,\u201d was the chant directed towards the press box by some of the club\u2019s fans as they floated away at full-time after a genuine I-was-there moment against Everton. They had made their point. Or, more precisely, Max Dowman had made it for them. The jibes have rankled. How Arsenal have not been a great watch. How they will be scruffy champions. As an aside, rival supporters seem to have eased off on the bottling taunts and looked to press on other pressure points. There is a compliment in there somewhere. But where is the tedium when a 16-year-old runs from box to box to become the Premier League\u2019s youngest ever scorer to clinch a vital victory at the very last? It was simply the most glorious of ripostes. David Hytner<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Chelsea huddle obscures tactical muddle<\/p>\n Contrived, showy, LinkedIn-style pre-match gestures such as the Chelsea<\/a> huddle that ended up enveloping the referee Paul Tierney will not wash if the team proceeds to play as they did against Newcastle. Liam Rosenior admitted as much afterwards: \u201cWe\u2019re talking about something that\u2019s nowhere near as important as what\u2019s happening on the pitch.\u201d By then, the social media photos and videos \u2013 in which Tierney appeared a willing participant \u2013 had gone around the world. Chelsea had dominated possession, with Newcastle happy to let them do so, and paid the price for Joe Willock sauntering through a malfunctioning offside trap to supply Anthony Gordon with the deciding goal. Rosenior chose technical discourse as his not entirely convincing explanation: \u201cIt\u2019s a new way of pressing \u2026 the press was the reason Newcastle had to kick long balls back to us and we controlled the game.\u201d A more conventional view was that rank bad defending and disjointed attacking play had again been Chelsea\u2019s problem. John Brewin<\/p>\n Chelsea players in a huddle surrounding the referee, Paul Tierney. Photograph: Ryan Pierse\/Getty Images<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Mavropanos at heart of resilient Hammers<\/p>\n Axel Disasi joining on loan from Chelsea has had a positive impact on West Ham\u2019s defence but the improvement from the team\u2019s other centre-backs should not be downplayed. Jean-Clair Todibo is finally showing why he was regarded as one of the most promising defenders in Europe before moving to Barcelona in 2019. The Frenchman has put a run of games together and looks fitter than ever. He was excellent during West Ham\u2019s draw with Manchester City. West Ham lined up in a back five, with Konstantinos Mavropanos joining Disasi and Todibo in the middle. Mavropanos has mostly underwhelmed since joining in 2023. He has often been near the scene of the crime. But Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo has worked on the Greek defender and Mavropanos has responded with some brave performances. He scored the equaliser against City but his late block of a fierce Erling Haaland shot was the real highlight. Jacob Steinberg<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Rio grand despite Liverpool\u2019s struggles<\/p>\n Yes, Arne Slot would have had Wednesday\u2019s return leg against Galatasaray in mind when selecting his team for the visit of Tottenham, but that doesn\u2019t mean Rio Ngumoha didn\u2019t deserve to make his first Premier League start. The 17-year-old has stayed around the first-team setup since his storybook winner against Newcastle in August<\/a> and has continued to make cameos off the bench. But muscling in on Liverpool\u2019s XI in a showcase Sunday game is a significant milestone for the teenager. With Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitik\u00e9 on the bench and Federico Chiesa barely getting a look-in, Ngumoha\u2019s performance at Anfield was that of a senior pro. His close control and explosive change of speed are his chief assets and he isn\u2019t afraid to pull the trigger either. He made Guglielmo Vicario work with a low shot in the second half, moments after flashing another effort across goal. Slot knows he can trust the youngster from the start now. BM<\/p>\n Rio Ngumoha on the ball in front of Pedro Porro. Photograph: Peter Byrne\/PA<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Parachuted-in Pereira\u2019s tough balancing act<\/p>\n A goalless draw meant discussion in V\u00edtor Pereira\u2019s post-match press conference turned quickly to the game a week on, the one that feels seismic: Tottenham away. And with that, how would he go about the game before, a midweek visit to Denmark to play Midtjylland? \u201cWe need to rotate the team,\u201d said the Nottingham Forest manager, his side trailing 1-0 after the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie. \u201cMy experience is that the third game in a row \u2013 three days, after three days, after three days \u2013 will be very tough,\u201d said Pereira. \u201cThe last game, with the rain<\/a>, the pitch was very heavy and they ran a lot. Today, they try everything to win the game.\u201d You could sense Pereira\u2019s apprehension, the odd balancing act he has as a coach parachuted in to battle relegation and keep a European adventure afloat. \u201cI need to go there with the spirit to fight for qualification,\u201d he added. \u201cBut if I don\u2019t rotate the team \u2026 it will not be possible to compete [against Tottenham].\u201d Taha Hashim<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n Rigg finds feet for injury-hit Black Cats<\/p>\n \u201cWe fall, we stand up,\u201d wrote Sunderland\u2019s captain, Granit Xhaka, on social media after his injury-hit team\u2019s 1-0 home defeat by Brighton. But can R\u00e9gis Le Bris\u2019s players clamber back to their feet in time for next Sunday\u2019s Tyne-Wear derby at Newcastle? Much surely hinges on whether Robin Roefs, Nordi Mukiele, Dan Ballard, Reinildo and Enzo Le F\u00e9e recover from assorted complaints in time to start at St James\u2019 Park. If there was much to disappoint Le Bris on a day when the excellent Chris Rigg was a little unfortunate to see a fine goal disallowed for a tight offside and Yankuba Minteh\u2019s winner proved the freakish result of a miscued cross flying beyond the unsighted Melker Ellborg, Rigg\u2019s performance on the right of midfield offered cause for optimism. The 18-year-old struggled on the Premier League stage earlier this season and has been largely out of the first-team picture but here Rigg issued a reminder of his immense potential. Has the boyhood Newcastle fan played his way into contention for Sunday\u2019s starting XI? Louise Taylor<\/p>\n Sunderland\u2019s impressive Chris Rigg runs clear of Danny Welbeck. Photograph: George Wood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n Does Glasner need to be more gung-ho?<\/p>\n Crystal Palace have scored only 14 goals in front of their own fans in 15 Premier League home games this season \u2013 the second lowest in the division, behind Nottingham Forest<\/a> \u2013 and are a team that really struggle to create chances. After drawing another blank against the Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in midweek, they were desperately short of ideas against Leeds after Gabriel Gudmundsson was sent off at the end of the first half and patience is growing thin in south London. Palace supporters would like to see Oliver Glasner pair the new \u00a348m striker J\u00f8rgen Strand Larsen with Jean-Philippe Mateta in attack but finding a place for Yeremy Pino \u2013 who offers more subtlety in attack than Evann Guessand or Isma\u00efla Sarr could be the key to unlocking their attack. Ed Aarons<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n Decision day is coming for Iraola<\/p>\n