As it has always been in the Premier League, there was a lot of drama on Sunday in the four matches played.
Newly appointed manager Ralf Rangnick made a winning start to life in the Old Trafford dugout as Manchester United saw off Crystal Palace.
Tottenham and Aston Villa, meanwhile, continued their resurgences under Antonio Conte and Steven Gerrard respectively.
Spurs enjoyed a deserving win over bottom side Norwich, with Villa coming from behind to defeat Leicester City.
And despite Patrick Bamford’s last-minute goal, Leeds United dropped more points from a winning position against Brentford at Elland Road.
With lots to reflect on, we take an in-depth look at the pick of Opta’s post-match facts from Sunday’s action…
Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace: Rangnick makes winning start
Manchester United midfielder Fred celebrates after scoring against Crystal Palace on Sunday, 5 December 2021 at Old Trafford. | PHOTO: Getty Images |
Fred’s score his second Premier League goal of the season to hand Rangnick the perfect start to life in the Old Trafford dugout and he’s looking good for the next matches.
Including caretakers, six of the last seven managers have now won their first game in charge of the Red Devils in all competitions including immediate caretaker Michael Carrick.
Rangnick, though, became the first German manager to win his maiden Premier League match; succeeding where Felix Magath, Jurgen Klopp, Jan Siewert, Daniel Farke and Thomas Tuchel failed.
It also marked United’s first clean sheet at Old Trafford in 16 attempts, having last kept out Granada in the Europa League back in April.
Leeds United 2-2 Brentford: Last-gasp Bamford denies The Bees a win
Brentford was denied only a second league victory at Elland Road in 15 attempts as Bamford marked his return from injury with a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser.
Tyler Roberts’ first home Premier League goal put Leeds on course for a ninth successive win over a promoted side.
But the Bees bit back. Shandon Baptiste became only the third Grenadian to score in the English top-flight before Sergi Canos completed the turnaround.
Bamford ensured an equal share of the points for the hosts, who have now scored three Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later this season – more than any other side.
Nevertheless, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have now dropped 12 points from winning positions this term – already twice as many as they did in the whole of last season.
Tottenham 3-0 Norwich City: Three out of three for Conte
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Tottenham Hotspurs winger Son Heung-Min celebrates after scoring against Norwich City on Sunday, December 5 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. | PHOTO: Getty Images |
After Harry Redknapp and Ryan Mason, Conte became the third Tottenham manager to win his first three Premier League home games following a commanding victory over Norwich on Sunday.
Son Heung-min scored and assisted in a single game for the 19th time since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, with only Mohamed Salah who has scored and assisted in 22 matches doing so more often during that time.
The South Korea international has been directly involved in 50 per cent of Tottenham’s Premier League goals this season, with only Teemu Pukki – Norwich (63 per cent) and Emmanuel Dennis – Watford (55 per cent) involved in a higher share of their side’s goals.
There was also a rare goal for Davinson Sanchez. Notably, it was 1,029 days since the defender last found the net in this competition; doing so against Leicester in February 2019.
Norwich became the first side since Arsenal in 2008-09 to name five players aged 21 or under in their starting 11 for the third time in a single season.
However, the Canaries remain bottom of the table following a 12th defeat in 13 Premier League games in London. and with Newcastle getting their first win on Saturday
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City Premier league matches: Gerrard continues to revitalise Villa
Villa made it three wins in four games under Gerrard – as many as they managed in their first 11 matches of the campaign with former Dean Smith.
Though they took the lead, Leicester lost having scored first in a match for only the second time in 13 Premier League away games.
Ezri Konsa was the unlikely hero for the hosts. In his 216th professional appearance in all competitions, the centre-half scored twice in a game for the first time.
He also became the first defender to score a brace for Villa in a Premier League match since Ciaran Clark against Arsenal in November 2010.
One of his goals was provided by Emiliano Buendia. It was the Argentine’s 37th assist since arriving in England in 2018, with only Trent Alexander-Arnold with 39 assists registering more in the top four divisions during that time.
One Premier League match remains this match week with Everton hosting Arsenal late on today at the Goodison Park.
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