“Top Four Talk” is a column by Marco Haynes about the 2024-25 English Premier League in which he breaks down the week’s four most consequential talking points.
Sensational Liverpool extends its lead in the title race
It’s difficult to pick a word to describe Liverpool’s season so far, but it has been sensational and shows no signs of slowing down. A 2-0 victory against title-rivals Manchester City at Anfield, cementing the Reds’ nine-point lead atop the Premier League, is a massive boost in their quest for their second title in the Premier League era.
Manager Arne Slot has performed wonders at the club this season, with his team winning 11 league matches, having suffered just one loss and while scoring the second-most goals in the division.
The system Slot has implemented seems to have no faults and it looked perfectly set again against a perennially difficult team to beat in Man City, although Slot’s first league showdown with Pep Guardiola came amid what is probably the worst run of the City boss’ career. Liverpool kept a clean sheet and attempted 18 shots, the most the Citizens have faced this season.
Furthermore, the Reds earned their seventh clean sheet of the season and conceded only eight goals, the fewest in the league. However, the club will have to endure being without pivotal defensive players Conor Bradley and Ibrahim Konaté for the month of December, when the club has an intense eight-match schedule across all competitions.
Liverpool’s early dominance would not have been possible without Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian winger found the back of the net against Man City, scoring his 11th goal in the division, trailing one strike behind goals leader Erling Haaland. He also registered his seventh assist during the game. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, how has Liverpool not secured Salah’s signature for several more years given the world-class performances he’s displayed in the division?
Amorim’s home debut delivers in style
The Amorim era has lifted off with his first Premier League victory after Manchester United bulldozed past Everton in a 4-0 display, a preview for the Manchester United faithful of what could come under Ruben Amorim’s management.
The Portuguese head coach is beginning to transform his new club with a different style of attacking football. Such a thumping win made history as the most significant margin of victory for any United manager’s debut at Old Trafford in the division. Also, Man United hadn’t won by four goals since thrashing Leeds United at home in the opening game of the 2021-22 season.
Amorim has also rejuvenated two of the club’s underperforming stars. Summer recruit Joshua Zirkzee found the back of the net twice against Everton, having failed to score since the first league game of the season.
Manchester United fans also saw Marcus Rashford score twice against the Toffees, and they’ll hope that under the new manager, their talisman can find the shooting boots that made him so dangerous earlier in his career. The English winger has now scored three total goals in back-to-back league matches, the same amount he managed in the previous 23 games under interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy and Erik ten Hag.
Another positive was young star Amad Diallo’s performance, registering two assists during the match and giving an energetic and dazzling display to his new manager that surely assured his name on the team sheet going forward.
Aston Villa’s struggles deepen
Playing their first season in the Champions League since 1982 (when it was still called the European Cup) has given Aston Villa a packed schedule that might be contributing to their fall-off in 2024-25, as they struggled yet again, this time in a visit to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea demolished them 3-0 on Sunday.
The Villains are now winless across five league games and eight in all competitions. They joined Everton and Leicester in having the longest current streak without a victory in the division.
Aston Villa hasn’t gone winless in five straight Premier League matches since the Steven Gerrard-led days during the 2022-23 season.
Manager Unai Emery faces the challenge of turning things around as his team now sits 12th in the division, slipping further away from a European qualification position. The Spanish coach’s side last secured a league victory against Fulham on Oct. 19.
However, the club’s Champions League form has been promising. They sit ninth in the 36-team table with three wins, including a 1-0 victory against giants Bayern Munich, but have been unable to continue the momentum in the Premier League.
The intense number of games the Villains have played might be catching up with them after star goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez suffered an injury to his hand against Chelsea. He joins fellow key players Jacob Ramsay and Amadou Onana on the sidelines.
Bukayo Saka shines again for Arsenal
A player of the match performance in Arsenal’s 5-2 victory against West Ham at the London Stadium provides another reason to add Bukayo Saka’s name to the presumptive Player of the Season shortlist.
The Gunners’ five-star display was led by their dazzling, playmaking winger, who registered two assists and scored a penalty to end the Hammers’ chances of a comeback. The Englishman has five goals and sits top of the assists leaderboard with 10 in 13 games played.
Meanwhile, Saka clearly enjoys playing against West Ham, having now scored four goals against the Hammers in his Premier League career, the joint-most he has tallied against any one club alongside Liverpool and Wolves.
Despite manager Mikel Arteta’s players not having won on the road in their last four games in the division, they cruised past West Ham to remain second in the Premier League.
While the Gunners are nine points behind league-leaders Liverpool, Saka still gives them hope in the title race as long as he stays fit and can continue to consistently perform.
Arteta will be thrilled with how his team played against the Hammers. Having won away in East London 6-0 last season, they almost scored the same number again this past weekend. Already, the Gunners have scored five or more goals in five different away games in 2024, which is the joint-most in a single calendar year in the top flight since Sunderland in 1892 and Manchester City in 1937.
“Top Four Talk” runs every Wednesday.