The damning stat that shows Sir Jim Ratcliffe should stay away from Man United games, why this title race is going to be the best in years and the Liverpool star going under the radar – FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM PL WEEKEND

Advantage Liverpool, then, as the momentum in the title race swings to Arne Slot and his players after they rallied at Anfield to beat Brighton.

Andoni Iraola – who spoke exclusively to Mail Sport last week – gave them a helping hand by guiding his Bournemouth side to victory over Manchester City, while Arsenal‘s annual defeat at Newcastle arrived in the early kick-off.

Ruud van Nistelrooy kept his unbeaten run going as interim boss of Manchester United in a low quality draw with Chelsea at Old Trafford, while Gary O’Neil remains on thin ice as winless Wolves have just three points after 10 games and appear to be sleepwalking to relegation.

In the latest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League over the weekend.

MEDIOCRE TITLE CHASERS IS GOOD NEWS

Arsenal fans despaired when they fell to Newcastle, again, in the early kick-off on Saturday – only to see Manchester City trip themselves up at Bournemouth a few hours later.

Hours later, Bournemouth stunned Man City – but weaker frontrunners is good for the league

It is only the third time since the start of 2017-18 that both of the previous season’s top two have lost on the same day in the Premier League, after March 7, 2021 and January 14, 2023.

Liverpool, who were unconvincing for 45 minutes, took advantage with their come-from-behind win at home to Brighton.

But rather than despair, weaker frontrunners is a good thing for the Premier League, not bad.

Part of the charm with the Premier League is its competition, the ability for any side to land a blow against one of the title favourites.

While Bayern Munich ran roughshod over Union Berlin in a 3-0 win, following on from their 5-0 win over Bochum, the Premier League not being predictable week on week should be celebrated.

Arsenal have been a shining light in recent seasons but the gap to the rest of the pack is closing at a rapid rate.

Mikel Arteta’s side have now conceded first in four of their last six Premier League games – as many as in their previous 31 games. In those four, Arsenal have won just once.

City, too, look weaker than they have in years, not least without the midfield metronome and Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri, to call upon each week.

Brighton were left to rue missed chances in their 2-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday

Bournemouth turned City over with relative ease, while Brighton were left to rue missed chances that let Liverpool off the hook at Anfield when they had a bloody nose from going 1-0 down.

It is early, just 10 games into the season, but the fact that Newcastle, way down in 10th, are just three points off Chelsea in fourth is a huge positive.

Competition keeps the interest and after Aston Villa cracked the top four and got into the Champions League, the likes of Brighton, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are – rightly – daring to dream.

Inconsistent title challengers tripping themselves up? More please…

SIR JIM RATCLIFFE’S BARREN RUN GOES ON

Spare a thought for Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his wait to see Manchester United win a league game in person continued on Sunday.

The Ineos chief has now attended Tottenham at home (2-2), Chelsea away (3-4), Liverpool at home (2-2), Arsenal at home (0-1), Liverpool at home (0-3), Aston Villa away (0-0), and Chelsea at home (1-1).

He was punching the air in celebration when Bruno Fernandes sent Robert Sanchez the wrong way to slot in his second half penalty – but it didn’t last long when Moises Caicedo fired in superbly from outside the area. The barren run goes on.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended Manchester United’s drab 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Old Trafford

Ratcliffe’s appearance came less than a week after United decided to sack Erik ten Hag

Ratcliffe was in town to sit alongside his army of executives in what was the first Premier League game since they pulled the plug on Erik ten Hag and sacked him after defeat to West Ham.

Perhaps Ratcliffe has come to expect such disappointment when he is in town, after all he admitted this squad is way off where it needs to be.

The 72-year-old, speaking last month, said bluntly: ‘You can’t win anything in football if your squad isn’t good enough to win something.

‘The quality of the squad is a bit like the speed of the boat. That’s the only parallel really [to the America’s Cup team].’

Given he dysfunction around United, even with Ten Hag out the door, maybe wait until Ruben Amorim takes the reins to visit again, Jim…

NUNO HAS BUILT FROM THE BACK

I mentioned last week about Chris Wood, the Fantasy Football cheat code that isn’t named – or priced the same as – Erling Haaland.

While Wood, who scored again in the rout of West Ham, has been key, much of Nottingham Forest’s success has been predicated on their defence.

Nuno Espirito Santo, himself a former goalkeeper, knows well just how important it is to have solid foundations before adding the finishing touches up top.

Chris Wood has been Forest’s star this season but their defence have played a huge role 

Forest have conceded just seven goals in the league, the second-best in the division so far

After turning West Ham over 3-0 – their second clean sheet in the last three games – they finished the weekend with just seven goals conceded (ranked second best in the league) and with five clean sheets (joint second in the league).

They have faced just 36 shots on target through the opening 10 games, which puts them sixth overall, and an expected goals against of 9.7, which puts them fourth overall.

Matz Sels continues to go under the radar despite a really impressive start to the campaign, while this more frugal version of Forest have shown a repeated ability to restrict opponents to really low quality chances.

Opta’s SuperComputer had Forest slated for a 17th-placed finish this season with another wicked battle against relegation to come. But few believe that perilous prediction now…

JONES SLOTS RIGHT IN

Sometimes players just fit with a certain manager and while Curtis Jones got an invaluable education under Jurgen Klopp, his game is being elevated to a new level under Arne Slot.

Sent on from the bench to help turn Saturday’s game around, Jones transformed the game, along with Luis Diaz, in a performance that had Liverpool fans purring.

Curtis Jones has taken his game to a new level since Arne Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp

In 24 minutes Jones produced an assist and made 10/10 accurate passes and was the unsung hero behind this second half fightback.

Slot’s emphasis on controlling possession and dictating the game is allowing Jones to flourish and while he has often been scapegoated when performances dip, he is quietly going about his business this season and deserves his flowers.

His driving run from the edge of his own box, before funnelling the ball to Mohamed Salah for the winning goal is the exact kind of transition Slot demands – and needs – if Liverpool are going to be legitimate title contenders.

‘We didn’t show up in the first half,’ Slot said. ‘We faced a very good team, but we needed something else in the first half. The players understood that we needed more.

‘When you bring Curtis Jones in, it is not much of a risk. You know these players can play with the intensity that we need.’

Keep going at this pace and it will be harder and harder for Slot to keep him on the bench.

Slot is getting the best out of Jones, who was vital in Liverpool’s comeback win over Brighton

SPURS COMEBACK… AGAIN

Despite Aston Villa leading 1-0 through Morgan Rogers, there was a quiet confidence that Tottenham would turn things around on Sunday afternoon.

There was confusion when, moments after teeing up Brennan Johnson for the equaliser, Son Heung-min was taken off with just 55 minutes played, but Tottenham have seemingly made a habit of winning from behind.

That Rogers goal from a well-worked Villa set piece meant that Postecoglou’s side have now conceded the opening goal of a Premier League home game 12 times in 2024; the most of any team this year.

Tottenham are becoming the kings of the comeback under manager Ange Postecoglou

‘Spursy’ is the word that so often gets bandied around but there is now a real resilience that has been introduced under Postecoglou.

A four-minute brace from Dominic Solanke and a stoppage time goal from James Maddison added gloss to a win that puts them just two points behind Arsenal.

And delving deep into the stats you can see that since the start of last season, Tottenham have won 10 Premier League matches in which they conceded the first goal; the joint-most of any team, along with Manchester City.

Add to that, too, that they have won three of their last four at home after going 1-0 down, beating Brentford, West Ham and Villa.

PS: In five Premier League away games so far this season, Arsenal have mustered just 37 shots. Only Brentford, who play away at Fulham on Monday night, have had less with 30. Their lack of firepower is clear – and they must go out and get a No 9 if they are to stand any chance of delivering on Gary Neville’s prediction that they will win the Premier League this season.