Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action


Manchester City resemble the girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead, N’Golo Kanté’s return to Leicester shows Wilfred Ndidi what needs to be done and David Moyes regrets catching the bullet dodged by Mark Hughes

This time last year Southampton paid £4m to sign Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers. It was a while before he made an impact, but he certainly made an impact during the early part of this season, scoring nine goals in 19 games. But Southampton’s form has tailed off since Austin suffered a shoulder injury last month. They have lacked a cutting edge and have won only three of their past nine games in all competitions, sinking into the bottom half of the league in the process. Shane Long has rarely been prolific, Jay Rodriguez is still regaining his sharpness after his injury problems and Nathan Redmond is maturing. While Claude Puel’s side dominated for long spells against Burnley, a shortage of ruthlessness left them vulnerable and Joey Barton scored a late winner for the hosts. The outcome might have been different had Austin been available, but he is likely to be out until March. They may have to buy again. Jacob Steinberg

Related: Eden Hazard and Pedro provide answers for Chelsea in Diego Costa’s absence | Jacob Steinberg

Related: Jürgen Klopp’s diamond surprise tires under Manchester United pressure | Michael Cox

Related: Arsène Wenger aims to save Alexis Sánchez’s energy for tougher battles | Nick Miller

We need a lift and it's not just the players – it's everybody around the place

If you've got less points than games you're going to get relegated so you've got to start catching up

Continue reading...