English Premier League Action Resumed with the First Fixtures of the Year bringing Mixed Results. A Chelsea draw, A Tottenham Flop and a Man City Bounce back are some of the weekend highlights.
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Erling Haaland's brace and Manchester City's 4-1 victory over West Ham United could signal a turning point in their season.
After a dismal run of results, the defending champions have secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since late October.
Haaland's impressive form continued as he headed in the second goal and chipped the goalkeeper for the third, both assisted by Savinho.
The Norwegian striker's goals, along with an own goal and a strike from Phil Foden, secured the win, despite Niclas Fullkrug's late consolation for West Ham.
Elsewhere, Chelsea's winless streak extended to four matches after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Jean-Philippe Mateta's late equalizer cancelled out Cole Palmer's opener, further denting Chelsea's fading title hopes.
The Blues remain nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who face Manchester United on Sunday.
Alexander Isak's rich vein of form continued as he scored in his seventh consecutive Premier League game, earning Newcastle United a 2-1 win over injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur.
The Sweden striker's fortuitous goal proved decisive, with England's newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel in attendance.
Southampton's struggles persist despite a managerial change, as they suffered a 5-0 thrashing at home to Brentford, their third consecutive defeat under Ivan Juric. Bryan Mbeumo's brace took his league tally to 13 goals for the season.
Aston Villa and Bournemouth secured narrow 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Leicester City and Everton, respectively, in other Premier League encounters.
Meanwhile, Manchester United travel to Face Liverpool in one of the biggest clash of the Weekend.
Liverpool host United at Anfield in a 4.30pm GMT kick-off on Sunday, looking to complete a Premier League double over the opposition, after the reverse fixture at Old Trafford finished 3-0 in the visitors’ favour.
Since Ruben Amorim promised a storm, Manchester United have lost six, won two, conceded 18 goals and scored nine. The gales will be at their harshest at Anfield.
It gets worse. United are winless at Anfield in nine games and nine years, their longest ever drought at the ground since they first played there in 1895.
There have been five defeats, four draws, 18 goals shipped and one scored. That was from an error by Alisson that gifted Jesse Lingard a tap-in six years ago.
Amorim played at Anfield in a Europa League knockout tie with Benfica in 2010. Benfica were 2-1 up from the first leg and Amorim buckled in the 18th minute, fouling Yossi Benayoun. Liverpool led nine minutes later and blew Benfica away 4-1.
“We know that it is going to be a tough moment, really different context from both teams," Amorim acknowledged on Friday. "They had that strong base for long years and they are a strong team. But we work this week to win the game, we will try to do that.”
Manchester United will have some additional firepower for its Anfield clash with Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte returning from suspension. But boss Ruben Amorim might still face a selection headache.
In his pre-match press conference, Amorim cast doubt on Marcus Rashford's participation, citing health concerns: "It's the same situation but, at the moment, he's ill," he said. "I think he's going to be out this week. He's not training so we will see."
Rashford's lack of game time is becoming more noticeable after being benched during Manchester United's disappointing 2-0 loss to Newcastle United last Monday. He has missed out entirely on the matchday squad in the four previous games amid swirling transfer talk.
With Rashford's chances to feature against Liverpool looking slim, United's injury woes are compounded as they will certainly miss the services of Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, and Victor Lindelof due to injuries.
The duo of Mount and Shaw have had their share of spells on the sidelines and only recently returned before suffering further injury blows last month.
In addition, Jonny Evans was noticeably absent from the squad that faced Newcastle, with starlet Godwill Kukonki taking a spot on the bench instead. The specific reasons for Evans' absence remain undisclosed, although he has been mentioned in the team news update on the United official website, suggesting he might come into contention for the Liverpool match.
It will be interesting to see United's Manager Formation as he Faces the Likes of Salah who has been in great Form. Will Liverpool Walk Alone or Will the Red Devils Extend their Loosing Streak? We wait.