6) Bournemouth think big after breaking away duck
Things finally clicked on the road for Bournemouth, for the first time this season. Nathan Aké was the unlikely hero, scoring the only goal of the game to hand Eddie Howe’s side their first away win of the season. Aké, loaned to the club from Chelsea to gain experience in midfield, excelled on his league debut in the centre of defence and the Dutchman’s touch of class at the back is just what they have been missing. But where now and what’s next? Bournemouth sit ninth in the table, beyond all expectations, above their south coast neighbours Southampton and three points behind Walter Mazzarri’s impressive Watford. With Jack Wilshere slowly establishing himself as a focal point, Jordon Ibe still seeking to find his feet and Callum Wilson yet to hit his best form, there is plenty more to come from Howe’s team, especially going forward. If they can back that up by staying tight in defence, then they may end the season in the top half. “We are not tiny Bournemouth now. We want to shake that tag off and European football is the next aim,” Steve Cook, the Bournemouth centre-back, said last week. “We want to stay in and around the top half of the table and see where that takes us.” Ben Fisher
7) Defoe’s milestone highlights his transformative impact
Hats off to Jermain Defoe. Sunderland fans dare not contemplate where their team might be without the 34-year-old former England striker who scored his 150th Premier League goal in the 3-0 home win against Hull City. That is some record, taking Defoe past Les Ferdinand in the all-time scoring stakes and draws him level with Michael Owen. After seven goals in 12 appearances for struggling Sunderland this season and 28 in 64 games since joining from Toronto, no one on Wearside doubts the transformative impact of a sometimes underrated, often lone, striker but against Hull Defoe, for once, had a little help. Victor Anichebe scored twice while the Manchester City loanee defender Jason Denayer shone in an unfamiliar holding role and Jordan Pickford once again highlighted his goalkeeping ability. Stellar saves from Robert Snodgrass, Sam Clucas and Dieumerci Mbokani emphasised Pickford’s potential as an England No1. Louise Taylor
8) Sakho return fails to mask West Ham’s striking issue
It is always heartening to see a footballer return successfully from long-term injury so the sight of Diafra Sakho leading West Ham’s line at Tottenham, making his first appearance of the season after the latest flare-up of his back problems, was a welcome one. But once the sentimental stuff was out of the way you wondered whether Sakho’s inclusion in the starting lineup without even a substitute outing to his name highlighted an issue that West Ham have not resolved to anyone’s satisfaction during Slaven Bilic’s tenure. They are painfully short of a reliable, quality striker and although Sakho – who would have been a West Bromwich Albion player in the summer, remember, had he been fit in August – is by no means a low-quality operator it said little for the squad’s resources that he was a first-choice pick in this case. It said even less that Simone Zaza, an inadequate figure even if his Euro 2016 penalty embarrassment skewed perceptions from the moment of his arrival in London, was the man chosen to replace him after an hour’s hard work. West Ham’s squad is filled with creative players – to the extent that Sofiane Feghouli was not even called from the bench on Saturday – but without a sharper presence inside the box their toils may well continue. Nick Ames
9) Mahrez’s toil sums up difficulty of Leicester title defence
Last season’s title win by Leicester City was a marvellous collective triumph, and their weak defence of that title is a collective problem. None of Leicester’s players have yet recaptured the magic of last season, apart from a couple of sparkling performances in the Champions League. Even last season’s player of the year, Riyad Mahrez, has struggled to make an impact and he was ineffective again at Watford on Saturday. “The opponent is very, very careful when he receives the ball, always three opponents were close to him,” Claudio Ranieri said, explaining that both Mahrez and the team must learn to cope with the extra attention. “This is the next step now, to understand this and try to find the solution. I try to say to him play simple, but sometimes he takes the responsibility to do something for the team because he is our quality player. Of course we have to do something, have to study something because the opponent now knows us very very well and we can’t continue only with Riyad and give to him all the responsibility.” Paul Doyle
10) Son gives further evidence of his value to Spurs
Son Heung-min’s status at Tottenham these days is such that it came as a disappointment to see him start on the bench against West Ham, Mauricio Pochettino explaining he was tired after returning from international duty with South Korea. In the end, though, it was the relative freshness Son brought to a generally guile-free team performance after his 72nd-minute introduction that swung the game in Tottenham’s favour and his two major contributions were a reminder that, for all the goals of Harry Kane and enterprising work of their full-backs, he offers something different. The darting run and change of direction that led to the cross for Kane’s equaliser showed a level of invention Tottenham had been missing; the check-back that fooled Havard Nordtveit into conceding a decisive penalty was cute enough for Slaven Bilic, publicly at least, to absolve his player from blame. Son’s contribution was timely given that the man he replaced, Mousa Dembélé, was well short of the dominant form he showed against Arsenala fortnight previously; he is a wonderfully multifaceted footballer and deserves the extra recognition he is now receiving. Nick Ames
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