The scale of Klopp’s improvement is remarkable

Daniel Storey reflects on the weekend's Premier League action.

Must we now consider Liverpool as the real deal?

Supporters of their rivals may remark that warm praise should be reserved for when Liverpool actually win the league, but we are permitted to assess their strength as a title challenger and conclude that there are very few reasons to doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side. Liverpool are the only club to have been top at Christmas in the last decade and failed to win the title - and have done so twice - but it might just be third time lucky.

Liverpool are getting it done rather than brushing past every opponent with consummate ease, but beat Newcastle United on St Stephen’s Day and they will have completed half a league season and dropped only six points. At the same stage of last season, they had dropped 22 points.

The improvement is extraordinary. Liverpool are currently on course to match Chelsea’s 2004/05 record for the fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season, but that Chelsea team only scored 72 goals. Continue at their current rate, and Liverpool will score 82. Klopp has made the defence far more solid while hardly blunting his attack, and there are strong signs that last season’s star Mohamed Salah is approaching top form once more.

Last season, we wondered whether Manchester City were the greatest team in Premier League history, and there was strong statistical evidence to agree with that . That Manchester City team improved over the summer, and yet is now playing catch-up to a team that finished 25 points adrift of them in May. 2019 is going to give us a spectacular title race.

City take their foot of the gas, and pay the penalty

You would imagine that Pep Guardiola will not be a happy manager over Christmas, and woe betide those Manchester City players who he believes are most guilty of complacency. If Liverpool are indeed going to give City a stern title challenge, they can ill afford to drop points in home games against bottom-half teams.

The Premier League’s competitiveness often gets overstated - the ‘anyone can beat anyone’ principle falls down when you look at the Big Six’s record against the rest - but no team is too poor not to take advantage of extreme generosity. Crystal Palace had been in miserable away form, but having clawed their way back into the match against the odds they hung on grimly to their lead. This was proof that nothing can be taken for granted.

Kyle Walker and John Stones both looked suspect defensively, but City were also worryingly unimaginative in attack. With Liverpool their next home game, Guardiola is suddenly under pressure to avoid falling further behind. A landmark weekend in this season.

Solskjaer takes the handbrake off

Last week was truly extraordinary at Old Trafford. If Jose Mourinho’s exit was not altogether surprising, the timing of his sacking did catch us off guard. The supposition was that Ed Woodward would remain passive until United were mathematically certain to miss out on the Champions League. Sacking Mourinho and recruiting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - a relative novice - demonstrated a courage we had not previously seen from the executive vice-chairman.

United’s run of fixtures helps Solskjaer, who enters into as close to a no-lose situation as it is possible to find amid the pressures of elite sport. His new team have five fixtures over the festive period and they will be odds-on favourites to win them all.

However, there was a difference in United’s attacking play against Cardiff, a freedom and fluidity that has been lacking in recent weeks. If it really was as simple for Solskjaer being everything that his predecessor wasn’t, he surely has the personality for that task.

To those who reacted angrily, wondering why these players could only raise their game after their manager had left, hear this: Imagine you were castigated in public by a boss who you believed was hanging you out to dry as a method of self-preservation and clamoured for the credit when things went well. Would you feel a little more at ease after his exit?

Ozil offers timely reminder of his skillset

After leaving Mesut Ozil out of the squad to face Tottenham in the EFL Cup on Wednesday for “tactical reasons”, Unai Emery refused to offer any assurances that the German would not be free to leave Arsenal next summer. That sparked a series of transfer rumours that he must have expected.

But Emery’s strategy is to motivate Ozil into proving him wrong, instilling a hunger that is so often questioned by neutrals and Arsenal supporters. Starting and made captain for the visit of Burnley, Ozil was at his insouciant best. If there are doubts about his determination, the vision and creative powers have never been in question.

Ozil’s critics will remark, with good reason, that the German producing infrequent and inconsistent brilliance against weaker clubs is nothing new. What happens in the next big game is a more pertinent question. But on a day when Manchester City and Chelsea both struggled to unlock a deep defence, Ozil reminded us of just how handy a pure creator can be. He is an expensive luxury, but to describe him as ‘luxurious’ need not be a criticism.