Liverpool learning from mistakes, Alvaro Morata embracing his inner Diego Costa, Jesse Lingard the ace in United's pack

Seven things we learned from the Premier League: We take a look back at some of the notable talking points from this weekend

Liverpool romped past Brighton on Saturday in a 5-1 victory (Getty)

City mastering ‘Fergie time’?

The Ferguson teams of old were renowned for their ability to grind out results, often striking in the 11th hour to secure victory and consign their opponents to a heart-breaking defeat. While that time has long since passed for Manchester United, rivals City, it seems, are picking up the knack of doing just that. Their 2-1 win over West Ham on Sunday was their third match on the trot in which victory was secured in the final 10 minutes. This time it was David Silva stepping up to deliver, athletically twisting his body mid-air to meet a David de Bruyne cross to hit home the winner, while Raheem Sterling, against both Southampton and Huddersfield, was City’s late hero.

After their 13th consecutive win over the weekend, City are showing no signs of letting up – and the fact they’re demonstrating the ability to win ugly (in comparsion to their usual golden standards) reinforces the sense that this is a championship-winning side in the making.

Lingard is ready for a long run in the team

Jesse Lingard is one of those players who seems to carry the 'potential' tag with him wherever he goes, yet he is a 24-year-old forward closing in on the start of his peak years. After several stop-start seasons he finally seems to be stringing several impressive performances together, making decisive contributions on a consistent basis – as evidence by his match-winning brace in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Arsenal. In Jose Mourinho's 3-4-3 there is plenty of competition for the two slots behind Romelu Lukaku but Lingard has done enough in recent weeks to demand a place. His challenge now is to keep it.

Jesse Lingard scored a brace as United won 3-1 away from home (Getty)

Morata can play the rough and rugged role

Alvaro Morata certainly has a delicate touch when on the ball, but the striker also proved that he can fulfil the rough and rugged role that Diego Costa made his own at Stamford Bridge. The Spaniard led the line for his side well in Saturday’s win against Newcastle, attracting the opposition centre-backs that created space for Eden Hazard to float in to.

Alvaro Morata stoops to put Chelsea in front against Newcastle (Getty)

But it was his goal where Morata really showed what he can do. Wrestling his way past Chancel Mbemba to meet Victor Moses’ delivery from the right, the Spaniard showed genuine strength and instinctive nous to nod the ball into the back of the net for his 11th goal of the season. After a tentative start to life in England, the Spaniard is happily embracing the physical dimensions Premier League and proving himself a worthwhile investment.

Allardyce goes back to basics

What you see is what you get with Sam Allardyce. The new Everton boss launched his reign against Huddersfield by ticking off the checklist he has employed to great success for most of his managerial career: get numbers behind and sit back, take minimum risks, keep a clean sheet, score a goal (or in this case, two) and collect three points. It may not be pretty at times, but it is effective.

Allardyce has equally made a conscious effort to work on his team’s state of mind. “If the brain is clear and positive before the lads go out then they produce a positive performance,” said the Englishman, who is busy sourcing a psychologist to back his messages up. With his bread-and-butter approach to football, and emphasis upon mental wellbeing, Allardyce’s remedy could well be the medicine this Everton side need to get back on track.

Time for Tottenham to turn to Europe

Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Watford marked Spurs’ fourth league game without a win. Such a run of results has effectively ended their title hopes, with league leaders City a daunting 15 points in front. Many were expecting a slip-up but given the phenomenal form of Pep Guardiola’s side, this setback has proven fatal.

As such, it’s time for Mauricio Pochettino to turn his focus to the Champions League. As evidenced by their win over Real Madrid, the Argentine has struck upon a dynamic and encouraging formula in Europe that suggests his side could reach the latter stages of the competition – assuming they’re handed a favourable draw next week and don’t make the same mistakes they have in the league of late. After this weekend’s disappointment, Pochettino needs to assess his options and start focusing more on where Tottenham’s best hopes for silverware lie: i.e., Europe.

Puel nurturing much-needed competitive edge

Since Claude Puel’s appointment, Leicester have lost just one game – to the seemingly unstoppable Manchester City. For all the flak he attracted upon joining the former champions, the Frenchman has slowly but surely set about breathing life into this Leicester City side. Saturday’s 1-0 win over Burnley marked their second consecutive victory after their impressive defeat of Tottenham earlier in the week.

Gray needed treatment after colliding with the post for his winner (Getty)

Behind this transformation has been Puel’s willingness to introduce subtle changes here and there to his starting XI which, as seen on Saturday, has kept a competitive edge among his players. Indeed, stepping in for Shingji Okazaki, it was Demarai Gray who clinched the winner, showing real desire and commitment to score, crashing into the far post and hurting himself in the process. Eager to show Puel he was right to select him ahead of Okazaki, Gray said he had to "take one for the team". If the Leicester boss can continue to propagate this competitiveness in his side, expect his Leicester players to keep on delivering and firing the side further up the table.

Liverpool learning the lessons of their past

Speaking after his side’s 5-1 rout of Brighton at the weekend, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pointed to the “development” his team has undergone in recent weeks, namely their ability to now beat “bus-parking teams”. The Reds were subject to repeated criticism last season for their failure to overcome the league’s 'lesser' teams, with the side notably coming undone against Swansea and Hull at the turn of the year.

Such struggles have become a thing of the past, though, with Liverpool comfortably seeing off the likes of Stoke, Southampton, West Ham, Huddersfield and now Brighton in recent months. This is undoubtedly progress for the club, who currently sit fourth in the table. Having ironed out this crease, Liverpool have cause for optimism in the months ahead. Consistency, now, is the main issue for the side. Should they master that, European football, and possible more, is there for the taking.