Rumours of Chelsea's demise have been greatly exaggerated, Manchester United left exposed, Arsenal left to rue decision

Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers

Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

A mauling in Rome, trouble behind the scenes and another row with a player. Antonio Conte was on the brink at Chelsea, if the reports last week were to be believed. Yet once again the Italian came out swinging and produced a response from his players that led to the 1-0 victory over Manchester United.

The result was all the more important given the decision to axe David Luiz from the match-day squad in what was the reported to be the latest row between Conte and one of his senior players following last season’s falling out with Diego Costa. Had Chelsea crumbled against United, there would have been serious questions about Conte’s suitability to continue as manager at the club.

But instead he got the response he wanted and if Roman Abramovich was looking for signs of life from his manager, he got them. The challenge is now for Luiz to prove that he will not go the same way as Costa.

The criticism that Jose Mourinho faced for his Manchester United side’s performance in the draw with Liverpool and win over Tottenham may have been behind his decision to go for the jugular on his return to Stamford Bridge, and for the first half at least, United had chances to score.

But they were also far more vulnerable at the back as a result, and eventually the pressure told when Alvaro Morata was left free to score the opener. Mourinho has always been a defence first, attack second kind of coach, and it has brought him phenomenal success throughout his career. So why change it?

Mourinho is unlikely to change his tactics due to public pressure. More likely, the United manager will have seen the 3-0 defeat by Roma in midweek and decided that his former side were vulnerable and there for the taking. Sadly for him, they weren’t.

Quite why Arsene Wenger decided to hand Francis Coquelin his first Premier League start of the season in Arsenal’s hardest game of the campaign remains a mystery. Arsenal may have a fairly good record against City compared to the rest of their top six rivals, but Pep Guardiola’s side this season pose a completely different problem for rival teams.

Coquelin looked out of his depth on Sunday, although that was not helped by the decision to play him in the middle of a back five that contained just one recognised centre-back in Laurent Koscielny. Once City pulled two goals clear, it was Coquelin who was pulled by Wenger as he looked to go on the attack to try and get back into the game.

The gamble had failed, and the Gunners now find themselves 12 points off top spot after just 11 games in what looks to be the earliest point in the season that Arsenal have fallen out of the title race since Wenger arrived at the club.

Amongst the abundance of attacking talent, the free-flowing football, the pace of Sane and Sterling and the genius of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, the one thing that often gets overlooked is the contribution of goalkeeper Ederson. He is marshalling a still susceptible defence with ease and his contribution was acknowledged when he captained the side in midweek.

He was not needed to be called on for much of the game on Sunday but when he was, on the stroke of half-time, he got down low expertly to palm away Aaron Ramsey’s close-range snap-shot. It’s those sort of moments which cost City points last season with Claudio Bravo between the sticks and he could turn out to be Guardiola’s best signing of the summer.

Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over West Ham brought a smile to Jürgen Klopp’s face as his side moved above Arsenal into fifth place, but there is a telling issue in among their results that is preventing them from breaking into the top four.

The win at the London Stadium was the first time that Liverpool have recorded back-to-back wins in the Premier League since the victories over Crystal Palace and Arsenal in August. Given that the Reds are clearly capable of playing football that can blow away opponents of any calibre if they hit their stride, what Klopp will now want to see is that formidable form being replicated every week.

If Liverpool can find that consistency, they will be very well placed to take advantage of any slip-ups from the teams ahead of them.

It would seem that Slaven Bilic’s time at West Ham is up. The manager will meet club co-owner David Sullivan on Monday to discover that he is surplus to requirements at the London Stadium, with David Moyes top of the target list to take over.

It’s a sad decision, given that Bilic is a likeable character in the Premier League and has been let down by his players – who he knows are capable of more – but there’s no looking beyond the fact that the club has gone backwards.

The seventh-place finish in 2015/16 should have provided the platform to build the squad into a side that can challenge for European football, but the club has gone backwards with an 11th-place finish last season and a current standing of 18th after Saturday’s defeat by Liverpool. A look at the squad also suggests that it is not as strong as the one that flourished under Bilic two years ago, and sadly that will fall on the manager’s head – no matter how unlikely that is to be his fault.

It may have been a case of too little, too late for David Unsworth as Everton picked up their first victory under the interim manager at their fourth attempt. Since Ronald Koemnan was sacked two weeks’ ago, there has been little to shout about at Goodison Park, so Sunday’s thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Watford will have delighted the Toffees’ faithful as they moved out of the relegation zone.

However, Burnley boss Sean Dyche remains the favourite to get the job on a permanent basis. There has not been any official approach from Everton yet, but Dyche may well take a look at Sunday’s result and decide that, if an offer comes, he would be picking up a squad that clearly has some fight left in it and the financial backing that Burnley cannot afford.

Dyche has a big decision to make, but it just feels like Unsworth’s time at the helm will not be long-term.