1) Coutinho showing glimpses of a young Brazilian Scholes
At times against Manchester City Liverpool looked like bizarrely lop-sided champions in waiting. This is a team that can look like the footballing equivalent of a home made cut and shut job, the front end of Ferrari welded on to the rear of a rickety Toyota pick-up, with no suspension and a set of tractor tyres. As long as the ball remains in Liverpool's attacking half they look like a blur of movement and fine technique, a team to light up the Champions League next season. Ask them to defend for a while, as they had to in that second-half period where City could have scored four times, and they can look like a team still being furiously bolted together. Raheem Sterling will take a lot of plaudits for his fine display fronting up Liverpool's attacking diamond. But the outstanding player on the pitch on Sunday afternoon – and the man who curates most smoothly the transition out of rickety defence into high spec attack – was Philippe Coutinho. What a player Coutinho has become. At one stage in the first half at Anfield as Liverpool picked out another swirling passing move 35 yards from goal, Coutinho produced an astonishing moment of skill, a rabona-on-the-run through-pass, crafted out of split-second necessity not extravagance, that found its man and drew a bark of astonishment from the home support on that side even as the attack continued around it. This is player who basically has everything. Coutinho can dribble and run and tackle. But mainly he can pass: short or long, attack or defence and always at a high tempo in thought and execution. At moments like this he looks like a young Brazilian Paul Scholes.
At the end there was a touching moment when Coutinho went to shake hands with his good friend Fernandinho but had to wait a minute or so behind him while the City man applauded the travelling fans, before eventually giving up with a little embarrassed wave. Of the two, Fernandinho has a chance of making Brazil's World Cup squad this summer, Coutinho almost none. In fact of Liverpool's front six against City, only one player is likely to sit out the tournament. Yes: him the small, perfectly balanced, masterful little one in the yellow boots. Barney Ronay
• Match report: Liverpool 3-2 Man City
• Pictures: Tom Jenkins's best images from the match
• Andy Hunter: five talking points from Anfield
• Gerrard praises Liverpool display after crucial win
• Barney Ronay: Liverpool thrill on sombre weekend
• Michael Cox: Sterling sparkles in midfield diamond
• Pictures: Hillsborough disaster 25th anniversary
2) Ramsey goes from 0-60mph in quick time
Aaron Ramsey had entered the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic with the 24 minute substitute's cameo from the previous weekend at Everton as his only football since Boxing Day and it was not a part of any plan to push him through 112 minutes. As he departed Wembley after Arsenal's dramatic penalty shoot-out victory, he reported, with no little understatement, to be feeling "a bit of tightness in some areas." Ramsey's absence because of groin trouble has hurt Arsenal and it was good for them to have him back; his dynamism made a difference. But his importance is such that Arsène Wenger dared not take him off until the bitter end. With West Ham United set to visit the Emirates on Tuesday night for another vital fixture, Wenger has to hope that he did not push Ramsey too hard, too soon against Wigan. David Hytner
• Wenger dodges a bullet as Arsenal beat Wigan
• Ex-Arsenal star Wilson to have cancer treatment
• Wenger: cup will boost league form
• Amy Lawrence: a day in the strife of Wenger
3) Poyet lukewarm about staying on with Sunderland
"I'm going to leave it a better club," said Sunderland manager Gus Poyet early on Saturday evening. "I think we are a better club from the moment I got here. I think there is a better understanding of what our football is about, what we need to do and respect for the fans and plenty of things like time-keeping and the respect in training and the way we behave. But it's not enough."
It's a pretty damning indictment of what must have been going on at Sunderland beforehand. We know Paolo Di Canio tried – albeit diving in with both feet – to change the narrative, but he was swiftly overthrown by a dressing-room coup. Small wonder his successor seems distinctly lukewarm about staying on next season. Shouldn't turning up on time, respect for fans and for colleagues in training be taken as a matter of course – particularly if you are earning tens of thousands of pounds a week? And precisely what euphemisms might "the way we behave" entail. By writing Di Canio off as a loose cannon so quickly, we maybe read him wrong? Might he have been a 'prophet in the wilderness' after all? Sunderland fans should keep everything crossed that Poyet takes a deep breath, decides to stay and ultimately puts it right. Louise Taylor
4) Hazard-less Chelsea still pose huge threat to Liverpool
Steve Holland, Chelsea's assistant first-team coach, looked a little perplexed and unsure how to respond when it was put to him that most neutrals would prefer Liverpool to win the title. Whether that is the case or not – and gut instinct says it's probably true – Chelsea have the chance to put a huge spanner in the works at Anfield on Sunday week. Furthermore, there is arguably nobody better than José Mourinho when it comes to devising the tactics to come out on top in the big games, as Manchester City discovered at the Etihad Stadium two months ago. On this occasion, though, the master will be up against his apprentice, Brendan Rodgers, which adds a further layer of intrigue to a pivotal game. What is clear is that Chelsea will have to play with much more penetration and imagination than they showed against Swansea on Sunday, when they struggled to break down 10 men and, on the occasions they did manage to open their opponents up, lacked a cutting edge. The injured Eden Hazard was badly missed – it was the first league game that the Belgian has not featured in this season – and although Demba Ba scored for the second time in a week, it is hard to imagine Rodgers losing sleep about the prospect of facing the Senegalese. Not that the Liverpool manager will underestimate Chelsea, especially with Mourinho in the dugout. The Portuguese will have a plan to nullify the great entertainers. The chances are it will be a bloody good one. Stuart James
• Terry says he told Dowd to send off Flores
• Match report: Swansea 0-1 Chelsea
5) Bruce not too proud to admit mistake
Some managers prefer to wait and see before making changes when a match is not going to plan, often to supporters' frustration, but Steve Bruce's proactive substitutions at half-time were what rescued Hull in their FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United. While Bruce admitted that he got his starting line-up wrong, his decision to make two changes at the break, tweaking his formation and introducing Matty Fryatt and Sone Aluko for George Boyd and Maynor Figueroa, worked handsomely. With three strikers on the pitch, United were overwhelmed and Fryatt's equaliser sparked Hull's revival but it was also revealing that Bruce did not slam his players once they were back in the dressing room. Instead he left his half-time team-talk to Hull's captain, Curtis Davies, and allowed himself to plot a way back into the match. "I didn't say much," Bruce said. "My captain did it all. It's a long time since I've been in a dressing room where the captain takes over. It used to happen a lot in my day. I just had a cup of tea and let him get on with it. There were a few tactical changes but the bollockings came from him." Jacob Steinberg
• Match report: Hull City 5-3 Sheffield United
• Jacob Steinberg: last cut is the deepest for Blades
6) Southampton still lacking a killer instinct
Mauricio Pochettino's future at Southampton remains surrounded in doubt after he refused to commit himself to the club in midweek. "All possibilities are open," he said, indicating a willingness to consider any potential advances from Tottenham or elsewhere. His side play wonderfully fluid football, there is no doubt about that. But at times this season Southampton have been guilty of spurning too many chances in front of goal and of allowing lesser opponents to roll them over. Cardiff did exactly that on Saturday, with a sucker-punch goal in the second half which has given them renewed hope of beating the drop. It was a familiar feeling for Saints fans; they have suffered 12 defeats and nine draws this campaign, too many of which could have been avoided. The 3-1 reverse at West Ham in late February mirrored Saturday's failure in that Southampton had bossed proceedings initially, while the 2-2 draw with Sunderland in January, when Saints had led 2-0, was another case of points needlessly tossed away against evidently inferior opposition. Wherever Pochettino is coach next season, one wonders if his teams will ever learn how to put matches to bed. Jonny Weeks
7) Hughes not content to celebrate top-half finish
When Mark Hughes replaced Tony Pulis at the Britannia Stadium, tasked with taking Stoke to the next level, there was some a feeling that the club had already reached its ceiling. However, five wins and a draw in their last seven fixtures has them within touching distance of a maiden top-half Premier League finish. "We haven't done anything yet," warned a cautionary Hughes. "People were trying to pat us on the back for getting to 40 points but that was never the aim this year. It's about making sure we maintain what we've done in recent weeks and with four games to go let's hope we can keep this momentum going. Newcastle are in our sights now, it was important to take three points off them and I would suggest our momentum is better than theirs. So who knows? We might catch them." Currently 10th, they have a three-point deficit to make up on the north-east club over the last four matches, and on recent form, those with an aversion to punting would be siding with the red and white stripes. Richard Gibson
• Pardew hoping Rémy return will silence boo-boys
• Read the match report: Stoke City 1-0 Newcastle United
8) West Brom should pass their way to victory
West Brom's latest 3-3 draw at The Hawthorns suggests they should avoid attacking too brilliantly when they kick off their remaining home games with West Ham United and Stoke City. Just as they went 2-0 up against Cardiff City a fortnight before, only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser to end up with a mere point, Pepe Mel's team did everything right from the outset only to undo so much of their good work by failing to win the match. There was a communal gasp of breath when Neil Swarbrick signalled for six added minutes on Saturday and Liam Ridgewell admitted the referee had been chiding West Brom for wasting time from 20 minutes onwards. When West Brom had Romelu Lukaku last season, they could always punish teams on the counter-attack. Now they lack such an identifiable outlet, they find themselves sitting increasingly deep, backing off yard by yard, minute by minute. The solution? Start by reclaiming faith in their possession game. Once James Morrison and Claudio Yacob re-find fitness and rhythm, they and Chris Brunt should be encouraged to fizz the ball around and pass the other team into submission. Although that is easier said than done without a top-class attacking pivot to play off. Peter Lansley
9) Lambert needs more than just Delph to arrest Villa slide
With a run-in that features home games against Southampton and Hull plus trips to Swansea, Manchester City and Tottenham, you can understand why Villa fans are getting worried as the season reaches its crescendo. The absence of top scorer Christian Benteke and £7m Czech striker Libor Kozak with long-term injuries has left Paul Lambert's side seriously short of goals, with Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andreas Weimann, Grant Holt and forgotten man Niklas Helenius having contributed just four in the Premier League all season. Add in the return to some of last year's defensive mishaps in each of the four successive defeats since beating Chelsea on 15th March and it appears to be the perfect recipe for a first relegation since 1987. A four point advantage over Fulham gives them a cushion at the moment but you sense the return to form and fitness of Fabian Delph will be crucial. Playing on the left of central midfield in a 3-5-2 formation, the former Leeds midfielder looked off the pace against Palace at Selhurst Park having missed last week's crucial defeat to Fulham with injury. He can provide the creative spark that has been so badly lacking, but they will only survive if Lambert reverts to four at the back and can find someone to put the ball in the net. Ed Aarons
10) Rodallega the relegation saviour?
Instead of sacking managers in a bid to stave off the threat of relegation, perhaps in future teams at the bottom should try and sign Hugo Rodallega. The Colombian striker has a liking for scoring crucial goals at the end of the season in the midst of a relegation battle, having done so for Wigan a few years back, and on Saturday produced an excellent display to score the winner for Fulham against Norwich. Considering that only a few months ago Rodallega was crying on the substitutes bench after being brought off by René Meulensteen in a dire defeat to Sheffield United in the FA Cup, he deserves credit for turning out some excellent displays over the last fortnight. "It was a bad moment for me," he said afterwards of the incident against United. "I felt bad but at the moment I feel very good because when I have this opportunity, I play well. The team is supporting me, everybody on the training ground is pushing me and it's very important." James Riach
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion