What we learned from Matchweek 13

Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics from Matchweek 13, including:

- Chelsea performance keeps title race open and hints at away issues for Arsenal
- Hall, Livramento and Miley reinvigorate Newcastle’s away form
- Fragile Spurs are adding defensive malaise to their poor attacking record
- Isak goal gives Liverpool something to build on – without Salah
- Man City are slowing down at the precise moment they’re supposed to speed up
- Villa’s unsustainable way of scoring is a lurking danger for Emery
- Sunderland’s comeback could be a season-defining moment – for both clubs
- Man Utd keep their recovery on track with unlikely comeback
- Brighton’s brilliant form makes Champions League dream a reality
- Brentford’s efficiency has almost sealed their survival already

Chelsea performance keeps title race open and hints at away issues for Arsenal

Chelsea’s tenacity and the tactical bravery of head coach Enzo Maresca earned his 10 men a deserved point against Arsenal, as we covered in the post-match analysis, and despite Moises Caicedo's red card, it was a draw both sides will be happy with.

Arsenal - playing without Gabriel and William Saliba for only the second time since the start of the 2022/23 season - were on the back foot from the outset and could easily have lost this one.

Mikel Arteta will be satisfied to have emerged relatively unscathed, especially with Martin Odegaard on his way back from injury and Bukayo Saka recording his first Premier League assist in exactly 365 days.

If Saka and Odegaard are about to find form, Arsenal will go up yet another notch. They remain the clear favourites to win the title.

But the draw keeps Chelsea in the race, while Manchester City are two points closer to the top than they were before the weekend. The result at Stamford Bridge also provided evidence for a new theory: Arsenal aren’t as solid away from home as you might think.

Arteta’s side have drawn consecutive away matches in the Premier League and, perhaps surprisingly, they have only won one away match by more than a single goal this season, when they beat 19th-place Burnley 2-0 in November.

This is a minor quibble. Arsenal top the form table for away matches, with 14 points from seven games on the road. But having only squeezed past Fulham 1-0 before the Burnley game, followed by back-to-back draws, it offers renewed hope for the title chasers – especially with the Gunners having a trip to in-form Aston Villa coming up on Saturday.

Arsenal's next PL fixtures

Hall, Livramento and Miley reinvigorate Newcastle’s away form

Finally, Newcastle United have won an away game in the Premier League. Their first league victory on the road in the 2025/26 season and first since April could be a watershed moment for Eddie Howe’s team who, despite remaining in the bottom half of the table, are only six points off third place.

Newcastle's away form has been reinvigorated by three players in particular.

First, full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento – who due to injury have only started together three times this season – provided attacking width and forward momentum at Everton.

Both players made frequent under-lapping runs, both inverted to help Newcastle dominate midfield, and both contributed considerably in the final third (five chances created).

Having reliable full-backs completely reshapes the Newcastle team, but so too does using energetic central midfielders. Howe’s side have looked lethargic in the middle, particularly away from home, but 19-year-old Lewis Miley blew away the cobwebs on Saturday.

Miley became the second-youngest player to both score and assist in the same Premier League match for Newcastle, after Charles N'Zogbia against Blackburn Rovers in September 2005.

Watch: Miley's goal v Everton

He has a very bright future ahead of him. If Howe can tap into his energy, and keep the full-backs fit, then Newcastle should rocket up the table.

Fragile Spurs are adding defensive malaise to their poor attacking record

Things are going from bad to worse for Thomas Frank. He has struggled to create a proactive tactical setup that allows Tottenham Hotspur to dominate possession with purpose, but as results sour and confidence wanes, we are beginning to see a malaise setting in at the other end of the pitch.

Fulham’s opening goal typified the confusion of Spurs’ formation and Frank’s hesitancy in committing to progressive football.

The front players pressed and the defenders retreated, causing a huge gap into which Fulham freely moved. From an innocuous position of settled Fulham possession, one longer ball forward revealed a huge gap between Spurs’ front and back (below).

When formations become as stretched as this, when the defenders stop following up the hard-pressing forwards, it is usually a sign of either tactical disorientation or low confidence. In this case, it’s both.

Spurs are averaging just 9.5 shots and 3.2 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, both of which are their lowest averages on record in a single campaign since 2003/04.

The numbers are concerning, the playing style has supporters riled, and now results have pulled Spurs into the bottom half.

Isak goal gives Liverpool something to build on – without Salah

Alexander Isak’s well-taken goal has the potential to be an enormous moment – for him personally, for Arne Slot, and for Liverpool.

It could still be a long road to recovery, but Liverpool are now in the top half and looking up again, with games this week against Sunderland and Leeds United offering the chance to put a string of wins together and move into the UEFA Champions League places.

That they have taken positive steps without Mohamed Salah is significant. Many Liverpool supporters have been calling for Salah to be rested for some time, and without him at West Ham United, the team looked notably sharper.

Dominic Szoboszlai's presence on the right gave Liverpool an industrious energy and allowed the team to dominate the midfield battle while also making room for Florian Wirtz.

There was more balance in Salah’s absence. Slot might take the painful decision of leaving his talisman on the bench this week.

Man City are slowing down at the precise moment they’re supposed to speed up

Man City have won each of their last six Premier League matches at the Etihad Stadium and are now within five points of Arsenal in the table, yet there were more negatives than positives to take from this match.

Pep Guardiola’s side conceded two or more goals in a Premier League game against a promoted team for the first time since April 2021, and of course almost threw away two points until Phil Foden’s moment of brilliance made the Leeds comeback redundant.

What’s more, Erling Haaland had just one shot, his joint-fewest in a home match in all competitions since he arrived at Etihad Stadium in July 2022. It also means Haaland is goalless in his last three club outings, only one of which was a victory for Man City.

After losing to Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen in the last week, a win by any means necessary was essential. Had Leeds taken a point from 2-0 down, Man City’s morale could have taken a serious hit.

It still might. Man City’s defence looked brittle, which, combined with Haaland's unexpected dry spell, hints that Guardiola's side are slowing down just when they are supposed to be speeding up.

"Now the international break is done, we will see each other every few days until March, so the real season starts now," Guardiola said before the Newcastle game.

Since then, Man City have been anything but convincing, scraping over the line on Saturday. They have to improve at Fulham tomorrow.

Villa’s unsustainable way of scoring is a lurking danger for Emery

Villa have won 11 of the last 13 matches in all competitions, a truly extraordinary run that leaves them just six points off the top of the table. On results alone, you would have to say Unai Emery's side are emerging as outsiders for the title - and they will host the league leaders Arsenal on Saturday.

But performances suggest otherwise, and the underlying numbers back up a more pessimistic angle.

Nine of Villa’s 16 Premier League goals this season have been scored from outside the box (56 per cent). They are the only team in the competition’s history who have scored more than half their goals from that range in a single season.

Boubacar Kamara’s brilliant winner followed a trend – and it’s an unsustainable one; of all the things to lean upon, scoring screamers is probably the least reliable.

Only Burnley (9.7) have a lower Expected Goals (xG) tally than the 11.9 of Villa, and their 0.08 xG per shot is the lowest in the Premier League.

Meanwhile Opta’s "Expected Points" table has Emery’s side all the way down in 19th spot.

If Villa cannot find a way to become more creative, if they cannot inject pace and energy into the side, if they cannot get Ollie Watkins scoring again, then they will soon regress.

Sunderland’s comeback could be a season-defining moment – for both clubs

Sunderland came back from two goals down to win a Premier League for the very first time (at the 188th attempt), and it might prove to be the most significant moment of their entire season.

Winning in that fashion provides a huge lift for everyone connected with the club and the timing could not have been better. Sunderland had gone three matches without a victory, their strong start threatening to desert them.

Instead, they are buoyant again ahead of tough matches at Anfield and the Etihad this week.

It was a sliding doors moment for AFC Bournemouth, too, who must have thought they were on their way to a first win in four when Tyler Adams made it 2-0 with a superb goal.

Watch: Adams' incredible goal v Sunderland

But Andoni Iraola’s side had the rug pulled out from under them and now enter the hectic festive period on a four-game winless run.

Bournemouth are no longer in the top half. The Cherries' recent results have not matched those from earlier in the season, winning just two of their last nine in the Premier League.

Man Utd keep their recovery on track with unlikely comeback

What was most impressive about Manchester United’s win at Selhurst Park wasn’t the performance – there have been better in recent weeks – but the way in which Ruben Amorim’s side overcame so many obstacles to get there.

Crystal Palace were unbeaten in 12 matches in all competitions at Selhurst Park, and Man Utd had not come back from a goal down to win away from home since December 2024. The Palace opener felt like a winner.

Joshua Zirkzee's first goal in 364 days was another unlikely event, and another sign that Amorim is finally getting the rub of the green.

To be a success at Man Utd, Amorim needs to be good and lucky. The last couple of months have indicated the first part is coming together. Results like Sunday’s suggest fortune is beginning to favour them too.

Brighton’s brilliant form makes Champions League dream a reality

Brighton & Hove Albion are accelerating faster and faster, the free midweeks helping Fabian Hurzeler put together an exciting brand of attacking football that has supporters rightly hopeful of Champions League qualification.

They are brilliant to watch, and never more so than in the opening 20 minutes at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, when they attempted nine shots, their most in the first 20 minutes of a Premier League game.

Brighton’s strength in depth only increases their chances of improving further. Stefanos Tzimas scored his first Premier League goal for Brighton, while Maxim De Cuyper's second goal for the club showed he is settling in nicely.

Brentford's efficiency has almost sealed their survival already

Brentford have won three consecutive home games and the latest one followed a familiar pattern.

Dango Ouattara has won a penalty in four of his last five Premier League matches.

Indeed, there is a simplicity and consistency with which Brentford go forward, and a ruthlessness too - their conversion rate (14.9 per cent) is the second-best in the division.

Keith Andrews is maximising the team’s strengths superbly and, after Saturday’s win, has put Brentford in a position where relegation no longer feels plausible.

More on Matchweek 13