The Ultimate Guide to the Premier League
Beyond the Pitch: Your Premier League Fix
Derby Dominance: Carrick’s United Stun City in Commanding 2-0 Victory
Manchester United delivered a stunning performance to defeat Manchester City 2-0 in a thrilling Premier League derby at Old Trafford, marking interim manager Michael Carrick’s return with a flawless victory.
Fueled by a revitalized attacking approach, United dismantled their rivals in the second half through goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu, highlighting a complete team effort that left City chasing shadows. The visitors managed just one shot on target, a Max Alleyne header expertly denied by goalkeeper Senne Lammens, as United neutralized Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo with disciplined defending.
“It’s unbelievable,” said defender Lisandro Martínez. “After everything we’ve been through this season, today we showed who we really are. Michael told us to feed off the crowd’s energy, and we did.”
Pep Guardiola acknowledged the result with grace: “The better team won. They had the intensity we lacked. Congratulations to them.”
The triumph lifts United to fifth place with 35 points, injecting fresh belief into their campaign, and into Carrick’s short-term tenure at the helm.
Meanwhile, Arsenal remain top of the Premier League with 50 points, seven clear of second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Aston Villa, who are yet to play this weekend after being held to a goalless draw by Nottingham Forest. Forest, meanwhile, sit 17th with 22 points, five above the relegation zone.
Liverpool stay fourth on 36 points despite dropping more points at Anfield, drawing 1–1 with bottom-side Burnley, their fourth consecutive league draw. The home crowd voiced their frustration with loud boos after failing to beat a team deep in relegation trouble. Liverpool had taken the lead through Florian Wirtz before halftime but were punished for poor defending when Marcus Edwards leveled for Burnley in the second half.
Chelsea climbed back to sixth with a 2–0 win over Brentford in Liam Rosenior’s first match as head coach. Goals from João Pedro and Cole Palmer secured the three points, though the Blues were fortunate, Brentford dominated large stretches of the game and squandered numerous chances. After winning just once in their previous nine league matches under former manager Enzo Maresca, who departed on January 1, Chelsea managed only two shots on target but made both count.
In another London clash, West Ham ended an 11-game winless run in the Premier League with a hard-fought 2–1 victory over struggling Tottenham Hotspur. The defeat intensified pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who admitted he’s caught in a “perfect storm” after being jeered off the pitch by his own supporters chanting “sacked in the morning.” Tottenham have now won only twice in 11 home league games this season.
Elsewhere, Sunderland moved into eighth place with a 2–1 win over Crystal Palace, while Leeds United earned a crucial 1–0 victory over Fulham, lifting them eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Salah Answers Future Questions with Impact Sub Appearance After Champions League Omission
Mohamed Salah made a pointed response to his recent omission from Arne Slot’s Champions League squad, entering Liverpool’s match against Brighton in the 25th minute and delivering an influential performance.
The Egyptian’s place had been in doubt after he was left out of the squad for the midweek trip to Inter Milan, raising questions about his future under the Dutch manager.
An early injury to Joe Gomez on Saturday, however, forced a reshuffle, Dominik Szoboszlai moved to right-back, and Salah assumed his familiar role on the flank.
Salah was lively from the moment he stepped onto the pitch and registered an assist for Hugo Ekitike’s second goal with a trademark delivery. His display followed pointed comments after being benched in Liverpool’s recent 3-3 draw with Leeds United, when he remarked, “I could not believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes… It’s the first time in my career, I think.”
After the final whistle against Brighton, Salah took to social media with a cryptic post that has since fueled further speculation, ensuring his future remains a central talking point around Anfield.
These incendiary remarks sparked a public exchange with club legend Jamie Carragher. However, manager Arne Slot, who benefited directly from the winger's prolific goal-scoring last season as his team clinched the title, has since signaled a desire to move forward, aiming to reconcile for the benefit of all associated with the club.
Salah’s subsequent actions suggest he, too, is willing to put the discord behind him and focus on Liverpool's continued pursuit of victory. The team remains unbeaten in the Premier League since November 22. In a clear gesture of goodwill, Salah took to social media to share footage of a positive interaction with fans at Anfield.
Further mending fences, the player, widely regarded as one of Liverpool's all-time greats, took time after a match to walk around the pitch, warmly applauding the supporters in every stand. Greeted by a rapturous reception from the Anfield faithful, the 33-year-old offered a broad smile, visibly appreciating the unwavering support from the fans he had just thanked for their lifelong dedication.
It remains unclear whether Mohamed Salah would have featured at all had Joe Gomez not been injured within the first half hour on Merseyside. When Gomez went down, Dominik Szoboszlai shifted to right-back, and Salah assumed his natural role on the flank.
His impact was immediate. Beyond providing the teasing delivery for Hugo Ekitike’s headed second, Salah was electric from the moment he entered the fray, a performance that starkly validated his recent public frustrations.
FrizeMediaSport Key Statistic: Mohamed Salah now has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League (188 goals, 89 assists), the all-time record for a player at a single club in the competition's history.
Arne Slot Addresses Mohamed Salah's Liverpool Future
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has dismissed suggestions of any unresolved issue with Mohamed Salah, emphasizing the forward remains a key part of his plans despite recent rotation.
Salah, who came off the bench in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton, is now set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which runs from December 21 to January 18. His absence could see him miss pivotal fixtures against Leeds United and Arsenal.
When questioned about Salah's situation following his substitution in the previous match against Leeds, Slot was clear: “There is no issue to resolve. For me, he is the same as any other player. You talk to your players if you are happy or unhappy with things, but there is nothing for me to talk about regarding what happened after Leeds.”
Looking ahead to Salah's international duty, Slot expressed his full support and expectation for the winger's return. “Yes, I hope he comes back after Egypt's campaign,” Slot stated. “He’s a Liverpool player, and when he’s here, I like to use him when we need him. Today he didn’t start, as has happened a few times recently, but last season he started almost every game. When he came on today, he delivered the performance you want.”
Slot acknowledged the challenge of competing without his talisman for up to six weeks, especially with a squad currently stretched. “Mo’s going to go to AFCON now. I hope he’s going to do very well, and in the meantime, we have to play here without him, with not that many players available at the moment.”
Following the victory, Liverpool have extended their unbeaten league run to four games and sit sixth in the table. Their next challenge is a trip to face Thomas Frank's Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
More Than a Rout: The Telling Tale of Disillusion at Molineux in United's Win
Manchester United secured a emphatic 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, claiming a crucial three points to steady themselves after a damaging defeat to West Ham.
Yet, the story of the match extended far beyond the scoreline. While United's attacking play was clinical, the dominant narrative became the profound disillusionment emanating from the home support. The discontent was immediate and severe; following Bruno Fernandes’s opening goal, Wolves fans audibly chanted, “What the f hell was that?” at their team’s defending.
As the game progressed and United’s dominance solidified, the protests turned inward and more damning. The Molineux crowd directed scathing chants of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” toward their own players, underscoring a season of deep frustration for a club flirting with historically poor Premier League status.
The result, therefore, was a double-edged affair: a confident bounce-back performance for Erik ten Hag’s side, but a victory achieved against a backdrop of palpable crisis and alienation within the opposition camp.
The frustrations within the stadium extended far beyond the team’s on-field struggles. A significant fan protest against the club’s ownership group, Fosun, saw hundreds of supporters deliberately delay their entry, leaving swathes of seats empty for the opening 15 minutes. Their chants of “we want Fosun out” and “you’ve sold the team, now sell the club” laid bare a deep-seated institutional crisis that overshadowed the match.
On the pitch, the victory offered little reassurance for manager Ruben Amorim, who remains under intense scrutiny. The team has now dropped eight points from winning positions this season, and the notable absence of the once-common chant “He’ll turn the Reds around” reflected a growing erosion of faith in his leadership.
Compounding the pressure is a persistent tactical issue: United’s substitutes have failed to make a decisive impact, with the team yet to score a single league goal from the bench this campaign. This statistic underscores Amorim’s tendency toward conservative in-game changes, a point of mounting criticism as the club continues to search for consistency.
Despite taking an early lead, Manchester United failed to establish control, allowing the league's bottom side, Wolverhampton Wanderers, to equalize just before halftime. Their ineffective game management and inability to kill the match from a position of advantage proved costly and concerning.
While the eventual 4-1 scoreline suggests a comfortable victory, it was more a reflection of Wolves being "shockingly bad" than of United's dominance or clinical edge. A team with genuine Champions League aspirations would be expected to dispatch such opponents more convincingly, raising valid questions about United's underlying quality and trajectory.
The primary positive was a commanding individual performance from captain Bruno Fernandes, who scored twice, including a late penalty, to seal the result. This timely contribution provides a significant boost for the Portugal international, who has recently faced criticism for falling below his own high standards.
Mohamed Salah Accuses Liverpool of 'Wanting Him Gone' in Explosive Arne Slot Admission
The Egyptian forward has launched a stunning attack on the club, claiming his recent benching is a clear signal he is no longer part of their plans, branding the situation "not acceptable."
Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah was named as a substitute for the third consecutive match, watching from the bench as his side drew 3-3 with Leeds United at Elland Road.
This omission comes despite the Egyptian forward having just signed a lucrative new contract in April, following a season where his 29 goals in 38 games were instrumental in Liverpool's Premier League title win.
After the match, Salah expressed profound disappointment with his recent treatment. "I'm very disappointed, I've done so much for this club," he said. "Everyone has seen it in recent years, especially last season. I don't know why I'm sitting on the bench."
He added pointedly, "It feels like the club is throwing me under the bus, that's how I feel. I think it's very clear that someone will blame me."
In a bombshell admission, the player revealed a fractured relationship with the club and manager Arne Slot, stating: "I have said many times that I had a good relationship with the manager, but suddenly we don't have a relationship anymore. I don't know why."
He added, with a pointed reference to the club's summer promises: "The club promised me a lot in the summer, but I've been on the bench for three games. I can't say they've kept their promises. It seems to me someone doesn’t want me in the club. It's not acceptable for me. I don’t know why that happened always to me, I don’t get it."
Expressing a sense of betrayal and a lack of protection, he continued: "I think if I was somewhere else the club would protect its player. I don’t know why I'm in that situation now, but again, it's how I see it, it's like you throw him under the bus because he’s a problem in the team now, but I don’t think I’m the problem."
Defending his legacy and right to a starting position, he concluded: "I have done so much for this club to get the respect I want, and I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. People will say, 'You are not bigger than the club,' and I'm not bigger than anyone. I'm just saying I earned my position. This is football. I don't believe it. I've been in this club scoring more than anyone in this generation."
"Since I arrived in the Premier League, I don't think anyone has scored or assisted more goals than me in the competition.
"If I were anywhere else, everyone would go to the media to defend the player. I am the only one not in that situation.
"I remember a while ago, Harry Kane went about 10 games without scoring, maybe scoring one or two goals. Everyone in the media was saying, 'Oh, Harry will score for sure.' But when it comes to me [Mo], they say I need to be on the bench.
"I had a meeting with the manager. He knows how I feel.
"I thought I would renew my contract here and end my career here, but things are not going according to that plan."
What next for Salah?
Salah committed his future to Liverpool last summer by signing a new two-year deal, ending lengthy speculation over an exit. He is one of the greatest players in the club's history, having won the Premier League and the Champions League. The 33-year-old is Liverpool's record Premier League scorer with 188 goals and has 250 goals across all competitions.
Based on his recent comments to the media at Leeds, it remains unclear how much longer Mohamed Salah will stay at Liverpool.
His future continues to be a topic of speculation, with FrizeMediaSPORT reporting he remains on the radar of Saudi Pro League clubs. Al Hilal are still considered a leading contender, while Al Qadsiah have also registered interest. Further afield, MLS side San Diego FC are also keen on the winger.
Salah's immediate focus, however, is on international duty. He will soon join Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on December 21, and will likely represent his country at next year's World Cup, where Egypt face Belgium, Iran and New Zealand in Group G.
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