Tottenham lost another battle on the same day as the Royal Rumble and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reached a Premier League landmark he will not be boasting about on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game as Brighton and Hove Albion beat Spurs to ease their relegation fears, inflicting what looks like a finishing move on Jose Mourinho's side in the title race.
Oxlade-Chamberlain came off the bench for the 100th time in a top-flight game late in Liverpool's 3-1 victory at West Ham, while leaders Manchester City broke a record on Saturday.
With the help of Opta data, we take a look at some of the quirkiest stats from the Premier League action over the weekend.
Trossard wrestles the initiative
Tottenham made the journey to the south coast reeling from a painful midweek defeat to Liverpool in which they lost captain Harry Kane to injury.
Trossard delivered the knockout blow at the Amex Stadium, leaving Mourinho's men 11 points behind leaders City in sixth place.
Spurs fans who follow WWE may have been fearing the worst, as they have lost nine times when playing on the same day as the Royal Rumble was staged - more than any English league club.
Edge and Bianca Belair came out on top in the extravaganza at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida after Spurs were seemingly eliminated from the title race.
Sub century for Ox
Midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Divock Origi 10 minutes from time in the Reds' victory at previously in-form West Ham.
The former Arsenal man became the 15th player to make 100 top-flight appearances off the bench.
Peter Crouch (158) did so on the most occasions, with Oxlade-Chamberlain's team-mate James Milner (154) second on the list and Jermain Defoe (149) completing the top three.
Happy new year for irrepressible City
City extended their winning streak to 12 matches at the expense of bottom side Sheffield United on Saturday, Gabriel Jesus scoring the only goal of the game.
Pep Guardiola's side will take some stopping in their bid to regain the title, as they lead neighbours Manchester United by three points with a game in hand.
That early strike from Jesus made it nine wins out of nine for City in January, more than any side has achieved in a calendar month since the formation of the Football League in 1888.
Shot-shy Clarets
Chelsea eased to their first win under Thomas Tuchel on Sunday, seeing off Burnley 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Clarets arrived in London on a three-match winning run, including a shock 1-0 triumph at Anfield and a 3-2 thriller against Aston Villa.
Sean Dyche's men barely laid a glove on Chelsea, though, and went the longest any side has gone without an attempt at goal in the Premier League this season.
They looked set to become the first team not to have an attempt in a game since Bournemouth against Manchester City in March 2019 until James Tarkowski's header in stoppage time. Better late than never? Dyche might not see it that way.
No complacency as Man City prepare for Champions League final – Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne insisted there would be no complacency as Manchester City prepare for Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.
City are the overwhelming favourites as they look to win the competition for the first time – and complete the treble – in Istanbul.
Inter finished 18 points behind champions Napoli in Serie A this season but De Bruyne is wary of the threat of Simone Inzaghi’s side.
The Belgium playmaker said: “You don’t get to the final of the Champions League without being top.
“I think they won the (cup) double in Italy. They’ve been winning basically every game at the end of the season.
“They have their system, they have their style, they do what they do really, really well and I don’t feel that anybody is going to think that it’s going to be an easy game against Inter. It’s a final so it starts 50-50.”
City have long coveted Champions League glory but endured a number of near misses in recent seasons, the closest being their runners-up finish to Chelsea in 2021.
Their frustrations contrast with their domestic success after, most notably, five Premier League title wins in the past six seasons.
Manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that City will need to transfer their home successes onto the European stage to be truly regarded among the great teams.
De Bruyne said: “I’ve been here eight years and it’s been incredible. Could I have come here and thought about the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight years? Probably not.
“In the end we have had a pretty impressive career at City, but it is something we have not won yet and it is something that we want to win. Hopefully it will be Saturday.
“We know how big the moment is but I feel the more relaxed you are as a team, and the team is doing pretty well with that at the moment, you get a better chance.”
De Bruyne has painful memories, literally, of that final loss to Chelsea two years ago after suffering a serious facial injury following a collision in the second half.
He said: “I don’t look at what happened two years ago with bad feelings. You go on, you move on. Ultimately, that’s football.
“Saturday is a great opportunity. It’s been an incredible year already. We can make it even better, but no matter what, it’s been great.”
John Stones relishing key role as Manchester City chase treble glory
Manchester City defender John Stones could cap a remarkable turnaround from a virtual outcast to being at the cutting edge of Pep Guardiola’s masterplan with a Champions League victory.
Three years ago the 29-year-old’s future was uncertain. He had made just 24 appearances in the 2019-20 season and the club had spent over £100million on centre-backs Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias.
That summer Guardiola admitted there was a distinct possibility a player lacking confidence could leave and he did not play a minute in seven of the eight opening league games of the next season.
But over the course of three seasons he has turned things around so much he is now seen as an integral part of his manager’s latest tactical tweak, with the current fashion for a defender to play as a midfielder when the side is in possession.
“It was probably one of the hardest times in my career,” said Stones of that period in 2020.
“I literally went back to firstly looking at myself, being super-critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch, and then looking into every fine detail, down to what food, what training, what extras.
“That’s come down to doing stuff here and then going home and doing work, even late at night, or straight after the training, finding these small margins, putting them all together to kind of break where I was at after coming back to playing.
“Yeah, (it was a) big learning curve for me and maybe who I am today.”
In that time period a number of players have left, with Guardiola’s propensity for dispensing with full-backs a little too close for comfort at times for Stones.
But the former Everton defender never considered seeking opportunities elsewhere.
“I never thought about that. I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset then you have killed yourself,” he added.
“I always wanted to stay, I have stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove to myself. I didn’t say to anyone ‘It was because I want to prove to you’.
“I think, if anything, you have to prove to yourself first and foremost that you deserve to be here, you are good enough to be here, and what you bring to the team.”
The goals of Erling Haaland have helped propel City to a second Champions League final in three years where they start as strong favourites against Inter Milan in Istanbul.
But Stones’ role and that, to a lesser extent, of Rico Lewis in stepping forward has added another dimension to an already multi-layered team.
“People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in there. I still do love playing as a centre-half and I’ve absolutely loved this role as well,” said the Barnsley-born defender.
“I think I have showed myself that I’m able to do it, maybe showing some attributes that I didn’t know that I had.
“But the manager has seen (something) in me and ultimately I think I’m just trying to show what I can do in there and be able to help the team ultimately win with my attributes.”
City may be the favourites but Stones insists they will not be under-estimating Inter, a team who finished in third 18 points behind Serie A champions Napoli.
“They’re in the Champions League final for a reason,” he added.
“No matter who we’re playing, no matter what league they’re in, we give the team the respect that they deserve because even the FA Cup, let’s make an example of that, there’s giant-killers, smaller teams in League One and League Two that beat Premier League winners.
“That’s where the respect (comes from) that every team deserves.
“They’ve got incredible players. How they played in a big occasion, in a derby game in the Champions League semi-final (against AC Milan) is never easy.
“We know what we’re up against, they are an incredible team.”
Postecoglou reminiscent of Pochettino, says former Tottenham defender Dawson
Ange Postecoglou is a coach in the same style as Mauricio Pochettino so says Michael Dawson, who is excited by the Australian's appointment at Tottenham.
Tottenham's long search for a new coach took them to Celtic's door, and Postecoglou this week signed a four-year contract.
That came on the back of the former Australia coach leading the Hoops to the treble in Scotland in 2022-23.
And former Spurs defender Dawson thinks Postecoglou will end up being an ideal fit.
Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I think it's a really positive appointment with Ange Postecoglou.
"What he did at Celtic, but not just there. I think what he did in Australia and then Japan, people were wondering, how would he actually settle in [at Celtic], how would his style of playing get implemented.
"He's certainly done that Celtic. So now he has to come to our club and do the same. I do believe it's a lot harder because the Premier League, in my opinion, is the best league in the world.
"But he's done in Scotland and now he'll want to come and come to England and do it again at a massive football club. I'm sure he's delighted to get the opportunity to work in the Premier League, and at Spurs and work with a group of young players that are in the building and try and improve them like he certainly did at Celtic."
Indeed, Dawson believes the 57-year-old's approach will be similar to that of Pochettino, who led Spurs to multiple top four finishes and a Champions League final during his stint in charge.
"Daniel [Levy's] gone out and made the manager clear that he wanted to play an attacking style of football," said Dawson.
"I looked at 2014, when I was at the club when Pochettino came through the door. You try and implement your style of what you want with a group of players then try and get the best out of that players and the right personnel to play in the right formation.
"[Postecoglou] plays with a 4-3-3 and with his fullbacks inverted, and they overload the midfield. Players will be on holiday and go away on international duty, but certainly when the first day of pre-season comes he'll be trying to get the message across."
Spurs finished eighth and failed to qualify for a European competition, and Dawson knows they must be targeting much better.
"I look at the Spurs team and the players that we've got at the top of the field with Harry Kane, one of the best strikers in the world," he added.
"He's done it for many years and he will keep doing it. He's an absolute genius, world-class, Spurs' all-time goalscorer, England's all-time goalscorer and he will keep doing that because he's relentless.
"Son [Heung-min], [Dejan] Kulusevski, Richarlison; it's now about getting the best out of these players to try and get us back to where I believe we should be and that's in the Champions League.
"There's no there's no hiding, it was a disappointing season. We looked at 12 months ago when we ended the last two games by beating Arsenal and finishing in the Champions League, it was great. This year we've come up short. The players know that and now you always get another chance."
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