It was another Premier League weekend where off-the-pitch (well, sort of) matters dominated the headlines, with Manchester United's home game against Liverpool postponed as a result of anti-Glazer protests.
That also meant Pep Guardiola had to put the Cava back on ice for another week, with Manchester City's title celebrations on hold.
Nevertheless, there was still plenty to keep us occupied, with Mike Dean adding another to his red card haul for the campaign and Gareth Bale proving he can cut it against the best with a hat-trick against *checks notes* relegated Sheffield United.
Using Opta data, we look at some of the quirky facts from the latest Premier League matches…
Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City: Guardiola's men unrivalled going forward
City and Guardiola being rather good is nothing new, but in terms of how effective they are going forward, you may not know how much better than everyone else they really are.
During Saturday's 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, which put them within one win of the title, City reached 700 goals under Guardiola across all competitions.
To put that into context, over the same period Liverpool have scored the second most among English clubs – 543. Then it's Tottenham (532) and – perhaps surprisingly so – Arsenal (522).
The only club among Europe's top five leagues to have outscored City over this time is Paris Saint-Germain (712), a club that spent roughly €400million on just two forwards back in 2017 and have – for the most part – dominated Ligue 1.
Of the 700, Sergio Aguero – who scored against Palace – has the most with 122, followed by Raheem Sterling (102) and Gabriel Jesus (81).
Chelsea 2-0 Fulham: Tuchel has Blues switched on at the back
Ever since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in January, Chelsea have been better almost across the board.
Arguably their greatest improvement has been at the back, where suddenly the Blues look incredibly strong despite Tuchel having the same pool of players to pick from as Lampard.
Under the former England international they had conceded 23 goals in 19 Premier League games this term, but they've let in just eight in 15 with Tuchel at the helm.
People might be keen to suggest it's just luck, but the fact the Blues' xGA (expected goals against) is 7.8 shows their eight concessions is bang on.
Granted, Lampard's xGA figure of 18.4 was a fair bit lower than the 23 let in, so they were perhaps conceding to particularly remarkable finishing.
Nevertheless, the xGA per game of the two coaches are significantly different: Tuchel's 0.5 is exactly half Lampard's 1.0, but why? What's changed?
One potential explanation is that Tuchel has Chelsea pressing more intensely from the front, as shown by PPDA data. PPDA is the number of opposition passes allowed outside of the pressing team's own defensive third, divided by the number of defensive actions by the pressing team outside of their own defensive third.
Under Lampard they had a PPDA of 11, whereas it's 9.4 under Tuchel, the lowest in the Premier League over that time. Chelsea are now facing fewer shots (7.4 per 90 minutes, compared to 10.1), and this could be down to the greater off-the-ball intensity implemented by the German.
Newcastle United 0-2 Arsenal: Mike Dean loves a red
Few referees in the modern game have fascinated and infuriated fans quite like Mike Dean, who is – for want of a better phrase – absolutely box office.
From his self-assured facial expressions and body language, to his frankly baffling mannerisms and showmanship: when Dean is in charge of a match, you're virtually guaranteed a talking point of some description.
But above all, it's his eagerness to pull out that red card that is the most noteworthy aspect of his officiating.
He was the man in the middle as Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 on Sunday and had his say right at the end as he showed Fabian Schar the red card for a nasty lunge on Gabriel Martinelli.
It stretched his record as by far the most red-card-happy referee in Premier League history. It was his 112th, 45 more than any other official.
Remarkably, it was the eighth he's shown this season alone, which is at least double the next strictest referee in the Premier League, with Graham Scott and Peter Bankes next on the list with four each.
Tottenham 4-0 Sheffield United: Bale makes a statement
Bale was in inspiring form on Sunday as Tottenham smashed Sheffield United 4-0, with the Wales international scoring a hat-trick – his first in a league competition since January 2016 when he put Deportivo La Coruna to the sword.
Granted, netting a treble against the Blades might not be quite as impressive as doing so against… well, any other Premier League side for that matter.
However, his overall performance coupled with his "I play well when I'm happy" comments at full-time seemed almost directed at former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, who had Bale in and out of the team for much of the season.
Those three goals took him to 11 goal involvements (nine scored and two assisted) in 16 Premier League games this term, an average of one every 66 minutes.
That is the best such record in the league this term. The next best (among players with more than two involvements) is his team-mate Harry Kane (34 involvements, one every 80 minutes).
Bale's future is uncertain for the time being, but such a record must have club officials contemplating keeping him around for another year.
Osimhen a doubt for Napoli's Champions League quarter-final against Milan
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen faces a race against time to play any part in the Champions League quarter-final against Milan after suffering an injury.
Osimhen played both games in the international break for Nigeria but has returned to the Italian club with a left thigh problem.
The club announced on their website he will be assessed next week, with president Aurelio De Laurentiis hopeful the star striker will soon be back in action.
De Laurentiis said, according to Tuttomercato: "He should be out a couple of weeks, we hope."
Napoli host Milan in Serie A on Sunday before travelling to face Lecce on the following Friday, with Osimhen likely to miss both fixtures.
The Champions League quarter-final first leg in Milan comes on April 12, with the return fixture taking place in Naples on April 18.
The 24-year-old Osimhen has enjoyed a prolific season, scoring 25 goals in 29 games in all competitions, with Luciano Spalletti’s 19 points clear of second-placed Lazio in Serie A and through to their first-ever Champions League quarter-final.
Argentine striker Giovanni Simeone will likely deputise in Osimhen’s absence, with the striker having netted eight times in all competitions this season.
France recalls for Le Sommer and Wendie Renard as new coach calls up old guard
Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer were recalled to the France squad on Friday as new coach Herve Renard began his Women's World Cup planning.
Long-serving captain and centre-back Renard indicated in February she would not play on for France under the Corinne Diacre regime, and forwards Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto followed suit.
That public boycott by the trio triggered the end of Diacre's five-and-a-half-year spell in charge.
Diani and Katoto are unavailable for selection due to injury at present, but the change of leadership has led to an immediate recall for Wendie Renard, although it has yet to be decided whether the 32-year-old will skipper the team.
Coach Renard – not related to defender Renard – said the pair would talk about that issue, and he would also consider the squad's feelings when they meet for friendlies against Colombia on April 7 and against Canada on April 11.
Talks have taken place with Katoto already, with boss Renard assuring the striker she is a big part of his future plans, while he has also delivered a positive message to Amandine Henry, the experienced Lyon midfielder who dropped off the international group during Diacre's reign.
Forward Le Sommer, who has won 175 caps but last featured in April 2021, had also been cut out of Diacre's plans.
She missed the Euro 2022 finals, but ahead of her 34th birthday in May the Lyon forward finds herself back in favour with Les Bleues and has a chance to majorly revive her international career.
"She has incomparable experience," said coach Renard. "We really need her experience and her intelligence in the game. It was a pleasure to chat with her and I can't wait to meet her and see her at work."
Looking at the wider picture, Renard indicated he had been given carte blanche regarding squad selection.
The French Football Federation previously criticised the manner of the players' boycott, affirming that acting in such a way "to express their criticisms was no longer acceptable in future".
For the greater good, however, misgivings have been set aside, with coach Renard saying: "It was very clear to me. The FFF gave me a very extensive list of pre-selected players with all the players.
"I felt the FFF gave me the green light to select all the players from this list. For me, what happened [in the past], it does not concern me," the coach said. "We can pay tribute to Corinne Diacre who obtained good results. But now the page turns."
The appointment of Renard as Diacre's successor came on Thursday, after he resigned as coach of the Saudi Arabia men's team.
He oversaw the team's stunning 2-1 victory over eventual winners Argentina at last year's World Cup in Qatar, and now another World Cup awaits, with Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the women's tournament in July and August.
His contract with Les Bleues will run until August 2024, meaning he is also set to be in charge of France at next year's home Olympic Games in Paris.
Man City v Liverpool: Preview and prediction
Liverpool may be no threat to Manchester City in the title race this season, but they could derail the champions' hopes of a treble in Saturday's match at the Etihad Stadium.
That is the fear of Pep Guardiola, who still thinks highly of a Reds side struggling for consistency this season.
City need to win to at least temporarily close the gap to leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool are on the outside of the Champions League chase looking in.
That idea would have been alien to these two teams last year as they went toe-to-toe for the title, and memories of previous mammoth clashes are fresh in Guardiola's mind.
The City boss, who said his "opinion doesn't change for one season of ups and downs", explained: "For one game, absolutely, they can beat everyone, like we can beat everyone. One game is one game."
As City can focus on Arsenal alone in the league, Liverpool's situation is rather more complicated.
They are seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand but also five shy of Newcastle United, who have played the same number of games in fifth.
Liverpool follow a trip to City by facing Chelsea and Arsenal next week.
"It's a super important game," said Jurgen Klopp. "That's the one thing not different to all the other years.
"We know it's a massive game, a massive week coming up. For tomorrow, they deserve all the attention – we can't think about the other games.
"It is like a Champions League week. I'm super excited."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne
While Haaland was out of action in the international break, De Bruyne was on top form for Belgium, putting Germany to the sword earlier this week with a goal and two assists. He will have a key role to play against City, who have played more through balls than any other team (64), while Liverpool are joint-fourth for the most through balls played against them (48). De Bruyne leads all players with 21 through balls.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah loves playing against City, only scoring more than his 10 goals in these matches when facing Manchester United (12). Indeed, he has already netted in three separate matches against Guardiola's side this season, on target in each of their meetings in the Premier League, Community Shield and EFL Cup. Ian Rush was the last last Liverpool player to score in four different games against an opponent in the same campaign, netting in five clashes with Everton in 1986-87.
MATCH PREDICTION – MAN CITY WIN
Liverpool are hoping to do the league double over City for just the second time in the past 17 seasons, but that previous home-and-away success in 2015-16 included their sole victory at the Etihad Stadium in their most recent 13 league visits.
This is not a season in which they appear likely to buck a trend away from home, having earned just 12 points from 13 games on the road. Having earned 30 points at Anfield, theirs is the biggest difference between home and away points in the division.
The Reds have also failed to score in six of those away games, their most across a whole league season since eight in 2011-12, and another blank would leave them at risk of a third straight defeat without scoring in all competitions for the first time since October 2009.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Man City - 50.8 per cent
Liverpool - 22.8 per cent
Draw - 26.4 per cent
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