After nearly two weeks off due to the international break, Premier League football was back this past weekend and it was as intriguing as ever.
A new era began at St James' Park, though the outcome of the match was arguably as familiar as ever for Newcastle United fans, while similar could be said of Watford as they began Claudio Ranieri's tenure by being battered by Liverpool.
That game saw Mohamed Salah spectacularly edge closer to Liverpool history, while their next opponents – bitter rivals Manchester United – continued their dreadful run by conceding four to Leicester City.
But Harry Kane got himself back among the goals and Wolves pulled off what of the most unlikely comebacks the Premier League has seen.
Below, Stats Perform delves into some of the quirky Opta facts from the weekend…
Salah on verge of historic achievement
The early frontrunner for individual end-of-season awards in the Premier League is undoubtedly Salah, who has made a scintillating start to 2021-22.
He somehow reached a new level of spectacular on Saturday in the 5-0 dismantling of Watford, his incredible solo goal showcasing the kind of improbable dribbling one would expect to see in an unrealistic football film or naff television advert – only this was real.
But more than the sheer audacity of the goal, it was the eighth goal in a row that Salah has scored in for Liverpool – not only was that a personal best for him, it equalled a club record set by Daniel Sturridge.
If Salah scores in his next appearance, which will presumably be either against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday or United at the weekend, he will become the first Liverpool player to net in nine successive outings.
Newcastle, the Premier League's pressing anomaly
Sunday ended up being something of a reality check for Newcastle. While most fans will have turned up to St James' Park with a sense of optimism for the first time in years, all will have left at full-time with the realisation that – Saudi money or not – this is a team that could conceivably be in the Championship next season.
But one area that they are seemingly proving quite efficient is with regards to their pressing leading to goals.
Now, it's worth saying that Newcastle aren't among the most intense teams when it comes to their off-the-ball setup, as their 47 high turnovers is only more than four clubs in the Premier League.
However, three of those situations have led to a goal, which is more than anyone else in the division and speaks to an impressive level of efficiency.
That probably won't come as much of a consolation if they do get relegated, though.
Kane at home on the road
What with all the furore surrounding Newcastle heading into the weekend, Kane's Premier League woes for this season seemed to take a backseat in the build-up.
Whether that played a role in him finally getting his first Premier League goal of the season is impossible to prove, but his clever finish in Spurs' 3-2 win did highlight just how reliable Kane has been as an away striker over the years.
It was his 88th away goal in the competition, taking him past Alan Shearer and to within six of the record holder, Wayne Rooney. But Kane's haul comes from just 128 away games.
Rooney's 94 was from 243 matches on the road, Shearer needed 219 for his total. For Kane to reach such a figure so soon is a truly astonishing accomplishment.
Wolves' turnaround a comeback for the ages
Is there anything in football that matches the sheer joy of a late comeback? You go from being resigned to defeat, then having a little hope and ultimately becoming overwhelmed with emotion as the turnaround is complete. It's a rollercoaster.
Most fans know what it's like to see something similar, but what Wolves supporters witnessed on Saturday was even more remarkable because due to the speed at which everything unfurled.
They were 2-0 down at local rivals Aston Villa in the 80th minute, but then Romain Saiss, Conor Coady and Ruben Neves scored in the final 10 minutes to earn a 3-2 win.
Only once before has a team comeback from two or more goals down later than the 80th minute in the Premier League (Reading against West Brom in 2013), which puts Wolves' feat into historic context.
You can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup – Man City players meet Elton John
Manchester City were greeted by singer Elton John as they touched down at Manchester Airport on their return from winning the FA Cup at Wembley.
The club posted videos of the squad posing for pictures with the 76-year-old on the tarmac as they disembarked from their plane late on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola said in advance of the final, which City won 2-1 against Manchester United to secure the second leg of a possible treble, that he had attended John’s concert in the city last week as he sought to take his mind off a defining period in the club’s history.
The club’s Twitter feed headed one of the videos “you can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup”, a reference to a line from the 1971 hit Your Song.
City were victorious at Wembley thanks to a goal in either half from Ilkay Gundogan – his first the fastest in FA Cup final history – as they added the trophy to the Premier League title they won in May.
They face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday seeking to become only the second English club after Manchester United to have won all three major trophies in a single season.
Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs – Scotland’s five European qualifiers
Saturday’s Scottish Cup final ironed out the European qualifiers and plans for next season.
Celtic’s win over Inverness denied Caley Thistle a place in Europe and ensured Hibernian qualified through their fifth-placed finish in the cinch Premiership.
The result guaranteed group-stage football for Aberdeen and also gave Hearts a later start.
Here the PA new agency looks at Scotland’s five European qualifiers.
CelticEntry: Champions League group stage
Draw date: August 31
First game: September 19-20
Possible opponents: Celtic will be in pot four, meaning they cannot draw Newcastle for example. Although the seeds have not been finalised, a worst-case draw could see the Hoops facing Manchester City, Real Madrid and Milan. A kinder draw could see them come up against Benfica, RB Leipzig and Red Star Belgrade.
Prospects: Celtic will need to finish in the top three of their group to extend their European run beyond Christmas. A top-two finish would see them enter the Champions League knockout stages while third secures entry to the Europa League.
RangersEntry: Champions League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 8-9
Possible first opponents: Michael Beale’s side have four possible opponents in the non-champions path, including Sturm Graz and Serbians TSC Backa Topola. Other potential opponents could be Servette, Panathinaikos or Belgian or Ukrainian sides.
Prospects: Rangers will be looking to make the Champions League group stages again and will need to win two ties to do so. Defeat at either stage would see them drop into the Europa League. They are guaranteed group-stage football whatever happens with two qualifying defeats sending them into the Europa Conference League.
AberdeenEntry: Europa League play-offs
Draw date: August 7
First game: August 24
Possible first opponents: There are a host of variables before the Dons enter the fray but Swiss side Lugano will definitely be among their six possible opponents, while Slavia Prague and Olympiacos might also be on the list.
Prospects: The Dons will reach the Europa League group stage if they win their play-off and drop into the Conference groups if not.
HeartsEntry: Europa Conference League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 10
Prospects: Hearts will need to win two ties to secure a second consecutive season in the Conference League group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hearts will be unseeded and earlier rounds will determine the list of seeds but AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Kyiv, Partizan Belgrade and Rapid Vienna will be among them.
HibernianEntry: Europa Conference League second-qualifying round
Draw date: June 20-21
First game: July 27
Prospects: Hibs need to win three ties to make the group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hibs will be seeded and a list of 45 unseeded clubs will be split into groups nearer the draw date. UEFA normally uses a regional basis when formulating the groups so potential opponents could be Swedish sides Hammarby or Kalmar plus, depending on earlier results, Crusaders or Connah’s Quay.
Inverness’ Scottish Cup final performance can boost confidence – Roddy MacGregor
Roddy MacGregor believes Inverness’ performance in the 3-1 Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic can boost their promotion confidence for next season.
The Championship side had beaten cinch Premiership outfits Livingston and Kilmarnock on their way to Saturday’s Hampden Park showpiece but had finished sixth in the league.
Celtic proved too tough an opponent as goals from attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, substitute Liel Abada and Jota completed the domestic treble with Caley Thistle replacement Dan MacKay’s header a consolation.
However, MacGregor – a late second-half substitute for Scott Allardice – insists positives can be taken from the performance going into next season.
The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country at the moment and in previous rounds we had beaten Premiership teams.
“It just shows that when we are on our game we can give any team a game and that definitely gives us confidence going into next season.
“We were disappointed obviously, it is never nice to lose in such a big game. It is not a nice feeling.
“Up against a team like Celtic it is always going to be tricky but I think we did reasonably well and limited their chances.
“We genuinely thought we could win the game and that’s the sign of a good dressing room and we are looking to go again next season and hopefully we have a fully-fit squad.”
MacKay, on loan from Hibernian, was pleased that Inverness proved the doom-mongers wrong with their spirited performance.
The 22-year-old winger said: “The boys can be proud of themselves. We put up a really good battle.
“Everyone doubted us and said it would be six or seven nil but we proved them wrong and showed that a Championship team that was midtable was more than a match at times for Celtic but they were clinical at the end of the day.
“If you get a goal you never know what can happen in these games. Pressure happens and chances come and go in games.
“We took our chance but unfortunately we never got another chance and Celtic were clinical.
“But we need to be proud, it was an achievement getting there.”
Asked about his future with Hibs, he said: “I don’t know yet. I wait to see what happens.”
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