Saturday was quite a day in the Premier League, with shock results impacting both ends of the table, and the middle.

Liverpool appear to live challengers again in the title race after their 3-1 victory against Norwich City was followed by Tottenham's dramatic 3-2 win away to leaders Manchester City.

Mohamed Salah scored his 150th goal for Liverpool and Luis Diaz bagged his first in English football, while former City target Harry Kane insisted on shoving narrative into everyone's faces with a sensational performance for Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.

Elsewhere, a late Hakim Ziyech goal secured Chelsea a win at Crystal Palace, Arsenal's youngsters earned them a 2-1 win against Brentford, while West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle in the early game.

Burnley produced a surprising performance to win 3-0 at Brighton, with Wout Weghorst getting off the mark for his new club, while Watford also threw a spanner in the works of the relegation fight with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

The other game of a busy day in England's top flight saw Southampton beat Frank Lampard's Everton 2-0 at St Mary's thanks to goals from Stuart Armstrong and Shane Long.

Manchester City 2-3 Tottenham: City Kane-d by ruthless Spurs

Pep Guardiola's City team had looked imperious since losing at home to Crystal Palace in October, until today.

City were dominant but wasteful against Spurs, finding the target with only four of their 21 shots, while the visitors made Ederson work with five of their six efforts, beating him three times to take the points.

Kane’s winner, timed at 94:25, was the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since Michael Owen for Manchester United in September 2009 (95:27).

Tottenham duo Kane and Son Heung-min have now assisted one another for 36 Premier League goals, the joint-most of any pairing in the competition's history, moving level with Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Son has been directly involved in 10 goals in 15 appearances against City (seven goals, three assists); only against Southampton (15) and West Ham (11) has he had a hand in more goals for Spurs.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has lost twice to Tottenham this season, and has only lost more games to Chelsea (eight) than Spurs (six) in his entire managerial career.

Liverpool 3-1 Norwich: Reds come back thanks to usual suspects, and a new one

Early in the second half at Anfield, it did not look like Liverpool would be cutting Manchester City's lead on Saturday, finding themselves 1-0 down to the Canaries after Milot Rashica's first Premier League goal.

However, a marvellous overhead kick from Sadio Mane was soon followed by a historic moment for Salah, who scored his 150th goal for Liverpool in just his 233rd appearance. Only Roger Hunt (226) has reached that total faster in the club's history.

Luis Díaz became the 16th different Colombian player to score a Premier League goal, producing a nice finish after a Jordan Henderson throughball. He was also Liverpool’s 16th different goalscorer in the competition this season (excluding own goals), the joint-most of any side in 2021-22 (Chelsea and City both also 16).

Henderson was a standout performer on the day as well, drastically improving from his showing at Burnley last weekend.

He completed just 50 per cent of passes (18 out of 36) in the 1-0 win at Turf Moor, but on Saturday produced his second-best pass success rate in the Premier League for Liverpool in a game where he made at least 100 passes, with 97.2 per cent (104 of 107), only bettering that against Hull City in 2016-17 (97.3 per cent, 108 of 111).

Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea: Late Ziyech strike saves Blues

Chelsea returned to Premier League action after winning the FIFA Club World Cup last week to eventually secure three points against Palace thanks to an 89th-minute Ziyech strike. The Moroccan has scored in three consecutive league matches for the first time since September 2019 in the Eredivisie with Ajax.

The Blues have now won back-to-back league games for the first time since October, when they won four in a row, and could also be looking up the table after City's wobble.

It was another clean sheet for Chelsea, who have kept 37 in 70 matches in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, more than any other Premier League side since the German’s first match in charge in January last year.

It was not all good from Tuchel's men though, with struggling striker Romelu Lukaku managing just seven touches, one of which was at the kick-off, the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player to feature for at least 90 minutes since Opta started collecting the data in 2003-04.

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Young guns fire Arteta's side to victory

Goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka earned Arsenal a hard-fought win against Brentford, despite Christian Norgaard's late strike for the Bees.

Smith Rowe bagged his ninth league goal this season; the only player to score more in a single campaign for Arsenal when aged 21 or younger was Nicolas Anelka in 1998-99 (17).

Saka registered his 11th goal involvement in the Premier League this season (seven goals, four assists), the most of any under-21 player and a haul bettered only by Jarrod Bowen (16), Mason Mount (13) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (12) among English players.

The Gunners netted their 600th (and 601st) Premier League goals at the Emirates Stadium, reaching the milestone in their 297th game there, with only United at Old Trafford (283) and City at the Etihad (290) doing so at a single stadium in fewer games in the competition.

Brentford are winless in their last seven league games, last having a longer run between September and October 2018 (eight games). Thomas Frank's side have also lost their last five away league games, their longest such run since February 2011 (also five).

West Ham 1-1 Newcastle: Magpies continue to rise under Howe

Eddie Howe's 500th league game as a manager (410 with Bournemouth, 77 with Burnley and 13 with Newcastle) ended with a well-earned point from the London Stadium in the day's early kick-off.

Craig Dawson gave West Ham the lead before Joe Willock's equaliser came just before half-time.

Newcastle have now taken 12 points from their last six Premier League games, two more than they managed in their previous 18 this season (10 points).

Dawson's goal was the 11th scored from a set-piece by the Hammers in the league this season (not including penalties), a figure only Liverpool (14) and City (12) can better.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-3 Burnley: Weghorst gets off the mark in big Clarets win

A quite remarkable performance from Sean Dyche's side in his 250th Premier League game in charge of Burnley saw them ease to a 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium, with Weghorst, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Lennon all finding the net.

Brighton suffered the heaviest defeat by a team hosting the English top flight's bottom side since Crystal Palace lost 4-0 at home to Sunderland in February 2017.

This was Burnley's first away win in the league since May 2021 (v Fulham), ending a run of 12 games without a win on the road. They also scored more goals in this game than they had in their previous five Premier League away games combined (two).

Weghorst scored his first goal for Burnley, becoming the first Dutchman to score for the Clarets in the competition. This ended a run of seven league games without scoring for Weghorst, with his previous goal coming in December for previous club Wolfsburg against Cologne.

Aston Villa 0-1 Watford: Dennis a menace to Villa

Another relegation-threatened side stepped up to secure an impressive away win as Roy Hodgson earned his first victory in charge of Watford thanks to a goal from Emmanuel Dennis.

This was the Hornets' first Premier League away win since October (5-2 v Everton), and their first away win in the competition while also keeping a clean sheet since January 2020 (3-0 v Bournemouth).

After winning two of their first three home games under Steven Gerrard (L1), Villa are now winless in their last four games at Villa Park (D2 L2). This was the first Premier League home game they have failed to score in since May 2021 (v Everton), ending a run of 12 in a row in which they had found the net.

Watford have now kept as many clean sheets in four Premier League games under Hodgson (two) as they had in their previous 36 games in the competition.

Southampton 2-0 Everton: Another free-kick continues Toon revival

The revival of Everton under Lampard was nowhere to be seen at St Mary's as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side continued their good run of form.

Southampton have now won four of their last eight Premier League games (D3 L1), as many victories as they managed in their previous 20 games in the competition (D8 L8).

Everton's total of 22 points from their first 23 games in the league this season is their worst at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1950-51 (three points for a win), when they also had 22 and were relegated at the end of the season.

Long's goal was his first in the league since February 2020 (v Aston Villa), ending a run of 799 minutes without the Irishman scoring in the league.

By now, you probably all get it: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah are pretty good at kicking a football.

So, for this week's fantasy picks, Stats Perform has looked at the Opta numbers behind some players who may not offer quite the same points guarantee as the superstars, but are cheaper and nowhere near as popular.

If everyone picks the exact same players, fantasy football managers will pick up similar points – why not take a punt on some of these?

NICK POPE (Brighton and Hove Albion v Burnley)

Burnley may be mired in a relegation battle, but goalkeeper Nick Pope has looked sharp so far in 2022.

The England international has kept two clean sheets, bettered only by Alisson and Ederson, and prevented more goals than anyone else (3.6).

He may represent something of a risk, but his form suggests Pope could be a shrewd buy.

RICARDO PEREIRA (Wolves v Leicester City)

Granted, Pereira has only scored in consecutive games once before, way back in September 2019. However, his strike against West Ham was a timely reminder of his talents following injury troubles.

Up next is a trip to Wolves. While Bruno Lage's men are solid, they do not scored masses, and Pereira has done damage to them before.

With two assists, he has only claimed more goal involvements against Everton (three) and West Ham (four) in his Premier League career.

JACOB RAMSEY (Aston Villa v Watford)

Ramsey has been a standout breakthrough youngster in the Premier League this term, with his form in recent weeks in particular causing people to sit up and take note.

The 20-year-old has six goal involvements this season, a figure only Bukayo Saka (10) can better among under-21 players.

Five of Ramsey's have been in his past seven matches, and this weekend sees Villa host struggling Watford – he might just fancy his chances of adding to his tally, and he is still a fairly cheap option.

MICHAEL OLISE (Crystal Palace v Chelsea)

Olise is another young player having a solid season – he has also tallied six Premier League goal involvements this term.

Those have come in just 568 minutes on the pitch, meaning he is involved in 0.95 goals per 90 minutes.

Only Mohamed Salah (1.19), Patson Daka (1.05), Riyad Mahrez (1.0) and Paul Pogba (0.98) boast a better record than Olise among players with at least 500 minutes played.

Again, he remains a low-cost option.

Liverpool responded to Manchester City's thrashing of Norwich by recording a hard-fought 1-0 win at Burnley.

Fabinho struck the only goal in the first half, as the Reds continued their fine set-piece record on a day when set-plays proved decisive across the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Raul Jimenez starred as Wolves leapfrogged Tottenham with a shock 2-0 win, and Newcastle continued their revival with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, thanks to Kieran Tripper's free-kick.

The final game of the day saw West Ham rescue a dramatic 2-2 draw at Leicester City, with Craig Dawson netting a stoppage-time equaliser.

Burnley 0-1 Liverpool: Reds reap rewards of set-piece focus

Liverpool did not produce a vintage performance, but Jurgen Klopp's men kept leaders Manchester City on their toes by earning a vital away win.

The Reds had to work hard for the three points against Burnley at Turf Moor. After managing 27 shots, nine attempts on target and 50 touches in Burnley's penalty area in the reverse fixture at Anfield last August, Liverpool had just over half as many touches in Burnley's 18-yard box this time (26), managing 12 shots in total and just four on target.

However, Klopp's men dug deep to find a winning goal, and did so courtesy of their fantastic set-piece record. Excluding penalties, 14 of Liverpool’s 61 Premier League goals this season have come via set-pieces, more than any other team and more than the tally they recorded in the top-flight last term (13).

Fabinho's winning goal also means he has scored more goals in his last seven matches (five) than he managed in his first 142 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions (four).

Meanwhile, the Anfield outfit also maintained their record of having won each of their games in which the Brazilian has netted for the club, with that run now reaching eight matches.

Tottenham 0-2 Wolves: Jimenez proves decisive at Spurs once again

It was Wolves, rather than Tottenham, who asserted their top-four credentials by recording a huge win in north London, with Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker firing the visitors to a 2-0 win.

Mexican striker Jimenez has now scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances away at Spurs (three goals), with Wolves winning each of those contests.

Indeed, Jimenez has now scored four times in six appearances against Tottenham, and has only scored more Premier League goals against Southampton and Everton (five).

For Antonio Conte's Spurs, the defeat was their third Premier League reverse in succession, and they also lost three consecutive league games under Nuno Espirito Santo in September 2021. This marks the first time they have had multiple three-match losing games in a Premier League campaign since 2004-05 (also two).

Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa: Another free-kick continues Toon revival

Newcastle's clash with Aston Villa was not exactly one for the purists, featuring the third-lowest expected goals tally of the entire Premier League season so far, but Tripper ensured that it was a memorable day for the Magpies.

Trippier's 35th-minute free-kick was enough to see off Steven Gerrard's men in a contest where both teams created just 0.5 xG apiece.

Remarkably, Newcastle have now scored a direct free-kick goal in each of their last three Premier League games (Jonjo Shelvey at Leeds, followed by Trippier against Everton and Aston Villa), becoming the first side to do so since Liverpool in December 2013.

In a game of fine margins, the England right-back showed the quality that he brings to the Magpies' relegation fight, and he is now the first Newcastle player to score direct free-kick goals in consecutive Premier League games since Hugo Viana did so in May 2003.

Jurgen Klopp appeared thrilled – and a little relieved – that Liverpool avoided slipping up away to Burnley on Sunday as they won 1-0 at Turf Moor.

Fabinho got Liverpool's decisive goal just before half-time, bundling in at the second time of asking after Sadio Mane flicked on a corner delivery.

But it was by no means a straightforward victory, as Burnley had their fair share of opportunities in the first half.

In total, Alisson had to make five saves – only once in his Premier League career has the Brazilian been forced into more in a single game (six, against Southampton in May 2021).

Although Burnley sit rooted to the bottom of the table, Klopp was under no illusions that the Clarets represented a potential "banana skin".

As such, he was in a good mood as the Reds ensured they can still trim Manchester City's lead at the summit to six points if they win their game in hand.

Klopp told Sky Sports: "A perfect afternoon – raining and windy. We scored from a set-piece and it was a brilliant goal, to be honest.

"Everything today was set up to be a banana skin for us. The balls in the air were so tricky to defend because the wind came from all directions. We played the circumstances rather than suffered from them.

"Most of their chances were offside but of course they had their moments, that is clear. They have quality, but we dealt with it pretty well.

"We had to work incredibly hard and that is what the boys did. We made our shirts dirty. I am really happy because I know how difficult it is to come here. Absolutely satisfied."

Defeat leaves Burnley with just one win from their first 21 Premier League games this season – they are the first club to have so few victories at this stage of a campaign since Derby County (also one win) in 2007-08.

As for Liverpool, they have now won each of their last six league games without conceding against sides who have started the day bottom of the table.

Liverpool continue to keep Premier League leaders Manchester City on their toes after claiming a slender 1-0 win at rock-bottom Burnley on Sunday.

City beat Norwich City 4-0 on Saturday to open up a 12-point gap at the top, but the Reds responded at Turf Moor by trimming that lead again, meaning they can still reduce the deficit to six if they win their game in hand.

It was by no means straightforward for Jurgen Klopp's men, however. Alisson was forced into several important saves in the first half as Burnley wasted numerous opportunities.

Liverpool had threatened as well and finally took the lead just before the break through Fabinho, and that ultimately proved decisive as the Reds did a far better job of controlling the contest after half-time.

In an entertaining opening 45, Alisson was the first of the two goalkeepers to be called into meaningful action by Josh Brownhill's 30-yard strike, before also denying Maxwel Cornet from close range.

Nick Pope then brilliantly got down to keep Naby Keita's effort out – Burnley countered from the resulting corner and should have scored, but Wout Weghorst's finish was poor.

Jay Rodriguez was the next to be thwarted by Alisson at point-blank range, with Sadio Mane then blasting at Pope from Trent Alexander-Arnold's delivery into the six-yard box a minute later.

Weghorst subsequently squandered another chance soon after and the Reds capitalised, Fabinho bundling over the line after Mane flicked on a corner.

Aside from a Ben Mee header, chances dried up drastically after the interval with the two teams' combined xG for the second half up to the 80th minute sitting at just 0.15.

Mee nearly turned a Salah pass into his own net late on and Diogo Jota saw an effort deflected wide when he looked destined to score, but it mattered not for the Reds.

You wait nearly three weeks for a Premier League matchday and then two arrive at once…

Reigning champions and leaders Manchester City head to strugglers Norwich City, while Liverpool visit the lowly Burnley after the Clarets earned a valuable point against Manchester United in midweek.

Ralf Rangnick's Red Devils face Southampton, who impressed with a comeback victory over Tottenham on Wednesday. Antonio Conte's side will hope to bounce back at home to Wolves.

Ahead of the action, Stats Perform uses Opta data to aid your fantasy football selection dilemmas.

JOSE SA (Tottenham v Wolves)

Wolves have become specialists in securing slender wins to propel them towards an unlikely qualification for European football.

Jose Sa has been central to the success of Bruno Lage's backline, saving 69 of the 86 shots on target he has faced – the best save percentage (80 per cent) in the Premier League of any goalkeeper to play at least five games.

While he will be tasked with keeping Son Heung-min and Harry Kane out, the Portugal goalkeeper could be good shout for some important save bonus points.

ANDREW ROBERTSON (Burnley v Liverpool)

Robertson is hardly a new phenomenon for the veteran fantasy football players, but the Scotland international has been sensational on the road for Liverpool.

The left-back has provided five assists in his last four top-flight away games and has six overall for the Reds on the road this season – the last player to assist more away from Anfield in the league was Danny Murphy (seven) in 2002-03.

With Burnley struggling at the top end of the pitch as well, the former Hull City man could be a likely source of clean-sheet points as well.

PHILIPPE COUTINHO (Newcastle United v Aston Villa)

Philippe Coutinho has starred under Steven Gerrard in his limited time as a loanee at Aston Villa, registering a goal and two assists against Leeds United on Wednesday.

That took the Brazil international's tally to four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in his opening three league games for Villa, averaging a goal or an assist every 44 minutes.

Eddie Howe's Newcastle United are down in the relegation mix, so Coutinho remains a smart pick with many expecting goals galore at St. James' Park.

PATSON DAKA (Leicester City v West Ham)

Leicester City have endured a tough period under Brendan Rodgers, but Patson Daka has still been a standout performer for the Foxes.

The Zambian striker has found the net in four of his five home top-flight appearances and is providing previous fantasy favourite Jamie Vardy with some stiff competition.

Daka has scored on all three of his home league starts and could be the seventh Premier League player in history to do so in his first four if he can breach the West Ham defence on Sunday.

Ralf Rangnick criticised his Manchester United stars for playing "tiki-taka" football and lacking urgency at crucial times in the draw at Burnley.

The 1-1 outcome at Turf Moor allowed West Ham to jump above United into fourth place in the Premier League, with Arsenal and Tottenham in pursuit of both.

Burnley sit bottom of the league and rode their luck as United had two first-half goals disallowed, leading only by a Paul Pogba strike as the interval arrived.

But the Clarets started the first half positively and were level inside two minutes as Jay Rodriguez fired past David de Gea.

Interim manager Rangnick said he warned his players to be on guard for a fired-up Burnley at the start of the second half; therefore, to concede so early was an annoyance to the German boss.

He told BBC Sport: "We knew they would come out of the locker room in a more aggressive way. This is the only thing I can blame the team for; in the first 20 minutes of the second half we were not as aggressive as in the first half.

"The way that we conceded the goal was completely unnecessary. We had our own counter-attack 30 seconds before and in that moment we were two or three players more in our own half, took wrong decisions in the defensive behaviour and in a way gave the goal away to them.

"If you look into the whole game we dominated most of the game, 70 minutes, and winning only one point is just not enough: a very frustrating night again."

Rangnick added: "In the first two minutes [of the second half] we won the ball three times and gave it away too easily because we were playing tiki-taka football in our own half, and we were not direct enough and stringent enough in the way we try to play forward.

"Then we had the counter-attack with Jadon [Sancho] and with Marcus [Rashford] and again gave the ball away too easily in their box. The first 20 minutes of the second half we were not as aggressive and not as controlled as we were in the first half, and that's why we gave them the chance to score."

United have home games coming up against Southampton and Brighton, on Saturday and Tuesday.

Rangnick told MUTV the Burnley result made it "even more important to get six points out of those two games".

Ralf Rangnick was frustrated by a "very, very soft" decision leading to Manchester United having a goal ruled out in their 1-1 draw against Burnley on Tuesday. 

United appeared to have gone 2-0 up when Josh Brownhill turned Marcus Rashford's cross into his own net, but a foul was belatedly given for Paul Pogba's challenge on Erik Pieters in the build-up. 

Pogba had given the Red Devils the lead in the 18th minute with his first Premier League goal in 384 days after Raphael Varane had one disallowed for an offside against Harry Maguire. 

Nick Pope kept Burnley in it for the rest of the first half and following Jay Rodriguez's equaliser two minutes after the restart, United were unable to test the hosts' keeper again. 

Rangnick felt the game ought to have been over by half-time and that his team were hindered significantly by the own goal being chalked off. 

"I think we played a fantastic first half, couldn't have played any better. We scored three goals, the second that was disallowed I cannot understand," Rangnick told the BBC. 

"It was a very, very soft decision by the linesman. He flagged the foul five or six seconds after it took place. 

"It really surprised me he flagged when the ball was in the net. Had he really seen the foul? The first I can understand why it was disallowed, it was a hard one, but the second I cannot understand. 

"If you look into the whole game, we dominated for most of it. Winning one point is not enough and another frustrating game." 

Only Premier League leaders Manchester City (11) are on a longer unbeaten away run in the top flight than United, who have avoided defeat in each of their past six outings. However, Rangnick's side have won just two of those matches. 

Rodriguez's goal came with Burnley's first shot on target of the game and that frustrated United captain Harry Maguire, who allowed Wout Weghorst to turn and slide his strike partner in with an excellent assist. 

 "I think you saw the first half. We had control. We have got to win the game with the amount of chances we created. We had to get that second goal. It's two points dropped," Maguire told BT Sport. 

"We wanted to dominate the game but when you come to Burnley away you are not going to dominate for 90 minutes. We had to see it out better. We conceded like against Middlesbrough [in the FA Cup on Friday] when they had that spell of pressure. We have got to be that bit more clinical. 

"It was a disappointing goal on our behalf to concede. We came out in the second half a bit sloppy. We had long enough in the game to come back from that and try and find the winner. 

"We demand of ourselves to win the football match, so it is disappointing."  

Manchester United slipped out of the Premier League's top four after being held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley at Turf Moor on Tuesday. 

An immediate recovery from their shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Middlesbrough appeared to be on the cards for United when Paul Pogba rifled home early on.

The Red Devils were kept at bay for the rest of the first half by the officiating and the exploits of Nick Pope, setting the stage for Jay Rodriguez's equaliser.

United were unable to find a winner in the closing stages, meaning they fell to fifth with West Ham replacing them in the Champions League qualification places.

After Raphael Varane saw what would have been his first United goal disallowed for Harry Maguire straying offside, Pogba fired Luke Shaw's cutback into the top-right corner to give the visitors the lead in the 18th minute.  

Ralf Rangnick's side thought they had a second when Josh Brownhill put Marcus Rashford's delivery into his own net, but Pogba was deemed to have fouled Erik Pieters in the build-up.  

Burnley would have been out of the game by half-time had it not been for Nick Pope, who brilliantly denied Edinson Cavani and Rashford.

Rodriguez made the most of Pope's good work two minutes after the restart by slotting home Burnley's first shot on target.

Wout Weghorst set up the equaliser and saw an ambitious 25-yard effort parried by David de Gea, while Maxwel Cornet hobbled off for Burnley.

Cristiano Ronaldo came on from the bench but was unable to inspire United, who failed to register a single shot on target in the second half as bottom side Burnley held on for a valuable point. 

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has urged players to communicate with him and the club in person rather than unloading on social media.

Rangnick made his plea to United players after two similar occurrences in a matter of weeks, with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard contradicting the German with social media posts.

Martial was the first to break ranks last month, writing on his personal Instagram account that he "will never refuse to play a match for Man Utd" after Rangnick claimed the Frenchman was not involved against Aston Villa because "he didn't want to be in the squad".

Then, last week, Rangnick revealed Lingard was not going to be in the squad to face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup because the midfielder asked for "a couple of days off just to clear his mind".

Many assumed that was in relation to Lingard failing to secure a move away from Old Trafford in January, and Rangnick's words resulted in criticism for the 29-year-old.

But he later wrote on his official Twitter account that "the club advised me to have time off due to personal reasons".

Rangnick has attempted to draw a line in the sand, though he wants players to be direct with him rather than going public.

"It's always better [to communicate in person]," Rangnick told reporters. "I never, ever read or communicate by social media accounts, I don't even exist there, to be honest, I wouldn't have time to do that.

"Therefore it's always better [to communicate in face-to-face]. I always communicate with the players directly, like I did with Anthony Martial and with Jesse. But maybe I am a different generation, my generation never grew up with these kinds of things [social media].

"For me, it's always better to communicate directly, but again it's time to look ahead. I know in both cases what I said to the players, and what happened, so for me, there is no reason to discuss this anymore."

Lingard is one of four members of United's first-team squad whose contract expires in June, with Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata all seemingly set to leave.

While there has been no official communication from any of them, Rangnick seemed disinterested in the situation, adamant their focus should be on playing well anyway.

Asked if he thinks any of them will leave, Rangnick said: "I don't know. It's far too early to speak about that, and in the end, it's also a question of what the players want and how the club see it.

"But these are not interesting topics for us right now, right now it is to get the best out of the season and these players.

"Even if they want to leave at the end of the season, the chance to get an offer from any club, including Manchester United, is to play well."

Ralf Rangnick denied having any problems with Jesse Lingard as he confirmed the England international and Edinson Cavani were available again for Manchester United.

Both players missed the FA Cup fourth-round clash with Middlesbrough, which United lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Friday.

Cavani was granted extra time off after international duty with Uruguay, while Rangnick said Lingard had been allowed to "clear his head" after he was not allowed to leave the club during the January transfer window.

Lingard disputed the suggestion he had requested to skip the Middlesbrough game, insisting the club had instructed him to take a longer break. Rangnick said after the match that he had wanted Lingard in the squad.

Rangnick has insisted there is no animosity between himself and Lingard and that he would have sanctioned his exit on deadline day were it not for the absence of Mason Greenwood. The 20-year-old is not currently being considered for selection by United following his arrest for alleged rape, assault, sexual assault and threats to kill.

The United interim manager said both the 29-year-old Lingard and Cavani would be back for Tuesday's Premier League match against Burnley.

"With regards to Jesse, I have a very good relationship with him," Rangnick said on Monday. "He knows I would have been willing to let him go at least until the issue with Mason came up. He mentioned some personal issues.

"We have to look forward now, there are no problems whatsoever between myself and Jesse and vice versa. I'm very happy to have him in the squad and he'll be in the squad for tomorrow night's game.

"They're both available and will both be part of the squad for tomorrow's game at Burnley. Both are top professionals, both have been training well."

United will be without Fred and Alex Telles for the game at Turf Moor after the Brazilian pair tested positive for coronavirus.

The match is the Red Devils' first since their shock cup exit to Middlesbrough, in which they were punished for missing a hatful of chances, ending the contest with 30 shots and 4.32 expected goals to their opponents' 1.43.

Rangnick felt the performance was positive but that United paid the price for their profligacy in front of goal and for failing to stop a simple Boro counter-attack before Matt Crooks' equaliser, which was allowed to stand despite the ball striking Duncan Watmore's hand.

Asked if United needed an overhaul, he said: "I don't know. I don't think so. Overall, the development of the team and performances over the last couple of weeks have improved.

"There are two points of criticism that we all have to face. One: we wasted too many clear-cut chances, 22 shots inside the box, 10 were massive opportunities and we should easily have been 3-0 up at half-time. It should have been 6-1 or 6-2.

"And the other one was, 10 seconds before we conceded the goal, it was a perfect counter-pressing situation inside their half, we took away time but not the ball away from them and eight seconds later we were outnumbered in our box, it was a handball goal and I'm still convinced this goal should have been disallowed, but we shouldn't have allowed this situation.

"Those are the two things I fault with the team. We invested a week into the game plan and many of those things have been confirmed by the team and were shown on the pitch against Middlesbrough."

Wout Weghorst has completed his transfer from Wolfsburg to Burnley for a fee reported to be in the region of £12million (€14.4m).

Weghorst scored 20 goals for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga last season, with only Erling Haaland (27), Andre Silva (28) and Robert Lewandowski (41) netting more.

The 29-year-old Netherlands international also provided eight assists and converted 21.5 per cent (20) of his 93 shots. 

At 6ft, 6in, Weghorst provides a towering presence for Sean Dyche's side, who sold Chris Wood to relegation rivals Newcastle United this month, and the Clarets will be hoping the Dutchman provides the goals needed to stay in the Premier League.

Weghorst has not been as prolific this season, however, scoring just six times across 18 league games for Wolfsburg, netting every 259 minutes on average, while his shot conversion rate has dropped to 15.8 per cent.

 

However, this is still an improvement on the form of Wood, who managed just three league goals in 17 appearances for Burnley this season, converting only three of his 30 attempts, while the New Zealand forward is yet to score for Newcastle.

"Wout is a player that our scouts have been strong on for some time and we feel that he can add to all that we do at Burnley," Dyche told the club's official website.

"His signing is a continued show of the club's and team's development. We wish Wout well as he earns the right to push our group forwards."

Burnley were also hoping to sign Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb to further bolster their attack.

On Saturday, though, Dinamo released a statement confirming Orsic would be staying put. 

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, have drafted in Jonas Wind from FC Copenhagen as Weghorst's replacement.

Burnley sit bottom of the Premier League and are four points from safety, but the Clarets have between two and four games in hand on their fellow strugglers.

They face a huge clash against Watford on Saturday, which could mark Weghorst's debut.

Burnley's pursuit of Croatia international Mislav Orsic has ended, according to Dinamo Zagreb, his current club.

Reports revealed Burnley chairman Alan Pace's trip to Zagreb to finalise a £7million deal this week had been in vain as Orsic turned down a move to the Premier League.

Burnley had been hoping to add the winger to their ranks after recently selling striker Chris Wood to relegation rivals Newcastle United for a fee in the region of £25m.

However, Dinamo released a statement on Saturday confirming Orsic would be staying at the Stadion Maksimir, saying: "In recent days, great interest of the public and fans has followed the possible transfer of player Mislav Orsic to the English club Burnley.

"Following this topic, GNK Dinamo informs the public that the decision has been made that Mislav Orsic will remain a Dinamo player and we are looking forward to participating in the continuation of the season together with his teammates and contributing to achieving the goal of winning a new Croatian title."

Orsic has scored nine goals in 31 appearances in all competitions for Dinamo this season, including a stunning effort against West Ham in the Europa League at the London Stadium.

He had already made his mark on English football last season with a hat-trick as Dinamo dramatically knocked Jose Mourinho's Tottenham out of the Europa League.

Dinamo sit top of Croatia's 1. HNL – level on points with second and third place – while Burnley are bottom of the Premier League, albeit with games in hand over their immediate rivals after having several games postponed due to COVID-19.

Burnley are reportedly in talks to sign striker Wout Weghorst from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg before Monday's transfer deadline.

Chelsea once again downed Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in the headline clash of the weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Fellow title hopefuls Liverpool, who still have a game in hand, closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to nine points with victory over Crystal Palace in south London.

Staying in the capital, Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by lowly Burnley as they lost ground in the race for the top four, while Leicester City shared the points with Brighton and Hove Albion.

With the action all over for a couple of weeks, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Sunday's fixtures.

Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool: Reds down Eagles again as Robertson delivers

Liverpool reduced Manchester City's advantage at the top to nine points after a 3-1 victory over Palace, who have lost each of their last 10 league meetings with the Reds.

Virgil van Dijk placed Jurgen Klopp's side in control after just eight minutes at Selhurst Park with his 10th headed goal in the competition – only Sami Hyypia (17) has scored more headers for the Reds in the Premier League.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a second after the half-hour mark as he scored in back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time since February 2020.

Both of those goals were created by Andrew Robertson, who now sits joint-second with team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold (both 43) for the most assists in the league since the start of the 2017-18 season, with only Kevin De Bruyne boasting more (52).

Odsonne Edouard halved the deficit in the second half, but Fabinho secured three points with Liverpool's 169th Premier League spot-kick – the joint-most awarded to a team in the competition's history along with Manchester United.

Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: Gunners fail to fire against Clarets

Arsenal have failed to win any of their opening five games of a calendar year for the first time since 1995 after being held to a 0-0 draw by Burnley.

Nick Pope was in excellent form, while Alexandre Lacazette spurned a glorious open-goal opportunity, as the Clarets conceded 20 shots – the most they have faced in the Premier League without conceding since May 2021 (21 versus Fulham).

Lacazette's profligacy meant the Gunners have failed to score in four consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since December 2005.

Arsenal will be desperate to improve upon their torrid run of form to challenge for the top four, with this stalemate being the first time the Gunners have failed to beat the team starting the day bottom of the table at home for the first time since October 2008.

Leicester City 1-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Foxes tamed by away specialists

Leicester remained unbeaten at home to Brighton in the Premier League, though Brendan Rodgers may feel they should have claimed victory after a 1-1 draw.

Patson Daka broke the deadlock as he became just the second Foxes player to score in each of his first three home starts in the competition, after Leonardo Ulloa in the 2014-15 season.

The Zambia striker found the net just 26 seconds after the interval, the quickest goal scored in the second half of a top-flight game since February 2020.

However, Danny Welbeck levelled things up as he scored his fourth goal against Leicester in the Premier League, only bettering that haul in games with Aston Villa (five).

Neither side could find a late winner, ensuring the Foxes remain unbeaten at home to the Seagulls in the top flight since December 1980, while Graham Potter's side have only lost one of their last 11 away leagues games – a joint-low with Manchester City.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Blues make London derby history  

Chelsea registered their fourth win in all competitions this season – and third in January alone – over London rivals Tottenham with a 2-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Harry Kane thought he had struck first before the break but a slight push on Thiago Silva saw his finish ruled out before Hakim Ziyech expertly curled in his fifth league goal for Chelsea – all five of those having come at different venues.

Silva added a second soon after as he became the oldest player (37 years, 123 days) to score in the Premier League since February 2013 to condemn Antonio Conte to his first top-flight defeat as Spurs head coach.

The defender's header was set up by a free-kick from Mason Mount, who provided his 20th assist since the start of the 2019-20 campaign – the most by any Chelsea player across all competitions in that period.

Spurs were unable to breach the Blues' goal, meaning they have now gone six matches across all competitions since last scoring against Chelsea, who became the first side to collect 500 points in Premier League London derby matches (501 points from 272 derbies).

Mikel Arteta was frustrated at a lack of guile from his Arsenal in a goalless draw at home to Burnley and the Gunners boss did not seem optimistic he will be able to bring in reinforcements this month.

Arsenal were looking to move level to go fourth in the Premier League by overcoming a Burnley team that had lost their last two away games 3-1.

However, the Clarets held firm at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Nick Pope making some fine saves and Alexandre Lacazette spurning a glorious opportunity.

It means Arsenal head into the Premier League's winter break sitting in sixth, while Burnley are bottom but hold between two and four games in hand on their relegation rivals.

The Gunners had 20 attempts, with five hitting the target, yet they have now failed to score in four successive matches in all competitions. It is the first time they have gone on such a run since December 2005.

Arsenal have also failed to win any of their first five games in a calendar year for the first time in 27 years, while it is the first time since October 2008 that they have not beaten a team at the bottom of the league at home.

"We started slow, we looked leggy and didn't have enough rhythm or intention to attack the way we wanted," Arteta told BBC Sport.

"We tried in every different way but lacked the quality in the final third. At the end, when we have a really low block, you need spark and creativity to win football matches and today we didn't do that."

For all their possession (75.7 per cent), Arsenal only created one big chance against Burnley, defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would be expected to score, though they finished with an expected goals (xG) of 1.4, suggesting their finishing was below par.

Pope made two excellent saves to deny Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe, who subsequently turned provider for Arsenal's best chance, only for Lacazette to prod wide of an open goal from the midfielder's cut back. 

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future uncertain – albeit he was unavailable for health reasons on Sunday – Arsenal are reportedly keen to bring in a striker this month, and it would seem it is a vital need if they are to secure Champions League qualification.

Dusan Vlahovic is said to be a target, with Fiorentina willing to sell the forward, who scored 33 goals in Serie A in 2021, matching Cristiano Ronaldo's record from 2020. However, the Viola have insisted no offer has yet been received for a player rumoured to be valued at €70million (£58.6m).

Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin has also been linked, while Arteta has previously said he would like to bolster his midfield, but asked about Arsenal's transfer plans for the remainder of January, he replied: "In this market things are complicated."

Burnley did offer a threat of their own, with Dwight McNeil particularly dangerous on the counter. No player had more than his four attempts, one of which almost caught Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale cold early on.

Ramsdale did his part, however, and that was the only save he had to make. The former Sheffield United goalkeeper echoed Arteta's complaints about Arsenal's attacking output.

"I will give credit to Burnley, we know what they are about, it is frustrating from our behalf because we were putting balls into the box and that's meat and drink for Burnley," he told BBC Sport. "We didn't create that quality we needed."

Ramsdale was not wrong. Arsenal played 42 passes/crosses into the box – a season-high for the Gunners. Indeed, their 23 crosses from open play was also a high mark for 2021-22, yet only two of these were successful.

Battling Burnley made 42 clearances, including 27 headed clearances. Both figures are season-highs for Sean Dyche's side.

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