Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City have a worrying pitch problem as they attempt to land an unprecedented quadruple this season.

The City manager has been impressed by playing surfaces at stadiums his team have visited recently, pointing to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United as clubs who have pristine grass.

However, the boss of the Premier League leaders says his team are playing on a pitch that is ill-suited to players of their prowess, and he wants a solution to be found.

Guardiola revealed his turf torment when assessing that the pitch at Fulham's Craven Cottage, where City play on Saturday, is also not one of the best around.

"I know the stadium is always difficult, the grass is not in good condition, quite similar to our grass that is not good," Guardiola said.

When asked how much of a problem it was to City that their Etihad Stadium conditions were not ideal, Guardiola replied: "A lot. They're working a lot trying to find a solution, but the grass is not good.

"All the players know how good the grass is and sometimes is not. I know the weather conditions here are tough, but there are stadiums where the grass is good. We were in London against Arsenal, we were in Anfield and Old Trafford and the grass was better.

"We were in Budapest in the Champions League and the grass was a red carpet, it was amazing, but the grass here is not good."

Such an inconvenience did not prevent City recently running up a 28-game unbeaten streak, which ended on home soil against United last weekend.

Guardiola's star-studded team thumped Southampton 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, restoring a 14-point lead over second-placed United.

With the end of City's unbeaten run coming so recently, Fulham may fancy causing a shock on Saturday evening, despite losing their past six games against City across all competitions by an 18-0 aggregate.

City have lost just one of their 13 Premier League away games against Fulham (W7 D5), going down 2-1 in November 2005 under Stuart Pearce.

Guardiola spoke passionately about Fulham's qualities, and he ranks Cottagers boss Scott Parker highly in the group of forward-thinking young managers who are emerging across Europe.

On the style front, Guardiola admits he will struggle to compete against the sharply dressed Parker, saying: "He's younger, he has hair, he's better than me, definitely. I accept a draw against him."

On the pitch, however that pitch may look under his close scrutiny, Guardiola will not want to settle for a point in west London.

He namechecked Brighton's Graham Potter - "Mr Potter" - as another bright young coach, and said he admired young managers who compelled their teams to play football with bravado, even if results are slow in coming.

"They are the ones I admire the most," Guardiola said. "They're doing this in the beginning and it's not going well, they continue to do it and in the end the results come.

"Both teams want to attack, both teams want to create, not just speculate, not just wait for one mistake or wait for one action to do it. I have a feeling the new generation of managers, all of them, have this quality.

"Just take a look in Spain, Germany, Italy. All the new managers, they play like they are managers of Bayern Munich. So go forward and try to do it. Sometimes they can do it."

All good things must come to an end, and that proved the case for Manchester City on Sunday.

Their remarkable winning run of 21 games in all competitions came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the derby.

City hold an 11-point lead over their neighbours at the top of the Premier League, however, and the real battle seems set to be for Champions League places.

Tottenham boosted their hopes with a 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min combining for a record-setting goal, while Liverpool's dismal form continued as they suffered a sixth successive home defeat. Fortress Anfield is well and truly a thing of the past.

At the bottom, West Brom and Newcastle United played out a goalless draw. We take a look at the best Opta facts from Sunday's games.

Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United: Winning streak grinds to a halt

If there was one team City did not want their incredible run of wins to come to an end against, it would have been United.

It was the first time City have lost since November, when they went down 2-0 at home to Spurs, ending a run of 28 games without a defeat across all competitions. Pep Guardiola's team had won their last 21 in total, including 15 in the league, though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to have the better of his counterpart.

United have won three consecutive away games in all competitions at City for the first time since a run of four between November 1993 and November 2000, and among the managers Guardiola has faced more than three times across all competitions as a top-flight boss, Solskjaer is the only one to have beaten the Spaniard (four) more often than he has lost to him.

Solskjaer is also the first manager in United's history to win each of his first three away meetings in all competitions with City. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, three of City's five home defeats in all competitions have come against United.

The Norwegian is now the only manager to have won three away games against sides managed by Guardiola.

Bruno Fernandes scored the opener from the penalty spot inside two minutes. Since his Premier League debut in February 2020, he has scored 12 of the 13 penalties he has taken in the competition. 

After just 101 seconds, Fernandes' penalty was the earliest goal that City have ever conceded in a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, and the first they have conceded within two minutes at home in the competition since Steed Malbranque's strike for Fulham at Maine Road in January 2003.

Liverpool 0-1 Fulham: Reds' Merseyside misery rolls on

It is hard to believe that before their defeat to Burnley on January 21, Liverpool had not lost a league match at Anfield since April 2017. 

Liverpool have now lost six home games in a row, their longest ever such streak, while they are the first side to lose six in a row on home soil in the Premier League since Huddersfield Town in February 2019 (seven).

The Reds' six league defeats at Anfield this season is their most in a single campaign since 1953-54 (also six), when the Reds finished bottom of the top-flight, with Fulham the first promoted team to win away at Liverpool in the top flight since Blackpool Town in October 2010.

Jurgen Klopp's side are winless in their last eight league home matches, only embarking on a longer winless top-flight run at Anfield once before – 10 games between October 1951 and March 1952. They have won just one of their last seven matches in the competition.

Fulham, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League away games (W2 D6) – their longest run without defeat on the road in their top-flight history – and are now level on 26 points with 17th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion.

Excluding penalties and own goals, Liverpool have failed to score with each of their last 115 shots at Anfield in the Premier League (including 16 against Fulham). This is the longest such scoreless run of shots on home soil by any side.

Tottenham 4-1 Crystal Palace: Bale and Kane rampant as Spurs boost top-four hopes

Only leaders City (35) have earned more points at home in this season's Premier League than Tottenham (24), and Jose Mourinho's men were in fine form against Palace.

Gareth Bale scored either side of Christian Benteke's equaliser – since the 2012-13 season, only Olivier Giroud (32) has more headed goals in the competition than the Belgian – with both of the Welshman's goals teed up by the brilliant Kane.

Bale has scored in each of his last three home appearances in all competitions, the first time he has done so since September 2018 for Real Madrid (four in a row), and first time for Spurs since May 2013.

Kane then curled in a sensational third goal, before he headed home a fourth from Son Heung-min's cushioned cutback.

Son and Kane have now assisted one another for 14 Premier League goals this season, breaking Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton's all-time competition record of 13 set in 1994-95 for Blackburn.

Kane's second goal was also Spurs' 100th strike in all competitions this season, seeing them become the second club in Europe's "top five" leagues to reach that tally in 2020-21, after Bayern Munich (106).

Spurs talisman Kane is the first Tottenham player since Jurgen Klinsmann in May 1998 to score twice and provide two assists in a Premier League match, while he has been directly involved in 40 goals in 36 games in all competitions this season (24 goals and 16 assists), the most of any player for a top-flight club.

West Brom 0-0 Newcastle United: Bore draw does little for survival hopes

There was not so much in the way of entertainment in the day's early kick-off, as strugglers West Brom and Newcastle shared the spoils.

West Brom are unbeaten in three home league games against Newcastle (W1 D2) for the first time since January 2005, while only Southampton (seven) have gained fewer Premier League points in 2021 than the Baggies (10) and Newcastle (nine).

Newcastle have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games (D1 L7), failing to score in six of those matches.

West Brom had 13 shots at goal in the match, their joint-most attempts without scoring in a Premier League game this season (also 13 v Burnley in October).

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Harrison Reed's claim that desire was the difference between Liverpool and Fulham as the Cottagers won 1-0 at Anfield.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the Cottagers gave their survival chances a huge boost on Sunday afternoon, midfielder Reed summed up his side's performance by declaring: "We wanted it more."

The visitors were certainly good value for their three points, which came as a result of a performance that saw them create the best openings and rarely troubled at the back.

But Klopp disagreed with the suggestions that his players, whose hopes of European football next term are fading fast, did not want to win just as desperately.

He said: "Believe me, these boys want [it] but it doesn't work in the moment and there are some reasons for it: we don't score goals and we concede at least one, which in the moment looks like it is enough against us. 

"You can discuss whatever you want, obviously, I cannot just answer and say, 'Yeah, we don't have mentality.' We have mentality, it's just not the mentality we are used to probably, but the boys want to win games. 

"They wanted to win this game today. I saw that. We made mistakes still, that's the problem, but that's not about you don't want it - the boys don't want to make mistakes, we just made them. 

"We have to make sure the mistakes we make are not accountable anymore, so like you can concede a goal – we conceded goals in our best phases, the best periods of our lives, but the only thing is then you are not bothered about it. 

"That's where we have to come. We have really tight results in the moment, pretty much always against us, and we have to make sure we win football games again. 

"If it's a 1-0, it's fine, fight for it with all you have and then you can gain confidence and momentum maybe again. In the moment we don't have that."

Klopp did, though, acknowledge that his team's performance was not worthy of taking even a share of the points.

He added: "It was not good enough. Conceded a goal, didn't score, lost the game. It was not good enough. 

"I had a few interviews and tried to explain it. We had to make some changes and wanted to make some more, and it is then clear that it takes a little bit of time to adapt - especially when you know that Fulham is in a really good moment and is anyway a good football-playing side. So that was clear. 

"We started OK with our direction, especially when we sent Mo in behind. We had moments, didn't use them, they had their moments when they played behind our last line, of course, but we didn't concede a goal [then]. 

"We conceded a goal in the moment when obviously we didn't expect it and it was only a few minutes before half-time. But we got then more and more used to each other and played some good stuff, created chances, had chances, didn't score. 

"Then the longer the game goes, obviously in our situation it's not that you get stronger and stronger and stronger. It gets a little bit lesser again and that's why we lost."

Against Fulham, Liverpool named their 20th central defensive partnership of a season that has been defined by injuries not only limited to that position.

Asked if his team's fortunes will remain the same until the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are back, Klopp replied: "For winning one football game, no. For being the successful team again, for being the team we can be in the best possible way, of course we have to be complete. 

"More complete than we are in the moment, that's all clear, but that's not what we are thinking about in the moment. 

"We really think from game to game and when you are winning then people think, 'Why do you say that all the time?' but that's the only way. 

"You have to think and to concentrate and focus on the next game and to go again. The next game is in a different competition where we didn't too bad so far, but it will be a tough one, obviously, so we have to make sure we are ready for that. 

"If we can go through, which is not guaranteed, then that could give confidence. Then we have Wolves, which is a tough one and then we have a couple of weeks off because of the Chelsea game and the international break and all these kind of things. 

"We have to use that time, we have to hope all the boys who go to their national teams come back healthy, like always. Then I think there are another nine or 10 games to go, sounds like 27 or 30 points, so a lot to go for and we will try."

Fulham boosted their survival hopes as they inflicted a sixth consecutive Premier League home defeat on Liverpool, winning 1-0 at Anfield.

Mario Lemina's strike close to the half-time break earned the visitors a deserved three points that means only goal difference separates them from safety.

It also extended a dreadful run of form for the Premier League champions, whose hopes of qualifying for any form of European football next term now look under huge threat.

No doubt encouraged by their hosts' woeful recent form, Fulham made the brighter start.

They twice went close when Josh Maja flicked an unorthodox effort just past the post before Ademola Lookman drove wide after cutting into the box too easily.

And, though Liverpool looked to respond through Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian was unable to hit the target after getting in behind on two occasions.

Fulham kept the pressure on, with only a brave Alisson stop and an excellent Neco Williams block denying Maja and Lookman respectively.

And the Reds could not deny them before half-time, with Lemina picking Salah's pocket at the edge of the box before arrowing a brilliant low effort into the far corner.

Liverpool showed improvement following the break, Diogo Jota stinging the palms of Alphonse Areola with a well-struck left-footed volley just inside the box.

But their desperation to get back into the game led to gaps opening up, which Ivan Cavaleiro almost exploited in shooting wide after pinching the ball in midfield and breaking at pace.

Shortly after that chance, Jurgen Klopp looked to his bench for inspiration, introducing Sadio Mane in place of Georginio Wijnaldum.

And the Senegalese nearly levelled just minutes into his cameo, sending a looping header onto the post from Naby Keita's cross.

But that was as close as Liverpool came across a final 25 minutes that featured surprisingly few uncomfortable moments for Fulham, who were good value for their win.

What does it mean? Fulham give themselves a chance

Having looked dead and buried earlier in the season, Fulham are now only in the Premier League's bottom three by virtue of goal difference.

As the form team in that part of the division, Scott Parker's side will now fancy their chances of reeling in Brighton and Hove Albion or Newcastle United before the campaign comes to a close.

What's next?

Liverpool must shake off another Anfield defeat quickly as they head to Budapest for the 'home' leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

Fulham, meanwhile, have six days to prepare for hosting Premier League champions in waiting Manchester City at Craven Cottage.

Diogo Jota gets a first Premier League start in 2021 as one of seven changes made by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for the home game against Fulham on Sunday. 

Having suffered a knee injury in December, Jota made a return to first-team action on Thursday, though his appearance off the bench could not help the Reds avoid going down 1-0 to top-four rivals Chelsea at Anfield. 

The Portuguese forward is named in the starting XI to take on relegation-threatened Fulham, with Roberto Firmino ruled out due to what Liverpool announced to be a "minor knock". 

Klopp named Fabinho, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane on a strong bench, with the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig to come on Wednesday. 

The decision to leave Fabinho out means Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams start together at the heart of the defence. Neco Williams, meanwhile, takes over from Alexander-Arnold at right-back. 

James Milner and Naby Keita come into the Liverpool midfield, while Mohamed Salah – who did not hide his disappointment at being substituted against Chelsea in midweek – starts too, along with Xherdan Shaqiri. 

Jurgen Klopp insists he has no doubts over the loyalty of his players, but said if a member of his Liverpool squad wants to leave, then they will be shown the door.

Liverpool's dismal form continued on Thursday, as they went down 1-0 at home to Chelsea – a fifth successive defeat at Anfield, a club record.

The Reds have not won a home game in the Premier League since December 16, while they sit four points off the Champions League places with 12 games remaining.

Sunday's home game against Fulham does at least offer Liverpool a good chance – on paper – to get back on track, though they could only manage a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage earlier in the campaign.

Liverpool have never lost a home Premier League match against a promoted side under Klopp (P15 W14 D1), while Fulham have won just two of their 26 away league games against reigning top-flight champions (D3 L21), beating Ipswich Town 1-0 in March 1963 and Manchester United 3-1 in October 2003.

With the title well out of reach, Klopp has already acknowledged the only goal is to achieve a top-four finish, though the competition is stiff, with West Ham, Everton, Chelsea, Leicester City and Manchester United all ahead of Liverpool, while Tottenham, Aston Villa and Arsenal could also fancy their chances of catching the Reds.

Asked if he was concerned missing out on the Champions League could result in his star players asking to leave, a bullish Klopp told a news conference: "That's nothing we have to worry about.

"I know that we have loyalty. I know them well enough. If a player wants to leave because we don't play in the Champions League, I don't want him. It's nothing I worry about.

"We all expect more. We are realistic about the things we do. I don't feel like the team leaves me alone in the fire, it's just how it is.

"Nobody else speaks in the club, nobody above me speaks. In Germany, it's typical that the CEO faces the questions. The situation here is different. The owners want me to sort the situation."

Should the worst-case scenario come to pass, however, Klopp is confident it would only be a temporary blip.

"This club will not be a regular out of the Champions League," he added. "The potential and the power. The team, the squad – if they are not all injured. We are ready to battle.

"This club is in a really good position in difficult times, better than others I would say. Nobody has to worry about the future, it's in good hands. That is the best basis for a good future."

Klopp also stressed that the injuries to key players – mainly in his defence, with stand-ins Jordan Henderson and Fabinho then suffering problems – were the primary cause of Liverpool's loss of form.

"I cannot really tell people what they should think. If you want to doubt me, I think that is possible because of the team," Klopp said when asked if he understood any doubts over his ability to turn the situation around.

"If you judge the situation right, it's a difficult year where unity can be shown in a more special way. The boys did not change, the situation changed.

"The reason is the injuries, but last night we had a really good team but faced a really good team. You can always lose this game. If somebody wants to doubt us, I cannot change that."

Liverpool have suffered a fresh injury blow to their depleted defensive ranks that makes Ozan Kabak a major doubt for Sunday's Anfield clash with Fulham.

Jurgen Klopp revealed the setback in a news conference on Friday, explaining on-loan centre-back Kabak complained of an issue after Thursday's 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea.

The defending Premier League champions have endured a nightmarish run of injuries to their rearguard players, undermining their efforts to be competitive this season.

After losing Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to long-term injuries, even stand-ins such as midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have been hit by knocks.

And now Kabak joins the extensive list, meaning Liverpool could turn to Nat Phillips or Ben Davies for the visit of relegation-threatened Fulham.

"Ozan had yesterday after the game a little problem," Klopp said. "[He has] played now a lot of games and we will see if he's ready for Fulham. It doesn't look like it at the moment, so we will have to find solutions."

Liverpool have lost five successive home matches in the Premier League, a bewildering statistic given they previously went 68 games unbeaten at their famous stadium. They have also failed to score from any of their last 99 non-penalty shots at Anfield in the league, taking spot-kicks and own goals out of the equation.

They face Fulham at Anfield on Sunday, having lost only once to the Cottagers in 23 previous top-flight home games, a 1-0 defeat in May 2012 under Kenny Dalglish, a fortnight before the Scot was sacked.

It seems inconceivable that Klopp would go the same way should his team lose to Scott Parker's improving side, who are unbeaten in their last seven on the road in the Premier League, but Liverpool's season is unravelling at a dramatic rate.

Liverpool have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their 14 Premier League home games against Fulham, shipping just one goal in each of the other three meetings, yet such has been his team's form that Klopp pointed out Sunday's visitors have gathered more points of late than his Reds.

Although Fulham have won just two of their 26 away league games against reigning top-flight champions (D3 L21), beating Ipswich Town 1-0 in March 1963 and Manchester United 3-1 in October 2003, rarely will they have fancied such an occasion quite like they may see Liverpool as ripe for picking off this weekend.

Asked whether he felt a dip from his team had been inevitable, Klopp said: "I don't think so. I think the most difficult league to stay on top of everything is England.

"It could happen, there's one team who maybe has everything for it: the team, the players, the manager, the money - it's Man City.

"The rest have to fight with all you have to get close and when you're close enough you can maybe make it like we showed last year.

"But there's a big difference between the situation we are in now and the situation that could have happened, coming second or third or whatever in a year where it's not perfect for you.

"Our situation is different. We all agree it's a really strange one, injury-wise, and football is more of a rhythm game than people might think.

"When you can rely on things and when you can build on things, then you can reach your personal best as a team. We never had that situation this year.

"That shows why it will be difficult for us. Of course, the job you have to do is fight with all you have to get results. Maybe not with your absolute best football, but results anyway. That's the point where we didn't do well enough, because we didn't get results.

"We lost even games where we were good. We are very self-critical, we take and face all the criticism. We cannot change the past, the only thing we can try to change is the near future."

Jose Mourinho made clear Dele Alli deserved to start for Tottenham against Fulham after putting in the hard work in recent weeks – and was pleased with what he delivered in the 1-0 win. 

Alli was named in Spurs' XI in the Premier League for just the second time this season, the midfielder playing 67 minutes before making way for Moussa Sissoko. 

The England international created two chances and also had a shot himself during his time on the pitch, continuing an upward trend for a player whose future at the club has appeared uncertain for so much of the campaign. 

Mourinho made clear a place in the team was a well-deserved reward for Alli, rather than a "gift", as he looks to rotate amid a hectic schedule.

"He deserves it. It was not a gift, [it] was a consequence of his work since he came back to the team. [Through] Work and working with the team 100 per cent and becoming fully fit and ready to play," the Tottenham boss told the media.

"He was giving us important things. He did very well in the Europa League. He did very well every minute on the pitch against West Ham, against Burnley, he was deserving. 

"In this moment we need the squad, with so many matches coming so fast. Of course we need it. We cannot change the structure of the team. We can change two or three players, which today we did with Dele, Ben [Davies] and Matt [Doherty]. 

"I'm happy with what they gave to the team. For Dele, it was important to have a feeling of a Premier League start."

Alli was involved in the winner too, albeit his failure to connect properly resulted in an own goal by Tosin Adarabioyo that settled a close contest in Tottenham's favour.

Fulham had just under 60 per cent possession and pushed hard for an equaliser, but the visitors held on at Craven Cottage for a win that further boosts their hopes of a top-four finish.

"I believe that we really showed from the first minute that we were coming for that [the win]," Mourinho said of the performance.

"The first half was a good half for us, the second half was harder. They put some pressure on us, but I believe that when we made the changes, we brought a new energy and dynamic to the team. We brought the danger to the other side. 

"Even being a solid block to defend we were the team with the best chances to score in the last ten minutes."

Spurs have now won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since November, with Crystal Palace up next on Sunday.

Tottenham made it three wins in a row in all competitions as they edged out Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

A first-half own goal from Tosin Adarabioyo was enough for Jose Mourinho's men as they took a step closer to the Premier League top four.

Spurs started with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Gareth Bale in the side and looked threatening throughout the first half after taking a deserved lead.

However, the visitors required far more defensive mettle in the second, with Fulham denied an equaliser due to an unfortunate handball given against Mario Lemina as they ended the game with 11 shots to Spurs' nine.

Fulham started positively but were given a let-off when Harry Kane sent a tame header straight at Alphonse Areola when it looked simpler to score.

Spurs had more luck 19 minutes in, Son Heung-min's low cross from the left turned into his own net by Adarabioyo after Alli had failed to get a proper connection on the ball.

Son nodded wide as Spurs looked to double their advantage, but they were fortunate to go in ahead at half-time, Lemina blasting over from inside the penalty area.

Hugo Lloris had little to do in the first half but was far busier early in the second, saving headers from Joachim Andersen and Adarabioyo as Fulham increased the pressure.

Josh Maja turned in a good finish inside the left-hand post but the goal was ruled out by VAR for handball, an attempted clearance having struck Lemina's arm at his side.

Areola denied Kane the chance to prod home a second, but Spurs were not left to rue their talisman's surprisingly slack finishing.

Jose Mourinho believes anyone wondering why it took Gareth Bale so long to hit top form for Tottenham would be better off asking Real Madrid.

Bale had a miserable start to his Tottenham return after coming back to the club on a season-long loan deal in September.

He struggled with his form and fitness, quickly falling out of favour with Mourinho.

Bale has been revitalised of late though, impressing in two Europa League games against Wolfsberger as well as Premier League clashes against West Ham and Burnley.

Mourinho recently said Bale was the happiest, fittest and most confident he has ever been at Tottenham.

The Spurs boss confirmed Bale had another good reaction to his 70-minute outing in the 4-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.

It means the Wales international is in contention to play at least some part when Spurs take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

"For the past two years, he had what he had in Madrid," said Mourinho. "Ask them [why it took Bale so long to find form]. 

"Maybe if they answer you, you can understand better why he took a while. 

"Maybe to be patient was the main reason for him to reach the level he showed in the last couple of weeks."

Asked if Bale would be involved in the Fulham game, he added: "I believe so. Starting or on the bench I don't know, we have to decide that.

"He is such an experienced guy so of course his opinion is very important. But he has had a good reaction [after the Burnley game], a good recovering session and he will be involved. 

"I repeat: [it could be] bench or starting, but he will be there."

Midfielder Giovani Lo Celso will not be rushed back despite returning to training.

"He is training with the team but it was a big injury," added Mourinho.

"We are not going to risk [him] yet. In fact, we don't want to risk [him at all], we want to bring him to the team and competition when there is no risk. One week, two more weeks. 

"Apart from that, everyone OK. One more training session after this but everyone OK."
 

BALE'S SWIFT IMPROVEMENT

Bale has registered four goals and three assists in his last four games for Tottenham.

In his first 16 matches since returning, he only recorded four goals and did not register a single assist.

The 31-year-old's minutes per goal involvement have impressively plummeted from 200.8 in his first 16 matches to one every 28.7 in this most recent four-match span.

Bale is having more of an active role in other areas too. His chances created per 90 minutes are up to 3.1 from just 1.1, while his shot conversion rate is 44.4 per cent, up from 10.5.

It is only a small sample size and two of the matches were against weaker opposition in Wolfsberger, but the signs are encouraging.

The amount of shots he is taking is similar (4 per game compared to 4.3 before), but notably more of Spurs' attacks are coming through Bale. 

He has accounted for 22 per cent of Spurs' shots in the last four matches, where before he was responsible for just nine per cent of their attempts in the time he was on the pitch.
 

HOW DO HIS STATS COMPARE TO REAL MADRID?

The recent burst from Bale means his statistics since returning to Spurs compare favourably to his successful Madrid tenure in a number of categories.

Again, it is worth noting his Spurs figures are from a comparatively small sample size making them more prone to fluctuations – 20 matches compared to 251 in the Spanish capital.

Bale has 11 goal involvements for Spurs (eight goals and three assists) in 1,004 minutes on the pitch, giving him an average of 91 minutes per contribution.

At Madrid, he averaged one every 111 minutes.

Bale also compares favourably when looking solely at minutes per goal (171 at Madrid v 126 at Spurs).

He did, however, win 65 per cent of the games he played in at Madrid, compared to 60 per cent since returning to Spurs, a sign of the difficult season experienced by the London club.

Manchester United lost further ground to Premier League leaders Manchester City as they played out a 0-0 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

The Red Devils are now 12 points behind Pep Guardiola's seemingly unstoppable side, who are well on their way to a third title in four seasons. 

Elsewhere, Liverpool returned to winning ways against Sheffield United and Arsenal came from behind to beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. 

A Gareth Bale-inspired Tottenham cruised past Burnley 4-0, while Crystal Palace and Fulham played out a dour 0-0 draw.

Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United: Red Devils' 'big six' struggles continue

While this result stretched United's unbeaten away run in the league to a whopping 20 matches – the joint-fifth-longest run in top-flight history – there was still a sense of disappointment at full-time. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have now failed to score in their last six league meetings with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City or Tottenham, with each of their last four such matches finishing goalless. 

This fixture has now finished 0-0 in both matches in a single league campaign for just the second time, the other occasion coming back in 1921-22. 

It marked the first time Chelsea have drawn 0-0 against an opponent home and away in the Premier League in the same season for the first time since 2008-09 against Everton, while United last did so against Aston Villa in 1996-97.

Thomas Tuchel can at least toast becoming just the second coach to not concede a single goal in his first four home matches in the Premier League after Brendan Rodgers in 2011-12 with Swansea City. Including his final two such matches in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Tuchel has gone six games without conceding at home in league competition.

Sheffield United 0-2 Liverpool: Klopp's men get back on track

After four consecutive top-flight defeats champions Liverpool got their top-four bid back on track at Bramall Lane. 

Curtis Jones opened the scoring with his second goal for the Reds. In doing so, he became the youngest Liverpool player (20 years and 29 days) to score an away Premier League goal since Raheem Sterling in December 2014 against Burnley (20y 18d).

Their second – an own goal by Kean Bryan – was their 7,000th in the English top-flight, becoming only the second team to reach that tally after Merseyside rivals Everton (7,108).

Adrian was in goal for Jurgen Klopp's men and the Spaniard has now been on the winning side in 10 of his 12 Premier League starts for the club, although this was only his third clean sheet. 

The Blades, meanwhile, have now lost 21 games this season. They are the first side since Newport County in the fourth tier in 1970-71 to lose as many as 21 of their first 26 matches in an English Football League season.

Tottenham 4-0 Burnley: Brilliant Bale torments sorry Clarets

Bale was at his best as Tottenham registered their biggest Premier League home win since they thumped the Clarets 5-0 in December 2019. 

His first came after just 68 seconds, which was the fastest goal Burnley have ever conceded in a Premier League match. The previous quickest was a Yerry Mina effort after 99 seconds for Everton in December 2018.

Harry Kane doubled Spurs' advantage to continue his fine run against Sean Dyche's side. No player has scored more Premier League goals against Burnley than Kane (eight, level with Riyad Mahrez), with the England striker involved in 10 goals in his last six league appearances against them (seven goals, three assists).

Lucas Moura added a third before Bale wrapped up the scoring to take his goal involvements to seven in his last four appearances in all competitions. 

At the back, Hugo Lloris celebrated his 100th clean sheet in the competition. He became the 16th goalkeeper to reach that landmark, while he is the ninth quickest to reach it (285 games).

Burnley, meanwhile, have now lost 12 of their last 15 away top-flight matches against Spurs, shipping 48 goals and conceding at least four goals in seven games.

Leicester City 1-3 Arsenal: Gunners storm back to end 'top three' hoodoo

Arsenal ended a four-game winless run against the Foxes in the Premier League, securing their first victory against them in the competition since October 2018. 

It started poorly for Mikel Arteta's side, though, with Youri Tielemans scoring his sixth goal of the season early on. That is as many as he had scored in his first two seasons at the club combined. 

David Luiz pulled the Gunners level before Alexandre Lacazette put them ahead from the penalty spot. The France international has converted all five of his penalties for Arsenal across all competitions, while only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (13) has now netted more goals for the Gunners than Lacazette (11) this term.

Nicolas Pepe sealed the three points and has now equalled his Premier League goal tally from last season, scoring five this campaign in 13 fewer appearances (18 this term, 31 last season).

The result marked Arsenal's first away victory against a team starting the day in the top three of the Premier League since January 2015 (2-0 v Manchester City) – they were winless in their last 14 such games ahead of this clash (D3 L11).

Crystal Palace 0-0 Fulham: Lucky Eagles escape with a point

It should come as no surprise that this game ended goalless given Fulham's penchant for draws this season. 

Just one of the Cottagers' first 21 Premier League games under Scott Parker ended level, but the stalemate at Selhurst Park was their 10th draw in their last 15 top-flight matches. 

They were comfortably the better side and attempted 16 shots. Fourteen of those came in the second period – the most they have had in the final 45 minutes of a Premier League away game since 2003-04 without scoring.

Palace, meanwhile, have somehow managed to pick up four points from their last two league games despite attempting just six shots (facing 41), having only nine touches in the opposition box (compared to 70 by their opponents), and completing just 442 passes (compared to their opponents' 1065).

Indeed, they managed just 33 attempts in their five Premier League matches in February – the lowest recorded by a team in a single month of at least five games since the start of the 2003-04 campaign.

Everton ended over 21 years of hurt as they beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time this century in Saturday's headline Premier League game.

That triumph over defending champions Liverpool came after Chelsea had drawn with Southampton, while Burnley and West Brom also shared the spoils at Turf Moor.

In the day's other game, Fulham boosted their survival bid with a 1-0 victory over lowly Sheffield United.

Using Opta data, we look at key facts from the four Premier League games.

LIVERPOOL 0-2 EVERTON: RICHARLISON AND SIGURDSSON SEAL DERBY BRAGGING RIGHTS

Everton picked up their first win over Liverpool in 24 meetings in all competitions (D12 L11) – ending what was Liverpool's longest ever unbeaten run against a single opponent.

Richarlison's third-minute goal was teed up by James Rodriguez, who has provided more assists in all competitions this season than any other player for Everton (eight). It was the Toffees' second-fastest Premier League goal scored against Liverpool, behind only Olivier Dacourt's first-minute strike in April 1999.

Brazil forward Richarlison became only the third Everton player to score in successive Premier League appearances at Anfield for the club, after Tim Cahill in March 2006 and Kevin Campbell in October 2000.

Liverpool dominated possession, with Jordan Pickford making six saves, including standout stops from Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have lost four consecutive home league games for only the second time, last doing so back in December 1923 – when they were also defending top-flight champions. The result ended Everton's run of 23 winless Anfield clashes with Liverpool without a win in all competitions (D10 L13) since a 1-0 victory in September 1999.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has suffered four consecutive league defeats for the first time since November 2014 when he was in charge at Borussia Dortmund, while he has lost four in a row at home in league competition for the very first time in his managerial career.

Gylfi Sigurdsson's penalty settled the contest, and the Iceland playmaker has now scored five away goals against Liverpool in all competitions – more than he has away at any other opponent in his career in England.

SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 CHELSEA: SAINTS HALT LOSING STREAK AS TUCHEL STALLS

Southampton ended a run of six successive Premier League defeats, the club's worst losing run in their league history, as they earned a point against Chelsea.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel became the 16th manager in Premier League history to avoid defeat in his first six games in the competition (W4 D2) and the first since Maurizio Sarri in September 2018, also with Chelsea. However, he did see his side's four-match winning streak come to an end.

Southampton took the lead through Takumi Minamino, who became the first opposition player to score against Tuchel's Chelsea in all competitions, ending a run of 572 minutes without such a goal for the German manager (Antonio Rudiger scored an own goal against Sheffield United).

The draw means Saints have lost 18 points from leading positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

Mason Mount's penalty pulled Chelsea level – Southampton have now conceded five goals from the spot this term. Only in 1993-94 and 2016-17 (both six) did Saints concede more goals from the spot in a Premier League campaign.

Mount became the 25th different player to score a penalty for Chelsea in the Premier League, with the Blues having more penalty scorers than any other team in the competition's history.

FULHAM 1-0 SHEFFIELD UNITED: LOOKMAN LIFTS COTTAGERS

Fulham's resurgence continued as they picked up just their second victory in 14 Premier League home games (W2 D4 L8) and first since beating West Brom in November.

Scott Parker's team have now taken seven points from their last three league matches and are just three points from safety.

Lowly Sheffield United, meanwhile, missed out on the chance to move off the bottom, and the Blades have only won two of their 28 Premier League games in London (D8 L18), winning at Chelsea in October 1992 (2-1) and Crystal Palace in February 2020 (1-0).

Ademola Lookman scored the winner, and the on-loan winger has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than any other Fulham player this season (four goals, three assists).

BURNLEY 0-0 WEST BROM: NO GIVE AT TURF MOOR

A clean sheet finally arrived for West Brom, as they registered their first in 15 Premier League games since a 1-0 win at home to Sheffield United in November.

The Baggies had the best chances to snatch a much-needed win, but ultimately Sam Allardyce – whose side lost Semi Ajayi to a red card in the first half – had to settle for a draw.

The last two occasions West Brom have received a red card and avoided defeat in a Premier League game have both been against Burnley (they won 1-0 in August 2017).

Burnley have won just one of their eight Premier League meetings with West Brom (D4 L3), earning a 2-1 success at the Hawthorns in March 2018.

Since the start of last season, Burnley have kept 24 clean sheets in the Premier League – only Manchester City (31) have had more in this period.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit a personal milestone as his first Premier League hat-trick saw Arsenal past Leeds United on Sunday.

Aubameyang and Hector Bellerin put Arsenal 4-0 up by the 47th minute at Emirates Stadium, though Leeds did strike back twice to make things a little more uncomfortable for Mikel Arteta's side.

That match followed on from Wolves beating Southampton in the day's early kick-off, and West Brom holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw – Bruno Fernandes' stunner earning the Red Devils a point.

In the late game, lowly Fulham picked up a much-needed win by seeing off a lacklustre Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park.

ARSENAL 4-2 LEEDS UNITED: DOUBLE CENTURY UP FOR AUBA

On his first league start since January 18, Aubameyang was in sparkling form against Leeds.

Having opened the scoring after 13 minutes, Aubameyang netted from the penalty spot shortly before half-time, bringing up his 200th goal across Europe's "top five" leagues.

It was the 31-year-old's 369th appearance across spells at Lille (two goals), Monaco (two), Saint-Etienne (37), Borussia Dortmund (98) and Arsenal (62).

Since his Ligue 1 debut in 2009, he is one of just nine players to score 200 or more goals across the continent's five leading divisions.

Arsenal scored four (or more) goals at the Emirates for the first time in the Premier League this season, having last done so in a 4-0 win over Norwich City in July of last year.

Leeds, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 24 away league games in London (D6 L17), losing all four such matches this season by an aggregate 14-4 score, and the Whites remain without a win in nine meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (D2 L7).

Aubameyang was also the third player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick on Valentine's Day, after Matt Le Tissier vs Liverpool in 1994 and Michael Owen vs Sheffield Wednesday in 1998.

WEST BROM 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED: MORE BRUNO BRILLIANCE SAVES LACKLUSTRE RED DEVILS

The Red Devils' only win from their previous five top-flight matches was the 9-0 hammering of Southampton at Old Trafford (D3 L1), while the Baggies have just one win in 11 under Sam Allardyce and have conceded nine more goals than any other team since his first game at the helm.

The ever-reliable Fernandes scored United's leveller just before half-time at the Hawthorns, with the Red Devils now recovering 22 points from losing positions this term – 10 more than any other team.

The Portuguese playmaker has 38 goal involvements in as many games for United – the only player with more in their opening 38 in Premier League history is Andrew Cole (46 in 1993-94 for Newcastle United).

West Brom's goal was scored after just 83 seconds by Mbaye Diagne – the earliest conceded by United in a Premier League game since Christian Eriksen's 11-second strike for Spurs in January 2018. He is the 12th different Senegalese player to score under Allardyce.

United full-back Luke Shaw has five league assists for the season, the most he has managed in a single campaign – he only had seven in total prior to the start of this season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are unbeaten in all 12 away Premier League matches this season (W8 D4), only the fourth time a team has avoided defeat in their first 12 away Premier League games of a season: Arsenal in 2001-02 and 2003-04, and Liverpool in 2019-20, all of whom went on to win the title.

SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 WOLVES: SAINTS MARCH INTO CLUB-RECORD WORST RUN

It has been a miserable time for Southampton recently with Sunday's defeat to Wolves at St Mary's settled by second-half goals from Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto, which cancelled out Danny Ings' 25th-minute opener.

The Saints have now lost six consecutive league matches for the first time in their history, while they have led in each of their last four top-flight matches against Wolves without winning any of them (D2 L2), resulting in 10 points lost – the most points one side have dropped against another since the start of last season.

Only Liverpool (14) and Manchester United (12) have won more Premier League matches after going behind than Wolves' 10 since the start of 2018-19.

Meanwhile, winger Neto has been directly involved in nine Premier League goals this season (five goals and four assists), which represents the most of any under-21 player in the competition this campaign.

On the opposition side, Ings is one of only four players to score 30 Premier League goals since the start of last season, along with Mohamed Salah (36), Jamie Vardy (35) and Harry Kane (31).

EVERTON 0-2 FULHAM: MAJA MAGIC BOOSTS COTTAGERS

It was a first Premier League start to remember for Josh Maja, who is the second-youngest player to score on his full debut for Fulham in the competition, after Collins John versus Blackburn Rovers in April 2004 (18y 178d).

Maja is also the first Nigerian to mark his first Premier League start with a brace since Efan Ekoku for Norwich City back in May 1993 (v Middlesbrough).

It helped Fulham pick up their first-ever away win at Everton in league competition, on what was their 28th attempt. Coming into the game, they had lost each of their last 22 away league games against the Toffees.

The Cottagers consequently have a first Premier League victory since November, ending a run of 12 games without a win in the competition.

Everton have now lost three of their last four Premier League games at Goodison Park (D1), as many defeats as they suffered in Carlo Ancelotti's first 17 home games in charge in the competition (W8 D6).

Roses are red, violets are blue, have we got the perfect Valentine's Day content for you!

Questionable rhymes aside (okay, very questionable), love is in the air as long-standing couples and newly formed relationships celebrate the day of romance on Sunday.

The world of football is certainly no stranger to the language of love, so before you crack open a bottle of red and exchange cheap knock-off gifts with your significant other why not get some inspiration for love with our Valentine's Day facts with some help from Cupid!

(Well not Cupid, Opta – but the team at Opta are full of love!)

MATT LE KISS-IER LOVES TO SCORE ON VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day is of course a day for love (and overpaying for those last-minute flowers and cards you forgot to buy…).

Two players have been particularly good at spreading the joy on February 14th with Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier and ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen each scoring three times in the Premier League on this date – the most of all players.

Here's something even more interesting about that stat, though – each man's tally is a result of scoring a Valentine's Day hat-trick.

Le Tissier registered three against the Reds back in 1994, while Owen took home the match ball with a treble versus Sheffield Wednesday four years later.

Owen's three goals are part of 12 Liverpool have tallied on the day of love – comfortably the most by a team. Arsenal follow on seven, with Aston Villa and Southampton on four.

A ROSE FOR THE LADY?

Flowers are synonymous with Valentine's Day but none more so than the rose.

Two players named Rose have plied their trade in the Premier League – Danny (194 appearances) and Matthew (five appearances). The former, of course, is an England international who with his marauding runs from full-back has often been a, ahem, thorn in the side of opponents…

There are other love-themed names to have featured in the top flight. Valentino Lazaro played 13 times in the Premier League for Newcastle United on loan last term, while Valentin Roberge made 10 appearances for north east rivals Sunderland.

The Black Cats also had Donald Love on their books, the defender having previously represented Manchester United once in the top flight.

FOXES RACK UP THE CARDS

Whether from a partner or a secret admirer, it's always nice to receive a card or two on Valentine's Day.

Unless of course you're playing in the Premier League, in which case you want to see the referee keep their cards in their pockets.

In this regard, Leicester City have not been overly successful – the seven yellow cards representing the most received by a team on Valentine's Day. Arsenal follow closely behind with six, with Manchester City on four.

The Foxes also fare badly when it comes to red cards, having picked up two on February 14th – Danny Simpson and Hamza Choudhury account for those dismissals. The only other player to have been sent off on Valentine's Day is Everton hero Duncan Ferguson ... no, we weren't shocked either.

THE BEST BROMANCES

It goes without saying that we don't need to confine our love sharing to one manufactured day of the year…

No, we should be spreading the joy in our hearts all year round and these strike partnerships certainly succeed in that category.

Going back to the start of the 2015-16 season, no two players have combined for more goals than Spurs duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min (33).

In fact, Kane features three times in the top-five – also ranking third with Christian Eriksen (19), and sharing 18 with Dele Alli.

Manchester City pairing Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne are second with 20, while Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez (18), who fired Leicester to shock title glory in 2015-16, also feature.

Liverpool have been forced to pay "substantial compensation" to Fulham following the transfer of England Under-17 ace Harvey Elliott.

Elliott signed his first professional contract with the Reds as a 17-year-old in July 2020, having made his debut for the club in an EFL Cup match against MK Dons in 2019, becoming the youngest player to start a game in Liverpool's history.

The Fulham youth product went on to make 13 appearances for Jurgen Klopp's side before moving to Blackburn on a season-long loan in October 2020 and he has played 23 games and scored four goals this season for Rovers.

Elliott became the Premier League's youngest ever player while at Fulham, playing in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves in May 2019, and has been capped at England under-15, under-16 and under-17 level.

After the clubs could not agree a fee at the time of his transfer, the case went to tribunal, and the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) made its judgement on Wednesday.

The London club revealed in a statement that they are "very pleased" to be awarded a record compensation fee for a 16-year-old player.

"The Professional Football Compensation Committee has today given its decision with regards to the compensation payable following Harvey Elliott's move to Liverpool in 2019," said the statement.

"Under the Youth Development Rules, the PFCC is tasked with assessing the compensation due for a player who leaves an Academy at the end of his registration, if the parties cannot agree the figure between themselves.  

"After a full hearing, the PFCC has decided that Fulham should be entitled to substantial compensation. 

"The award [undisclosed] is a record amount for a 16-year-old player and, in the circumstances, Fulham is very pleased and thanks the PFCC for its careful consideration of the arguments we put forward."