The latest round of Premier League fixtures provided several high-scoring affairs which relieved the pressure on some and added to it for others.
Here, we look at five talking points from the games played.
1. Manchester City can survive without Sergio Aguero
Quite rightly, the classy striker is considered one of Manchester City's most important players. However, talk that their hopes of success are reliant on him remaining fit is clearly premature: in his absence Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick and Wilfried Bony netted twice to inspire a 5-1 defeat of Bournemouth. Granted, the Cherries are one of the Premier League's weakest sides, but Sterling is proven at the highest level and Bony has looked similarly capable so manager Manuel Pellegrini has little to worry about.
2. Jamie Vardy really can make it to Euro 2016
The Leicester forward's first call-ups to the England squad came as a surprise, and few would have predicted he would remain there in the long term. With only four or five places in Roy Hodgson's squad for Euro 2016 likely to be taken by front men, Jamie Vardy faces intense competition to remain there, but if anything he is continually improving. On Saturday at Southampton he scored a rare header before demonstrating his composure when, having already missed a fine chance to equalise, he confidently scored from the next, which came his way in the the first minute of stoppage time.
3. Newcastle will avoid relegation battle
It may prove beyond them, particularly after such a disappointing start, to finish the season in the Premier League's top 10, but if Sunday's evidence is anything to go by Newcastle are better than simply avoiding relegation. That has, of course, been said about them before, but what stood out in their impressive 6-2 defeat of Norwich was the fact that five of their six goals came from summer signings. Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic were key, and will likely contribute far more hereafter to lift Steve McClaren's team out of the bottom three.
4. Jurgen Klopp will need time
There is little doubting the credentials of Liverpool's new manager, but judging by their starting XI in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Tottenham, there is little he can work with. If Daniel Sturridge is unfit, they will struggle for goals, and Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel remain unconvincing in defence. He has inherited an unbalanced squad, and simply needs superior players - or Sturridge consistently available and always in prolific form, which is unlikely - if he is to inspire them to qualify for the Champions League in this campaign.
5. Sam Allardyce may be capable of relegation after all
The cliche has long insisted that, like Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce's presence at a club guarantees that club will avoid relegation. He certainly has an impressive record in that regard, but he had built the Bolton team that always survived, and while at Blackburn he inspired safety with a collection of players he had inherited, with Chris Samba, Paul Robinson, Roque Santa Cruz and more, his squad possessed some quality. At Sunderland, with whom he lost his first match in charge 1-0 at West Brom, he has inherited nothing of the sort, only a disillusioned collection of players from several unsuccessful regimes, and may find that survival is beyond him.
Source: PA-WIRE
