Liverpool title charge slowed as Man United show signs of life

Manchester United's Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot (R) is booked for holding back Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah. [AFP] Liverpool ended the weekend where they started -- with a six-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League following an enthralling 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United. The inconsistent Gunners will rue dropped points at Brighton while Enzo Maresca's Chelsea are now winless in four games. AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the action as the English top flight pauses for League Cup and FA Cup action in the week to come. Will Arsenal pay for lack of top striker? Just when it appeared as though Arsenal could put real pressure on Liverpool they stumbled at Brighton, drawing 1-1 -- the ninth game in which they have dropped points this season. Only Liverpool and Tottenham have scored more than the Gunners' tally of 39 Premier League goals but their top scorer is Kai Havertz, with just seven. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah leads the way with 18 and Manchester City's Erling Haaland has 16. Arsenal huffed and puffed against Brighton, mustering just nine shots, with only three on target. In mitigation, Havertz was missing with an illness and captain Martin Odegaard was only fit enough for a place on the bench while Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's most dangerous attacker, is a long-term absentee. Arteta, whose team have finished as runners-up over the past two seasons, may be forced to act in the January transfer window if he is to give his side the edge they need. Man Utd show signs of life Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said the club's players "can't just pick and choose when you want to turn up for a game" after their battling draw at Anfield. The Sky Sports pundit said Ruben Amorim's side, still floundering in 13th place in the Premier League table, must back up their showing when they face lesser sides. United have had false dawns before, beating Manchester City last month before suffering defeats against Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle, failing to score a single goal in those three matches. Amorim was perplexed after Sunday's match, in which they showed impressive backbone and adventure, echoing the frustrations of his captain Bruno Fernandes. "The expectations were so different to what we saw during the game," Amorim said. "I get more mad because of the other games, because it's even harder to understand other things. "It's not about the system, the technique, it's something else and that's hard to understand, even for the coach." Are Southampton the worst-ever team? Southampton are on course to claim the title of the worst team in Premier League history from Derby, who set their unwanted record in the 2007/08 season. The Saints, promoted last season after a single campaign in the Championship, have mustered just six points from 20 games -- even Derby had one more point at the same stage. They went on to win 11 points in total. Southampton, who replaced manager Russell Martin with Croatian Ivan Juric last month, have just one win this season. They have lost 16 times and have a shocking goal difference of minus 32. An upbeat Juric said last month that Saints "can do something exceptional" but he has overseen three defeats in his first three matches. On Saturday, Southampton's sorry season sank to a new low as they crashed to a 5-0 defeat at home to Brentford. A dispirited Juric said it was an "awful" game. "There has just been two weeks but I expected more, that I could do more with the team," he said. Southampton are almost certainly doomed but can they find the energy to at least surpass Derby's mark?

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Liverpool title charge slowed as Man United show signs of life

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