Mohamed Salah will be out of sight but not out of mind over the next few weeks while Manchester City are showing ominous signs that they are finding top gear in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men are now only two points behind leaders Arsenal after both teams won their weekend fixtures in contrasting styles.
Meanwhile, the heat on Ange Postecoglou’s successor is ramping up following a dire run.
Here we look at the talking points from the weekend’s action.
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WILD KLOPP SOLUTION IN POST-ANGE FLOP
Tottenham’s season sunk to its lowest point on the weekend as Ange Postecoglou’s former side slumped to an abject 3-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest.
Spurs are now in the bottom-half of the table with 22 points from 16 games, but it’s their most recent form that’s ringing alarm bells.
The North London side has won just once in the league since beating Everton 3-0 on October 27. Since then, they have lost to Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and Forest, while their only win was against Brentford last week.
And it has sent the pressure soaring on new boss Thomas Frank, whose new style of play that ripped up Postecoglou’s playbook hasn’t delivered.
There are growing calls for the Dane to be moved on, including from former club part-owner Alan Sugar, who took aim after the Forest defeat.
Sugar, who was a part-owner between 1991 and 2001, even floated a shock replacement option.
“With the massive fortune of the Lewis family, it would be a win-win situation if they hired Jurgen Klopp in January,” he posted to X.
“Loads of money for players and a great manager. Who agrees?”
TalkSPORT’s Abbi Summers unloaded after the match, saying that Spurs “aren’t going anywhere with Thomas Frank”.
“I’m at a point where I think do we just sack him? I know I’m contradicting myself because I say that I want to be proved wrong… but there’s nothing for me here,” she said.
“It’s all of it. The club, the manager, the team, the whole thing. I can’t keep watching this.
“I’ve been told to give it time. What am I giving time? There’s nothing to build on.”
Meanwhile, Frank was incensed by his team’s latest showing in which Spurs repeatedly turned the ball over and were largely outduelled.
The Spurs head coach said that there was “a hurricane inside me” while trying to explain his emotions after the loss.
He added, in a plea to his bosses: “If no one gets the time, no one can turn this around. This is not a quick fix.
“It’s a step back today.”
The pressure on Frank by the end of the year may get even worse with his side hosting Liverpool on December 21, before closing out the year with a visit to fifth-placed Crystal Palace.
‘LOOKED LIKE THE END’
It is difficult to read the Salah situation after he reappeared as a first-half substitute for Liverpool in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Brighton.
The 33-year-old Egypt forward last week accused the faltering Premier League champions of throwing him “under the bus” after he was left on the bench for the 3-3 draw at Leeds — the third match in a row he had not started.
He was omitted from Liverpool’s squad that travelled to Inter Milan in midweek, and it was a surprise to see him back in the fold against Brighton.
After the match, manager Arne Slot said there was “no issue to resolve” with the forward, whose corner was headed in by Hugo Ekitike for his second goal.
But there has been no apology from Salah, at least in public, and it seems unlikely that the saga is over, with the winger now heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said the situation had not been fully resolved.
“I think that short-term resolution was a surprise to everyone,” he said. “But it makes sense the more you think about it, because the club’s the most important and now it’s going to stop for a while.”
Adding fuel to the speculation is that Salah reportedly did a one-man lap of Anfield at the end of the match, which could be viewed as an apology — or a farewell.
As witnessed by The Telegraph’s Sam Wallace, Salah was last off the pitch and patted the badge before heading down the Anfield tunnel.
“This looked like the end for Mohamed Salah at Anfield which, after the week of tumult at Liverpool, might be best for all concerned,” he wrote.
Speaking on Fox Sports News on Monday, Socceroos legend Robbie Slater said: “It didn’t look like he was saying goodbye for a month, did it?”
As such, it’s unclear if Salah will play for Liverpool again, but club captain Virgil van Dijk is aiming to have talks with the superstar in the coming days in a bid to convince him to remain in Liverpool.
“I speak about everything with him. Of course I’ve told him I want him to stay,” van Dijk said.
“I wish him all the best and come back hopefully. I have no control over that. He is one of the leaders. I would love to have him around because he is one of the leaders.
“But obviously the fact is he is going to Afcon. I wish him absolutely all the best. We will be in contact over the next days and weeks. And then let’s see.”
Salah returns in Liverpool win | 03:02
ARSENAL: LUCK OF CHAMPIONS?
Arsenal got away with it against bottom-club Wolves on Saturday — escaping with a 2-1 win after two own goals.
The Gunners dominated possession but mustered just two shots on target in a toothless display that drew the ire of manager Mikel Arteta.
“We knew it would not be an easy game, but we made it even harder and more difficult with what we did, and the manner that we conceded the goal, and that is unacceptable,” he said.
Arsenal remain favourites to end their two-decade wait for a Premier League title but dropping points at Wolves would have been disastrous, with Manchester City on the charge.
Former Gunners defender Martin Keown said “lucky” Arsenal were back.
“If you want to be champions, you have to be lucky,” he told TNT Sports. “Any team I’ve been successful in has been lucky at some point, and Arsenal can breathe a sigh of relief.”
He added that it was difficult to underestimate the importance of the victory.
“I think the whole title is on this game because the commotion around, the noise around, there’s a lot of feeling.”
‘HE’S THE REAL WORRY’
Guardiola’s touchline confrontation with Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park laid bare his frustrations as his side struggled to kill off their enterprising opponents.
City were leading after a header from arch-predator Erling Haaland but Glasner’s astute tactics made it tough for his title-chasing opponents.
Fortunately for Guardiola, his expensive and extensive City overhaul since January shows signs of revitalising a side that slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat in their previous meeting with Palace in the FA Cup final in May.
City were forced to dig deep to keep Palace at bay on Sunday, displaying the character and tenacity that eluded them when they surrendered the title to Liverpool last season.
Phil Foden scored a priceless second goal before Haaland struck again from the penalty spot in the closing minutes to make it 3-0 as City notched a fourth straight win in the Premier League.
Haaland’s latest act of dominance saw The Telegraph pen the headline: ‘Scarily, cheat code Haaland has added a new dimension to his game’.
But it’s Foden whose up-turn in form has translated to City’s big surge in recent weeks, and could take City to the title again, Jamie Carragher believes.
“He looks back to his best,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Extra Time.
“Back to his best is one of the best players in the Premier League and I keep saying it, it’s not Haaland, it’s him who must be a real fear for Arsenal.
“Haaland is expected, he does it year in and year out, getting 30 or 40 goals, and he is doing it this season, but Phil Foden coming back to the party is a real worry.”
The hectic Christmas period will provide further tests of City’s new-found steel.
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