Cristiano Ronaldo back with a bang as Liverpool roll on – 5 things we learned in Premier League

It was a weekend of contrasting fortunes in the Premier League for Merseyside’s clubs, with Liverpool keeping up their title bid and Everton dragged deeper into the relegation dogfight.

Cristiano Ronaldo produced a vintage display to inspire Manchester United to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Tottenham, while Brentford, Leeds and Watford enjoyed vital wins in the battle against the drop.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main talking points from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.

Following their midweek loss to Inter Milan in the Champions League, Jurgen Klopp’s side immediately got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at Brighton, their eighth in a row in the Premier League. Luis Diaz scored the opening goal and continues to look like one of the best pieces of business ever conducted in a January transfer window, while Mohamed Salah’s penalty means he has recorded 20 goals in a season for the fourth time in his five years at the club. The gap to leaders Manchester City was again cut to three points ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace on Monday.

Diaz headed Liverpool in front at Brighton despite being clattered by home  goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the process. Remarkably, Sanchez was not even shown a yellow card by referee Mike Dean, who was not advised to check the pitchside monitor by the VAR. Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, meanwhile, was booked by referee David Coote for catching Dan Burn in the face with his elbow, but Newcastle fans who felt he should have been sent off had even more to complain about when the German grabbed the late winner at Stamford Bridge.

Ronaldo missed Manchester United’s derby defeat with a hip problem, but the 37-year-old was back with a bang and a match-winning