Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Eddie Howe has worked wonders at Newcastle since arriving on 8 November – but only in one type of match. Against the big six (also, as things stand, the top six, despite Ralf Rangnick’s best efforts), Howe has managed only one point. The drubbing at the Etihad on Sunday was Newcastle’s 10th defeat in 11 meetings with the big six, the exception being the draw with Manchester United. But against the smaller fry, Howe has made all the difference. He inherited a team with no league wins and half as many points as Watford (five, from 10 games). On his watch Newcastle have racked up 11 victories, as many as Chelsea in the same period. They have one last chance to beat a big-six club when Arsenal visit St James’ Park next Monday. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Manchester City 5-0 Newcastle

Jürgen Klopp may not wish to copy the Antonio Conte playbook – “I don’t like this kind of football, I cannot coach it,” he said amid the disappointment of failing to win a 13th league game in succession at Anfield – but Tottenham can learn a thing or two from Liverpool according to their head coach. Conte constructed a resolute and impressive Spurs display on Saturday and, despite speculation over his future, believes long-term planning is essential to producing that sort of performance on a consistent basis. “You need a path with a team, a base and to improve the base year by year,” said Conte. “Liverpool did this. They created a foundation with Jürgen and won a lot in seven years. He created a monster, in a good way, and for this you need time, patience and to go step by step.” Andy Hunter

Match report: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham

At the beginning of March, Southampton were ninth in the league with a respectable 35 points from 26 games. Now they’re