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

Erik ten Hag is nothing if not a Serious Football Man, but there was an element of comedy about Manchester United’s unravelling at the Etihad. It was there in the comment from Ten Hag that Cristiano Ronaldo did not appear “out of respect for his big career”. That may or may not be a brilliant caustic joke. More significantly it was there on Casemiro’s face as he came on with the game already dead, having worked his way through five Champions League medals only to discover that, in fact, he’s not as good as Scott McTominay. So, some useful information there for the Brazilian. Ten Hag is the latest United manager caught between ill-fitting celebrity signings and coherent team building. A 37-year-old celebrity black hole was never likely to be a Ten Hag kind of guy. But not starting Casemiro, a midfielder who has been the best in the world in his role, made very little sense. Barney Ronay

Match report: Manchester City 6 -3 Manchester United

Leeds and Aston Villa don’t like each other. Their previous four competitive meetings included 23 yellow cards and red card. A pre-season “friendly” in Australia also boiled over. Sunday’s tally of seven yellows and the red shown for Luis Sinisterra’s second bookable offence, “not intelligent play” as his manager, Jesse Marsch, put it, was about par. Stuart Attwell, the referee, was at times lenient but was offered no choice about the second booking when Sinisterra put his foot out to block a free-kick. The Colombian was suckered into his reflex reaction by Douglas Luiz taking the kick quickly but could have few complaints. He was not alone in being distracted by the skulduggery and aggression that dragged the game downwards as a spectacle. Marsch accused Villa of trying to slow the game