Ten talking points at the two-thirds stage of the PL

Russian billionaire ready to sell Chelsea

Top 3 dominance set for FA Cup

West Ham bounce back in European chase

Ex-Everton man pushed out by Rafa

Reds step up pursuit of Napoli man

Man Utd keeper in shut-out top 10

Leeds big mistake from January

The last third of the Premier League season is still full of jeopardy. Anything could happen from top to bottom. Bit like the first two-thirds then…

1) Liverpool back on the trophy trail

Who cares indeed. Liverpool put trophy number five on Klopp’s Anfield CV with that gung-ho goalless three-hour action movie on Sunday. After firing blanks in an unsettling 2020/21 campaign, gone are the calls for this team to win more. They will win more. Where, how and when remains to be seen. Sunday showed that they can grind it out even if that high line induces squeaky bum time. Now, will they get on those quad bikes?

2) Manchester United full of shooting stars with no firepower

As Chelsea might tell you, it’s quite cruel to lose a penalty shoot-out when your goalkeeper is unable to save multiple shoot-out penalties then misses his own. United are working off minor sparks. They have been inept in all competitions, jettisoned by West Ham in the Carabao and by Middlesbrough in another shoot-out in the FA Cup. It is quite conceivable they would now be on an away day in the Europa League, if it wasn’t for Ronaldo’s sense of theatre. The Theatre of Dreams itself needs more than a bit of spit and polish as its ragged bunch of men just can’t deliver routine wins. Paris is still a ridiculous possibility, but with 11 games left, they must have serious concerns that Arsenal et al are a threat to their get-out-of-jail card. And the fixture list is not kind.

3) Antonio Conte going Full Monty at Spurs

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