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Five things we learned from this weekend's Premier League action

:Headline: Five things we learned from this weekend's Premier League action: ID:418902: from db_amp
Tottenham blew a three-goal lead in 12 minutes, but Manchester City proved that decent defending is still a thing.

Liverpool's title defence suffered a huge blow after Virgil Van Dijk was left needing knee surgery following an awful challenge from Jordan Pickford, which went unpunished.

Elsewhere, Tottenham blew a three-goal lead in 12 minutes, but Manchester City proved that decent defending is still a thing.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what we learned from the Premier League this weekend.

Pickford: The good, the bad and the ugly

Jordan Pickford lunged into Virgil Van Dijk during the Merseyside derby (Peter Byrne/PA)

Jordan Pickford remains under the spotlight after his erratic display in the Merseyside derby. The England goalkeeper made two outstanding saves to keep Everton in the game, and then nearly lost it for them when Jordan Henderson's shot beat him too easily, only for VAR to come to his rescue. But it was his needless, dangerous lunge on Van Dijk, leaving the Dutchman needing surgery, which left a sour taste in the mouth. At this rate Pickford could end up costing both Liverpool and Everton the title.

No Bale-out for Spurs

It appeared to be the perfect 20-minute run-out for the returning Gareth Bale, with Tottenham 3-0 up and cruising against West Ham. The Hammers pulled two back before Bale almost capped his return with what would have been the clincher. But his shot flew wide and at the other end Manuel Lanzini rifled in an equaliser. It just goes to show that not even a three-goal lead with 81 minutes on the clock is safe during this most bizarre of seasons.

Case for the defence

Ederson kept Arsenal at bay (Michael Regan/PA)

Manchester City managed to prove that disciplined defending is not totally a thing of the past as they kept a clean sheet against Arsenal, thanks in no small part to goalkeeper Ederson's brilliant performance. The Brazilian produced two incredible saves late in the first half to prevent Bukayo Saka and then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from cancelling out Raheem Sterling's goal.

Happy as Harry

Absolutely nothing, if you are of a Liverpool persuasion. The most pedantic of offside calls robbed Henderson of a late winner. Yet Pickford's challenge on Van Dijk went completely unpunished. The PA news agency understands video official David Coote did not check for a potential red card despite having the power to do so, calling 'check complete' once he had ruled the Dutchman had been offside. Baffling.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
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