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

Exciting Chelsea becoming a must-watch 

If in doubt, watch Chelsea. For the second time in six days, Mauricio Pochettino’s blend of youth and experience staged a fabulous show and scored four times against a fellow member of the old Big Six. Their 4-4 against Manchester City was not so much a soap opera, more a box-set thriller squeezed into 105 minutes. 

When City took the lead through the two most boring words in the football lexicon – “Haaland pen” – it wasn’t hard to see Chelsea crumbling. But then they had gone a goal down at Spurs too. They showed tremendous mettle, and soon they were 2-1 up. 

City regained the lead, then lost it, then grabbed it again – only for Cole Palmer to save a point and join Raheem Sterling on the scoresheet. Pep Guardiola is happy to sell players to other big clubs, and they are happy to make him pay for it. Tim de Lisle 

Clear-minded Solanke sinks Magpies 

Two goals on Saturday took Dominic Solanke to six for the league campaign, equalling his tally for the whole of last season. It’s perhaps been longer coming than he would have hoped after winning the Golden Ball when England won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017 but, at 26, he looks a high-class Premier League striker. 

“He’s doing all the good things, on the ball, off the ball,” said his manager Andoni Iraola. Solanke squandered one chance, a momentary hesitation allowing Jamaal Lascelles to recover, but then netted two classic poacher’s goals, seizing on loose balls in the box to score with a fierce shot and then a clever improvised hip-high flick with the outside of his ankle. 

“He has a clear mind,” said Iraola. “He missed a couple of chances in the first half and sometimes when strikers miss chances they start overthinking but he