There are eight games in the Premier League on Boxing Day and we have learned plenty amid the chaos.
MORE — Festive Fixtures latest scores, upcoming schedule, TV/stream info
Below is a look at the specific lessons learned, as the festive fixtures keep on coming thick and fast.
Matheus Cunha more dangerous than all of Man United
Recap, highlights — Wolves 2-0 Manchester United
Matheus Cunha is very much in his prime at the age of 25, and on Thursday he was the best player on the pitch by some distance. He was the best attacker on the pitch by an even wider margin, because Manchester United was bereft of confidence in the final third. Bruno Fernandes’ red card didn’t help anything, as he’s the Red Devils best threat most games, but Ruben Amorim’s system only had three out there to start the game and both Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo — the latter to a lesser extent — struggled to affect the game even with United had 11 men. Antony was better and more direct off the bench, but fellow subs Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho did very little. Garnacho at times was bullied off the ball and it must be asked whether he’s capable of contributing in a system where he isn’t a wide winger with space to get on the ball. It’s clearer than ever that Amorim must know he needs to reshape the squad. How many of these guys might be out the door by the end of January? Enough that United might want to act early enough in the window to avoid playing too many games with this spirit-sapped squad. — Nick Mendola
Chelsea’s title race running out of steam
Recap, highlights — Chelsea 1-2 Fulham
Even though they were ahead early and for most of the game, Chelsea never had real control. After their disappointing draw at Everton last weekend, they’ve now dropped four points from games they were expected to win in the last two. This festive period was supposed to be when Chelsea kicked on and overtook Liverpool in the Premier League title race. Instead the opposite has happened. Why? Well, Chelsea just looked a little predictable and were suspect on the counter defensively. Fulham’s 3-4-2-1 formation caused big problems with Robinson and Castagne having fine games as wing-backs and Chelsea’s midfield missed Lavia breaking up play. It was too easy for Fulham to launch attacks out wide and fill the box and that is the next step for Chelsea. They have to improve defensively and sniff out the danger quicker as they’ve been giving up big chances all season. Perhaps that is the reason why Enzo Maresca has been so downbeat on their title chances when asked about it in recent weeks. Now, their title chances look extremely low. But they’re still way ahead of where we thought they would be this season. This result, and performance, was a reality check for Chelsea. - Joe Prince-Wright
Slow, predictable City have accepted their fate
Recap, highlights — Man City 1-1 Everton
City have been brilliant on so many levels for so many years but what was often overlooked was their ability to always keep going, find late goals and have hunger and desire to punish their opponents. The way they attacked after Everton made it 1-1 on Boxing Day proved that don’t believe in themselves right now. Phil Foden hardly had a kick. Kevin de Bruyne whipped in aimless crosses when he came on. Doku and Savinho were forced inside and had no answers against a stubborn Everton side. The moment which summed everything up was Erling Haaland’s tame penalty kick which was easily saved by Jordan Pickford. Haaland is the confident, swagger-filled talisman of City’s attack but his movement was slow, his confidence is low and that sums up City’s entire attacking unit. They created a few decent chances against Everton but never looked like they truly believed they would score. Their one goal came from a Bernardo Silva ball across goal which was deflected in. Pep Guardiola has so many problems to sort out from injuries, to a lack of form and fitness. But also has to sort out City’s belief and confidence. They’ve never been lower since he arrived. Right now City are playing like they know they won’t score, aren’t going to win the title and don’t believe they’ll finish in the top four. We just aren’t used to seeing this lack of belief from such a brilliant team. — Joe Prince-Wright
Can Arne Slot’s Reds keep Klopp’s famous Mentality Monsters nickname?
Recap, highlights — Liverpool 3-1 Leicester City
For real — We know Jurgen Klopp coined the Mentality Monsters name for his Liverpool side but this one’s looking just as steely, silky, and solid as ever. Driven by Mohamed Salah on the win, the Reds are teeming with confidence. Going behind 1-0 with a healthy table lead on a rain-drenched, fog-obscured Boxing Day against desperate visitors, any team could’ve been tempted into distraction or even to just go through the motions. This was not a problem for Arne Slot’s Reds. They just kept coming in waves, fighting through the rain and firing shots at first-time PL goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, who did very well for the Foxes. The win, however, felt inevitable. That word is overused but it never felt like the Reds would lose this game at Anfield. Who’s surprised that they didn’t? Liverpool have the swagger of a champion with the drive of an underdog, because they’ve been both. They feel like a mix of 2022-23 Liverpool and Manchester City. It’s going to take a monstrous run from someone else to catch these Reds, especially since at this point it looks like it’ll requiring winning head-to-head against Slot’s men. — Nick Mendola
Have some patience, Tottenham, and back the manager
Recap, highlights — Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham
Captain Obvious here: Obviously no one wants to lose 10 of their first 27 games (all competitions) as Tottenham have done this season, but the margins have been incredibly thin, and the luck almost exclusively rotten. Last weekend’s 6-3 defeat to Liverpool was the first time they had been beaten by multiple goals all season and it was clear to see the players they had on hand were nowhere near the Reds’ equals. With a bit of hindsight, one can look back to August and see that Spurs’ squad lacked depth and experience (as we said at the time), and that this could very well be a tough (but perhaps necessary) season. And it has been, but it hasn’t gotten away from Ange Postecoglou and even through all the bad results, there are plenty of positive signs — if you’re willing to see them. By this point, you would expect heads to drop, attitudes to sour and effort to wane, but that hasn’t been the case at all for Postecoglou and his players. If the manager can keep them all onside until the injury crisis subsides in a couple weeks, a number of young players will have gained incredible experience and accelerated their development, which bodes very well for the Postecoglou project going forward. Archie Gray has played every minute of Spurs’ last five games and met the challenge of learning a brand new position at the game’s highest level, out of necessity; Lucas Bergvall was sensational off the bench against Forest and has appeared in 9 straight games himself, again out of necessity. A pair of 18 years old in their first season at the club. Now, perhaps the board will show a bit of urgency in the January transfer window to reach their lofty ambitions. — Andy Edwards
Magpies find standard in congested race for Champions League
Recap, highlights — Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa
Newcastle did not qualify for Europe last season, and Eddie Howe’s men were expected to mount a strong charge in order to rectify that this season. It was frustrating for the Toon Army to watch the Magpies fail to take advantage of down periods for Manchester United and Tottenham, but now they are performing the same way against every caliber opponent. Jhon Duran’s red card helped, of course, but Newcastle’s Best XI is enough to beat Villa at home and the Magpies goal before 90 seconds showed a glimpse of the incisive, dangerous attack we saw many times over the past two seasons. They will likely need health and at least one depth piece at center forward in January with Callum Wilson hurt again. And they could need more if they sell Kieran Trippier, Miguel Almiron, and/or Sean Longstaff, but right now this Starting XI plus Harvey Barnes, the ill Valentino Livramento, and injured Sven Botman and Nick Pope give Newcastle a logical shot to go back to the UCL (especially if fifth place will do the trick). — Nick Mendola
Saints lose again but there is hope under Juric
Recap, highlights — Southampton 0-1 West Ham
Southampton are still bottom of the Premier League table and they lost again, but there’s hope under new manager Ivan Juric who took charge of his first game. They created several golden opportunities, especially in the first half, and a mixture of poor finishing, bad luck and good goalkeeping from the opposition saw them come up short. But the lowest goalscorers in the Premier League are creating chances. How? Juric told them to get it wide early, whip in crosses and Onuachu was a constant threat even though he probably should have scored a couple and Fernandes should have finished off another fine cross. The reason there is hope compared to what we saw from them under Russell Martin is that Saints didn’t look like chucking the game away and they looked more organized, they were able to press well in moments and they created so many good chances. That’s all after just a few days of Juric being in charge. Imagine what he could do with more time. There’s still an almighty uphill battle ahead but the signs are positive that Saints can get themselves back within touching distance of safety in the coming weeks and months. — Joe Prince-Wright
Things are about to get very real for Bournemouth
Recap, highlights — Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Are the Cherries genuine European contenders, or are they simply a great story about to run its course? We’re going to find out in January. Up next is Fulham (8th) and Everton (15th), followed by Chelsea (2nd), Newcastle (5th), Nottingham Forest (3rd) and Liverpool (1st). They have two games (plus the FA Cup, against West Brom) to get Evanilson firing again. He’s 7 games without a goal now, and though they went 4W-2D-1L in those 7 games, they looked a wayward side without his creative influence for the first hour until he came off the bench. The difference between good and great teams is always the striker. You either have one, or you don’t. — Andy Edwards
