EVEN after Middlesbrough’s stoppage-time equaliser there was still time for Manchester City to grab a winner.  The problem was Pep Guardiola had taken off Sergio Aguero, his most likely match-winner, just beforehand.

It’s never ‘job done’ in this league and I don’t think we’ll see Pep doing that again! Aguero scored his 150th City goal on Saturday and for me, only Thierry Henry stands above him as the Premier League’s greatest striker.

Euro fatigue strikes again
Leicester have been on an amazing journey but this year it looks like they’ll be trying to get to 40 points as quickly as possible. They have been flying in the Champions League but the European adventure has clearly taken its toll on their squad.

All four English teams in the Champions League dropped points in the Premier League this weekend following their group fixtures. As our table shows, Manchester City have suffered the biggest European hangover this season – and they have more strength in depth than Leicester.

Claudio Ranieri’s side have too much quality to go down but yesterday’s defeat by West Brom leaves them just two points above the bottom three. There’s no doubt Tony Pulis’ side profited from Leicester fighting on two fronts.

. . .but it doesn’t bother Boro
Champions League sides’ struggles after playing in Europe have helped Middlesbrough in recent weeks.

A fortnight ago, Boro earned a 0-0 draw against an Arsenal side who looked tired from their Champions League game against Ludogorets just three days previously. Then on Saturday, Aitor Karanka’s side were able to frustrate Manchester City who four days earlier had given everything to beat Barcelona.

Boro still needed to haul themselves level and the pace of Adama Traore gave City real problems on the counter-attack. If Boro stay up, these two points will have been crucial.

Kante and Matic are a dream midfield duo
Chelsea are so good at the moment it’s like watching a team on FIFA 17! Antonio Conte has taken the players who underperformed last year and got them organised and brimming with confidence.

Changing the system has worked wonders but you can only do it if you have the right players. Conte now has two wing backs who love to get forward and the best defensive midfielders of the last two years in Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante.

If I was playing against those two I’d be thinking, ‘Where am I going to get any space?’ They are the perfect little-and-large combination – you can’t beat Matic in the air and Kante is so dynamic.

They break up play and win so many second balls. It’s why David Luiz is looking so good – he has so much protection in front of him. Everton tried to emulate Chelsea’s system and were no match for them. Playing this way, Conte’s side have teams on the back foot.

Gudmundsson is Burnley’s Iceing
What a year it’s been for Johann Berg Gudmundsson. He’s gone from playing in the Championship with Charlton to knocking England out of the Euros with Iceland and scoring in the Premier League. He looks so comfortable on the ball and has a powerful left foot – as we saw with his goal in Saturday’s victory over Crystal Palace.

Gudmundsson complements the other Burnley midfielders well. Dean Marney – who also impressed against Palace – Steven Defour and Jeff Hendrick are all grafters but Gudmundsson is the icing on the cake.

He has that extra bit of guile and quality that gives Burnley something different.

Masterful Mane
Sadio Mane has taken Liverpool to the next level. He gives them a completely different dimension running with pace off the ball. What impresses me most is that he is not a one-trick pony. He hit one of the goals of the season against Arsenal but against Watford scored with a header before tapping in a second. He scores scruffy goals as well as beauties.

Liverpool, like Chelsea, put on a scintillating attacking display this weekend. It goes to show how much quality players benefit from not having to play in Europe in midweek.

Moyes off the mark
David Moyes said he took the Sunderland squad to the Nissan factory last week. Sometimes you forget you are doing the best job in the world and need that reality check.

It may have been more by luck than design but that was such a big result at Bournemouth. Until Saturday, rivals Newcastle – in the Championship – had won a Premier League game more recently than Sunderland.

Going two up front with Victor Anichebe was a masterstroke. It meant they were asking questions of the Bournemouth defence and it might be how they set up going forward. They still have it all to do but this win will give them so much confidence.

The Ozil of the Championship
One player who caught my eye outside the top flight this weekend was Derby midfielder Will Hughes.  He is the Mesut Ozil of the Championship and was brilliant in Derby’s 3-2 win at Wolves.

He is a great talent — very easy on the eye with a fantastic range of passing – and Premier League scouts must be watching him every week.  Hughes is looking back to his best after a cruciate ligament injury which saw him miss most of last season.

The challenge now for the 21-year-old is to grab his chance and show that he has the physicality to make the step up to the top flight. – dailymail.com