Premier League: talking points from the weekend’s action

1) The city of Liverpool rallies for Sean Cox

This is not about the game but something more important and giving credit where it is due. At Anfield on Saturday volunteers from Liverpool FC and Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union held a bucket collection to raise money for Sean Cox, the 53-year-old Liverpool fan who sustained life-altering injuries after being attacked before the Champions League semi-final against Roma in April. The father of three is undergoing rehabilitation in Dún Laoghaire but this will take many years and require significant funding. The fundraising appeal has attracted generous donations from Jürgen Klopp, Everton’s Séamus Coleman and the former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow – plus many anonymous donors – and contributions from match‑goers on Saturday. Liverpool have pledged their official charity, LFC Foundation, will match all money raised by the bucket collection on Saturday. A fundraising page for Sean Cox’s care can be found at ie.gofundme.com/SupportSeanCox. Andy Hunter

Match report: Liverpool 4-1 Cardiff City

2) Barkley looks an absolute bargain at £15m

When Roberto Martínez managed Ross Barkley at Everton, the Spaniard dubbed his force of midfield nature “an amalgam of Paul Gascoigne and Michael Ballack”. A combination of injury and loss of form led to this special talent losing his place with both Everton and England. He had not exactly fallen off the edge of the world but when Barkley joined Chelsea for £15m last January it seemed a gamble. Now it looks a bargain. Those who, in August, wondered where Barkley would fit into an apparently overstocked Chelsea midfield cannot argue he is not worthy of a starting place. At Burnley he scored a beautiful goal, created another for Willian and denied Sean Dyche’s side a goal. Like Wayne Rooney and Jonjo Shelvey, Barkley still has something of the street footballer about him. How wonderful to see his improvisational talent thriving once more. Louise Taylor

Match report: Burnley 0-4 Chelsea

3) Green shoots for Palace against Arsenal

Crystal Palace have looked more like their former selves in the past week. Admittedly, their efforts at Everton and at home against Arsenal have yielded a solitary point, and the forthcoming matches against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United are still distinctly daunting. But this team appear to have rediscovered some of their more abrasive qualities after a low-key, rather slack start to the campaign. Wilfried Zaha looked fit and far more of a livewire against Arsenal. There is energy to their midfield and from full-back, and aggression at centre‑half. Luka Milivojevic, off colour up to now, has his first goals of the campaign. Roy Hodgson’s substitutions were decisive, with Max Meyer influential in his cameo and even Alexander Sørloth looking more the part. Most importantly, a run of defeats has been checked. Those games to come against the elite still feel treacherous, but the qualities which thrust Palace into mid-table in the run-in last season clearly remain. Dominic Fifield

Match report: Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal

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4) Özil disappeared again to the periphery

Mesut Özil’s most dynamic involvement at Selhurst Park was when he dragged himself off the pitch after the assistant referee showed his number in red lights in the 68th minute. When he got a yard beyond Unai Emery, he took off his gloves and threw them to the floor, showing his frustration for an absent performance. The German midfielder was the Arsenal captain once again but influenced neither the play nor the spirit of his team with a meek outing. In tight games, when the opposition are offering little space to operate in, it is Özil’s role to find the gaps and change the dynamic but instead he operated on the periphery waiting for the game to come to him rather than the other way round, as Arsenal relied on two set-pieces to earn a barely deserved point. Will Unwin

The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos

5) ‘Slav Bingo’ is causing chaos at Fulham

This was not the plan when Fulham spent north of £100m in the summer. One victory, two draws and seven defeats have left them in the bottom three, with whispers (publicly scotched by the owner, Shahid Khan) that Slavisa Jokanovic’s job is under threat. Perhaps the most worrying thing is the sense of chaos around team selection. Jokanovic has used 22 players including three goalkeepers, made 25 starting XI changes and used at least four formations. “Slav Bingo” has become a popular pre‑lineup announcement game, and the inconsistency in selection is probably the main reason why they have failed to recreate the attacking football that got them promoted. It is not all his fault, but Jokanovic is at least realistic about his prospects. “The owner didn’t bring me here because I am a good lad,” he said on Saturday. “He brought me here to win games. This is my challenge, and I’m up for that.” Nick Miller

Match report: Fulham 0-3 Bournemouth

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6) Brighton are relying on their defence – and it’s working

The difference between Brighton and most of the teams below them is they can win without playing to their best thanks to their defensive fortitude. Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk can be spectacular in the way they repel opponents, and the goalkeeper Mat Ryan is excellent. Those were the three outstanding performers on Saturday, keeping out a mostly dominant Wolves team so that Glenn Murray’s goal was enough to secure a victory. It was a third consecutive clean sheet and win for Chris Hughton’s men but the manager does not want to keep relying excessively on his defenders. “To see the performance against Wolves and last week, they are not bad performances but you can only have so many of them,” he said. “The law of averages says that if a team have more shots, more crosses, then the balance will go in their favour. So we need to up our game.” Paul Doyle

Match report: Brighton 1-0 Wolves

7) Walcott remains infuriating and was at fault for Everton

Theo Walcott always seems a very likeable man, but he is an infuriating footballer. Twice at Old Trafford, he broke into the right-hand side of the box with Richarlison inside him. On both occasions, to the Brazilian’s fury, he chose to take on a shot rather than square the ball. His first shot was weak; his second beaten away comfortably by David de Gea. And that wasn’t even his most negative contribution. Both United goals came from him losing possession and, for the second, he barely raised a run to track back, which left Anthony Martial in space to receive Paul Pogba’s pass and score. For a player so experienced – he may seem locked in a bubble of eternal potential, but Walcott is 29 now – to be guilty of such a dereliction was staggering. At some point, the Peter Pan of English football needs to grow up and start taking responsibility. Jonathan Wilson

Match report: Manchester United 2-1 Everton
Silva accuses Martial of diving for penalty

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8) Southampton and Newcastle don’t have to panic … yet

Perhaps it was because little happened in this match, but neither manager seemed fussed by the result. Mark Hughes shrugged off a smattering of missed chances, reflecting that his team had done enough to win. Rafael Benítez was pleased enough with the visitors’ defending, and hoped a point might prove a stepping stone. There may, however, have been another explanation for the prevailing calm. After 10 matches, Southampton and Newcastle may have 10 points between them, but they’re hardly the only ones struggling. In total, the bottom six have conjured up 30 points, easily the lowest total of recent seasons. This time last year, the cumulative figure was 46. In 2016 it was 43, in 2015 44, and in 2014 it was 50. The implication being: a lower points total might be enough to stay up. So not quite time to panic just yet then. Paul MacInnes

Match report: Southampton 0-0 Newcastle

9) Success not ready to fail again with Watford

It is more than two years since Watford signed Isaac Success from Granada for a then club-record fee of around £12.5m. He remains the second most expensive player in thesquad but in his subsequent obscurity his fee has been forgotten. In his first season he started two league games, nearly six months apart. Last season he spent six games on the bench and no minutes on the pitch before joining Málaga on loan in January, where he failed to score. He has now started consecutive league games, both of them won, and while his passing on Saturday was not always perfect he demonstrated plenty of quality and also, importantly, fitness, before scoring his first Premier League goal in 25 months. “I realised just before the start of this season that talent was not enough, and hard work will always beat talent,” said the Nigerian. “I think I have now become a better person, I have become a better professional and that helped my career a lot.” Simon Burnton

Match report: Watford 3-0 Huddersfield