Premier League talking points: Nunez and Jota step up in Salah’s absence

London — Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans may have been a little concerned at the absence of their serial goalscorer Mohamed Salah for their trip to Bournemouth on Sunday.       

But manager and supporters would have been more than delighted as Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota stepped up to bury Bournemouth and send Liverpool five points clear at the top of the table.

These and other talking points from the 21st round of the Premier League season.

Liverpool have plenty of firepower without Salah: A trip to in-form Bournemouth without leading striker Mohamed Salah looked a potential banana skin for Liverpool, but they need not have worried as Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota showed there is plenty of firepower without the Egyptian.

Nunez attracts his fair share of criticism for his often-erratic finishing, but he caused chaos at Bournemouth after being moved into a more central role after a turgid first half.

He scored twice and his physical presence proved too much for a Bournemouth defence which also had no answer to Jota, who scored two and registered an assist as Liverpool moved five points clear at the top of the table.

However, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp will be concerned that Salah has returned to Liverpool nursing a hamstring injury sustained at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Toney was never going to come back quietly: Ivan Toney’s return from an eight-month ban for betting offences was always going to be the big talking point of Brentford’s home game against Nottingham Forest, but the big striker provided a few more with the way he scored and the manner in which the match was presented.

There was little irony in a player banned for 232 breaches of the betting rules being given a triumphal welcome, more like a big night fight with lights and highlight reels to fire up the crowd, in a match with both teams’ shirts sponsored by betting companies and punctuated by betting adverts.

Whether Toney’s goal should have stood, after he twice relocated the ball for the free kick and even moved some of the foam from the referee’s spray, was also hotly debated, but there was no question that Brentford had missed his presence as much as the goals he will surely bring.

“It’s extra impressive to come back being out for eight months and then play the way he did. Scoring a goal, a clever goal, his link-up play, his holdup play, his presence, his work ethic, defending set pieces. Super, super impressive,” said manager Thomas Frank.

Old-fashioned goals get Arsenal firing again: Arsenal’s failure to take silkily-created chances was a key factor in a run of one win in five Premier League games that stalled their title bid at the turn of the year.

They put those troubles behind them with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace on Saturday, though few would have betted on old-fashioned corners unlocking Palace’s defence.

Simplicity can be devastatingly effective and defender Gabriel demonstrated that as he twice got his head on corners for the first two goals, though Palace keeper Dean Henderson was credited with an own goal.

Leandro Trossard’s goal and a late double for substitute Gabriel Martinelli were maybe more pleasing on the eye but after such a poor goal return in recent games, manager Mikel Arteta was not at all bothered how the ball ended up in the net.

Saviour Hodgson under pressure at Palace: Last March Roy Hodgson returned to his beloved Crystal Palace like a knight in shining armour and guided them away from the relegation zone to a comfortable 11th-placed finish.

But after a 5-0 hammering at Arsenal on Saturday the love affair between the 76-year-old and the Palace faithful appears to be increasingly strained.

There was a meekness about Palace’s display that is not in keeping with a side managed by Hodgson and, with a relegation fight now looking likely, the club’s owners may soon have to decide between loyalty and a new direction.

With Steve Cooper and Graham Potter both available, the pressure will only mount on Hodgson.

Scrappy Blades turning a corner? There was something different about Sheffield United as they earned a thrilling 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Sunday, as the whipping boys finally found a way to bounce back.

This season’s Blades have made a habit of playing with great fire and spirit, and then collapsing like a house of cards after conceding a goal.

On Sunday they twice came from behind — including a stoppage-time penalty by Ollie McBurnie that went down as the latest Premier League goal on record — to grab a point.

They might remain bottom of the table and their hopes of survival still look bleak, but if they can keep showing the same fighting spirit they did on Sunday, they might just be able to pull off a miracle.

Reuters