The one thing Ruben Amorim needed to revive Man United, the man challenging Cole Palmer as the top flight’s best penalty-taker and the disciplinary problem holding Arsenal back: PREMIER LEAGUE THINGS WE LEARNED

Even when Liverpool finally hit a bump in the road their challengers aren’t in a position to pounce.

As Liverpool stumbled against a much-improved Manchester United side, so did Chelsea, against Crystal Palace, and Arsenal, against Brighton.

A win for Nottingham Forest on Monday night would take them level on points with second-placed Arsenal, albeit still six adrift of Liverpool, who will have played a game fewer.

At the other end it feels like an opportunity missed for Ipswich Town in their bid to avoid the drop; Southampton’s new manager bounce hasn’t kicked in as they look condemned; Everton are struggling to buy a goal right now; Newcastle look like the hottest team in the division right now; Bryan Mbeumo continues his bid to make the Team of the Season come may as he took his tally to 13.

Heading into Monday night’s game there were 29 goals scored across the Premier League’s latest slate and just two clean sheets to speak of in a highly entertaining card as the battle at the top, the battle for Europe and the battle to avoid the drop all heat up.

In the latest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League’s latest round of matches.

Premier League leaders Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by rivals Man United at Anfield

Arne Slot’s side missed the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the league table

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal lost slipped up in their pursuit of the Reds after drawing 1-1 with Brighton

THE POWER OF COACHING

All Ruben Amorim wanted when he arrived at Manchester United was some time to coach.

He pitched up at Portman Road for his first game as United’s head coach and saw his side confused and anxious up against Ipswich. Players kept looking to the bench trying to seek assurances that they were where they needed to be in his 3-4-3 system.

That confusion has been debilitating for much of his tenure, players trying to learn on the fly as they navigate games every three or four days.

But, finally, Amorim had a near full week of training without Carabao Cup, Premier League, FA Cup or Europa League getting in the way.

And what fans saw at Anfield, a far clearer structure, players with confidence in the plan, is why patience is a virtue.

‘Today we changed the mindset,’ Lisandro Martinez, who scored United’s first of two goals at Anfield, said afterwards.

‘The belief, the confidence… I saw everyone secure today with confidence in every dual, with the ball, defending.’

He continued, in what proved a really valuable insight into the mindset of the players: ‘A few games ago when we lost the ball we were stressed, thinking too much and today we played without feelings.

Ruben Amorim had nearly a week on the training ground to prepare his troops for the trip to Anfield

‘When you play like that you can enjoy football.’

Now, Amorim is far too experienced to know that one draw at Anfield is not the antidote to all of United’s problems – for which there are plenty.

But many of the issues he has been facing has been a delay in clearly and concisely getting his ideas across to the point where figures in the game were urging him to abandon his system and change his plans to suit the players at his disposal.

The solidity with which United played at Liverpool, the energy they had, the way they made the best team in Europe look, for large spells, ordinary is exactly why he was right to stick with his plan.

Amorim is at his core a coach who was brought to United in part because the powers that be believe he can get more out of players that have underperformed for far too long.

Liverpool is a start but is evidence enough that give Amorim time to coach and educate and Manchester United can once again row in the right direction.

SPOT ON, RAUL!

When it comes to the Mr Reliable tag from the penalty spot people quickly think of Cole Palmer, or in times gone by Ivan Toney or Matt Le Tissier even further back.

And so it may have gone under the radar just how dependable Raul Jimenez is from 12 yards.

His pair of penalties to snatch a point from Ipswich Town at Craven Cottage saw him enter an exclusive club of becoming only the third player to hold a 100 per cent penalty record having taken 10 or more in the Premier League.

Jimenez’s first was a cool finish to the goalkeeper’s right, before his second sumptuously picked out the top corner with the stakes sky high.

Raul Jimenez (left) joined Cole Palmer and Yaya Toure as the only players to have a 100 per cent record from the spot from at least 10 attempts 

By scoring his two penalties – goals 54 and 55 – it also saw Jimenez overtake former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez as the top scoring Mexican in Premier League history.

‘The first two or three months at the club, he was not scoring and everyone was asking why we took the decision to bring him into the football club,’ Fulham boss Marco Silva said of Jimenez.

‘We kept trusting him, he kept working really hard and it’s so nice to see him achieve an incredible number.

‘It’s an honour for him to achieve these numbers and he will be in Premier League history for many, many years. Let’s hope there’s much more to come from him and I’m here to help him.’

ARSENAL TIME-WASTING TAKES THE MIK

When referee Anthony Taylor brandished a yellow card to Ethan Nwaneri it marked the ninth time this season an Arsenal player has been booked for time-wasting. That is ridiculous.

Jurrien Timber did not even play against Brighton having previously been booked for taking too long on a throw in.

Silly bookings that have Arsenal as the worst offender in the league, ahead of Bournemouth (7) and Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton (6).

‘Well, we can improve that certainly,’ came Arteta’s six-word verdict when asked if his side’s time-wasting was getting out of hand.

There are moments where a player ‘takes one for the team’ and picks up a booking – perhaps it’s a transition foul or taking that bit longer on a goal kick or throw in.

But Arsenal are set to be the first team to hit double figures for bookings solely down to time-wasting – and it’s not even paying dividends with the results.

Cheap suspensions such as Timber’s are entirely avoidable and is a sign that Arsenal are looking to lean on the dark arts once again as their performances falter along with their title credentials.

They had just nine shots on the south coast and are looking increasingly light in attacking areas in games where teams increasingly feel the Gunners can be had.

Speaking of poor attacks that can be had…

Arsenal have received nine yellow cards for time-wasting in the Premier League this season

EVERTON NEED A SCORER… ASAP

Make it eight games from their past 10 where this toothless version of Everton again failed to score.

In their 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, Sean Dyche’s side failed to have a single shot on target and again showed just how badly they are lacking both for creativity and a reliable goalscorer.

In the past 10 games Everton have found the net in their 1-1 draw away to Manchester City, as well as the 4-0 drubbing of Leeds (which eventually cost Gary O’Neil his job) but outside of that they have been the eyesore of the league going forward.

Their 15 league goals ranks 19th in the league; 216 shots ranks 18th; 6.94 per cent shot conversation rate is 19th best; 18.3 Expected Goals is 19th best; Expected Goals per shot of 0.085 is the worst in the league.

Choose a metric and Everton are in the relegation zone for bad attacking stats.

‘We’ve certainly been trying. We have been trying for two years to do that,’ Dyche said when asked if he can improve their woeful attack.

‘It’s very difficult to find players who have that cutting edge and ones who can score a goal.

‘This is the squad, these are the players we have got, this is trying to constantly mould players into a more offensive unit whilst defending properly.’

Everton failed to record a single shot on target against Bournemouth and have failed to score in eight of their last 10 matches

Everton’s eight points from the past available 30 leaves them dangerously close to the drop zone – just one point separates the Toffees in 16th and Ipswich Town in 18th.

But, crucially, what both Wolves and Ipswich Town, the two sides directly below them, possess is a genuine goal threat in players such as Matheus Cunha (Wolves) and Liam Delap (Ipswich).

Only Southampton, who look to be going down with a whimper, have been worse in front of goal this season than Everton and that should be the furthest thing from a silver lining here.

Fail to get a striker this month and even Everton’s defence may not be enough to cover up their deficiencies in another relegation dogfight.

SPURS’ HOUSE OF HORRORS

So, Ange Postecoglou remain in pursuit of history (and I’m not talking about the chance to end their trophy drought in the Carabao Cup).

This version of Tottenham have shown themselves to have an incredibly soft underbelly, particularly at home, and it was on full display as they were put to the sword by Newcastle United.

Postecoglou fumed, one of the ‘angriest’ he has been with calls, in his mind, not going Tottenham’s way, but the facts are that Spurs are now winless in their last six Premier League home games, their worst run since October 2008.

That 2008 run in front of their own fans came during Juande Ramos’ time in charge when they went eight without a win at home.

In this six game drought at home Postecoglou’s side have mustered 73 shots and scored 11 goals.

Ange Postecoglou was incensed by the decision to award Newcastle’s first goal in Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to the Magpies

Spurs have conceded 21 goals at home this season, the third worst record in the division

Yet they have given up 88 shots and 17 goals. It’s boom or bust and more often than not it explodes in the face of Postecoglou and his players.

They are routinely on the wrong side of the xG battle – losing out in defeats to Ipswich, Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as the draw to Fulham – and yet this doesn’t seem to trigger any sort of shift, a sense a steeliness will kick in to make Spurs harder to beat and for their own ground to become the clichéd ‘fortress’.

Their 21 goals conceded at home ranks 18th in the league, only ahead of West Ham (22) and rock bottom Southampton (27). It is not the kind of company fans expected Tottenham to find themselves in again this season.

Leicester City, Manchester United and Manchester City are the next three visitors to north London in the league. All three will be licking their lips…