🔬 The Debrief as Liverpool go 11 clear and Newcastle win 7-goal thriller | OneFootball

Two Premier League games took place on Sunday, with a spot in Europe for next season the primary focus across the afternoon.

Here's what we made of it all.

What happened? 📝

Newcastle United edged out Nottingham Forest in a seven goal thriller, with the Magpies scoring all four of their goals inside 11 first half minutes to take all three points.

Then, Liverpool flexed their title muscles by easing past a lacklustre Manchester City side at the Etihad, with Mo Salah once again taking centre-stage to help them to a 2-0 win.

Player of the day 🔥

It is truly difficult to find the right words to describe the performances that Mo Salah is putting up every week.

The Egyptian marksman opened the scoring for his side at the Etihad, before setting up the second in an all-round performance that underlined his excellence.

His consistency is almost certain to be what drags Liverpool to a Premier League title come the end of the season, and it feels as though the Reds simply have to tie him down beyond the current campaign.

Will they?

Stat of the day 📊

Pep Guardiola doesn't lose much.

But Arne Slot is very much enjoying life against the Spaniard. The Liverpool coach is the first Liverpool manager to do the double over Guardiola, and he even managed it at his first attempt.

📸 PAUL ELLIS - AFP or licensors

What this means 🤔

Liverpool's win moves them 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and leaves them with one hand on the trophy.

But below them, it is starting to get interesting. Newcastle's win over Forest combined with Manchester City's defeat means that third place and eighth are separated by just five points.

Given that there will be five Champions League spots, there are likely to be three up for grabs behind Liverpool and Arsenal, but Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Chelsea could all yet have a say.

What they said 🗣️

Newcastle hero Alexander Isak hailed his side's "big win" to help them continue their push for Champions League football next season.

“It was a brilliant first half, the reaction after conceding was really good. We dropped a bit second half and conceded sloppy goals. I'm obviously happy to win the game. The most important thing was to win. We want to win more comfortably, but it was a big win.”

📸 ANDY BUCHANAN - AFP or licensors

Meanwhile, Nuno Espirito Santo claimed that he thinks his side could have snatched a point had there been more stoppage time.

"Second half was better but unfortunately not enough. Too bad, too soon," he explained.

"It's about trying to settle down, calm down and try to be ourselves. In the first half I didn't recognise our team. In the second half we were much better.

"I wish there was 10 minutes added on. We needed that time. We were on top, Newcastle were on the ropes. With 10 minutes I think we can get something from this game."

City forward Jeremy Doku played down the gulf in class between his team and Liverpool in their defeat.

"We tried. I had a lot of attacking situations but after the two goals that they scored they played very deep. They defended very well and then played on the counter attack so it was hard for us to find spaces. Some game are like that.

"To be fair if I look at the game I don't think that they were much better than us. Two goals, one set piece and the second goal was a long ball, so well done to them.Of course, there is a gap in points but today you can't say that they ran over us."

And Arne Slot refused to get carried away, despite his side's 11 point advantage at the Premier League summit.

"Three days ago we had a draw at Villa and people told me we weren't in a good place and then three days later we win and it changes again. There is no secret. We are 11 points clear but Arsenal has one game in hand.

"It is easier for us to not get excited because we know what we have to put in. This result was more about defence than attack. It is normal for fanbases to be positive and it is important to understand why we are where we are."

What's next? 👀

There is a full slate of Premier League action in midweek, with Arsenal travelling to Nottingham Forest, Manchester City visiting Tottenham and Liverpool hosting Newcastle in the pick of the ties.

Join us for those.

📸 Alex Pantling - 2025 Getty Images