5 things we learned from the Premier League this weekend

Five-star City breezed past Liverpool while the Red Devils were held at Stoke.

Manchester rivals United and City are locked together at the top of the Premier League table with Bournemouth and Crystal Palace still pointless after an eventful weekend.

Here, Press Association Sport’s Damian Spellman takes a look at what we learned from the latest round of fixtures.

1. Jose Mourinho is a one-off, and not in a good way

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho during the Premier League match at the bet365 Stadium — Jose Mourinho, pictured, was accused of sour grapes for refusing to shake Mark Hughes’ hand (Nick Potts/PA)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is undeniably one of the most charismatic and successful managers of his generation and his record speaks for itself. However, he has a remarkable capacity for upsetting people and his touchline spat with Stoke counterpart Mark Hughes – who in fairness, has previous – penned a new chapter in an unedifying saga of less than cordial relations.

2. Referees have a tough job

Manchester City's goalkeeper Ederson, right, and Liverpool's Sadio Mane collide during the English Premier League match — Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was sent off for this challenge with Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson (Rui Vieira/AP/PA)

Spare a thought for Jon Moss. He found himself the centre of attention when, 37 minutes into Manchester City’s home clash with Liverpool, Sadio Mane’s studs crashed into the side of goalkeeper Ederson’s head as the pair closed in on a long ball forward. Moss, who saw the incident only once and at full speed, produced a red card with analysts who later watched repeated replays still divided over whether he got it right or not.

3. Money doesn’t necessarily buy you security

Everton committed a combined total of around £60million to the summer captures of keeper Jordan Pickford and central defender Michael Keane, Bournemouth invested £20million in Nathan Ake and Leicester paid £17million for Harry Maguire. On Saturday, Everton lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham, Bournemouth went down by the same score at Arsenal and Leicester were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline at home to Chelsea.

4. It’s tough at the bottom

Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer during the Premier League match at Turf Moor — Crystal Palace have lost all four Premier League matches so far without scoring a goal under Frank de Boer (Martin Rickett/PA)

Frank de Boer could be forgiven for wondering what he has done after accepting Crystal Palace’s offer to replace Sam Allardyce as manager. Four league games in, the Eagles are yet to collect a point and perhaps more worryingly have not scored a single goal to leave the Dutchman under unwelcome pressure just weeks into his reign.

5. Newcastle love a drama

Newcastle United's Jamaal Lascelles celebrates after the final whistle during the Premier League match — Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles was the match-winner for absent manager Rafael Benitez (Nick Potts/PA)

Life on Tyneside is never dull. After a frustrating transfer window which pitched manager Rafael Benitez and owner Mike Ashley into a battle in which there was only one winner, the promoted Magpies headed for Swansea without their manager as he continued his recovery from surgery. Whatever pain the 57-year-old Spaniard was in as he watched on television will have been eased considerably by a spirited display which saw skipper Jamaal Lascelles head his team to a second successive league victory.