Key thoughts and analysis from Saturday's Premier League action

theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points from Saturday’s slate of action in England’s top flight.

Grealish earns starring role

Pep Guardiola’s squad rotations have swallowed up some big players at Manchester City. Sergio Aguero had to battle to prove he should be in the lineup, and even Kevin De Bruyne – usually an immovable part of the team – was demoted to the bench twice since the start of February.

That makes Jack Grealish’s regular presence in the side even more impressive.

Phil Foden’s spells on the sidelines and Cole Palmer’s oft-passable cameos have helped Grealish’s cause, but it’s largely form that has established the Englishman in Guardiola’s starting XI. His performance in Saturday’s resounding 4-1 victory over Liverpool was the best of Grealish’s time at City, as he combined a monstrous work ethic with playfulness and trickery that bamboozled red shirts.

Grealish turned the game in around a minute. Liverpool broke at pace from a City corner and Mohamed Salah was released behind the defense, sprinting toward Ederson’s mesh in search of his second goal. But Grealish rapidly tracked back, denying Salah a shooting option and then intercepting the Egyptian’s attempted pass to Diogo Jota.

City regrouped, and Andy Robertson’s attempt to challenge De Bruyne inside the hosts’ half presented an opportunity. Jordan Henderson scampered back to try to cover while Liverpool’s backline slid left, opening up space on Grealish’s flank. City moved the ball on to the winger, and he instantly nudged the ball inside for Julian Alvarez’s leveler.

It could’ve been 2-0 to Liverpool. Instead, it was 1-1.

Grealish was the match’s standout player and deservedly concluded the scoring, but it was a collective effort that allowed City to recover from Salah’s goal and record a statement win to begin the title run-in. Numerous City players could be singled out for crucial interventions or general excellence throughout the meeting.

It was a dominant triumph executed without the help of a certain 42-goal striker.

Jesus another difference-maker for Arsenal

Gabriel Jesus is showing no ill-effects of the knee injury that required surgery and cost him upwards of three months on the sidelines.

Making his first league start since sustaining the ailment at the World Cup in December, the Brazilian forward bagged a brace in Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday, winning – and then converting – the penalty that opened the scoring and got the home side back on track after a tepid start in which Leeds looked more dangerous early. His second tally of the contest, Arsenal’s third of the day, effectively ended the match.

Jesus rediscovering his sharpness almost immediately after returning is an enormous boost for the league leaders as they aim to hold off Manchester City in the title race. The 25-year-old gives Mikel Arteta another inventive attacking player who can unlock the opposing defense on his own. Jesus won the penalty with two exquisite pieces of skill, first dropping Rasmus Kristensen with a devastating shot fake and then putting Luke Ayling on his backside with a quick hesitation move, forcing the latter to take him down inside the area.

Arsenal now have seven consecutive Premier League wins, and they’ve scored 18 goals in their last five league matches. Already humming along, they now have the benefit of potential rotation up front to keep everyone fresh and firing through the end of the campaign. Star winger Bukayo Saka got some rest on Saturday, starting the game on the bench, while Jesus headlined an attacking trio that included Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

Assuming everyone stays fit, Arteta now has the luxury of using four different players – five when Eddie Nketiah returns from his own ailment – that can all score goals and provide decisive moments during the title run-in.

Pragmatism doesn’t mean conservatism for Roy

Vicente Guaita is a decent shot-stopper and the center-back pairing of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen should belong to a side competing for a top-six finish, but it’s obvious where Crystal Palace’s true strength lies. Roy Hodgson recognized that in his return to the dugout: This team isn’t built to absorb pressure and steal points – its likeliest route to success is to unleash Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze, and Michael Olise in attack.

Palace went for it. They fired 31 shots during Leicester City’s visit and created the same number of chances (22) as they mustered through their previous three-and-a-half matches. Some of their attempts on goal were optimistic – 11 were struck from outside the box – but such attacking intent was welcomed at Selhurst Park after the Eagles failed to register a single shot on target over three straight matches toward the end of Patrick Vieira’s reign.

The importance of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat of fellow strugglers Leicester City is huge. Jean-Philippe Mateta turned a two-point gap above the relegation zone into a five-point chasm with his slick spin and finish in the 94th minute. However, the result is accompanied by a considerable caveat.

Zaha left the action just before the interval nursing what appeared to be a groin problem. Palace were revolving their play around the London-raised winger more than usual before his enforced withdrawal, quickly pinging passes to his feet and giving him the freedom to aim seven shots on goal, but now face the prospect of not calling on their talisman for upcoming matches against relegation rivals Leeds United, Southampton, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and West Ham United.

“I can only hope it’s not going to be a long-term injury,” Hodgson said post-match, according to Premier Injuries’ Ben Dinnery.

Hodgson’s challenge is to make the good feeling from Mateta’s late goal last, even in the absence of Zaha.

Quick free-kicks

Even a goal couldn’t lift Liverpool

Manchester City’s equalizer was inevitable. Liverpool could explode forward in an instant – they did for Salah’s goal and Jurgen Klopp was imploring his team to move the ball quickly – but the confidence in attack didn’t instill belief in midfield and defense. When City moved forward, Liverpool panicked. Trent Alexander-Arnold hacked at two clearances and both Virgil van Dijk and Robertson miscued when trying to lift the ball out of their own third, thereby surrendering possession to City and letting them promptly build another attack. The lack of composure in defense was inviting pressure; an extra half-second on the ball to glance forward and pick out a pass to Salah or Jota could’ve kept the game in Liverpool’s favor.

Aston Villa’s surge continues

When Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard as manager in late October, Aston Villa’s immediate concern was simply avoiding relegation. At the time, they were only outside the drop zone via a tiebreaker with Wolves. Things were looking bleak. What a difference a quality manager can make. With Saturday’s 2-0 win at Chelsea – their fourth victory in five games – Villa sprung into the top half of the table, ahead of the free-spending Blues and just two points adrift of a European place. Emery, a seasoned tactician with a winning pedigree, has transformed the club since his arrival. Confidence is high, the team has a well-defined structure, and Ollie Watkins, who scored once again, is thriving. Just how high can Villa surge?

Lone bright spot for Chelsea

Chelsea’s garbled mess of a season continued with the defeat to Aston Villa, a result that dropped the Blues into the bottom half of the table. Finding any kind of consistency continues to be a struggle for Graham Potter’s men. Having N’Golo Kante back might help to rectify that somewhat. The Frenchman came off the bench for his first appearance under Potter after recovering from a serious hamstring injury that had sidelined him since August. The beloved midfielder looked like his energetic self, bursting forward with the ball, covering massive amounts of space, and popping up seemingly everywhere across the pitch. Chelsea’s league campaign is just about a write-off at this point, but Kante finding his groove again – and, of course, staying fit – would be a nice building block for Potter.

Podence escapes punishment … for now

Daniel Podence could face a retroactive ban after appearing to spit at Brennan Johnson in Wolves’ ill-tempered 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. The Portuguese winger avoided punishment on the pitch after a VAR check because the video assistant couldn’t clearly see any saliva during the altercation, according to the post-match broadcast. Whether that reasoning holds up against additional scrutiny from the Premier League remains to be seen. If Podence is penalized, his absence would be an enormous blow for a side battling to avoid relegation. The diminutive forward, who netted his team’s equalizer at the City Ground, is Wolves’ top scorer on the campaign with six goals. For a club that already struggles mightily to score – only Everton have fewer goals this season – losing Podence for any period of time down the stretch could be a death knell. And, worse yet, totally self-imposed.

Stat of the day

The Foxes can’t get the job done.

Tweet of the day

It’s just not happening for Mykhailo Mudryk at Chelsea so far.

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