The big Man United problem Ruben Amorim MUST fix, Chelsea's £88m failure and why Premier League star's decline is sad to see - PREMIER LEAGUE THINGS WE LEARNED

With a title race that looks sewn up in February and a relegation battle that shows little to no fight from those trapped in the bottom three, the Premier League is grappling to find some jeopardy.

Runaway leaders Liverpool produced a statement win away to Manchester City, sweeping aside the reigning champions to go 11 points clear.

Elsewhere, Arsenal tied themselves in knots to lose at home to West Ham, Everton were left to rue letting a two-goal lead slip to draw with Manchester United, while Wolves picked up a crucial three points away to in-form Bournemouth.

Perhaps the jeopardy will come from the top four race.

Newcastle United landed a blow on Nottingham Forest's hopes after their thrilling 4-3 win at St James' Park, while Aston Villa's own push for the top four was boosted by a late come-from-behind win against Chelsea.

In the newest 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.

Mo Salah inspired Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Manchester City as they went 11 points clear

The Reds took full advantage of Arsenal's surprise 1-0 defeat by West Ham at the Emirates

Manuel Ugarte rescued a point for Manchester United as they drew 2-2 with Everton in a thriller

CHELSEA STUCK WITHOUT A RELIABLE GOALKEEPER

There are issues aplenty at Chelsea right now.

Cole Palmer's drop off in form has affected the entire team; a lack of reliable goalscoring has been made a thorn in their side all season; inexperience from the manager to the young group of players has come back to bite them.

But the biggest problem of all has been the mistakes between the sticks.

Until Chelsea settle on a top class goalkeeper that they can depend on they are going nowhere.

Enzo Maresca made his mind up on Robert Sanchez earlier in the season after he started out as the Blues' No 1.

Costly error after costly error saw Sanchez canned in favour of 22-year-old Filip Jorgensen, only for him to drop a clanger away to Aston Villa that cost Chelsea the game at Villa Park.

Jorgensen was questioned in the defeat to Brighton, too, and Maresca's comments post-Villa didn't take much reading between the lines on how he feels about the 'delicate' situation.

Filip Jorgensen's blunder in the 89th minute gifted Aston Villa a 2-1 victory over Chelsea

Jorgensen has been preferred of late to Robert Sanchez (pictured) after his high-profile errors

'The 'keeper position is a delicate one because the striker can miss the goal and sometimes it doesn't look so important but when a 'keeper makes a mistake, it's so clear and everyone can see that,' he said.

'This is a moment where we need to support each other, be strong and continue to work hard.

'I have a feeling in this moment that we need to win a game to go again. But now, the good thing in two or three days we have one more game at home and hopefully we can finally, with our fans in our stadium, try to get the three points and from there, start again and try to go again.'

The truth is, neither Sanchez or Jorgensen are going to help take Chelsea to the next level.

Sanchez has made five mistakes directly leading to goals this season and Jorgensen has conceded 18 goals during his 16 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions.

Chelsea have already spent £88million on goalkeepers and yet still find themselves with a worrying lack of reliability from a No 1.

In 2022 the Blues spent £12m to land Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire. In 2023 they went and spent £14m to get Djordje Petrovic, only to send him on loan to Strasbourg in Ligue 1 this season, as well as splash out £25m to get Robert Sanchez from Brighton.

A year later Jorgensen joined from Villarreal on a seven-year deal for £20.7m. And this upcoming summer teenager Mike Penders is arriving from Genk in a £17m deal.

Chelsea have already spent £88million on goalkeepers but still don't have a reliable No 1

Too many gambles for a club that want to get back to the very top.

Fail to get a dependable No 1 this summer and Chelsea will again finding themselves taking one step forwards and two steps back next season.

HALL AND SPENCE JOSTLING FOR ENGLAND JOB

It's funny. When Thomas Tuchel took the England job on it would have been left back, or left wing back if he plays a back three, that would have been one of his biggest concerns.

Luke Shaw's reliability has long been in question. Ben Chilwell is trying to rebuild his game away from Chelsea with Crystal Palace. Kieran Trippier can play on both sides but has already retired from international football.

And so the German will have found himself smiling at the form of both Lewis Hall and Djed Spence right now.

Both are among the form players in the league and both are jockeying to lock down the left-side role in Tuchel's upcoming England squad.

Hall was imperious against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Djed Spence is one of the league's form players as he continues to impress for Spurs

Lewis Hall (right) is also challenging for a place in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad

The 20-year-old had the most touches (93), won the most tackles won (5), made the most crosses (8), finished joint-first for most duels won (10) and most chances created (3), and to top it off he was awarded player of the match in the 4-3 win.

Hall endured a difficult afternoon against Manchester City recently but under Eddie Howe he has blossomed into a diamond at left back and he will certainly be firmly in Tuchel's sights.

The youngster made his senior debut for England as half-time substitute in the Three Lions' win over Greece back in November and now he's itching to add to his caps.

But Spence, 24, won't be pushed out of the equation too easily as his ascension with Tottenham continues to show no signs of slowing down the upward trajectory.

'I'M COMING FOR EVERYTHING,' the Spurs left back wrote after scoring in the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town over the weekend. That goes for the Europa League. Hall. England. The lot.

'A Kid who had the Wildest Dreams to play in the Premier League,' Spence wrote in a social post on Sunday.

'A kid who had the Wildest Dreams to Score in the Premier League. That Dream Came True Yesterday. NEVER stop Believing in Your Dreams & Trust in God.'

Hall had to be patient at Newcastle initially but Spence really has had to trust the process right until he made a long-awaited first start for Spurs in December.

Mixed loan spells at Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa allowed Spence to work on his craft and it is credit to him that he is now swirling in conversations to be Tuchel's go-to at left back.

'He's an outstanding player, I'm super pleased we've still got him in the building,' Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said over the weekend.

'It would have been super easy for him to be playing elsewhere.

'Again, I don't like talking about national team representation but fair to say in terms of full-backs in recent times, his form is as good as anybody's.

'Don't forget, he's not really a left back, he's a right back. The ability of him to play on the left is very useful but in terms of full-backs and form in the league over the last two or three months, I think he'd be up there.'

Add in 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly and Tuchel suddenly has an embarrassment of riches at left back by the time the 2026 World Cup comes around.

AMORIM'S UNITED MUST LEARN IT'S A GAME OF TWO HALVES

There are issues aplenty right now at Manchester United, this much is clear.

They struggle to score goals. Struggle to keep goals out. Look confused trying to play Ruben Amorim's football. And to top it off they often look tired compared to their rampant rivals.

Ruben Amorim has a multitude of problems at Man United, including failing to score in the first half of matches

Abdoulaye Doucoure put Everton 2-0 up in the first half on Saturday before United fought back

Bruno Fernandes inspired United's comeback as they stepped up their intensity after the break

But their weekend trip to Goodison Park underlined a worrying statistic that United only get going when the game restarts for the second half.

They found themselves 2-0 down at the break at the weekend, the 20th time United have failed to score in the first half in 26 league games this season. Damning.

'We didn't exist in the first half,' Amorim said.

'We lost balls that we cannot lose. At half-time I said we are going to do what we did in the week with more energy.

'We need to win the whole game. The worst part is that we are losing the ball without pressure and we are not doing what we need to do. We were soft.'

There was a clear shift in intensity for the second half, marked by the goals from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte that rescued a crucial point.

Teams have long stopped fearing United and know they can run up a lead on them and they won't be able to come back.

Simply put, this team isn't good enough to only turn up for 45 minutes of a 90-minute match.

FADING DE BRUYNE IS A TOUGH WATCH

Kevin De Bruyne is unquestionably one of the finest midfielders to ever grace the Premier League, few will dispute that.

Legitimate questions are being asked about Kevin De Bruyne's suitability at the top level

De Bruyne's fading ability was highlighted during City's 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool

But watching him against Liverpool was to see a performance laced with questions and tinged with sadness to see one of the greats fade before our eyes.

For De Bruyne is no longer the De Bruyne of old.

The Belgian is a six-time Premier League champion and yet now legitimate questions are being asked of his suitability at the top level, even as a rotational piece in Pep Guardiola's puzzle.

De Bruyne was far from the only problem in the defeat to Liverpool but for one of the league's most special talents, his influence is minimal and the magic he has so often conjured up seems to be evading him.

He will turn 34 just before his contract expires this summer and there is a big decision to make for all parties on whether a convenient divorce is in the offing.

Guardiola chose against turning to De Bruyne in the Champions League second-leg defeat to Real Madrid and he was the first to be hooked against Liverpool.

Speaking in the lead up to Liverpool about why players like De Bruyne are getting less pitch time, Guardiola said: 'Maybe for the demands, the way we now need to play because of the absences or strengths that we have and physicality and many things, we need a game of more control and not up and down.

'Don't tell me why. It's not personal, I decide the decisions, that's all, no more than that.'

De Bruyne was the first to be hooked by Pep Guardiola as his side were soundly beaten by title-chasing Liverpool

His legacy is cemented as one of the league's all-time greats… and that only makes watching his decline in real-time an even harder watch.

THE END IS NIGH FOR IVAN AND RUUD

Both thumped 4-0. Both appearing resigned to going down. It's all very bleak right now around Southampton and Leicester City.

And to make matters even worse, both are going to need to look for new managers come the final whistle on the season because neither Ivan Juric nor Ruud van Nistelrooy look capable of bringing either of these teams back up.

Let's start with Juric. He's overseen Southampton take three points from a possible 27 and he's taken them out of the FA Cup after a home defeat to lower league opposition in Burnley.

The Saints have lost eight out of nine games to the aggregate score of 25-8. They've conceded three or more goals in six of those eight defeats.

As Brighton picked them apart at St Mary's on Saturday to make it eight successive home defeats for the Saints, Juric could only watch on from his technical area as a shambolic display played out in front of him.

'Last year, I had 19 clean sheets. We are not good enough to defend the way that I am used to defending,' Juric, who was largely hired to make Southampton defensively resolute, moaned afterwards.

Ruud van Nistelrooy does not look capable of bringing Leicester back into the Premier League if they are relegated

Southampton have taken just three points from a possible 27 under manager Ivan Juric

'I changed everything to try to do other types of football. Things didn't go well. Now I have to find a way to compete better.'

And then there is Van Nistelrooy, the wildcard appointment that has blown up in Leicester City's face.

There is at least a chance that the Foxes could stay up - on nine points, Southampton look condemned - but the way they folded on Friday night against Brentford suggests their towel is all but thrown in.

Van Nistelrooy has had 13 Premier League games in the dugout and he's won seven points from a possible 39. Two wins and a draw is all he has to show for his work since packing his things as Manchester United's interim boss.

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In eight of his games in charge they have blanked in front of goal and that worrying trend was on full display on Friday night in a game whereby they mustered an Expected Goals (xG) of just 0.51.

The issue both clubs face - aside from preparing for life in the Championship - is that while their decisions to move on from Russell Martin (Southampton) and Steve Cooper (Leicester City) were correct at the time they were made, both would represent better fits for a Championship rebuild than the current incumbents.

Perhaps both managers will point to being handed bad hands and will insist they have a history of doing more with better quality players.

But the Championship is a meat grinder of a league and neither look the right fit to put their clubs back on an upwards trajectory. It feels like the end is nigh for the pair of them.