EURO FOOTBALL WRAP: Premier League race is on, Messi firing blanks and more

Liverpool and Chelsea have kept their identical Premier League records intact after another riveting weekend of English football. Liverpool have quietly gone about their business while much of the league’s oxygen has been sucked up by CR7. Konate looked remarkably assured alongside Van Djik, as Klopp’s men enjoyed the luxury of having a fully fit Joe Gomez and Joel Matip on the bench (if only they had this central defensive situation a year ago). Can the Reds keep up the pace this season? Anyone will agree that their first eleven can derail anyone in Europe. But how will they fair when Mane and Salah ship off to Afcon? Klopp will be hoping that Thiago’s apparent calf injury is less serious than originally suspected. The Spaniard has started to dominate the tempo of matches and is a vital cog in their full-throttle engine room.

Chelsea’s second-half rout of a hapless Spurs further underlined their status as Premier League favourites. They have navigated a tricky start to the campaign, remaining on top of the log despite away trips to Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal. Harry Kane cut a dejected figure as Nuno decided to utilize him in a deeper position off the left-hand side. Seriously, he was like Tom Hanks in Castaway out there. It was a bizarre move, especially without the running power of Lucas Moura. N’Golo Kante came on and completely altered the fabric of the match. The likes of Ndombele and Hojbjerg looked shattered as Kante gave us yet another iteration of his demented Energizer Bunny routine. Tuchel once again showed the importance of proactive management. He could see that the Spurs midfield was there for the taking and never waited for the 85th minute to do something about it (Ole could learn something from this). City dropped points at home while United were unconvincing at West Ham. You just get the feeling that the Reds and the Blues could be prepped for the long haul this season.