Five things we learned from the weekend's football including Premier League

1 Underdog tag suits Manchester United's style of play

Manchester United came minutes away from inflicting a first league defeat since January on Liverpool and, although the draw may feel like a loss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be proud of his side's defensive performance.

The Red Devils were the better team in the first half and deserved to take the lead through Marcus Rashford after 36 minutes.

They looked happy to soak up pressure, see only 32 per cent of the ball and hit Liverpool on the break with Rashford and Daniel James deployed as a wide front two.

With a back five and pace in the final third, they look at their best when adopting a counter-attacking approach but the situation may be different when they are expected to win and dominate possession away to Norwich next weekend.

2 Manchester City may have found defensive solution

Pep Guardiola is renowned for transforming industrious defensive midfielders into centre backs - he did exactly that with Javi Martinez at Bayern Munich and Javier Mascherano at Barcelona - but he went one step further in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

John Stones came on from the bench but was not fit enough to start the game at Selhurst Park while Aymeric Laporte remains sidelined, so Guardiola had to field a makeshift rearguard.

The partnership of Rodri and Fernandinho looked effective - both are perfectly suited to playing out from the back and have the pace and physicality to adjust to a deeper role.

City may soon have Stones fully available but the performances of their midfielders at the back provides food for thought.

3 The importance of Youri Tielemans cannot be overstated

No Leicester midfielder has clocked up more minutes this season than Tielemans (803) and his decisive goal in the 2-1 win over Burnley only emphasised his importance for the Foxes.

The Belgian was named man of the match after making three key passes and mustering three shots and is the bedrock around which Brendan Rodgers appears to be building a brilliant team.

At 22, he has age on his side and is a crucial cog in a Leicester unit who are no bigger than 8-11 to break into the Premier League's top six this season.

4 Borussia Dortmund can be solid as well as explosive

Both teams to score has become a popular punt in Borussia Dortmund games in the Bundesliga this season - it has clicked in six of their eight league assignments - but on Saturday they showed a rare glimpse of defensive resolve.

Hosting table-toppers Borussia Monchengladbach and with Jadon Sancho serving a club suspension after arriving back late from England duty, Lucien Favre's men needed to make the most of home advantage and narrow the gap at the top.

They did exactly that with a 1-0 win thanks to a Marco Reus strike and were happy to soak up pressure, conceding 14 shots but allowing only three on target, rather than pressing for more goals.

Utilising three defensive midfielders in one game in the form of Julian Weigl, Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney is a tactic they should look to adopt against stronger opponents in future.

5 Crewe have spirit required to fight for promotion in Sky Bet League Two

Crewe were among the best sides in Sky Bet League Two last season but could only finish 12th. This campaign they are in serious contention for promotion.

They only earned maximum points by virtue of 90th and 94th-minute strikes from Chris Porter against Swindon on Saturday but they were a cut above their opponents, amassing 64 per cent possession and winning the shot count 21-3.

They finally look capable of translating good performances into points and David Artell has a determined and hungry group at his disposal.

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