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Paul Pogba is turning on the style for Manchester United

Five things we learned from the weekend

Manchester United star man Paul Pogba
Manchester United star man Paul PogbaCredit: Michael Regan

1 United's star man out to prove a point
Paul Pogba scored twice and was heavily involved in everything Manchester United did well in the easy 4-1 win over Bournemouth as he continues to prove a point after being dropped by previous manager Jose Mourinho.

Pogba, a World Cup winner with France and one of the best players on the planet when he is in the mood, rarely showed his best under Mourinho, but it could be a different story for interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Playing in his favourite position in a team being given freedom to express themselves should see Pogba excel and he certainly has no more excuses.

2 Reds thriving out in front
Premier League leaders Liverpool have played two matches since Christmas, scoring nine goals and conceding just one, to show they are enjoying being out in front at the top of the table.

The 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal on Saturday was as emphatic as the score suggests with Jurgen Klopp's men forcing ten shots on target to Arsenal's two and all facets of the side look in great nick.

Liverpool's famous three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were all on target at Anfield in the perfect warm-up for Thursday's crunch visit to the Etihad.

3 Wolves suited to the tougher challenges
There were wild scenes of celebration as Nuno continually punched the air with delight towards the Wolves supporters after their win at Wembley, coming from behind to beat Tottenham 3-1.

However, these victories could become much more of the norm with Wolves ideally suited to playing against England's elite.

Wanderers had struggled just a few days earlier to scrape a 1-1 draw at Fulham and yet on their return to London it was a different story with Nuno's outfit getting the better of Spurs.

Wolves have 29 Premier League points and nine of those have come against the big six with wins over Tottenham and Chelsea as well as draws against Manchester City, Arsenal and United.

4 Bowen buy would be a smart move
December is always a good time to hit form if you are a player potentially aiming for a move when the transfer window opens and Jarrod Bowen appears to have hit a hot streak at the right moment.

Bowen's double in Hull's 2-0 win at Leeds was the third time this month that he had bagged a brace, making it ten goals in this season's Sky Bet Championship to go with his 15 from last term.

Leeds have been linked with the wide player, although it appears Spurs are at the front of the queue to sign in the 22-year-old in January with Tigers boss Nigel Adkins saying: "He’s a young English player who’s exciting and has got flair.

"We're not looking to sell. The owners have said we don’t need to. However, we all know what football can be like.

5 There's a title race on in Scotland
The betting would suggest Celtic will eventually stroll to the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership title, but the 1-5 favourites are not exactly playing like good things after being joined at the summit by Rangers, who won the Old Firm contest 1-0 at Ibrox on Saturday.

Rangers have played a game more but should take bundles of confidence from the victory given they had struggled to land a glove on the champions in the first derby of the season.

This was different - Rangers won the shots on target count 7-1 - and the result also saw Aberdeen and Kilmarnock narrow the gap.

Kilmarnock's rise has been nothing short of sensational with Steve Clarke surely doing one of the best jobs in British football. Killie have gained more points than any other Premiership side in 2018 and go into the winter break just one point off the Glasgow giants.


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