The final round of fixtures before the November international break were played out this weekend and there was plenty of talking points as both Manchester clubs came head-to-head once again.

Ole faces more questions after derby embarrassment (Man Utd 0 Man City 2)

Manchester United’s win last week against Spurs may end up being the worst thing to happen to them this season, as it seems to have given false hope to the fans that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the right man to carry them forward. The Norwegian is back to facing inquests after another disappointing display against their city rivals.

Manchester City have gained ground in the title race as a result of this victory, and now see themselves second in the table only behind Chelsea. Pep Guardiola’s team are back to winning ways after a shock defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend. It was men against boys in the first Manchester derby of the season. Man United were a shadow of how they played last week and City took full advantage and almost pitied their opponents by constantly strolling through the game and passing it around with no conviction from the United players.

Man Utd boss struggled to get the best out of his players against champions Man City

Dean Smith sacked as Villa lose again (Southampton 1 Villa 0)

Friday night’s defeat to Southampton was the final straw for Dean Smith and Aston Villa, it was announced on Sunday afternoon that he would be relieved of his duties after a fifth straight defeat.

Aston Villa see themselves hovering above the relegation zone and are only five points clear at the moment.

Southampton are starting to pull away from the relegation zone and now find themselves in 13th with 14 points, although there are worries that Ralph Hasemhuttl could leave the club with rumours that the Austrian is being looked at by Villa to replace Smith.

It was another uninspiring performance from Aston Villa and throughly deserved to lose on the south side. A fantastic strike from Adam Armstrong was enough for the the Saints to win the game.

Hammers win to move to 3rd (West Ham 3 Liverpool 2)

West Ham’s win over Liverpool has seen them move to third in the table and although it may be early on in the season, there’s a question as to whether they can keep this up all season and potentially challenge for a Champions League spot, and if they continue to play like they did on Sunday night, they will believe they can.

Liverpool are now down to fourth and are two matches in the league without a win. Question marks were raised by fans as left back Kostas Tsmikas was controversially dropped after a strong performance midweek. Liverpool never had control of the game with the midfield struggling to cope with the constant threat of the frontline of the hammers.

Two goals from corners continues West Ham’s impressive goal scoring form from them. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker will feel he could’ve saved all three goals but West Ham were fully deserving of their win.

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