🔬 The Debrief as Spurs fall again and Man Utd bank huge three-point haul | OneFootball

Premier League action returned on Sunday once again after Saturday's entertainment, with much of the bottom half of the table looking for big point hauls around the grounds.

Here's how all the action went down across the English top flight.

What happened? 📝

Brentford got back to winning ways after banking a 2-1 away win against fellow London side Crystal Palace after a raucous 45 minutes after the halftime interval. Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade were enough for Thomas Franks' Bees to hold on to all three points despite a late strike from Premier League debutant Romain Esse had cut the deficit in half.

Tottenham continue to languish in the doldrums after succumbing to a 2-1 defeat against visiting Leicester City. A Richarlison goal in the 33rd minute offered hope for Spurs on the day, but Ruud van Nistelrooy's Foxes stormed back just after the break with two goals in four minutes from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss to complete the rescue operation in the capital.

Unai Emery's Aston Villa missed another opportunity to once again close the distance to the top four after a 1-1 draw at home against West Ham. Jacob Ramsey's early 8th-minute strike was ultimately canceled out by Emerson in the final 20 minutes of action at Villa Park, gifting Graham Potter points for the second time in the early days of his tenure with the Hammers.

There is nothing wrong with winning ugly, or boring, and in Manchester United's case, Ruben Amorim will take three points all day long after the Red Devils scraped a 1-0 win away against Fulham at Craven Cottage. A heavily deflected goal by Lisandro Martínez was the difference along the Thames as United managed just a single shot on frame. They will surely take it.

Player of the Day 🔥

Leicester captain and talisman Jamie Vardy continues to stare time in the face across his lengthy career after netting the equaliser against Tottenham while inspiring a comeback win for Van Nistelrooy's men.

Not only is the 37-year-old now one of the oldest players in Premier League history to chip in 10+ goal involvements across a season, but he now sits just two goals away from the 200 career mark. A legendary Fox indeed.

Stat of the Day 📊

Though West Ham could only muster a draw during their away day at Villa Park, Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus once again was a menace when running at his man.

The former Ajax starlet registered six dribbles before coming off in stoppage time, and in doing so, he now sits atop Europe's top-five leagues for five or more completed dribbles in a single match since the start of last season; six more than Manchester City's Jérémy Doku. What an underrated elite talent.

What this means

Both Palace and Brentford remain in the bottom half of the table after the Bees took all three points in their short jaunt across London, but Frank's men now sit only three points off Brighton and Fulham.

Leicester are officially out of the bottom three for the time being after their massive away win, enjoying a one-point advantage over Wolves and Ipswich. Spurs' horrendous run of form continues as they reside in 15th, with the immediate season objective surely now being to simply finish in the top half.

West Ham increased their cushion from the bottom to 11 points after their away draw, with Villa's continued undefeated run good enough to place them on the outskirts of the European places.

After a first league win across their last five attempts. Man United climbs up to 12th in the table, and just four points off Fulham as they look to break back into the top half of the table. Fulham, for now, remain in tenth and just one point behind Brighton.

What they said 🗣

Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy hailed his team's comeback performance as the former Dutch international continues to bed into life at the KP Stadium. “The performance was excellent, the shape and the way the players were defending together,” he said.

“On the ball, we tried to play like we always try. We went behind but the way the team reacted to going 1-0 down, they took the ball and started to play. At half time they were calm and the way they came out of the dressing room was tremendous. I think that won us the game in the end."

Ange Postecoglou took a realistic stance on his future at the club after Spurs once again slumped. With the Australian being quizzed on his immediate future, he responded with “Who knows? I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no."

“When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that. My role within that is to try and support these players."

New Hammers headmaster Graham Potter was in good spirits after his credible point away from home. "We just got caught in a couple of actions early on and then we had to suffer a little bit, but from then on I thought we were really, really good," he said.

"The reaction to their goal was great, we pushed and pushed second half, created some really good chances, played with personality, played with effort, so it was really good."

Ruben Amorim showed his gratitude for Man United supporters during their win over Fulham, stating "The fans deserve it. It’s amazing."

"It’s not normal," he continued. "I know you guys are used to this environment, but it’s not normal. Congratulations to our fans. It’s a big privilege to work for this club and give them wins. We want to give them wins, today we did it. But we need to improve a lot and we are going to do that.”

What's next? 👀

League action returns on 1 February for Matchday 24, highlighted by two massively entertaining fixtures - on paper - as Liverpool visits Bournemouth, and Arsenal hosts a resurgent Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest host Brighton, Leicester travel to Everton, relegation-candidates Ipswich and Southampton lock horns, Fulham heads north to face Newcastle, and Wolves welcome Aston Villa to round out Saturday's action.

Sunday sees Manchester United hosting Crystal Palace at Old Trafford after Brentford and Tottenham meet in a capital clash, with action closing out on Monday with another London Derby featuring Chelsea and West Ham.

📸 Alex Pantling - 2025 Getty Images