Chelsea in the title conversation and same old Manchester United - Five Premier League talking points from Matchday 15
Is there a new name in the title picture? Chelsea's dramatic turnaround at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means they are now the closest team to league leaders Liverpool after the Merseyside derby fell victim to the weather.
With Arsenal and Manchester City dropping points once again, the title race continues to be an intriguing and surprising one in 2024-25.
DAZN News looks at the biggest talking points up and down the league from Matchday 15.
Chelsea join the party
With Liverpool out of action thanks to Storm Darragh, Chelsea closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just four points in their dramatic win over Spurs. All of a sudden, Enzo Maresca's men are the closest challengers to the Reds, even if the Chelsea boss has played down any title talk this early. But are the Blues really title contenders?
Critics will claim that Chelsea don't have a backline or goalkeeper to become champions, but any team with Cole Palmer and the form that Ezno Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson are in should be in the conversation. At the very least, it should be noted what a job Maresca has done at Stamford Bridge, and how quickly he's found a team and system that is firing on all cylinders.
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'Classic' Spurs
The thrashing of Manchester City feels like a long time ago now. Since then, Spurs have failed to beat Fulham and Bournemouth and then imploded against Chelsea despite going 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes of the game.
The defeat, and the manner of it, has once again put the spotlight on Ange Postecoglou, who looks to be under pressure and in danger of being the next manager in the firing line. His stubbornness to change Spurs style when needed makes it feel like the team have gone backwards, and it's hard to see what the club can achieve this season, given how inconsistent they are.
A few more below-par performances or implosions like Sunday and Spurs could be back to square one, while the Australian may even be out of a job.
Read next I Tales from the National League: How Kelvin Davis made the right call by taking the reins at Eastleigh
Man United back to misery
The honeymoon is well and truly over for Manchester United and Ruben Amirom without it ever really getting started. Four games into his tenure at Old Trafford, the Portuguese can see the work he has to do on the pitch, while the ongoing power struggles continue behind the scenes with Dan Ashworh's departure just five months into the role.
Their 3-2 home defeat to Nottingham Forest - Forest's first win at Old Trafford since the halcyon days of Bryan Roy and Steve Stone - echoed some of the defensive displays seen under Erik ten Hag and was a performance that would have brought the manager back to down to earth. This is a big job, but at least he knows it now. Time is what he needs. Let's see how much he gets to change things around.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud awakening
United's previous interim boss is, however, enjoying his start to life at Leicester after they salvaged an unlikely point on Saturday afternoon. Van Nistelrooy notched up a win over West Ham in his first game as Foxes boss and followed that up with a late, late show against Brighton.
Leicester were 2-0 down heading into the 86th minute but managed to rescue a point through Jamie Vardy's goal and assist to earn a vital point. More magic like that from the former United legend, and he could yet pull off a survival act at the King Power.
Suffolk heartache
The wait for Ipswich's first home league win goes on. The Tractor boys and their fans haven't seen a top-flight victory for 22 years at Portman Road, and this weekend, the chance was snatched away from them at the very last second with Bournemouth's late equaliser and injury-time winner.
Punishment, in the end, for failing to find a second goal that may have got them over the line. Kieran McKenn's team need to learn these lessons quickly, or it could be too late to salvage.
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