Premier League Round-Up: Manchester United fuelled by Zlatan's own self-belief

Most important goal of the weekend… Zlatan Ibrahimovic

There are not many people who have the self-belief of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. As much as he does disappear occasionally, and fail to take as many of his chances as a man of his self-declared talent should do, he is never cowed. His arrogance is self-fulfilling. If he didn’t think he was the best, he would end up embarrassed by his occasional failures, and be worse for it. He is sustained by self-confidence as much as anything else.

Premier League Diary: Sky start making regions fight one another for glory

Say what you like about Sky Sports – within the bounds of libel laws and common decency, obviously, you filthy-mouthed animal – but they know how football works. They know where the buttons are; they know what makes the ordinary fan tick. To any other television company, this weekend’s Premier League scheduling might have been a curiosity, something to mention in passing. But Sky, bouncing from the success of Red Monday a few months ago, saw their chance to create a whole new institution from whole cloth:

Manchester City Fan View: Difficult week highlights unique pressure on Pep Guardiola

Manchester City gave their manager Pep Guardiola reason to smile again at the end of what has been the Spaniard’s most difficult week since moving to England in July. His side eased past West Ham in the FA Cup third round on Friday, ending their visit to The London Stadium with a 5-0 win; the performance was as impressive as the result and the manager was glowing afterwards.

It was a welcome change to the image he put out last week. Despite victory over Burnley at weekend, the boss gave a smattering of sulky interviews that earned him a great deal of criticism that filled column inches and radio phone-in’s for days. He was in the wrong, but the reaction was over the top.

 

Premier League: Manchester City only behind United in terms of titles - Pep

Pep Guardiola has stressed Manchester City are only behind Manchester United when it comes to silverware, and is adamant they have at least been on par with their arch-rivals in recent years.

 

Premier League: Manchester City's Fernandinho handed four-match ban

Fernandinho will serve a four-match ban after the Manchester City midfielder's red card during Monday's 2-1 Premier League win over Burnley was upheld by the Football Association (FA).