Three Premier League talking points

Mohamed Salah underlined his value to Liverpool with a masterclass as the Premier League leaders crushed Tottenham.

Ruben Amorim got a painful reminder of the size of the task facing him to rebuild Manchester United, while Manchester City's crisis is mounting.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the weekend's action:

LIVERPOOL MUST TIE UP PEERLESS SALAH

Mohamed Salah was already winning the public relations battle in his contract wrangle with Liverpool and the Egypt star's show-stopping performance in Sunday's 6-3 win at Tottenham provided further evidence that the club's powerbrokers risk a major backlash from fans if they let him leave.

Salah scored twice and provided two assists in the goal-spree in north London as Liverpool moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The 32-year-old is the first Premier League player to bag at least 10 goals and 10 assists before Christmas, while his brace also took him into fourth place on Liverpool's all-time list of scorers with 229 in all competitions.

Salah's immense value to Arne Slot's team is clear, but Liverpool have been unable to persuade the forward to sign a new contract as speculation mounts about his future.

With Salah's current deal expiring at the end of this season, he will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from January, leaving Liverpool fans hoping he is finally persuaded to extend his seven-year stay sooner rather than later.

AMORIM TAKES BLAME FOR UNITED WOE

Ruben Amorim took responsibility for Manchester United's humiliating 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth as he conceded everything is "so hard" for his troubled club.

Just seven days after their memorable comeback win at Manchester City, Amorim's side were booed off following a woeful performance that leaves them languishing in 13th place.

United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1989 as Amorim comes to terms with a fourth defeat in his nine games in all competitions since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag.

Once again, set-pieces were United's weakness, with Dean Huijsen scoring with a first-half header from a free-kick to start the shocking collapse.

"Without conceding nothing to the opponent and then one set-piece makes us more nervous, all the stadium," Amorim said.

"I felt it since the first minute, there's a lot of anxiety. That's normal because of the context and it's really disappointing."

Hampered by his leaky defence, Amorim knows United are in a "difficult moment" ahead of the Boxing Day trip to lowly Wolves.

So it was fitting that Amorim was in the middle of telling reporters that it was "my responsibility to coach the players" when his press conference was interrupted by a leak from the media room ceiling.

SLUMPING MAN CITY MUST 'STICK TOGETHER'

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis urged his crisis-torn side to "stick together" after their sixth Premier League defeat of the season against Aston Villa.

City's 2-1 loss at Villa Park left the reeling champions with nine defeats in their last 12 matches in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola's men have already lost twice as many league games this term as they did throughout the whole of last season on their way to winning a fourth successive title.

City have only managed one clean-sheet in their last 10 games in all competitions, exposing the root of their problems.

Lewis, 20, hopes the experienced figures in City's squad can help turn the tide, but he acknowledged they must not let the slump cause rifts in the dressing room.

"There's leaders in the dressing room. They can speak, everyone listens and everyone agrees," he said.

"But when it comes down to it, it's not what is said in the changing room, it's what we're doing on the pitch. That's what needs to be solved.

"Nobody is going onto the pitch saying 'I'm not doing that', or 'I don't want to win'. It's difficult right now but we have to stick together."