Jose Mourinho can improve players as well as Pep Guardiola, plus Dominic Solanke's exit from Chelsea is justified - 10 things we learned this New Year

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Manchester City have managed to maintain their 15-point lead as well as their unbeaten status throughout a hectic festive period. 

Meanwhile, the race to beat the drop has twisted and turned as Crystal Palace and West Ham rose from the ashes while West Brom and Stoke nosedived.

RALPH ELLIS looks at 10 things we learned from the New Year fixtures up and down the country...

Pep Guardiola kept Manchester City well ahead of the pack over their frantic festive fixtures

1. Lingard form down to Mourinho

If Pep Guardiola gets credit – and rightly so – for the improvements in players like Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph then it’s time to give Jose Mourinho some kudos too for how Jesse Lingard has taken a leap forward. The 25-year-old has always been rated at Old Trafford as he’s come through their academy system but failed to show any real consistency.  

His goal at Everton, though, was his seventh in nine league games on a roll that began in the 4-2 win over Watford in November. During that time he’s scored a goal every 99 minutes on the pitch.

Jose Mourinho deserves credit for the rapid rise of Jesse Lingard under his stewardship

2. Stones picks up where he left off

John Stones has lost none of his quality on the ball during nearly two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. The England defender slotted happily back into the middle of Manchester City’s back four against Watford alongside Nicolas Otamendi as Pep Guardiola reunited the pairing that first got the club’s record winning run going earlier in the campaign. Stones played 74 passes in his 67 minutes on the pitch, failing to find a team-mate only three times.

John Stones has lost none of his quality on the ball during nearly two months out injured

3. Captain Noble returns just in time 

Mark Noble’s return from injury has come at just the right time for the West Ham skipper and fans to lead the team against Tottenham on Thursday night. The 30-year-old, out since he damaged a hamstring in the 3-0 win at Stoke last month, came on at half-time against West Brom and was one of the key reasons the Hammers came back to win. He won the ball back seven times in the second half – no other West Ham player made more recoveries in the full 90 minutes.

Mark Noble’s return from injury has come at just the right time for West Ham

4. Solanke justifies Chelsea exit 

Dominic Solanke’s first 90-minute appearance in the Premier League for Liverpool was hardly a roaring success with the young England striker having only one shot – off target – in the 2-1 win over Burnley. 

But from his point of view it confirmed his decision to walk out on Chelsea in the summer in search of regular football at a top club was the correct one. The 20-year-old has now made 17 appearances under Jurgen Klopp, which is 17 more than he got in three years as a professional at Stamford Bridge. 

Dominic Solanke’s first 90-minute appearance for Liverpool justified his move from Chelsea

5. Slimani is a sleeping giant

Islam Slimani’s club-record £30m move to Leicester can hardly be classed a success but somewhere there’s a player in there waiting to get out. The Algerian’s neat finish in the 3-0 win over Huddersfield meant he has five goals from the four matches he’s started this season, and now 11 in the 20 matches in all that he’s started since his arrival from Sporting in Portugal.

Islam Slimani has certainly shown he is capable of justifying his £30m transfer fee at Leicester

6. Darlow gives Benitez a headache

Karl Darlow has given Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez a decision to make when his first-choice goalkeeper Rob Elliot is fit again. The 27-year-old Darlow, who almost left to sign for Middlesbrough in the summer but was called back when a deal to take Adrian from West Ham fell through, made four saves to keep a clean sheet in the vital 1-0 win at Stoke. It was his second shutout in two games while Elliot nurses a thigh injury. Newcastle had not kept a clean sheet before that since October.

7. Madley's reluctant red cards 

You can’t blame Robert Madley that his linesman Marc Perry made such a poor decision failing to disallow Fernando Llorente’s goal against Swansea for offside – but he was clearly wrong not to show Davinson Sanchez a second yellow later in the game. 

Madley, the ref who angered West Ham by overruling his assistant to hand Bournemouth a late equaliser on Boxing Day, does seem reluctant to send anybody off in Premier League games. Of the five red cards he’s shown in 17 games this season, two were in the Man City v Everton game in August, two of them were in Championship fixtures and the other in the Community Shield.

Robert Madley was clearly wrong not to show Davinson Sanchez a second yellow card

8. Grealish the linchpin for Aston Villa

Jack Grealish could be a key weapon for Aston Villa in the second half of the season with Steve Bruce’s side now just five points away from the automatic promotion places. 

The local boy whose career went off the rails after he first broke through was excellent in the 5-0 win over Bristol City and crowned his display with a 70-yard dribble before playing a perfect pass to set up the third goal. 

Bruce had planned to build his system around the flair of the 22-year-old before he got a freak serious kidney injury in pre-season and will hope he can now return to his plan A.

Jack Grealish could be a key weapon for Aston Villa in the second half of the season

9. Adams given time to save himself

Credit to Plymouth for sticking by manager Derek Adams when they slumped to the bottom of League One in early October with just five points from 12 games. The 42-year-old, who guided the Pilgrims to promotion last season, has now turned things round and his side are sat in mid-table after taking 14 points from their last six games.

10. McNulty silences the boo boys

Marc McNulty has shown great character in ignoring his critics in Coventry’s crowd to bounce back with the goals that have put the Sky Blues in the League Two automatic promotion places. 

The 25-year-old, a free transfer from Sheffield United, was a target for the boo boys as he missed a host of chances in the early part of the season when he was also suffering from hamstring problems. But boss Mark Robins has stuck by him, and his winner against Chesterfield on Monday means he’s now got eight goals in his last nine games.