Things continue to go from bad to worse for Manchester United as they stumbled to a twelfth Premier League defeat of the season – and it’s still only mid-February.

Chelsea’s malaise shows no signs of slowing down either, while question marks are swirling around Nottingham Forest after they were taught a lesson away to Fulham.

Liverpool failed to register a shot in the second half of their nervy win over Wolves to maintain advantage in the title race.

Life at West Ham is perhaps bumpier than expected for boss Graham Potter, even if January recruit Evan Ferguson looks a shrewd bit of business for the weeks to come.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United were handed a pointed reminder that they can ill afford to take their eye off the ball before next month’s Carabao Cup final if they are serious about the top four after a hammering at the hands of hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush and Manchester City.

In the newest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League’s latest round of matches.

BETO LOOKS UNRECOGNISABLE

For a long while Everton were horrible to watch.

They struggled to create any chances, in turn not scoring goals, and often found themselves on the end of shellackings at the hands of more impressive opponents.

But so much has changed under David Moyes and not least the performances of Beto in attack.

Moyes held individual meetings with every player when he arrived to replace Sean Dyche, partly to learn what makes them tick and to work out what he needs to do to do that.

It was August 2023 when Everton signed Beto from Udinese in a deal worth up to £30million.

What followed was a 2023-24 campaign in which he scored just three Premier League goals from 30 games and just one this season before Sean Dyche was sacked.

But under Moyes the 6ft4’ striker looks completely transformed; he now looks like a striker with an edge to his game and a fearlessness that is translating into goals.

Against Crystal Palace on Saturday night – in which he scored the opening goal – Beto became the first Everton player since Opta began collecting data to score, win 10+ aerial duels (13), win 15+ duels overall (18) and have more than 50 touches of the ball (56) in a Premier League match.

The striker has scored four goals in his last three league outings after bagging against Palace

He was deservedly awarded Man of the Match as his influence, not just against Palace, continues to grow larger.

‘I’m playing with more confidence, more joy,’ Beto said over the weekend.

‘We are playing better football and you can see the team is confident playing good football. It means a lot [for the fans to sing my name].

‘I needed to keep working on myself and keep improving. Maybe I wasn’t playing because I wasn’t fit, with the best confidence, but now I’m getting my confidence and I’m really happy to hear the fans singing my name. It’s amazing.’

With four goals in his last three games, Moyes has found a formula that allows Beto to turn his relentless work-rate into goals, and ultimately, points.

Clubs in the bottom half of the Premier League table are scrambling for reliable goalscoring but that is the least of Everton’s concerns.

Everton manager David Moyes has continued to turn around the side’s form since his return

TITLE BID MAY HINGE ON MERINO

At least Beto has been a striker all his career and was just looking for some jump cables to get started. For Mikel Merino it’s a case of learning a brand new role on the fly – and how badly Arsenal need him to be a fast learner.

The first exam, away to Leicester, he passed with flying colours with a late brace keeping their title bid alive to put some pressure on Liverpool, who answered the call 24 hours later by beating Wolves.

But having joined in the summer as a central midfielder and having never played in the striker position before, the Merino centre forward experiment was always going to be a fascinating one.

Arsenal are severely depleted and in truth they lacked any sort of goal threat with Leandro Trossard through the middle. Neither Kai Havertz nor Gabriel Jesus are a reliable source of goals but they at least understand the nuances of the No 9 position. Both are out injured.

The Gunners were always playing with fire by not signing a striker in January – their late bids for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins always felt a long shot after Villa let Jhon Duran head to Al-Nassr – and so if they are to go on to win the Premier League title from here, it’s going to take something quirky like Merino as centre forward to get them there.

‘Arteta told me I was going to come in as a striker,’ Merino told TNT Sports of his surprise at being played as the focal point in attack versus the Foxes.

‘We were talking this morning about it with one of the assistants and honestly it was a surprise.

‘It’s the first time in my career I’ve played in that position. But he told me to go as a striker, make sure I go with my strengths. Luckily, I could help the team with two goals!’

The holding midfielder was moved up-front amid Arsenal’s injury crisis and helped seal the win

Merino scored eight goals for Real Sociedad last season and only has 40 to his name throughout his career.

He isn’t convinced this is a solution that is here to stay but given the tools at Arsenal’s disposal he may need to get used to it.

‘I don’t know,’ he added when asked if he could see out the season as a striker.

‘I don’t think so to be honest! I’ve only scored two braces in my career, this is the first time I’ve done it coming off the bench as a striker.’

Arteta knows he is light on options and so now it is a test of his man-management to convince a central midfielder that he can be the man to fire them to their first league title since 2003-04.

‘He’s a real goal threat,’ Arteta said after the Leicester win.

‘Mikel has never played as a nine. But he has that timing, and he can smell danger, anticipate danger. And then he can execute it.

‘It was a lot of debate. I didn’t want to drive him crazy. I said to him this morning that he might play there, we believe he could sit there if the game needed the context. He won the game for us!’

Doing it against Leicester, who in all likelihood are going to end up relegated back to the Championship, is one thing. The real examination comes when Merino is asked to pull a rabbit out the hat game after game.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insisted that Merino can be ‘a real goal threat’ for the Gunners

JURIC HAS DECISION TO MAKE ON DIBLING

There is a lot going wrong at Southampton and they may well get relegated by propping up the Premier League table this season.

But they are all but throwing in the towel if Tyler Dibling is reduced to a cameo role between now and the season finale.

Ivan Juric was asked after the defeat to Bournemouth why Dibling, his best attacker even at 18, started on the bench. His verdict? He felt he could influence the game by coming off the bench late.

Juric’s appointment has not had the desired effect since he came in to try and salvage the season after Russell Martin.

And taking Dibling out of the side, even if they won with him on the bench away to Ipswich Town, is his latest in a series of blunders.

‘I don’t know how he’s not playing. I don’t know why,’ former Watford striker Troy Deeney said on talkSPORT.

‘It’s clearly got to be something tactical where the manager feels he does not add enough going the opposite way. But they’ve got nothing going forward without him.’

Southampton starlet Tyler Dibling has been reduced to a cameo role for the side recently

Saints boss Ivan Juric has to make a decision over the youngster’s playing time

Juric is reluctant to overload the teenager and previously explained he needs to improve in a number of areas.

‘I think it’s a process, nothing happens in one week or two weeks but he will be great,’ Juric said of Dibling prior to the Bournemouth defeat.

Only time is of the essence for Juric and as selfless as he may think he is being for Dibling’s long-term development, he won’t be around to see the fruits of his labour if he can’t keep Southampton up.

Playing Dibling gives him the best chance of doing that. It’s decision time for Juric.

AMORIM IS GOING TO HAVE TO TRUST THE KIDS

When all was said and done at Tottenham it was only 17-year-old Chido Obi that saw any action – even if he didn’t get a touch of the ball.

But Ruben Amorim is going to have to turn to youth and try to harness their fearlessness to inject some life into this miserable season.

Having watched a number of the club’s U18 and U21 games this season you could certainly make the argument that as good as many of these players are, they aren’t ready to step up as first team regulars.

Yet, this United side is lacking legs, energy, verve, you choose a word, they lack it.

Youngsters like 19-year-old midfielders Jack Moorhouse and Sekou Kone can provide that, so to can 17-year-old Jack Fletcher.

With Kobbie Mainoo out for six weeks, Amad Diallo out for the remainder of the season and the list of players in the treatment room growing by the day, Amorim may be left with no choice but to turn to the rookies.

But the message should be: don’t be afraid to use the kids.

United are currently suffering through an injury crisis – with 12 first-team stars sidelined

Chido Obi was the only substitute used by Ruben Amorim during their defeat by Tottenham

Manchester United have seen in the past how some of their finest young stars just needed a chance to explode on the big stage.

United won’t go down due to the poor nature of those below them but turning to youth will actually allow all involved to learn a lot heading into next season.

There’s no time like the present to see just how ready some of these rising stars actually are.

EDERSON IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

Finally, it was a lovely touch to see Ederson gift his son the history-making shirt that saw him go clear as the Premier League assists leader for goalkeepers.

‘With this one I made history with 6 Premier League assists,’ the message on the shirt said.

When a long goal-kick lands at the feet of a striker to finish many will say it is a fluke, but with Ederson it cannot be the case.

He has long felt like an additional outfield player at Pep Guardiola’s disposal and as well as getting to the half dozen mark, he also becomes the first goalkeeper to register three assists in one Premier League season.

It all feels very natural for Ederson and while they don’t all come off it feels like he is one of one in terms of having trained to get assists for his forwards.

One of one.