Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend

It looks like Kyrgiakos is Liverpool's weak link (but he isn't really)

Liverpool's failure to win made Sotirios Kyrgiakos look rather bad. After all, with a Daniel Agger-Martin Skrtel centre-back partnership Liverpool ended the first half 1-0 up having been extremely dominant, yet within seven minutes of the Greek replacing Agger, Everton were leading.

Kyrgiakos may have been at least partially responsible for this. He wasn't marking Sylvain Distin when his header brought Everton's equaliser (surely an own goal from Glenn Johnson, by the way – the ball definitely hadn't crossed the line before the full-back headed it on to the inside of the post), but he was lumbering around inconsequentially in the build-up to the visitors' second goal. And his lack of pace may have contributed to the fact that Liverpool's defence, which had held a high line in the first half, retreated some 25 yards for most of the second.

But perhaps the most telling tactical change was Everton's. In the second half their key tactic was to harass Liverpool's 20-year-old right-back Martin Kelly with a barrage of high balls. In the first half there was no clear pattern to Tim Howard's clearances. In the second only one was sent to the right side of the pitch, while 15 went long and left. Their second goal was the most eye-catching result – a long ball isolated Kelly against Victor Anichebe, who won the knock-on and five seconds later Jermaine Beckford put his side in front.

If Manchester City stop bickering they can keep winning

Though Manchester City top the table, there was only limited pleasure to be taken from Saturday's victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. It wasn't just that they roared into a comfortable 4-1 lead against relegation candidates only to end up clinging grimly on to a slender 4-3 advantage, it's that they were outplayed for long periods of the game. Had Matt Jarvis found the back of the net rather than the chest of a defender with his first-half effort, things might have been very different.

But it was still a massive improvement on the last meeting of these sides, when City's season was listing dangerously towards a crisis. Wolves won 2-1, their only victory in a run of 10 games, City slipped to fourth, eight points behind Chelsea, and Vincent Kompany argued on the pitch with Emmanuel Adebayor. These days City are seven points above Chelsea and largely managing to confine their fisticuffs to the training ground.

Wolves, meanwhile, have had a fairly encouraging recent run and will surely be one of the Premier League's better relegated teams if that is to be their fate. The good news is the imminent return of Jody Craddock and Karl Henry after absences of 16 and nine matches respectively – both played in a training-ground friendly against Leicester last week – could help them avoid it. With Craddock strengthening the defence, Henry protecting it from midfield and the attack in decent form, they should be all set. It is one of this season's great mysteries that Wolves, despite being pretty impressive, have won only a point more than the abject West Ham. Talking of whom ...

West Ham can relax – Bridge has arrived!

It is with a heavy heart that I write these words. There is not pleasure to be had in kicking an easy target, though given that in this instance that target is being paid £90,000 a week I can console myself with the knowledge that, if he's really miserable, he can just buy a couple of new cars and a methuselah of Cristal and everything will be OK. However, I feel there is no choice but to mention poor, forlorn Wayne Bridge. I must admit that I have never been convinced by Bridge, who since leaving Southampton at the age of 22 has spent most of his career in decent teams, where the job of a left-back is not the most high-profile and is made easier by the standard of the players around him. On Saturday he was thrown into a West Ham team low on quality, confidence and organisation and found himself horribly exposed. It may not, I fear, be the last time. He may soon be looking forward to the moment that Saturdays are no more than the band his girlfriend's in, rather than the day of the week when he gets ritually humiliated.

Don't read too much into a gift

Much was made of Grant's decision to throw his West Ham scarf to a fan at the end of the match, as if this was some kind of farewell, tacit confirmation of rumours that Martin O'Neill was poised in the car park ready to move into the Israeli's office. Puzzling, though, given that Grant did exactly the same after the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Barnsley the previous week. I've no idea if he does it after every game (if it's cold enough for him to be wearing one in the first place), but clearly he does it often enough for nobody to get excited about it.

Something has to be done to keep players and fans apart

Attention will focus on the young fan who pushed over Steve Harper after Sunderland's equaliser yesterday, but I don't see any great difference between him and the supporter who was pictured leaping into Anton Ferdinand's arms to celebrate the same goal, or the one who ran on the pitch to taunt José Reina after Liverpool lost at Blackpool last week, or the one who hugged Ryan Giggs at Old Trafford after United's first goal, also against Liverpool, a few days earlier, or any number of similar incidents. Somehow, fans and players can't keep their hands off each other. Players get booked if they celebrate with fans, and fans get thrown out of the ground and banned for a bit if they celebrate with players, but still they just can't restrain themselves. So, what to do?

Though there's a chance that we'll reach a point where every fan who is inclined to run on to the pitch has already done so, and is therefore banned, so nobody does it any more, clearly the current punishments are insufficient.

Perhaps players should also get thrown out of the ground and banned for a bit. Perhaps fans should be ceremonially flogged in the centre circle at the final whistle. Failing that, some kind of barrier needs to be erected between pitch and stand. Clearly fences are out, but perhaps a small but fairly deep hedge would be enough to put people off, or a flower bed with something prickly growing in it, like roses, or cacti.

It's easy to be lighthearted about this issue, but as things stand something serious might happen at any moment, and action should probably be taken beforehand. "Something serious" doesn't necessarily mean a crazy machete-wielding supporter attacking a highly-prized professional, but could be something relatively innocent, like a young fan getting seriously hurt as older, bigger ones fling themselves forward to embrace a striker who has run into the crowd in celebration. The kind of nearly-serious incident we saw yesterday could provoke a response – so topiarists of the world prepare, your football club might soon need you.