There’s never a dull moment in the Premier League. There were plenty of goals and even more drama across the games as the only winning streak in the league came to an end. Here, we look at some of the most interesting talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
The Seagulls are soaring
Brighton were 1-0 down after one minute against Leicester City and it was 2-2 at the break.
But the second half was all Brighton as they racked up three goals to record an emphatic 5-2 win over the Foxes. It was a convincing performance from Graham Potter’s side after the interval as they created chances worth 1.78 Expected Goals (xG) compared to Leicester’s 0.09.
Alexis Mac Allister was the star of the show. The versatile midfielder had a goal of the season contender ruled out for a fractional offside before converting from the spot and firing home a free-kick deep into injury time.
The 23-year-old was the highest rated player, with FotMob giving him a 9.2. He finished the game having completed 100% of his dribbles and recovering the ball on nine occasions.
Salah’s new role
Mohamed Salah has just two goals to his name this season. He drew a blank in Liverpool’s 9-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend and struggled to get into the 0-0 draw with Everton, though he could’ve won it late on when Jordan Pickford palmed his effort onto the post.
What was interesting, however, was that his Expected Assists total in the Merseyside derby was actually higher than his xG total. The Liverpool No.11 created three chances against Frank Lampard’s side and this has been a theme throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
No player has created more chances than Salah (24) and only one other player has created over 20 – Kevin De Bruyne. Despite this, he has just two assists to his name. He is being judged on goals when he is the man pulling the strings this season.
Big game Rashford
Marcus Rashford has now scored against Liverpool and Arsenal.
He netted a double against the table-topping Gunners and assisted Antony’s debut goal as Erik ten Hag’s team claimed a 3-1 over their rivals.
Rashford was tasked with leading the line, sandwiched between Jadon Sancho and Antony. The 24-year-old also created two chances to round off his best performance of the season for the Red Devils.
Remarkably, Rashford is now only one goal shy of his 2021/22 Premier League goals haul. He is on target to hit double figures for the fourth time in five campaigns.
Forest’s defensive struggles continue
Last week, we mentioned how Nottingham Forest have the worst defensive record in the Premier League in terms of Expected Goals Conceded and that they cannot keep giving up high-value opportunities if they are to extend their stay in the top flight.
The good news is they only allowed Bournemouth to create opportunities worth 0.78 xG. The bad news is they lost 3-2 having been 2-0 up at the break.
Steve Cooper’s side had more of the ball, more shots and better chances yet couldn’t convert it into a win. It is now the fourth successive match in which Forest have conceded two or more goals.
Age is just a number
Chelsea spent over £150million on defensive reinforcements this summer, signing Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana. All three started against West Ham United but it was a player the Blues signed on a free who impressed.
Thiago Silva, who turns 38 this month, put in a colossal performance as Thomas Tuchel’s side came from behind to claim an important 2-1 win.
He attempted 105 passes and found a teammate with 93% of them. He won 100% of his tackles, 83% of his ground duels and 67% of his aerial duels. Silva more than deserved his 8.5 FotMob rating.
(Images from IMAGO)
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