It was a weekend of controversy as multiple unbeaten starts to the Premier League campaign came to an end and there were a number of shock results. We’re going to do our best to round up the biggest talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
A rampant Villa make a statement
Heading into this game, Aston Villa’s form had been patchy. Unai Emery’s men had lost to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League and Everton in the Carabao Cup but sandwiched between those losses was a win away at Stamford Bridge.
Brighton made the trip to Villa Park having lost to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup in mid-week. Roberto De Zerbi, once again, made sweeping changes to his starting XI and it really didn’t pay off.
Ollie Watkins scored twice in the opening 21 minutes before Pervis Estupiñán put the ball into the back of his own net five minutes later.
Ansu Fati reduced the deficit just after the half-time break before Watkins claimed his hat-trick. Jacob Ramsey added a fifth before Douglas Luiz scored Villa’s sixth. Watkins also claimed an assist (and a fantasy assist!) to complete a stunning performance. The win saw the hosts leapfrog the visitors in the table courtesy of goal difference.
A false dawn for Everton
The Toffees had won consecutive matches and it appeared their season was finally getting started.
They hosted an unfancied Luton Town team at Goodison Park but found themselves 2-0 down after 31 minutes. The away side scored two goals in the space of seven minutes to stun the home crowd with Tom Lockyer and Clayton Morris getting on the scoresheet.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored just before the break but Everton couldn’t find an equaliser despite having significantly more shots (23 to nine), creating six big chances to three and finishing with an Expected Goals total of 2.9. For context, Luton managed to create chances worth 0.89.
Rob Edwards’ side are now level on points with Everton and are outside of the relegation zone with a game in hand.
The Eagles get their revenge
Earlier in the week, Manchester United put in a dominant showing against Crystal Palace to knock the Eagles out of the Carabao Cup. Erik Ten Hag named a weakened XI for that game and the expectation was this stronger side would be even more dominant.
United did have more of the ball (77%) and more shots (19 to eight) but they lost 1-0 to a stunning Joachim Andersen volley. The centre-back put in a dominant showing at the back too, winning six of his seven duels.
Palace are now above United in the Premier League table. The Red Devils have lost four of their opening seven matches in the English top-flight.
Wolves show their teeth
As mentioned in the Weekend Preview, this should’ve been a formality for Manchester City. They were coming up against a struggling Wolves side and everyone just assumed the champions would extend their 100% start to the season.
Gary O’Neil’s side had other ideas and claimed a shock 2-1 win. Pedro Neto continued his fine form, forcing Ruben Dias into scoring an own goal after a powerful run down the City left.
Julián Álvarez, again, pulled something special out of the bag to get City level but the treble winners could only keep things level for eight minutes before Hee-Chan Hwang put the hosts back in front.
It was a real smash and grab sort of win, with Wolves managing just three shots all game, but they did limit City in a way that few teams have managed this season. Pep Guardiola’s side finished with an Expected Goals total of just 0.87. They’ve now lost two games on the bounce following the defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and their lead at the top of the table is down to a single point.
Madness at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium
Where to start here?
Spurs claimed a late win over Liverpool to extend their unbeaten run and climb up to second in the Premier League table. But they had a helping hand from VAR.
Darren England, the man in charge of VAR for this game, recommended Simon Hooper reexamine Curtis Jones’ challenge on Yves Bissouma. The Liverpool midfielder was initially booked but, after the official watched the incident back, he was shown a straight red card.
Luis Díaz thought he’d given the Reds the lead but the linesman flagged for offside. According to the reports after the game, those in the VAR room thought a goal had been given and checked whether it was correct. This caused confusion and the game was restarted with a free-kick for offside, much to the dismay of fans, pundits and journalists who could see the Liverpool winger was onside.
Heung-Min Son added to his tally of goals against the Reds with the opener before Cody Gakpo levelled things up before the halftime break.
Diogo Jota replaced the injured Dutch attacker but was sent off in the 69th minute following two quick bookings. The first of which was debatable.
Spurs eventually made the numbers count and a 96th minute Pedro Porro cross was fired into his own net by Joel Matip.
(Images from IMAGO)
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