Shock results and important wins. It was just a normal weekend of Premier League action. It felt as though every single match was a talking point, so we’re going to cut through some of the noise to review the action from across matchday 11.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Manchester City climb back to the top
The reigning champions put on a show against Bournemouth. One player in particular impressed in the 6-1 win over the Cherries, but it wasn’t one of the usual suspects.
Jérémy Doku scored the opener and then assisted four of the other five goals in one of the best individual performances of the season.
Surprisingly, neither Erling Haaland or Julián Álvarez got on the scoresheet. The former was subbed off at halftime.
In truth, it was a freak result. City, of course, dominated, but carved out just three big chances and finished the game with an Expected Goals total of 1.95. Pep Guardiola won’t mind though, his team are now one point clear at the summit for now.
The Blades finally win
Sheffield United finally picked up all three points. Paul Heckingbottom’s took the lead against Wolves in the 72nd minute with Cameron Archer finding the back of the net. The away side levelled things in the 89th minute and it appeared as though Gary O’Neil’s men would extend their unbeaten run to six in the Premier League.
However, there was another twist as the hosts won a penalty in stoppage time and Oliver Norwood kept his cool to fire in the winner.
All things considered, a draw would’ve been a fairer result. But Sheffield United probably deserve a slice of good luck. Perhaps they can use this result as a platform to get more points on the board as they look to escape the relegation zone. For now, they’re still bottom of the table. The loss means Wolves missed the chance to move into the top half of the table.
A sting in the tale for West Ham
It was a topsy-turvy game between Brentford and West Ham on Saturday afternoon. The hosts took an early lead through Neal Maupay before the Hammers scored twice in seven minutes to completely turn the game around. In scoring the second for David Moyes’ side, Jarrod Bowen became the first player in Premier League history to score in the first six away games of a campaign.
Konstantinos Mavropanos scored an own goal to level things up just after the break and then Brentford centre-back Nathan Collins scored what turned out to be the winner in the 69th minute. It capped off an impressive showing by the 22-year-old – he completed 91% of his passes and won four of his seven aerial duels.
Following the win, Brentford have climbed to ninth position in the Premier League, leapfrogging 11th placed West Ham.
Arsenal frustrated at St James’ Park
Mikel Arteta’s side have now lost their unbeaten run in the Premier League following the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.
To say Anthony Gordon’s winner was controversial would be an understatement. VAR had to check three different things before finally awarding the goal. There were question marks over whether the ball had gone out of play in the build up, then it appeared as though Joelinton pushed Gabriel as he went to clear the ball and it looked as though Gordon might’ve been offside prior to scoring.
The goal was given, much to the dismay of Arsenal fans, players and coaching staff. Arteta had some choice words in his post-match interview and the Gunners have supported his stance with a statement.
All of this, however, detracts from the fact the title hopefuls created next to nothing against the Magpies, with zero big chances and an Expected Goals total of just 0.57.
Forest stun Villa
Emiliano Martínez was named as the best goalkeeper in the world earlier in the week. He didn’t look like it against Nottingham Forest on Sunday when he played a fairly tame Orel Mangala effort into his own goal to give the hosts a 2-0 lead just after the break.
Ola Aina had given Steve Cooper’s side the lead after just five minutes with a well placed effort from distance. This gave Forest something to defend and they did just that.
Aston Villa huffed and puffed but couldn’t find a way past a stern Forest defence. Even in the in-form Ollie Watkins struggled, landing just one of his two efforts on target.
Forest are now up to 12th, seven points clear of the drop zone.
Lacklustre Liverpool drop points at Luton
Luton were just minutes away from a historic victory over Liverpool at Kenilworth Road. Rob Edwards’ side rode their luck with the Reds missing chances galore before a stunning counterattack gave the hosts the lead.
Ross Barkley played a key role but it was former Manchester United attacker Tahith Chong who scored the opener, tapping in from close range.
Darwin Núñez missed three of the six big chances created by Liverpool and it looked like it was going to be one of those days before Luis Díaz, who started the game on the bench, nodded home Harvey Elliott’s cross in the 95th minute.
On another day, it is a routine win for a Liverpool team that created chances worth 3.04 Expected Goals.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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