We’re without Premier League football for a fortnight now as we head into yet another international break but there’s so much to talk about after what happened this weekend. Matchday 12 certainly did not disappoint. Here’s your weekly round-up.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Stoppage time haunts Spurs
What a week it has been for Spurs. They went into their Monday night game with Chelsea unbeaten and top of the table.
They finished the week with two defeats and are now in fourth position. They took the lead against Wolves at Molineux but for the second successive match Ange Postecoglou’s side crumbled late on.
This time it was under different circumstances though.
A weakened Spurs side, without the injured James Maddison and Micky Van de Ven, went 1-0 up inside of three minutes when Brennan Johnson fired in. They then struggled to create, well, anything.
Wolves peppered Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, having 17 shots and creating four big chances in total. They left it late though to find a way past the Italian shot-stopper.
Pablo Sarabia scored in the 91st minute before Mario Lemina fired in the winner in the 97th minute. Wolves are now back to winning ways after the shock defeat to Sheffield United last weekend.
The Eagles in a sticky situation
Everton’s march up the table continues. The Toffees were pegged back twice by Crystal Palace before Idrissa Gueye scored the eventual winner in the 86th minute in what was a five goal thriller.
Sean Dyche’s side have won three of their last five in the Premier League to climb to 14th.
Everton had just five shots inside the penalty area but managed to fire past Sam Johnstone on three occasions. The Palace goalkeeper had a bit of a nightmare at Selhurst Park just one week after making it into the FotMob Team of the Week. The 30-year-old finished with a rating of just 4.7.
Solanke steals the show
Bournemouth picked up just their second win of the season on Saturday evening after claiming a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
It was a deserved three points for the Cherries against a depleted Newcastle United side.
The hosts had twice as many efforts (18 to nine) and finished with an Expected Goals total of 2.46. By comparison, the Magpies had chances worth just 0.49 Expected Goals.
Dominic Solanke was the match-winner with two goals but he also created three chances as he claimed a FotMob rating of 8.9 for his efforts.
Without Nick Pope between the sticks, it could’ve been embarrassing for Eddie Howe’s side. The shot-stopper made eight saves in total.
Newcastle are now seventh in the Premier League while Bournemouth moves three points clear of the drop zone.
A routine Anfield win for the Reds
Liverpool returned to winning ways on Sunday afternoon to end a difficult week on a high. The Reds could only manage a draw with Luton last weekend and then lost to Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday. On paper, Brentford was a potential banana skin.
However, Jürgen Klopp’s side coasted to victory. Darwin Núñez had two goals disallowed in the first half before setting up Mohamed Salah for the opener.
The Liverpool No. 11 doubled his tally after the break and scored his 200th Premier League goal in the process. He’s now on 10 for the season, a total only Erling Haaland can better.
Diogo Jota added a third but it was much trickier than the scoreline suggested.
Brentford had chances and actually finished with a higher Expected Goals total- 1.57 to 1.44.
The Seagulls continue to stutter
Brighton’s winless run in the Premier League continues. The Seagulls haven’t picked up all three points in the league since September and despite taking an early lead against Sheffield United on Sunday, they weren’t able to see the game out.
Simon Adingra scored after just six minutes but Roberto De Zerbi’s side weren’t able to use that as a platform to dominate.
Sheffield United scored an equaliser in the 74th minutes when Adam Webster put the ball into the back of his own goal. In truth, it was a deserved point for the Blades. They looked just as dangerous as their hosts and created more big chances.
Stamford Bridge hosts the game of the season
We may only be in November but I doubt we’re going to see a better game all season. Chelsea and Manchester City put on a show at Stamford Bridge in a 4-4 draw.
City had the lead on three occasions but we’re pegged back by an impressive Chelsea side.
Erling Haaland scored twice for City with Rodri and Manual Akanji also getting on the scoresheet for the champions. Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer responded for the hosts, with the latter firing home from the spot in the 96th minute.
Neither team probably deserved the win but neither deserved to lose, so this was a fair result.
Both teams finished with an Expected Goals total of almost three and both had five big chances in what was a brilliant game for the neutral.
The point sees City claim top spot outright, while Chelsea are now in 10th after a big week.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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