Arne Slot was close to landing a coup against Pep Guardiola, the coach he admires most. Then came more of the individual errors that have ruined Liverpool’s title defence. Aching weaknesses within Slot’s squad were exposed again. Dominik Szoboszlai playing Bernardo Silva onside for Manchester City’s equaliser was an error midfielders playing full-back will make. Szoboszlai’s late red card was, though, foolish. Alisson’s foul on Matheus Nunes for Erling Haaland’s decisive penalty was another rush of blood. Liverpool’s huge summer spend was motivated by their executives’ belief in buying the best individuals to unlock the Premier League’s tactical cages. City’s key individuals showed such a policy can pay off, with Silva inspirational, Gianluigi Donnarumma making the save that sparked the game’s chaotic final scenes, Marc Guéhi looking an astute defensive signing and Haaland supplying Silva’s goal. City had been unconvincing but their mentality held, allowing them to eventually profit from Hugo Ekitiké’s misses and the waning of Mohamed Salah.
Oliver Glasner revealed that Jean-Philippe Mateta will decide whether to have an operation on his injured knee after seeing a specialist on Monday – a move that could rule him out of the World Cup. But the Crystal Palace manager was delighted with the impact his replacement, Jørgen Strand Larsen, made on his debut against Brighton. The Norway striker looked rusty but provided Palace’s attack with a focal point in a much-needed victory that eased any relegation concerns – and could have added to his solitary Premier League goal so far this season. “I think three, four times we didn’t find him with our crosses, because he has great movements,” said Glasner. With a £48m price tag, the pressure will be on Strand Larsen to deliver. Wednesday’s home game against struggling Burnley will be a good opportunity for him to break his duck.
Not everybody is convinced by Viktor Gyökeres but, after coming off the bench to score twice against Sunderland, the Sweden striker now has eight goal involvements in his last eight games. Mikel Arteta was clearly delighted. “He has the type of character that we expected,” the Arsenal manager said. “I love that he is so focused on the pressing and he has a genuine desire to help the team. He came on when the game was a little more open. Today he had more help around him. What really makes a difference is the consistency he shows to train and to understand every day. It’s difficult to know what he is feeling: he looks at you and he is just the same but when you feel confident, when you feel important, when you feel at your best, that’s when you can take your game to the highest level.”
Partway through the first half at St James’ Park, Keith Andrews asked Keane Lewis-Potter and Dango Ouattara to swap wings. Both were already playing well but Brentford’s manager decided Lewis-Potter would be better deployed down the right, where he could cramp the style of Lewis Hall. Ouattara was ideally suited to remind everyone that Kieran Trippier is now 35. The switch formed the bedrock of a 3-2 victory for the visitors, with the excellent Ouattara creating one goal and scoring the late winner. It was Newcastle’s third straight league defeat and left Eddie Howe in an introspective mood. If many of his team’s problems stem from the fatigue engendered by a congested fixture list, the fact his side scored from a corner and a penalty and only asked Caoimhín Kelleher to make one serious save suggests they need to do more with the ball. Andrews, tellingly, said: “It’s always slightly chaotic here and you need to deal with the chaos.” Unless Newcastle’s passing becomes more considered, that chaos threatens to engulf them.
Bryan Mbeumo’s opener featured Kobbie Mainoo running from Tottenham’s goal towards Bruno Fernandes’s corner from the left and turning the ball, without looking, to the forward, whose finish was guided, inch-perfect, into the bottom right corner. Yet in practice the routine did not go well. “We did it once, it didn’t work out, but this one was the most important,” Mbeumo said of a goal that helped Manchester United to a fourth consecutive league win. Michael Carrick’s team are up to 44 points with a goal difference of +10 yet Mbeumo is keeping calm. “We just want to take it game by game, train as hard as possible and keep working,” he said. He now has 10 goals in 21 appearances since signing last summer.
In the end, there were just the three Gomeses on the pitch at the same time for Wolves at Molineux: Rodrigo Gomes entered at half-time to join João Gomes and the new signing Angel Gomes. Toti Gomes was absent with a thigh injury. Angel Gomes, who joined on loan from Marseille on deadline day, enjoyed a decent debut against Chelsea. The 25-year-old, who aged 16 became Manchester United’s youngest player since Duncan Edwards, impressed in difficult circumstances. Wolves were 3-0 down inside 38 minutes but the midfielder showed glimpses of quality. Sixteen months on from his England debut, a Premier League chance could help get his career back on track. “He’s got that killer pass, maybe something we haven’t quite had,” said the Wolves head coach, Rob Edwards, who worked with Gomes when he was part of England’s Under-20s setup. “He’s got those forward passes in the locker and hopefully we’ll see a lot more of it, the more integrated he gets.”
Rayan has played just 109 minutes for Bournemouth but Andoni Iraola is already having to tamp down the hype. Aston Villa’s defence gave the Brazilian teenager little room in the first half but one run past a dumbfounded Lucas Digne set the scene. When Rayan set off for his solo equaliser Digne looked around desperately for help, but it was already too late. Rayan also showed off his physical capabilities and headed one loose ball off the crossbar. Iraola gave a reminder that playing with flair is only part of the job, saying the 19-year-old can “cover a little bit our lack of physicality, to help us even in the aerial duels, in the set plays”. A cramping Rayan departed on 87 minutes and Iraola preached caution before Tuesday’s trip Everton. “He’s 19, comes to the best league in the world probably, he is used to playing a different rhythm.”
It has taken a while but Nuno Espírito Santo finally has a clean sheet in his West Ham reign, at the 24th time of asking. In many ways, keeping out Burnley for 90 minutes is a limited achievement considering the hosts’ lack of cutting edge in the final third, but at least it’s a platform to build on. The goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was recalled to the starting lineup for the first time since September and, despite early nerves, put in a solid performance. More promising was the calm and measured debut of Axel Disasi, who arrived without playing a minute this season at Chelsea. Having been part of Enzo Maresca’s infamous bomb squad, the centre-back was able to ease his way through the afternoon at Turf Moor and could prove a shrewd signing in what will be a tight relegation battle.
Marco Silva’s in-game management was lacking during Fulham’s defeat. The match changed after half-time. Everton took control in midfield and David Moyes made two attacking substitutions when they were 1-0 down. Silva did not turn to his bench until it was 1-1. The frustration for Fulham is they should have been out of sight by the end of the first half. They were the better side but missed a host of chances. Silva said he warned his players that a reaction was coming from Everton. Did he tell himself the same thing? Everton pressed higher and forced Fulham back. A problem for Silva is that his go-to defensive midfielder, Sasa Lukic, is injured and was not available to shore things up during the second half. Did Fulham miss a trick by not signing cover for the Serbian? Silva had other options on the bench but was outdone by Moyes.
“England’s No 9” was the chant reverberating around Elland Road as Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season. Slightly tongue in cheek but a compelling narrative is starting to form around an international recall. The facts speak volumes. This is Calvert-Lewin’s best goal-scoring season since 2020-21, when he was an England regular and in the best form of his career at Everton. No Englishman has more goals in the Premier League this season than the 28-year-old, who was instrumental in Leeds’ 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest. Thomas Tuchel will clearly need cover and backup for Harry Kane at the World Cup. While Ollie Watkins and others are options, Calvert-Lewin’s form is becoming difficult to ignore. His move to Leeds was a gamble for both parties, but it has paid off handsomely.
