Champions Manchester City maintained their 100% record with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Fulham at the Etihad. Erling Haaland hit a second half treble, as well as providing an assist for Julian Alvarez’s opening goal. But the story could have been different had Nathan Ake’s goal at the end of the first half been ruled out. VAR looked at it, but decided, much to Fulham boss Marco Silva’s disgust, that Manuel Akanji, who was in an offside position – wasn’t interfering with play. I’m sure VAR was brought in to reduce the frequency of these controversial decisions…

Ange-ball is gathering momentum, as Tottenham also scored 5, in a big away win at Burnley. The hosts had taken the lead in the opening 5 minutes, but Spurs hit back hard – with a hat-trick from skipper Son, plus goals from Maddison and Romero. Josh Brownhill made it 5-2 in added time, but Burnley have plunged to the bottom of the Premier League table as they search for their first point of the season.

It’s three defeats in 4 for Newcastle so far this season, as they were beaten 3-1 by Brighton, in another match with a three-goal hero, this time young striker Evan Ferguson, who became only the fourth player under the age of 19 to score a Premier League treble. It was the Seagulls’ third win of the season, but Eddie Howe’s side will need to bounce back from another sorry away day, in which they didn’t register a shot on target until the 87th minute.

On Friday night, West Ham continued their fine start to the season, with a 2-1 victory under the lights at Luton’s Kenilworth Road. Headed goals from Kurt Zouma and Jarrod Bowen were enough to seal victory in the first Premier League match played at Luton’s historic old stadium. But sentimentality aside, the Hatters are without a point and it looks likely to be a season of struggle.

In the other Saturday games, Everton earned their first point of the season, and scored their first goals, in a 2-2 draw against Sheffield United, who are also off the mark for the campaign. The Blades took a 2-1 lead into the second half – new boy Cameron Archer on target, but Everton fought back, with their own summer acquisition Arnaut Danjuma getting the equaliser.

Chelsea’s woes continued at Stamford Bridge when they were beaten by a single goal by Nottingham Forest. In a summer of intense transfer activity for both sides, albeit with different financial clout, it was one of Forest’s new boys, Anthony Elanga who scored the winner after coming on as a substitute. Incredibly this was only Steve Cooper’s side’s second away win since their promotion to the top flight in the summer of 2022. As for Chelsea, they will wonder how they failed to convert 76% possession into 3 points – something for Mauricio Pochettino to consider during the international break!

Brentford and Bournemouth go into the break off the back of a 2-2 draw in West London. The hosts remain unbeaten for the campaign, but only just! Going into added time it looked as if the visitors would register their first league win under new boss Andoni Iraola, but Bryan Mbeumo fired in a 93rd minute equaliser to keep Bournemouth waiting for a victory. Substitute David Brooks had put the Cherries ahead with his first goal since recovering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

On Sunday, Crystal Palace edged Wolves in a 5-goal thriller at Selhurst Park. Remarkably the game came alive after a goalless first half, Odsonne Edouard scoring twice for the hosts to move them on to 7 points for the season. Wolves remain on 3.

Mo Salah set aside the obvious distraction of a huge transfer bid from Saudi Arabia, scoring the final goal as Liverpool brushed Aston Villa aside 3-0. Matty Cash can’t stop scoring at the moment – but unfortunately for him, he put one into his own net this week, as Darwin Nunez’s shot bounced off the post and in off the unlucky defender. Klopp’s side sit 2 points behind Manchester City after 4 games.

Also on 10 points are Arsenal, who left it late to secure victory against Manchester United at the Emirates. In a game that could have gone either way, Marcus Rashford gave United the lead, before Odegaard hit back within a minute to level things up. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho looked to have completed a smash and grab for the visitors when he slotted him in the 88th minute, but Arsenal were saved by the closest of VAR calls. But that wasn’t the end of it – Arsenal pushed forward in stoppage time, sending North London wild with goals from Declan Rice and
Gabriel Jesus giving the Gunners the points.

The international break will bring a bit of respite to those clubs who need it, but it’s also a great opportunity for you to secure your place at one of the forthcoming matches. Have a look through the fantastic options on our website or give us a call on 01454 201210.

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