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It was another weekend full of incidents and drama in the Premier League.
Mohamed Salah hit new heights while Edouard Mendy helped Chelsea to a big three points. There were talking points up and down the league as it’s time for this week’s Winners and Losers.
Winners
Ben Chilwell
It’s been a difficult few months for Ben Chilwell since winning the Champions League back in May. The left-back failed to get on the pitch during England’s run to the final of EURO 2020, usurped from the starting position by Luke Shaw.
On top of that, Chilwell then saw his Chelsea place under threat after missing the start of pre-season. Marcos Alonso performed well and seemed like Thomas Tuchel’s first choice.
The former Leicester City man has had a breakthrough in the last couple of weeks, however. A late goal against Southampton was followed by an England call-up to replace injured colleague Reece James. Chilwell was rewarded with a start and grabbed a goal against Andorra.
Another goal came on Saturday as Chelsea held on to claim an important three points against Brentford. Chilwell was well-positioned to fire home the winner in added time of the first half and hold down the starting position. More displays like this could push him back into contention to start for England with more important qualifiers just around the corner.
Roberto Firmino
Mohamed Salah will take the plaudits following another dazzling display but Roberto Firmino shot a reminder that he still has an important role to play in this Liverpool team.
Since the arrival of Diogo Jota, many have anticipated the end of the fabled front three at Anfield with Firmino spending a lot more time on the bench.
With Jota carrying a slight injury and Firmino fresh after not travelling for the South American World Cup qualifiers, the Brazilian led the line against Watford and delivered with aplomb.
Firmino scored a hat-trick and nabbed an assist to take his tally up to six in all competitions for the season. Having only scored nine last season, it represents a return to form.
A stranger aspect of the hat-trick was the fact that all of the goals were very much poacher’s finishes. Firmino has often acted as a false nine for Liverpool and helped link the play so it was different to see him score three times from a combined total of about 11 yards.
Manchester City
It won’t grab as many headlines as the win at Chelsea or the draw at Anfield but Manchester City picked up another important three points on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Burnley.
The matches against the ‘Big Six’ get a lot of hype but there are 84 points available against the other 14 teams and City are excellent at reeling off wins against the teams they should beat.
Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne got the goals in a fairly routine with the Citizens only two points behind league leaders Chelsea.
Harry Kane
It’s taken until October 17th but Harry Kane is off the mark in the Premier League.
Tottenham’s striker came under criticism after a poor performance against Hungary for England and many wondered was the failed summer transfer to Manchester City weighing the Spurs captain down.
Kane was more like his old self against Newcastle. A clever lob over Karl Darlow got Spurs back in front before the familiar sight of Kane setting up Heung-Min Son.
Perhaps this will bring Kane confidence as Tottenham look to make a push on four different fronts.
West Ham United
It was another win for David Moyes against a former side following the victory over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
Sunday’s victory at Everton puts the Hammers back into European contention following some indifferent form. A first clean sheet in four league games will also have been most welcome for a manager who built several good defences during his time on Merseyside.
Angelo Ogbonna had the double delight of heading the winning goal to go with the defensive plaudits as attentions now return to more success in the Europa League.
Wolves
What an incredible turnaround. Wolves looked dead and buried against West Midlands rivals Aston Villa with just 10 minutes left on the clock before a stirring fightback brought a third consecutive win.
Two goals from set-pieces from Roman Saiss and Conor Coady levelled the game before Ruben Neves’ fortuitous free-kick won the game in the dying seconds.
Bruno Lage’s men move into the top half of the table and will be buoyed by the three points. A win like that can do wonders for a teams confidence and belief.
Leicester City
What a way to breathe new life into your season. the Foxes have struggled to get going in the early months both in the league and in Europe but Saturday brought rapturous celebrations following the 4-2 win over Manchester United.
Brendan Rodgers’ men showed fight and determination having fallen behind and then been pegged back after going in front. Jamie Vardy made it 3-2 almost instantly after Marcus Rashford equalised, ensuring Leicester didn’t let their previous troubles weigh them down.
A first goal for Patson Daka capped off a brilliant day for the Foxes.
Southampton
A first win of the season at the eighth attempt and it was fully deserved. Southampton were the better side for the majority of the 90 minutes against Leeds United and got their reward with a 1-0 win.
A fine finish from Armando Broja at the end of a great counter-attack saw the three points stay on the South Coast and got the Saints off the mark.
To win without their captain James Ward-Prowse was also a good sign and this could perhaps be the start of an upward trajectory for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Losers
Harry Maguire
The centre-back missed the recent international fixtures through injury so it’s possible that he was either rushed back or rushed himself back for the visit to his former club.
Perhaps he should have sat this one out. However, he didn’t and put in a poor display that saw Manchester United lose their 29 game unbeaten away league record.
For Leicester’s first goal, the England international allowed Kelechi Iheanacho to steal the ball off of him as the forward set up Youri Tielemans. Maguire then failed to pick up Jamie Vardy when the striker made it 3-2 and then completely lost Patson Daka for Leciester’s fourth.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is coming under increasing pressure and needs a lot more from his captain.
Everton
Defeat to West Ham saw the end of Everton’s 100% record at Goodison Park under Rafael Benitez and they can have few complaints.
The Toffees allowed the Hammers to control the ball, much to the frustration of the home crowd. Most supporters felt the Londoners deserved the win.
A frustrating performance from Salomon Rondon and a dreadful miss from Alex Iwobi highlighted just how badly Benitez needs Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison back. Only then can we truly judge his tenure.
Brentford
Unlucky more than anything else. For Brentford to come away from a match against the European champions and be disappointed not to take at least a point shows just how far they’ve come.
The Bees battered Thomas Tuchel’s side for the final 20 minutes and only the heroics of Edouard Mendy stopped Thomas Frank’s men from taking another scalp.
If Brentford continue to play like this they’ll survive comfortably. The fans will just be gutted not to bloody the nose of their London neighbours.
Aston Villa
If Wolves enjoyed the elation of the last-minute winner then Aston Villa suffered one of the worst ways to lose a football match.
The fact it was against one of their local rivals made it all the more gutting. Dean Smith will be frustrated that his side switched off to concede twice from set-pieces while the winner was just unfortunate.
Villa are another side lacking consistency this season but they shouldn’t be overly worried. More performances like the opening 80 minutes will lead to more good days than bad.
Watford
Watford were dominated from start to finish against Liverpool, ceding the initiative early on and letting the visitors dictate the play.
The Hornets showed little fight to stop Jurgen Klopp’s men with the defending utterly shambolic. Liverpool were good, but this was a terrible display from Watford.
Claudio Ranieri has a big job on his hands. He has some decent attacking players to work with but he needs to get that defence organised. Any repeats of these kinds of performances and Ranieri won’t be sticking around for long.
Leeds United
A few weeks ago Leeds were facing a defensive crisis with injuries and suspension ruling out their best three central defenders.
Fast forward a few weeks and it’s the midfield and attack that is now absent. Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford were both ruled out of the trip to Southampton while Raphinha wasn’t risked after his exertions with Brazil.
Those three were a massive part of Leeds’ success last season so it’s only natural that they struggled without them. The performance at St Mary’s was poor and Marcelo Bielsa’s men were deservedly beaten.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Bielsa gets his full squad back but they’ve yet to really get going this season.
Burnley
It was actually an improved result for Burnley at the Etihad Stadium with a 2-0 defeat looking a lot better than the series of 5-0 hammerings dished out on recent visits.
Nevertheless, it was still a defeat and all of a sudden there’s a three-point gap to safety. It’s only a small gap but Sean Dyche needs a win soon before it widens any further.
Newcastle
The size of the job for the new Saudi ownership was clear for all to see at St James’ Park on Sunday as Newcastle showed just why they’re in the relegation zone.
Callum Wilson’s early goal had the stadium rocking but the familiar defensive failings came to the fore as Tottenham easily brushed Steve Bruce’s men aside.
The positive atmosphere soon turned sour with fans calling for Bruce to be sacked which looks like it will happen sooner rather than later.
At this point, Newcastle will be spending those millions on players just to merely survive in January never mind any grander ambitions.
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