The first match of the weekend certainly kicked things off with a bang. Enzo Marseca’s Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest at City Ground, winning 3-0 with goals from Josh Acheampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James. Their win was tainted by a late second yellow card for Malo Gusto, after making a clumsy challenge on Neco Williams.
However, the biggest piece of action occurred off-the-pitch, as the Forest manager Ange Postecoglou was sacked after 39 days in charge with the announcement arriving an hour and a half after the final whistle. Former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche is set to be his replacement.
...the biggest piece of action occurred off-the-pitch, as the Forest manager Ange Postecoglou was sacked
The most surprising result of the weekend happened in North West Derby: reigning champions Liverpool were stunned as the flailing Manchester United beat them 2-1.
An early goal from Bryan Mbeumo unsettled the home team, but winger Cody Gakpo managed to pull one back late into the second-half. However, this unravelled when Harry Maguire managed to double Man United’s lead and seal the win.
This was the first time Man United has won at Anfield since 2016. The game bought manager Ruben Amorim more time and raised questions as to whether or not Liverpool had put their money in the right places during the summer transfer window.
The North East’s local teams had polar opposite weekends. Despite an excellent finish from star striker Nick Woltemade, Newcastle United lost 2-1 down on the South Coast to Brighton, with Danny Welbeck scoring a brace.
The North East’s local teams had polar opposite weekends.
Meanwhile, Sunderland continued their unbeaten run at home against bottom-place Wolves. They won 2-0, with a goal from their new centre-back Nordi Mukiele and a late own-goal from Ladislav Krejčí.
Another big win at the weekend came for Aston Villa, who beat Tottenham 2-1 despite going 1-0 down in the early stages of the game. The two sides had very different starts to the season, but the tables seem to be turning with Villa soaring whilst Tottenham stumble.
The only draw of the weekend was also the highest-scoring. On Saturday afternoon at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace faced Bournemouth, where Eli Junior Kroupi gave the Cherries a 2-0 advantage in the first half. The pendulum swung the other way in the second half, when Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a brace to equal the playing field.
On the 89th minute, Ryan Christie broke the deadlock, seemingly ensuring a win for his team. However, Bafodé Diakité conceded a penalty in the seventh minute of injury time, which Mateta scored to get a hat-trick. It was a thrilling game from two sides who are threatening for European places this year.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City comfortably beat Fulham and Everton respectively. There was a clash of the newly-promoted sides Burnley and Leeds, which the former came out on top. Finally, Brentford sailed 2-0 past struggling West Ham.