Chelsea’s unbeaten run came to an end at home to champions Manchester City, while Manchester United suffered a third defeat in four games in all competitions at home to Aston Villa, with Bruno Fernandes missing a stoppage-time penalty. Matty Cash scored his first goal for Villa in the win over Everton last weekend and continued his fine form against Manchester United, producing a real threat from his right-wing back berth and keeping the hosts attacking unit relatively quiet throughout, his relentless energy and will to drive forward made him a constant outlet on the break for Dean Smith’s side, the 24-year-old proving to be a constant outlet on the break for Dean Smith’s side, the 24-year-old proving to be a constant outlet on the break.
Elsewhere on Saturday Liverpool were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw with newly-promoted Brentford, while West Ham United’s and Michail Antonio’s fine start to the season continued as the forward netted a late winner against Leeds at Elland Road.
Sunday’s standout fixture saw Arsenal run out comfortable winners in the north London derby following a first-half blitz at the Emirates, with the Gunners having now overtaken their rivals after previously being at polar opposite ends of the table after three games played. Bukayo Saka appears to have moved on from the disappointment of missing a penalty at Euro 2020, with his performance against Nuno Espirito Santo’s team the latest example of his immense talent. The 20-year-old, like Smith Rowe, had a goal and an assist on the day, setting up his fellow Englishman with a superb pull back before racing through on the break and tapping home the game’s third goal inside 34 minutes. The away side may not have been at their best, but they simply couldn’t keep up with the Gunners’ pace and deception.
In the meantime, we have we’ve got enough time to quickly reflect on some of the most eye-catching stats from last weekend’s action via OPTA stats.
- 2020 – Arsenal will end today above Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table for the first time since October 25th 2020.
- 2 – Tottenham are only the second team in Premier League history to win their first three games of a season and then lose the next three, after Everton in 1993-94, who went on to finish 17th.
- 5 – Son Heung-Min has been directly involved in five goals in his last four Premier League games against Arsenal, scoring three times and providing two assists.
- 1964-65 – Southampton’s defeat means they remain one of five different Premier League teams yet to win in the league this season (Norwich, Burnley, Leeds, Newcastle), only the second top-flight campaign to see as many winless sides after six matches, after 1964-65.
- 336 – Raúl Jiménez has scored his first Premier League goal in 336 days, since netting against Newcastle in October 2020 – this was his 15th attempt in the competition this season.
- 45 – Since returning to the Premier League in 2018-19, 45 of Wolves’ matches have been goalless at half-time – two more than any other club in that time.
- 22 – Chelsea amassed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.22 today against Manchester City. In their 250 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge since Opta have full game-by-game xG data for the competition (2008-09), this was their lowest total.
- 22 – Manchester City have conceded 22 goals in the 38 Premier League games Rúben Dias has played in for them, after conceding 39 goals in their 38 matches prior to his debut.
- 3 – Liverpool have conceded 3+ goals in a Premier League away game versus a newly promoted side for the first time since January 2016 vs Norwich (won 5-4).
- 100 – Mohamed Salah has scored 100 goals in 151 Premier League games for Liverpool, reaching 100 top-flight goals in fewer appearances than any other player in Liverpool’s history.
- 100 – Ethan Pinnock is the 100th different player to net his first ever Premier League goal against Liverpool; only Everton (142), Tottenham (124) and Aston Villa (102) have seen more players score their first goal in the competition against them.
- 1 – Jamie Vardy is the first Leicester City player to both score a goal and an own-goal in a single Premier League match.
- 4 – Newcastle attacker Allan Saint-Maximin has registered a goal or an assist in four consecutive appearances (2 goals, 2 assists) for the first time in his career in Europe’s big five leagues.
- 2 – Bruno Fernandes missed from the penalty spot for only the second time in his 23 attempts for Manchester United in all competitions and for the first time since October 2020 against Newcastle in the Premier League.
- 2009 – Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory over Manchester United in their last 18 meetings, since winning 1-0 at Old Trafford in December 2009.