Sunday’s Premier League games gave fans exactly what they were hoping for. Well, most of them, anyway.
The north London derby looked to be the juiciest contest on the fixture list ahead of this weekend, and it didn’t disappoint with Arsenal and Tottenham playing out a spell-binding 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
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However, it wasn’t just that game that had fans talking.
Brighton turned their disappointing introduction to European football around with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Chelsea’s clash against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge also intrigued, whilst West Ham’s trip to Liverpool had supporters raving about one star despite him not making the scoresheet.
Even the late kick-off between Sheffield United and Newcastle, which would’ve likely been the least exciting fixture for the neutral before kick-off, ended up being a huge talking point.
There was plenty of action that football fans live for on display as game week six came to an end.
So, what went down in England’s top flight this weekend and what did we learn? talkSPORT.com has got you covered…
Dom is Bosz
West Ham dominated the opening stages of their trip to Liverpool before Mohamed Salah netted Liverpool’s penalty.
But aside from the Egyptian King winning a spot kick, another star that helped to turn the game around was midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
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Stats from the game shows the Liverpool summer signing was commanding in midfield in his side’s 3-1 victory – the Hungary international boasting 93 per cent passing accuracy, 81 out of 87 passes completed, 102 touches and four key passes.
A delicious back heel to Salah, a move which took two Hammers players out of the game, was saluted by Anfield while fans across social media were impressed with his pressing of West Ham late on, even with Liverpool coasting to a 3-1 victory at that stage.
Feeling the Blues
Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa means the Blues have just five points from six matches, their worst start to a season since 1978.
Older Blues fans will remember that campaign well, but for all the wrong reasons, as they suffered relegation, going down to the old Division Two as they came bottom of the league.
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It’s likely there will be enough worse teams in the league to keep them out of the drop.
However, given Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now failed to score in a Premier League high 13 games in 2023, Blues fans definitely have a right to be concerned.
Eight to see it
Speaking of teams that will help prop Chelsea up at the foot of the Premier League, step forward, Sheffield United.
The Blades suffered an 8-0 defeat at Bramall Lane as they were embarrassed by Newcastle United on Sunday evening. It was the Yorkshire club’s biggest margin of defeat in a league match in their 134-year history, however, talkSPORT understands Paul Heckingbottom’s job is safe.
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Meanwhile, Newcastle made history in their own way, securing their biggest league away win ever while also becoming the first team in Premier League history to have eight different players score in a single game (excluding own goals).
The emphatic result has seen the Magpies rise to eighth in the table having endured a poor start to the season with three straight defeats.
But their goalfest, plus a hard-fought draw at AC Milan in the Champions League, suggests Eddie Howe’s men are on their way back to being amongst the division’s big hitters again.
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Raya Sea-ms a gooden
For a third straight match, David Raya was picked over Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks for Arsenal – but there’s no sign of bad blood at the England international’s end.
The Brentford loanee made a stunning save to deny Brennan Johnson, a stop that was reminiscent of one made by club legend David Seaman.
The ex-Arsenal glovesman famously leapt and scooped the ball away from the net mid-air to stop it from crossing the line in an FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United in 2003.
It’s something Arsenal fans loved to see and Ramsdale put aside any disappointment at not playing by leading the applause at his new teammate’s key save.
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Buk the trend
Arsenal’s sweetheart, Bukayo Saka, showed a side to him that perhaps many fans didn’t think existed during the celebrations for the opening goal.
After Saka’s drive deflected in-off Cristian Romero, the 22-year-old wheeled away and started throwing an imaginary dart at the pitchside camera, much like England teammate James Maddison does after scoring goals.
It’s been widely interpreted as a dig at the Tottenham star, who had his own cheeky response for Saka when describing his contribution for Spurs’ first goal.
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