Son Heung-min scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur overcame errors by center back Cristian Romero to capture a point in a 2-2 final at rival Arsenal in north London. Spurs came back twice to frustrate the Gunners as both clubs remained undefeated but dropped points in their chase of league leading Manchester City. A Romero own goal, on a deflection of a Bukayo Saka shot, gave Arsenal an early lead at the 26-minute mark. Son then sent the clubs to the locker rooms knotted at a goal apiece when he found himself on the end of a cross from James Maddison just before halftime. Romero would once again help Arsenal move ahead when his handball resulted in a successful Saka penalty kick for a 2-1 Gunner advantage. Just a minute later, however, Maddison would dispossess Arsenal’s Jorginho and find Son a second time. Son’s second goal of the match, his fifth in his last two appearances, gave the South Korean 150 goals for his Tottenham Hotspur career.
The unfortunate Jorginho was substituting for an injured Declan Rice whose departure at halftime factored into Sunday’s outcome. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, meanwhile, conceded his first goals for the club to heighten the selection drama surrounding him and Aaron Ramsdale.Pitchside perspectives 🤳
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 25, 2023
Sonny’s 150th goal for Spurs in front of the travelling faithful 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ChrEs7QePO
Liverpool jumped over Spurs into second position in the table with its 3-1 win over West Ham. Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez each scored their third league goals of the season as the Reds scored three goals for a fourth consecutive match across all competitions. Salah’s penalty kick opened the match’s scoring while Nunez took back the lead after Jarrod Bowne equalized for the Hammers. Diogo Jota closed out the scoring for Liverpool. The Reds fifth straight Premier League victory left them two points behind Manchester City’s perfect record. A second consecutive loss, meanwhile, dropped the Hammers to seventh in the table. West Ham Manager David Moyes lost to Liverpool for the 24th time in the Premier League, the joint highest loss total against one club in league history.
Brighton moved to third in the table as the Seagulls, recovering from a mid-week loss in their first ever European match, defeated Bournemouth 3-1 on Sunday. Brighton began sluggishly as a goal by Bournemouth’s Dominik Solanke and an own goal by his teammate, Milos Kerkez, left the clubs level after a half of play. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma changed the game, however, scoring just one minute after entering the match as a second half substitute. The Japanese international would add a second goal in the 77th minute to put away the Cherries. FIFTEEN SECONDS between being subbed on and scoring. 🤯⚡️ @Kaoru_Mitoma 🌟 pic.twitter.com/Xz02Q8wq1V
Manchester City went down to 10 men in the 46th minute but kept Nottingham Forest scoreless in a 2-0 win at the Etihad. Goals by Phil Foden and Erling Haaland in the first fifteen minutes had the league leaders in command before a moment of madness by Rodri saw the Brazilian booted for putting his hands around the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White. After going down a man, Manchester City then successfully focused on defending and frustrating the Tricky Trees. City have conceded just three goals in their six victories this season. At the same time, only Brighton have scored more than the Citizens’ 16 goals, half of which belong to Golden Boot leader Haaland.
Newcastle also has 16 goals for the season after smashing Sheffield United in an 8-0 final scoreline. Eight different players scored for the Magpies, the first ever such occurrence in a Premier League match. The goal explosion was shocking for a Newcastle side which had not scored more than a single goal in its previous four league matches and ground out a scoreless draw in Champions League play during the week. The pressure now mounts further on Sheffield United Manager Paul Heckingbottom amid already existent rumors that ownership might replace him with former Blades manger Chris Wilder.
Newcastle’s win kept it level on points with Manchester United, both clubs sitting five points outside the top four. The Red Devils limped to a 1-0 win over newly promoted Burnley with Bruno Fernandes scoring the winner in the 45th minute. Injuries to several defenders gave Jonny Evans his first start for Manchester United since 2015 and the 35-year-old responded. Evans had a goal chalked off by VAR before then assisting on Fernadez’s winner. The defender also contributed to a clean sheet which ended a run of three matches across all competitions where the Red Devils conceded three or more goals. Burnley remains rooted in the relegation zone with Sheffield United and the third newly promoted squad, Luton Town.
The Hatters posted their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton. A controversial handball decision led to a winning Luton penalty kick as the Hatters earned their first ever Premier League point at Kenilworth Road. The dropped points could come back to bite Wolves who are currently three points above the drop zone.
Everton are level on points with Wolverhampton after the Toffees shocked Brentford 3-1. Manager Sean Dyche unleashed the hounds as the Toffees emerged from their usual defensive shell to sting the Bees after just six minutes on a goal by Abdoulaye Doucoure. The Bees would level later in the half before the Toffees stuck twice in the second half to notch their first win of the season. The oft injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored Everton’s third goal in his 250th appearance for the club. Calvert-Lewin’s return enhances the goal threat for a Toffee side which suddenly has some creativity being provided by players such as Doucoure, transfer signing Beto and central midfielder James Garner, a former Manchester United academy player who assisted on Calvert Lewin’s goal. A second consecutive loss and a four-match winless run leaves Brentford just two points above Everton in the table.
Sitting between Brentford and Everton, 14th in the table, is Chelsea after the Blues fell at home on Sunday 1-0 to Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins provided the winning goal in the 73rd minute after his side gained a man advantage following a red card assessed to Chelsea’s Malo Gusto fifteen minutes earlier. Gusto will miss the next three matches for Chelsea and Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson will miss the club’s next match for accumulated yellow cards, all for dissent. Things continue to go poorly for owner Todd Boehly’s project as his expensively purchased play pieces failed to score for a third consecutive match as the club matched its worst start to a season since 1978. Only Luton Town and Burnley have found the net fewer times than Chelsea.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, rebounded nicely from a mid-week Europa Conference League loss in Poland. The Villans’ fourth win in their six Premier League matches puts them sixth in the table, just two points off the top four.
In perhaps the most inconsequential match of the weekend, mid-table clubs Crystal Palace and Fulham played to a goalless draw, leaving the two London clubs level on points and 10th and 11th in the table, respectively.
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