Premier League Update: Liverpool Takes Charge Entering Busy Season

Liverpool put an exclamation point on its early season form with a 2-0 victory over defending champion, but currently struggling, Manchester City. The victory was not unexpected but satisfying nonetheless for Liverpool supporters. The Reds even harkened back to the glory days of Jurgen Klopp when their second goal resulted from the kind of pressing which characterized the Klopp era. Klopp however was only able to beat Manchester City for the title on one occasion. New Liverpool Manager Arne Slot is attempting to do so in his first year in charge. Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, was somewhat comically subjected to chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” by Anfield supporters. Guardiola’s response was to raise six fingers representing the number of Premier League titles he has won with the Citizens. It now seems unlikely he will add to that total this season as his club is now on a seven-match winless run across all competitions. Manchester City has lost six times in those seven outings, the lone exception being a 3-3 Champions League draw in a match where the Citizens squandered a three-goal advantage.

Liverpool opened an eleven-point advantage in the Premier League table over Manchester City as Mohamed Salah scored and assisted on Sunday as he continues to shine for the Reds with his contract about to expire. If this is his final season on Merseyside, he seems intent on leaving on as high a note as possible.

The main competition to Salah and Liverpool right now is offered by Arsenal and Chelsea, both clubs delivering decisive victories over the weekend. Arsenal exploded for five goals in a 5-2 demolition of West Ham which saw the Gunners score four goals in six minutes. The game was over at halftime in a match which saw seven goals scored in the first half for only the fourth time in Premier League history.

Chelsea, level on points with Arsenal and nine points back of Liverpool, was similarly dominant in a 3-0 defeat of Aston Villa as Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer each scored their eighth goal of the season for the Blues.

Brighton had been level on points with Arsenal and Chelsea but ran into some unexpected resistance from Southampton as the Seagulls dropped points in a 1-1 draw with the Saints. The result marked only the third time that the Saints have not lost this season.

Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, performed in a most unsurprising manner in its own 1-1 draw with Fulham. Home supporters are ready to tear their hair out as Manger Ange Postecoglou’s side dropped points in a match following a win for the fifth time this weekend. All the momentum from an encouraging win over Manchester City the week before is gone for the rollercoaster north London side.

Nottingham Forest leapfrogged Spurs into sixth place in the table by snapping a two-match losing run with a 1-0 victory over relegation bound Ipswich Town. While the Tractor Boys are currently above only cellar dwelling Southampton in the table, the relegation race is still being run by numerous clubs, Ipswich Town being low man on a totem pole of five clubs separated by just two points.

Crystal Palace edged out of the zone of dread, on goal differential alone, after a 94th minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

Wolverhampton slipped back into the muck with its 4-2 capitulation to Bournemouth. After conceding just a single goal in its last two matches, the fallibility of Wolves defense returned with a vengeance. Wolverhampton has conceded 32 goals to lead the league this season, five more than any other club. Saturday’s loss was particularly brutal as errors in the back led to Bournemouth’s Jacob Kluivert converting three penalty kicks. The Cherries’ Evanilson drew all three of those penalties, becoming the first Premier League player to draw three penalties in a single match. Kluivert’s hat trick, meanwhile, was the first time a Premier League player had ever completed a trifecta from the spot. Ugliness extended beyond the pitch when Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa tangled with his own home supporters at halftime of an ugly spectacle at Molineux Stadium.

Things were much cheerier at Old Trafford where Manchester United Manager Reuben Amorim earned his first Premier League win with a 4-0 walkover of Everton. Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee each had a brace in a match where the Red Devils were up three goals by halftime.

Four goals were also posted at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium where the Bees defeated Leicester 4-1. A hat trick by Brentford’s Kevin Shade kept the Bees undefeated at home this season.

Premier League sides take to the pitch again in midweek as the league schedule enters its annual period of congestion. Liverpool will try to extend its current four match winning run when the Reds visit Newcastle on Wednesday. A lot of eyes, however, will be on the match at the Emirates that day when Manchester United Manager Reuben Amorim faces Arsenal for the first time. Manchester City, meanwhile, will try to snap its run of bad fortune when the Citizens host Nottingham Forest. Among the other matches during the week, Chelsea will try to heap more woe upon Southampton’s season while a relegation rumble will take place on Tuesday when Crystal Palace heads to Portman Road to face Ipswich town. That battle at the bottom of the table could see the Tractor Boys climb out of the relegation zone at Crystal Palace’s expense.