Manchester City - Southampton 4-0
Manchester City recorded their 12th-straight victory at the Etihad Stadium, as they swept aside Southampton to move top of the Premier League standings.
Coming into the contest having scored 14 times across their previous three matches, the hosts started in dominant fashion with Riyad Mahrez seeing an early effort denied by Gavin Bazunu and Erling Haaland striking the inside of the post from a promising one-on-one situation.
Despite those missed opportunities, Manchester City didn’t have to wait long before finding a deserved breakthrough, as Joao Cancelo manoeuvred his way into the box and slotted a neat finish between the legs of Bazunu.
With just one win from their previous 11 away matches in the league, Southampton looked powerless to the attacking prowess of the hosts, who duly added a second before halftime when Phil Foden lifted a delicate finish into the far corner after Kevin de Bruyne’s ninth assist of the season.
Armed with a two-goal advantage, City came flying out of the traps in the opening exchanges of the second half and extended their lead within five minutes of the restart. An accurate long ball from Rodri fell perfectly to Mahrez, who hit a strike into the ground and beyond Bazunu.
After a near-perfect opening hour for the hosts, all that was missing was a customary goal from their clinical marksman. This soon arrived as Cancelo picked out Haaland inside the box, and the Norwegian fired a first-time effort into the net for his 20th goal of the season.
With 20 minutes remaining, Pep Guardiola turned to his substitutes bench, with one eye surely on the packed schedule ahead. Despite the changes, City continued to dominate proceedings, as they cruised to another comfortable victory - one which sends them to the summit of the league table ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
See all the stats from the match here.
Chelsea - Wolves 3-0
Chelsea continued their unbeaten start under new boss Graham Potter, defeating managerless Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Having struggled in recent clashes between these two, the hosts looked to put the record straight against the league’s lowest scorers.
Chelsea took charge of the contest from the off, dominating possession and creating a succession of chances. Christian Pulisic came close to finding the opener with a curling effort, but Jose Sa was on hand to prevent the ball from sailing into the top corner.
The Blues registered no fewer than 15 shots before the break, yet the game remained goalless until first-half stoppage time when Mason Mount’s delivery found Kai Havertz, who out-jumped Nelson Semedo to loop a header over Sa.
Ahead of kick-off, Wolves had been involved in just two Premier League fixtures in which both teams had scored this season, which served as a bad omen given the state of play at the start of the second period.
The introduction of Joe Hodge - making his debut in senior football - aimed to revitalise the visitors, but within 10 minutes of the restart, Chelsea had doubled their lead. Pulisic played a neat one-two with Mount, allowing the American to dink over Sa from a tight angle.
Wolves hadn’t scored more than once in a league match since May - incidentally against Chelsea - but a repeat looked increasingly improbable as the game wore on.
Armando Broja capped off a professional performance from the Blues, sweeping in his first senior goal for the club late on. The result lifts Chelsea above Potter’s former side Brighton and Hove Albion and into the Champions League spots, at least temporarily.
Meanwhile, Wolves remain in the drop zone as an unwanted relegation battle potentially looms.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mason Mount (Chelsea)
See all the stats from the match here.
Newcastle - Brentford 5-1
Newcastle United celebrated 12 months since their change of ownership by securing back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time this season as they cruised to a 5-1 win over Brentford at St James’ Park.
Rather unsurprisingly, the Magpies were unchanged after demolishing Fulham at Craven Cottage last week. Star of the show in that performance was Miguel Almiron, and he nearly provided another moment of magic in the early stages, cutting in from the left before arrowing at the top corner, but David Raya was on hand to deny him.
There was a scare moments later when Bryan Mbeumo looked to have opened the scoring, only to be denied after a VAR review for the perceived involvement of the offside Ivan Toney.
Eddie Howe’s men resumed control of the contest and would soon be in front. A smartly-worked corner routine allowed Kieran Trippier the time and space to pick out Bruno Guimaraes at the back post for the Brazilian to powerfully head home.
The lead would be doubled within seven minutes as the Bees proved the architects of their own downfall. Raya gave the ball away to Callum Wilson, and the striker showed admirable unselfishness to slide in Jacob Murphy for a tap-in.
While the hosts’ commanding position in the contest looked secure, a moment of madness from Dan Burn jeopardised that. The Newcastle defender blocked Aaron Hickey’s header with his arm, resulting in a Brentford penalty.
The ever-reliable Toney stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick with aplomb, spreading anxiety around St. James’.
That would be short-lived though as the Magpies restored their two-goal advantage moments later with Guimaraes on the scoresheet again. Driving forward from midfield, his shot from outside the area proved too accurate for Raya and nestled in the bottom corner.
Another awful error at the back from Thomas Frank’s men presented Newcastle with their fourth, as Almiron was finally rewarded for his enterprise to score for the third time in his last two games.
The punishment wasn’t over for the Bees as the returning Ethan Pinnock inadvertently deflected Joelinton’s cross into his own net, meaning they’ve now won just one of their last seven league outings.
Things are looking much rosier for Newcastle though, who are unbeaten from their first six games on home soil this term, a run that has temporarily moved them into the top five.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United)
See all the stats from the match here.
Bournemouth - Leicester 2-1
Bournemouth came from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium. As a result, the Cherries remain undefeated in five games since interim boss Gary O’Neil took charge.
The hosts may have won their last two home H2Hs by convincing margins, but they got off to a poor start as Leicester took an early lead.
With 10 minutes on the clock, Youri Tielemans’ cross proved problematic for the Cherries’ backline, eventually breaking to Patson Daka, who fired low on the turn to put his side in the ascendancy.
Bournemouth responded positively to going behind but were unable to find a shot on goal in the first 30. Ryan Fredericks looked as if he had won his side a penalty late in the half, but on closer inspection, the right-back was booked for simulation as the Foxes remained ahead.
Brendan Rodgers’ side had not won any of their last six league games in which they had opened the scoring, but as the hour mark ticked by, the home side were yet to convert their attacking impetus into anything substantial.
Despite an alarming run of eight league games without a goal, Jamie Vardy was brought on to extend Leicester’s lead, yet within seconds, Bournemouth found an equaliser.
A determined run from Dominic Solanke ended with a blocked shot that popped up nicely for Philip Billing to slam home his third of the season. Remarkably, it took just three minutes for Bournemouth to complete the turnaround, as Billing’s cross was knocked down by Solanke, allowing Ryan Christie to turn home his first Premier League goal.
Facing the prospect of a seventh league defeat of the season, Rodgers looked to his bench for a spark, but none was forthcoming as the visitors continued their abysmal away record.
The result leaves the Foxes floundering in the relegation zone, having previously looked like they may have turned a corner with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest last time out. As for Bournemouth, their impressive form lifts the newly-promoted side into the top half of the table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
