The weekend opened with the 243rd edition of the Merseyside Derby, with the hosts, Liverpool, coming out 2-0 victors. The match largely played out as expected, especially compared to recent editions at Anfield. Jürgen Klopp’s side took the attacking initiative and threw spaghetti at the Everton backline hoping it would stick without much success. Just before halftime, however, the balance shifted when Ashley Young was sent off for a second yellow. His dismissal wasn’t terribly controversial, but was thrown into a harsher light when Ibrahima Konaté avoided a similar fate in the second half. The Toffees reacted to being a man down by removing their wide attackers and settling in for a grinding draw. However, it was not to be - Liverpool were awarded a penalty by VAR for a clear Michael Keane handball, which was smashed home by Mohamed Salah. While the Toffees didn’t particularly trouble the Reds’ defense in the remaining time, Everton did commit themselves enough to be exposed on a counter attack, and the substitute, Darwin Núñez, latched onto a wonderful Mac Allister pass, committed the defenders, and found an open Salah - who gamely slotted home. This result keeps Liverpool in the top 4 and, while Everton didn’t lose much ground, keeps the Toffees a few bad results from dropping back into the heat of the relegation battle.

A few miles away in Manchester, Pep Guardiola’s City earned all 3 points against a plucky Brighton squad. Initially, it didn’t look as though this would be much of a contest - despite Roberto De Zerbi’s recent success with the Seagulls - and City pulled ahead in the 7th minute with a Julián Álvarez goal. The Sky Blues compounded their early dominance with, who else, Erling Haaland blasting home from outside the box and breaking what, for him, was a cold streak. City continued to pile on pressure, but in the second half it was the Seagulls who began to turn the screws, unsettling the Champions. However, even though Brighton halved the deficit via Kaoru Mitoma’s run and Ansu Fati’s finish, Guardiola’s side were able to see out the win. The result is significant, but two late incidents may have more of an impact on the season with Solly March going off with what looks to be a long-term injury (Danny Welbeck also had to leave the match), and Manuel Akanji getting sent off. The injuries are clearly more significant, but Akanji has been a stalwart for City, and he’ll miss the Manchester Derby this Sunday. 

The only contest on Sunday brought us another matchup of teams competing for European places, and Aston Villa ran out comfortable winners over West Ham. In what was tipped to be a tight match, Unai Emery and his Birmingham boys put goal after goal past the Hammers en route to a 4-1 victory. Things started even enough, with a flurry of chances going to both teams. However, Villa were the first to make it count, with Douglas Luiz firing home in the 30th minute. The Brazilian would go on to double the lead from the spot in the second half following a softish penalty call. West Ham didn’t go quietly, and a sustained stretch of pressure was rewarded when Jarrod Bowen dorked home a shot via a massive deflection. Despite continuing to push, that was the only bright spot for the East London outfit - Villa sealed the deal with great footwork and finishing from both Ollie Watkins (who continues to be in rocketing form) and Leon Bailey. The win solidifies the Birmingham club’s hold on 5th place, and will fire up the Hammers for their Europa League match on Thursday. 

The match of the weekend on paper didn’t disappoint, and Chelsea and Arsenal played out a hard-fought and mistake riddled 2-2 draw in a spirited London Derby. Chelsea were dominant early on, showing that their recent uptick in form may be the real thing. An unusual but ultimately correct handball penalty led to Cole Palmer guiding a goal in, and the young winger had a few chances to add more. While he didn’t convert any more of his opportunities, it was the Blues who scored next, when Mykhailo Mudryk’s cross looped over Raya and nestled in the net. Mauricio Pochettino’s side had a few chances to close the door on the Gunners, but failed to capitalize, which set the table for their eventual comeback. First, Robert Sánchez sent an outball directly to Declan Rice, who finished coolly from distance. Then, Leandro Trossard evened it up with a tap in following a Bukayo Saka cross. While Chelsea will feel that they could and should have taken all the spoils, this performance underlined their recent improvement. For the Gunners, it was a mature performance to earn the draw, but this isn’t the first time this season they’ve found themselves needing to claw their way back into a match.

A lower profile - but no less significant - 2-2 draw played out in Nottingham, where Forest and Luton Town ended honors even. After a 0-0 first half, Nottingham Forest plowed their way to a 2-0 advantage behind two intelligent finishes from Chris Wood. Based on previous results, you could be forgiven for assuming the match was done and dusted. However, Rob Edwards and Luton Town found another gear and made a late push. Chiedozie Ogbene started the comeback by pouncing on a scrappy free kick weirdly delivered by new signing Andros Townsend. The Hatters were able to capitalize and Elijah Adebayo held his nerve and muscled through the Forest backline to equalize. This match is crucial for both sides - Luton will take any positive and, with results the other lower table teams all losing, each point they earn could be huge. The Hatters have defied expectations and are still outside of the relegation zone, looking like they’ve found strategies to grind out enough results to fight for survival. For Forest, on the other hand, this result is dangerous. They would have marked it down as a winnable fixture, and they have Liverpool, Villa, and West Ham waiting for them. Steve Cooper’s side is comfortably in midtable, but that’s the sort of run that could change their forecast quickly.

Elsewhere, a few favored clubs did their part and ran out comfortable victors - none more so than Newcastle, who shellacked Crystal Palace 4-0 at St. James Park. While the Magpies have added new talent to their roster, it was Jacob Murphy who dominated this match. He opened the scoring with an improvised looper and went on to add two assists in the Geordie domination of Roy Hodgson’s side. It was over before halftime as Anthony Gordon and Sean Longstaff made it 3-0 before the break. Palace, who were devastated by injuries, crafted a few chances from set pieces, but never found a route back into the game. Callum Wilson stomped out any last flickers of hope with a quick break goal in the second half, and Newcastle’s revival continued. The Magpies find themselves in 6th, and the Eagles drop down to 11th. The South London side won’t linger over the result, but will be desperate to get talent back soon.

Down in West London, Brentford stopped their recent slide at the expense of struggling Burnley, comfortably winning 3-0. Yoane Wissa opened the scoring with a nice finish from a Bryan Mbeumo pass, and Mbeumo absolutely monstered in a second from outside the box. Vincent Kompany’s side had some fight left in them and the match may have looked much different if Luca Koleosho hadn’t fluffed a gilt-edged chance. However, he did, and ill discipline cost the Clarets, who again went down to 10 men. Saman Ghoddos put the contest to bed with a thunderbolt of his own, and Burnley trudged back north with another loss on their record. The situation is deteriorating around Kompany who seems incapable of compromising his style. On the Brentford side of things, Neal Maupay deserves some credit. He led the line well, and - while he didn’t score - he knitted together the attack and could be critical for the Bees until either Ivan Toney returns or they bring in further depth in attack. 

Monday’s match delivered a relatively vanilla 2-0 win by Tottenham Hotspur over Fulham, which keeps Spurs on top of the table. After each side traded a few early chances, Son Heung-min curled home a shot following a loose pass from Calvin Bassey. Fulham’s new defender repeated his mistake in the second half and this time it was James Maddison who took advantage, giving the North London club an unassailable lead. To Fulham’s credit, they created a fair few chances to cut into the lead, including a great opportunity which Raúl Jiménez couldn’t shape past Vicario in goal. Wins do not need to be flashy, and Tottenham supporters will welcome these pro forma victories for as long as Ange Postecoglou can keep crafting them. Fulham can take some positives from the loss, but will be left ruing what they could have earned with a few fewer mistakes.

Manchester United also came out on top in their contest, but were less convincing than some of their peers, besting Sheffield United 2-1 away from home. The Red Devils scored first via a soft shot from Scott McTominay that confounded Wes Foderingham in goal. Their lead was short lived, and the goal-scorer turned from hero to villain when his handball gifted the Blades a penalty which Oli McBurnie converted. Paul Heckingbottom even pushed for a winner, and Sheffield United spent a fair amount of the match in Manchester United’s half, but they were unable to find another goal. The Red Devils did, however, and it was Diogo Dalot’s turn to pop up - scoring from outside of the box. All wins are worth 3 points, but you can’t watch Erik Ten Hag’s side and feel confident. Sheffield United will be disappointed not to have come away from this match with anything - and, based on previous results this season, that should worry Ten Hag.

Speaking of worry, Andoni Iraola and Bournemouth have piles of it. Not only did they fail to win against Wolves, and not only are Wolves managed by Gary O’Neil - the man the Cherries sacked to pave the way for their new boss - but they both gave up a lead and bungled a chance at a draw through a goalkeeping error. Things are bleak on the South Coast, but not thanks to Dominic Solanke, who put the Cherries in front early in the first half. At the interval, it was Bournemouth’s match to lose, but Matheus Cunha burst their bubble very quickly after the break with a great finish. To compound their woe, Lewis Cook was baited into a red card for headbutting Hwang Hee-chan - it was light contact but he knew better than to do it (we could have a larger conversation around whether those instances of - usually - minimal contact deserve 3 game bans, but that’s for another day). Even after all that, it took a loose pass from Neto in goal to lay down the red carpet for Sasa Kalajdžić to slot home. Bournemouth need a win, as simple as that. If they don’t get it next time out against Burnley, it’s very unlikely Iraola will still be their manager.