GAME WEEK 3 - WEEKLY ROUND UP

Three down, 35 to go - this week's Premier League round up is here! Plenty of action as usual, with youngsters introducing themselves to the league and household names returning to their best. Keep reading to find out what happened in each game this weekend.

Raheem Sterling back in business (Chelsea 3-0 Luton)

The first victory of the new Chelsea era came in a comfortable game against Luton, Raheem Sterling showed a glimpse of his Man City days with a great individual performance, securing a brace. The opening strike was a great piece of solo skill, Sterling weaved through the Luton defence with ease before tucking away the finish.

Luton continued to fade as the game progressed and Sterling soon got his and Chelsea's second of the evening, sweeping the ball past Thomas Kaminski from close range. A good night for youngster Malo Gusto who claimed both assists for Sterling's finishes. Nicolas Jackson put the game to bed with his first goal for the club seven minutes after Sterling's second, an easy tap in but he won't care, the 22 year old is off the mark for the Blues.

Chelsea's first win of the Poch era, nothing season defining, but a good start. For Luton they are still pointless and will be hoping to get some points on the board next Friday as they return to Kenilworth Road to face West Ham.

Magical Maddison helps Spurs see off Cherries (Bournemouth 0-2 Tottenham)

James Maddison has truly arrived at Spurs, getting his first goal for the club and overall playing out of his skin to earn himself the Man of the Match award and his side three points away from home. Spurs took a while to settle down but once they did, some great chances were being created. For the opening goal, the three midfielders linked up well; Bissouma won the ball back and instinctively dispatched it to Pape Sarr who threaded through a lovely ball to Maddison. The former Leicester player helped the ball past Neto, breaking the deadlock seventeen minutes in.

The second half was even better than the first from a Tottenham point of view, creating so many chances and totally shutting out Bournemouth, even when the Cherries were going on the attack, they never looked like they'd find a way past Spurs' defence. Dejan Kulusevski doubled his sides advantage just after the hour mark, he darted into the box and poke the ball into the back of the net - this was his first goal since January 2022. All smiles for the away side, who are unbeaten under Ange Postecoglou, the travelling fans saw their team off the pitch singing "We've got our Tottenham back" - this newly improved side has been a joy to watch so far.

10-man Fulham steal a point at the Emirates (Arsenal 2-2 Fulham)

A shambolic start for the Gunners who conceded within a minute, Andreas Pereira pounced on Bukayo Saka's mistake. Pereira's attempt wasn't the cleanest, but it found the back of the net as Aaron Ramsdale stumbled. It was Saka's record breaking 83rd consecutive Premier League appearance for Arsenal, although the start of it he will want to forget quickly. For the whole half Fulham held firm at the back, whilst Arsenal tried a little too hard to get an equaliser; Fulham were good on the break when they got the chance and Arsenal weren't being clinical in front of goal. The score remained 0-1 at the interval.

Saka made up for his mistake at the start of the game by getting his team back in it from the penalty spot. Fabio Viera sent a pinpoint cross into the box that Nketiah guided past former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno, the game had been turned on its head in a matter of minutes. Things continued to deteriorate for Fulham when Calvin Bassey received his second red card of the match, meaning his team had to finish the game with a numerical disadvantage. Against all odds, the Cottagers managed to salvage a point thanks to Joao Palhinha. Absolutely gutting for Arsenal who looked like they'd completed the comeback, the London rivals shared the points as Fulham just wouldn't give up, on the other hand, Arsenal will be kicking themselves for not being more ruthless in the final third.

Another stalemate between the Bees and the Eagles (Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace)

Brentford had the most chances in the first half and went into half time ahead, however neither side had been too impressive in front of goal. Kevin Schade opened the scoring with an absolute beauty, a powerful, curling effort past Sam Johnstone after dancing down the byline and past Joel Ward. Yoane Wissa and Nathan Collins both had chances to extend the lead before half time but couldn't take them.

In the second half we saw a great contest, both sides with a mission: Brentford needed to extend their lead further and Palace needed an equaliser to get back into the game. Crystal Palace we're successful in their task, Joachim Anderson got the leveller with fifteen minutes remaining of normal time. A stroke of good fortune for the Eagles as it was a scrappy goal, but they did deserve it regardless. The final moments of the game were spent searching for a winner by both sides, however neither could find one; this means that Brentford and Crystal Palace are now the 1st ever pair of teams to draw their 1st five Premier League meetings.

Kalajdzic scores a late winner (Everton 0-1 Wolves)

A fixture that went pretty much exactly as we could have expected. Very cagey football from both sides and a lack of quality in the final third. Everton had the better chances in the first half, but didn't take them, as they haven't so far this season.

After the break, both sides had goals ruled out for being offside. Eventually the deadlock was broken and a winning goal was scored fairly, Sasa Kaladjzic got his first Premier League goal for Wolves not long after coming off the bench, a great moment for the Austrian! Ultimately Everton we're punished for squandering lots of opportunities, but what a moment for Kaladjzic after returning from a tough injury to secure his sides first away win in 10 Premier League fixtures.

Spirited comeback from United saves winning streak (Manchester United 3-2 Nottingham Forest)

A shock start to affairs at Old Trafford as Nottingham Forest went 2-0 up inside five minutes. Morgan Gibbs-White took advantage of a wide open Manchester United defence slotting Taiwo Awoniyi on the halfway line, he burst forwards with the ball and stabbed the ball past Andre Onana; the Nigerian striker made history with that goal, becoming just the 3rd African player ever to score seven consecutive Premier League games - Mohammed Salah and Emmanuel Adebayor are the only other two players to achieve this feat. Things got worse for the Red Devils moments later, as Willy Boly doubled his sides lead with a guided header from a deflected set piece delivery - right place right time, nightmare for United. Christian Eriksen halved the deficit as he met Marcus Rashford's low-driven cross and beat Matt Turner with a clever finish and gave his side a bit of hope heading into the second half.

Man United showed fantastic character in the second half, scoring two goals to turn the result around. Casemiro scored the equaliser seven minutes into the second half, tucking the ball away from close range; Bruno Fernandes gave his side the lead for the first time of the game with fifteen minutes to spare from the penalty spot. Nottingham Forest going down to 10 men did help them but overall they showed amazing fight to get the victory after a disastrous start. An impressive and spirited comeback from the home team, securing their 11th win in a row against Nottingham Forest.

West Ham's counter attacking master class (Brighton 1-3 West Ham)

In what was arguably the most shocking result of the weekend, West Ham came out victorious against Brighton for the first time in Premier League history. Brighton dominated in the first half but weren’t able to get a goal, they had so much of the ball it seemed they were almost doing too much and trying to walk the ball in. West Ham capitalised when they got the chance and took the lead as James Ward Prowse pounced on a disaster at the back. Adam Webster made a shocking error, Brighton almost saved him but Ward-Prowse was the most alert player, taking full advantage of the Albion’s mistake. At the end of the first half, West Ham were 1-0 despite only having 15% possession.

Things continued to go David Moye’s way as his side extended their lead around the hour mark, scoring two goals in five minutes to kill off the seagulls. Jarrod Bowen got the second as he bought down a long ball from Said Benrahma exquisitely before delicately nudging the ball past debutant Bart Verbruggen. Michael Antonio scored a brilliant goal against Chelsea last week and he picked up where he left off, getting another goal just as high in quality to put the game beyond doubt. He spun round his defender with ease, then dispatched an assured finish into the back of the net. Pascal Gross scored a consolation goal for Brighton, although it was too little too late. It was his 27th Premier League goal for the club, making him their Premier League top goalscorer, however it would have felt bitter sweet considering the result.

West Ham displayed a fantastic counter attacking performance, catching out Brighton in moments they least expected, additionally Alphonso Areola had a great game in goal, anything that came towards him he was able to turn away from goal. With only 19% possession all game, West Ham returned to London with all three points; a shock for the Albion who were very much favourites, but it’s West Ham who sit top of the table for the first time in a long time.

Cash brace seals the deal (Burnley 1-3 Aston Villa)

Matty Cash stole the show at turf more with a brace in side 20 minutes. Ollie Watkins’ chipped attempt on goal was going wide but Cash lunged in at the back post to give his side the lead. The second goal came from a much more attractive phase of play. Cash and Moussa Diaby exchanged the ball before Cash dispatched a clean finish past James Trafford. What a start for the Polish defender!

Burnley attempted to mount a comeback towards the end of the first half and in the start of the second they halved the deficit. Lyle Foster showed great strength in the box to shrug off his defender and fire in the goal to give the Clarets some hope. Their fight back was shut down fairly quickly, Diaby’s vital goal set the result in stone. The new boy continued his fine form with a tidy finish on the edge of the 18-yard box, securing Aston Villa’s third victory at Turf Moor in their last 30 visits.

Man City leave it late at Brammal Lane (Sheffield United 1-2 Manchester City)

In what should have been a simple thrashing from Manchester City, newly promoted Sheffield United held their own against the champions. Although they were totally dominated with only 17% possession in the first half and conceded 12 shots on goal, the Blades went in at half time with the score goalless. Erling Haaland proved he is human as failed to give City the lead, hitting the post from the penalty spot before the break.

Haaland made up for his error with the opener just after the hour mark, for a moment it looked like it wasn’t going to be his day however the Norwegian got on the end of Jack Grealish’s teasing cross and nodded the ball home. Sheffield United thought they’d rescued an unlikely point as Jayden Bogle fired an assured strike past Ederson. Kyle Walker failed to clear his lines effectively and almost cost his side two points, luckily for him Rodri blasted the winner into the top corner right at the death. Phil Foden’s touch in the box got away from him but fell perfectly for Rodri, the Spanish midfielder refused to allow his team to leave Brammal Lane without the victory, an outstanding goal! A much tighter scoreline than anyone would have expected although three points is the same no matter the scoreline. This win made Pep Guardiola the fastest manager to reach 200 Premier League wins, he’s accomplished this in 269 games which is 53 games less than Sir Alex Ferguson.

Nunez nicks three points off Newcastle (Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool)

A dream start for boyhood Everton fan Anthony Gordon to score against his rivals, the Newcastle winger took advantage of Trent Alexander-Arnold blunder, bursting towards Alisson and slotting it between his legs and into the goal. Things became terrible for Liverpool pretty quickly after the goal, threee minutes later Virgil Van Dijk received his first red card in 177 Premier League games for a rash challenge on Alexander Isak, prevent a clear goal scoring opportunity. Liverpool went in at half time with a lot of work to do.

The Magpies were in control for the whole game and seemed as though they were going to come away with a good win against the Reds, however super sub Darwin Nunez had other ideas. The Uruguayan stole the show with a brace in the final moments of the game. Nunez capitalised on Botman’s tangled feet and drilled the ball into the far corner across the floor. A goal and a player down, but suddenly it was all to play for. In the third minute of additional time Nunez did what seemed impossible all game: gave Liverpool the advantage. A deadly finish past Nick Pope; Mohammed Salah played the initial pass into Nunez, he took his time with the ball before stealing the three points right at the death with a strong shot. A remarkable comeback and an incredible impact made from Darwin Nunez.

Written by Isabelle Newnham