Premier League weekend review: City thrash Liverpool and other talking points

Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield in Premier League action this weekend, a result that produced both celebration and controversy across the division. The round of fixtures featured notable individual displays and managerial takeaways from several clubs.

The manner of City’s victory prompted divided reaction after away supporters displayed inflatable bananas in the Anfield end and chants of “cheat” accompanied City’s late possession; the article described the win as an instance of both vindication and vilification. The piece notes a “club found guilty of 100-plus charges” and says that “the Premier League season and product are badly damaged until the matter is somehow resolved.” Enzo Maresca described his club’s plight as “noise”.

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool showed energy and intent but were uneven against Manchester City, with the manager aiming to get his players into their opponents’ faces and “mission mostly accomplished during the first half.” A second-half flurry left City under pressure until Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal altered the tie, and with Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo missing Liverpool lacked the quality to finish their chances; Lewis Koumas featured as an emergency centre-forward and Víctor Muñoz continued to be full of buzz. The article adds that Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz, “players signed for £100m plus, are supposed to supply the cutting edge,” and that once Gravenberch departed Trey Nyoni was required in midfield.

Crystal Palace came through a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest for the second time this season without being at their best, according to Pierre Sage, who admitted they were “slightly fortunate” and said: “It’s not normal to concede as many chances as we conceded” and “We need to be consistent but after the international break it’s a good result that can help us in our future games.” The report notes Axel Disasi will be available again after being suspended against Forest, although he will miss the trip to face Palace’s arch-rivals Brighton next weekend, and that Sage can look forward to a reunion against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s errors were singled out after Everton drew 2-2 with Hull City, with the right-back miscuing an interception to allow Sorba Thomas to set up Joe Gelhardt for Hull’s opener and later failing to stop Elliot Stroud, who found Mohamed Belloumi for the equaliser. The report says Everton, with a squad short on attacking options, cannot afford to score twice away and take only a point.

Roberto De Zerbi described Tottenham’s performance at Manchester United as evidence of renewed character: “From a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character, and I want it.” Spurs earned a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Dominic Solanke wore the captain’s armband and scored a late equaliser after United were reduced to 10 men, and De Zerbi urged cohesion with the instruction to “Work together, stay together, have dinner together and get to know each other better.” He continued to refer to the project as a work in progress.

Noni Madueke started on the left for Arsenal in place of the injured Christos Tzolis and, having been dropped from the latest Three Lions squad, produced a performance Mikel Arteta summarised as: “He deserved the chance and he took it.” Madueke created the most chances in the game (three) and had the most touches in the box (eight) as Arsenal beat Leeds 2-1. Chelsea’s 5-1 win over Bournemouth underlined their propensity for quick openings—Chelsea have scored during the first 10 minutes in five of their six games this season—and Morgan Rogers credited the manager’s team talks: “I put it down to the manager’s team talks,” Rogers said. “He gets us firing, gets us going.”

Aston Villa were held 2-2 by Brentford as the North Stand rebuild at Villa Park alters the stadium’s appearance; the article notes the redevelopment will take the ground’s capacity north of 50,000. Brentford remain unbeaten this campaign and Keith Andrews, Brentford’s head coach, said: “I certainly hated it as a player. It just feels wrong, doesn’t it? When I was growing up as a kid, some Irish legends played here – Ray Houghton, Paul McGrath, Andy Townsend – so it’s always been a special place for me and you can feel the history of it. With a stand missing, it’s a bit different.” Ipswich’s recent form under Gary O’Neil included dropping Kjell Scherpen for Christian Walton after the win at Palace, a goals-against column that remains concerning with only two sides conceding more, and the note that Ipswich have now scored winners after the 90-minute mark three times in the campaign.

Sunderland’s failure to recruit a specialist right winger was cited as a factor in their 0-2 home defeat to Brighton, with Thomas Meunier suffering a hamstring injury that led to Nilson Angulo being shifted from the left to the right and a side lacking the hamstrung Brian Brobbey failing to threaten. The piece asks whether Régis Le Bris should offer Chris Rigg or Chemsdine Talbi starting spots at Bournemouth next Sunday, notes Sunderland travel to face Torreense in Portugal on Thursday, and says that after collecting only four Premier League points this season Le Bris is likely to rotate heavily for that Europa League engagement; the report adds that a Bournemouth trip is followed by matches at Lech Poznan and a visit from Leeds.

Palace’s Europa League tie against Lyon on Thursday, Aston Villa’s home Champions League fixture with Fenerbahce on Wednesday and Sunderland’s trip to Torreense on Thursday are among the immediate fixtures highlighted in the report as clubs move from the weekend’s league matches into midweek continental commitments.