The Eagles have soared to a new stratosphere under Manager Oliver Glasner whose charges electrified the Selhurst faithful, and Glasner himself, with a 97th minute winner from Eddie Nketiah. Liverpool Manager Arne Slot was furious post-match with Jeremie Frimpong for abandoning his defensive duties when Nketiah fired the winner on a flick-on from teammate Marc Guehi. Liverpool, however, had been living dangerously through their earlier victories and their defensive vulnerabilities extend beyond Frimpong. Clearly, Slot must regret the collapse of Guehi’s transfer to Liverpool. The Crystal Palace captain is once again distinguishing himself as one of the more solid premier league defenders and a key element in Crystal Palace’s continuing success.
Arsenal moved to within two points of Liverpool, a point better than third place Crystal Palace, with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Newcastle. The Magpies seemed headed for their second 1-0 victory at St. James park this season after a first half Nick Woltemade goal and a defensive effort which held Arsenal scoreless for 83 minutes. Newcastle supporters had seen their side defeat Arsenal in the Gunners’ three previous visits to Tyneside, so confidence was high. Arsenal, however, showed the kind of character which just might put them over the top this season after two successive second place finishes in the Premier League. An 84th minute header from substitute Mikel Merino brought the Gunners even and quieted the Toon Army. Arsenal then completed its comeback six minutes into stoppage time when Gabriel Magalhaes headed in a corner kick delivery from Martin Odegaard for the win.
The Ange Postecoglou era at Nottingham Forest is not off to a good start. The Australian manager remained winless at the top of the Trees after a 1-0 home loss to Sunderland. Supporters might well be getting uncomfortable with Postecoglou’s three losses and two draws in his five matches in charge, particularly after losing to a newly promoted side in front of the home fans. Sunderland though is proving more competitive than what has been the norm for promoted sides in recent seasons. Those clubs usually make a U-turn back to the Championship after a desultory taste of the top tier. While its still way early, the Cats are showing the competitive bite which just might allow them to stay up awhile. Sunderland has won twice and lost only one of its first five matches to aggregate the joint fourth highest point total in the Premier League.
Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur are level with Sunderland, a point behind third place Crystal Palace, after both those clubs needed last minute heroics to salvage a point versus lesser opponents. The Cherries got a stoppage time equalizer from Eli Kroupi to disappoint Leeds supporters in a 2-2 draw at Elland Road, the earned point making this the most successful first six matches of a Premier League season for Bournemouth. Spurs, meanwhile, salvaged a point at home when Joao Palhinha spoiled Wolverhampton’s attempt at an upset with his 94th minute stoppage time equalizer. Wolves ended their run of five opening defeats but were oh so close to accomplishing more. Time will tell whether it was a good decision to renew the contract of Wolves Manager Vitor Pereira during the club’s stumbling start to the season.
West Ham showed no such confidence in their struggling manager and sacked Graham Potter two days before the club’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Monday. Nuno Espirito Santo had barely time to catch a breath after his Nottingham Forest departure before taking over on the touchline as Hammer manager against the Toffees.
With Potter becoming the second manager to be replaced this season, the sack watch now focuses on Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim. Igor Thiago scored twice in the first 20 minutes of Brentford’s 3-1 victory over the Red Devils on Saturday. Last week’s Manchester United win over Chelsea proved to be fool’s gold as the Red Devils proved again incapable of stringing together two wins, something they have failed to accomplish since Amorim arrived. After Saturday’s loss to the Bees, Amorim has managed just 34 points from his 33 Premier League matches. Beyond the results, Amorim is stubbornly resisting calls to change a rigid playing style which is clearly not working. External criticism of the manager is reaching a crescendo while internally the club still seems hesitant to admit Amorim was a mistake.
Yet another manager’s seat could also be getting warmer. Chelsea has won but one of its last five matches across all competitions after a 3-1 loss to Brighton. The one victory in Chelsea’s poor run was a nervy 2-1 win over Lincoln City in the EFL Cup. The Club World Cup champions are winless in their last three Premier League matches. Worse yet for Chelsea Manager Enzo Maresca, discipline issues plague the young Chelsea squad which went down to 10 men for a second straight week in the Brighton loss. The ageless Danny Welbeck bagged a brace for Brighton to put the sword to the Blues on Saturday.
Aston Villa has struggled this season, but Manager Unai Emery would seem untouchable, and it was sporting director Monchi who seemingly took the fall for failure with his departure last week. Emery’s squad got its first league win of the season with a 3-1 win at Villa Park over visiting Fulham. Ollie Watkins netted his first Premier League goal of the season and ended a personal nine match scoring drought in a positive sign for the Villans. Things could be looking up for a Villa team which also edged Bologna 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Things are going the other way for Burnley. The Clarets have lost three of their past four Premier League matches after Saturday 5-1 slaughter at the hands of Manchester City. Earlier in the week, Manager Scott Parker’s men were ousted from the EFL Cup by Cardiff City. The Manchester City loss was almost comedic as Burnley’s Maxime Esteve was responsible for two own goals. Erling Haaland, meanwhile, put two goals into the correct net and helped drop Burnley to the relegation zone.
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