Three talking points from the Premier League
Manchester City blew the lead three times in a sensational 4-4 draw at Chelsea to leave the defending champions only one point clear at the top of the Premier League.
1 year ago
Liverpool and Arsenal comfortably saw off Brentford and Burnley at home, respectively, to close on the leaders. But it was a poor weekend for Newcastle as the injury-ravaged Magpies were beaten 2-0 by lowly Bournemouth.
Not for the first time in Mauricio Pochettino's short reign as Chelsea boss, the Blues were not found wanting when faced with the cream of the Premier League crop.
Arsenal and Liverpool were lucky to escape with a point from Stamford Bridge earlier in the season and Chelsea were well worthy of at least a share of the spoils against Pep Guardiola's men.
Chelsea also ended Tottenham's unbeaten start to the campaign with a 4-1 away win on Monday night. Yet, they are still looking up at those sides from 10th in the table.
Pochettino's men are 12 points adrift of City and 10 off even the top four, as they have been far less impressive when expected to blow the opposition away.
Chelsea have proven they can mix it with the best, the task for Pochettino is now to find the solution to break down deep-lying defences and move swiftly up the table.
Liverpool's return to challenging for the title is being built around making Anfield a fortress to be feared once more. Jurgen Klopp's men have won all nine games at home this season in all competitions, scoring 27 goals in the process.
Mohamed Salah has been central to that success as the Egyptian became the first Liverpool player ever to score in his first six home league games of a season.
Salah's double in a 3-0 win over Brentford took his tally in English football to 200. He also became just the third player in Premier League history to either score or assist in 15 consecutive home games.
"Just an exceptional player," said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. "The composure for the first goal is insane. There is no doubt when the ball is in that area, in the end you see it on the scoresheet."
Newcastle may be backed by the seemingly endless resources of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but Eddie Howe is fast running out of options on the field.
The Magpies were without 11 first-team players for Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth and lost Miguel Almiron to another injury during the first half. Howe was forced to play without a natural striker due to the absence of both Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.
Teenage midfielder Lewis Miley was handed his first Premier League start, while another teenager Ben Parkinson was introduced from the bench.
As well as the rigours of a first Champions League campaign in 20 years, Newcastle have battled past both Manchester City and Manchester United to reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Howe admitted a seventh game in 21 days was "one too far" for his side.
The surprise decision not to bolster Howe's squad more thoroughly in the summer transfer market is now coming back to bite. Bottom of their Champions League group, Newcastle are also languishing in seventh in the Premier League table after failing to win half of their 12 games so far.
Not for the first time in Mauricio Pochettino's short reign as Chelsea boss, the Blues were not found wanting when faced with the cream of the Premier League crop.
Arsenal and Liverpool were lucky to escape with a point from Stamford Bridge earlier in the season and Chelsea were well worthy of at least a share of the spoils against Pep Guardiola's men.
Chelsea also ended Tottenham's unbeaten start to the campaign with a 4-1 away win on Monday night. Yet, they are still looking up at those sides from 10th in the table.
Pochettino's men are 12 points adrift of City and 10 off even the top four, as they have been far less impressive when expected to blow the opposition away.
Chelsea have proven they can mix it with the best, the task for Pochettino is now to find the solution to break down deep-lying defences and move swiftly up the table.
Liverpool's return to challenging for the title is being built around making Anfield a fortress to be feared once more. Jurgen Klopp's men have won all nine games at home this season in all competitions, scoring 27 goals in the process.
Mohamed Salah has been central to that success as the Egyptian became the first Liverpool player ever to score in his first six home league games of a season.
Salah's double in a 3-0 win over Brentford took his tally in English football to 200. He also became just the third player in Premier League history to either score or assist in 15 consecutive home games.
"Just an exceptional player," said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. "The composure for the first goal is insane. There is no doubt when the ball is in that area, in the end you see it on the scoresheet."
Newcastle may be backed by the seemingly endless resources of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but Eddie Howe is fast running out of options on the field.
The Magpies were without 11 first-team players for Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth and lost Miguel Almiron to another injury during the first half. Howe was forced to play without a natural striker due to the absence of both Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.
Teenage midfielder Lewis Miley was handed his first Premier League start, while another teenager Ben Parkinson was introduced from the bench.
As well as the rigours of a first Champions League campaign in 20 years, Newcastle have battled past both Manchester City and Manchester United to reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Howe admitted a seventh game in 21 days was "one too far" for his side.
The surprise decision not to bolster Howe's squad more thoroughly in the summer transfer market is now coming back to bite. Bottom of their Champions League group, Newcastle are also languishing in seventh in the Premier League table after failing to win half of their 12 games so far.
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