Manchester City’s 3-0 win at Anfield dominated the latest round of Premier League weekend takeaways, but it was far from the only story that shaped the table. Chelsea produced one of the fastest starts in club history, Arsenal staged a comeback against Leeds United and Jamie Carragher used his Sky Sports platform to call for a Liverpool teammate to be benched. Here are the five biggest storylines to come out of the weekend.
Manchester City Stay Perfect Amid Anfield Protest
City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool came in their first match since an independent commission ruled the club broke Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, according to Sky Sports. The Anfield crowd responded with chants of “You haven’t won a trophy since 1976,” a reference to City’s last League Cup title before the period under scrutiny, while banners in the stands referenced “a generation of supporters cheated.”
None of it affected the result. City moved to the top of the table with a perfect record through their matches, a point the club has treated as a rebuttal to the noise around the ruling, according to Sky Sports.
Ryan Gravenberch’s Red Card Compounds Liverpool’s Problems
Liverpool’s afternoon got worse when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off during the loss to City, leaving the home side to play a man down. Before the dismissal, Liverpool had controlled large stretches of the match without carving out a clear chance, a pattern that has followed the team through much of the season.
Jamie Carragher did not hold back afterward. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool defender said Florian Wirtz needs to be dropped from the lineup. “I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I’m going to say it again,” Carragher said.
“I said Liverpool played well today for a lot of the game before the Gravenberch red card but they didn’t create a chance, so Liverpool have a real problem this season with scoring goals and creating chances and that’s what you bought Wirtz for. He’s not giving you anything defensively and he’s not giving you anything going the other way.”
Chelsea’s Fast Starts Keep Piling Up Goals
Chelsea’s win over Bournemouth opened with goals from Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers within two minutes and 29 seconds, the fastest two-goal lead in the club’s Premier League history, according to the Premier League’s official site. Cole Palmer said he saw Henderson’s free kick coming before it went in. “We’ve been working on it in training,” Palmer said. “Before he shot, I said, ‘which corner are we running to when you put it in the top corner?'”
Joao Pedro added two second-half goals, his fifth in five games to start the season. Chelsea has now scored within seven minutes of kickoff in five of their six matches and carries a league-high 29 goals scored, though the club has also conceded a league-high 13, a split that points to an attack far ahead of its defense right now.
Arsenal’s Response Shows In Comeback Win Over Leeds
Arsenal trailed Leeds United after James Justin scored in the 55th minute, but Mikel Arteta’s side answered with goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimaraes to complete the turnaround. Arteta credited the home crowd and his substitutes for the shift in momentum. “We had an incredible response,” Arteta said.
“You could sense the crowd, the energy changed immediately. The finishers came in and made a huge difference to help us win the game.”
The result came after Arsenal’s earlier unbeaten run had already ended in a 3-0 defeat to Brighton, where Pascal Gross scored, assisted and collected all three bonus points for a 14-point haul. Together the two results show a team capable of both a flat performance and a sharp recovery within the same stretch of fixtures.
Chelsea’s Defensive Issues Persist Despite The Goals
Chelsea’s attacking output has masked a longer-running problem at the back. The club has gone 21 consecutive league matches without a clean sheet and has just two wins from its opening five games this season, according to Yahoo Sports. Those numbers sit alongside the 29 goals conceded, underlining that Enzo Maresca’s team is winning matches by outscoring opponents rather than shutting them down.
Elsewhere, Tottenham’s troubles continued with a 3-2 loss to Aston Villa, leaving Spurs without a league win through five matches. Villa’s victory, built on goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendia, was their first of the season.
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