We’re only seven games into the 2024/25 Premier League season, and club football has embarked on a second hiatus as international football rolls around.
The two-week break gives us plenty of time to ruminate on the happenings of matchday seven, which served up plenty of drama, intense action, and eye-catching results.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal picked up maximum points to ramp up a potential three-way tussle for the Premier League title, while Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United and Aston Villa settled for a goalless draw at Villa Park in a game that failed to live up to the expectations of several fans who bought Manchester United tickets from Seatsnet.com.
However, the most stunning result from matchday seven came at the Amex Stadium when Brighton & Hove Albion overturned a two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 victory against Tottenham Hotspur.
There’s plenty to unpack from an entertaining weekend of Premier League football, but here are some of the key highlights from matchday seven.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool
Arne Slot continued his remarkable start to life as Liverpool manager over the weekend as his side eked out a narrow 1-0 victory over a dogged Crystal Palace outfit at Selhurst Park.
The Dutch tactician raised plenty of eyebrows with his team selection as countryman Cody Gakpo and Liverpool academy graduate Curtis Jones were preferred to Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai in the starting line-up.
Konstantinos Tsimikas also started in place of Andrew Robertson, but Slot’s tweaks made little difference as Liverpool dominated the South Londoners from the get-go.
It only took the indomitable Reds nine minutes to open the scoring as Diogo Jota poked home a low cross from Gakpo, who repaid the manager’s faith with a man-of-the-match performance.
Both sides had several chances to affect the scoreline throughout the game, but Jota’s early strike proved to be the difference as Liverpool consolidated their place at the top of the Premier League table.
The win extended Liverpool’s winning streak to six games across all competitions, and the Reds will welcome Chelsea to Anfield in a confident mood when club football resumes.
Arsenal 3-1 Southampton
Arsenal claimed a comfortable 3-1 victory over newly promoted Southampton at the Emirates Stadium, although the Gunners had to navigate a largely frustrating opening 45 minutes.
Despite dominating proceedings with 69% possession, 14 shots and a big chance created, Mikel Arteta’s side struggled to get past former Gunner Aaron Ramsdale in the Southampton goal.
The second half seemed to be following a similar trajectory until Cameron Archer broke the deadlock for the Saints against the run of play, although Kai Havertz restored parity just three minutes later.
Late goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka wrapped up the three points for Arsenal, who extended their unbeaten start to the season.
That unbeaten record will be put to the test when Arteta’s side travel to the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth after the international break, although they’re overwhelming favourites to emerge from the contest with maximum points.
Man City 3-2 Fulham
Defending champions Man City emerged on the winning side of a five-goal thriller against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
We’ve become accustomed to seeing Erling Braut Haaland dominate the headlines, especially in a goal fest, but surprisingly, the Norwegian striker failed to get on the score sheet in Man City’s 3-2 win.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic netted a brace on either side of half time to overturn Andreas Pereira’s 26th-minute opener.
Jeremy Doku’s 82nd-minute strike sealed the three points for Pep Guardiola’s side, although a late goal from Rodrigo Muniz set up a nervy finale for the champions.
However, they held on to claim their fifth win in seven games and keep pace with table toppers Liverpool, who hold a slender one-point gap at the summit.
The Cityzens continue their title defence with a trip to Molineux Stadium to face Wolverhampton Wanderers after the international break.
Aston Villa 0-0 Man United
Man United and Villa settled for a share of the spoils after playing out a goalless draw at Villa Park. The Red Devils have now lost just one of their last 26 visits to Villa Park in the Premier League.
However, the solitary point did little to reinforce the faith of the United fan base in Erik ten Hag’s ability to turn things around at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman has come under immense scrutiny after yet another awful start to the Premier League season, with United languishing in the bottom half of the table.
United set the record for their worst-ever start to a campaign last season when they collected just nine points from their opening seven games.
Somehow, Ten Hag has found a way to break his own abysmal record, with the Red Devils accumulating just eight points from seven games thus far.
The Dutchman has maintained a positive outlook in public, claiming United are on the right track, but he could find himself on the market if he doesn’t turn things around sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery will be delighted with Villa’s start to the season, sitting fifth in the Premier League table, just four points adrift of pacesetters Liverpool.
Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Chelsea saw their five-match winning streak come to an abrupt when Forest claimed a point after an end-to-end contest at Stamford Bridge.
Both sides struggled to get going in the first half, but the second 45 minutes sparked straight into life when Chris Wood handed Forest the lead against the run of play.
However, Chelsea only needed eight minutes to respond as the familiar duo of Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke combined to level matters just before the hour mark.
Chelsea were handed a numerical advantage when a comical tackle from James Ward-Prowse earned him a second booking and a sending-off, but the Blues were grateful to Robert Sanchez for coming away with a point.
The Spaniard made several stunning saves to keep Enzo Maresca’s side in the game, although the Blues will feel they should have won the game considering the number of chances they created.
Nevertheless, a draw seemed like a reasonable outcome for both sides, meaning Chelsea will take on Liverpool at Anfield on the back of a seven-match unbeaten streak.
Brighton 3-2 Tottenham
Perhaps the most entertaining encounter of the weekend came at the Amex, where Brighton stunned Spurs to claim a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
James Maddison and Brennan Johnson had established a two-goal lead for Tottenham after a dominating first-half display, but the north Londoners appeared to switch off after the break.
Brighton scored three times in 18 minutes to turn the game on its head, courtesy of goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter, and Danny Welbeck.
Tottenham sit ninth on the Premier League table, but they’re just four points off the top four and will be hoping to get their campaign back on track after the break.
Ange Postecoglou was left visibly frustrated as his side threw away a comfortable lead and will demand a response when Spurs host West Ham United in north London.
