At Old Trafford, Manchester United’s recent string of poor performances finally caught up to them, and the Red Devils were roundly beaten by their cross-city rivals. The first half started evenly with a few opportunities for both clubs, but City pulled ahead via the penalty spot after a VAR penalty decision which the on field referee hadn’t caught. Erling Haaland buried the chance, and Pep’s men were in firm control from then on. While Erik Ten Hag’s side crafted a few sights at goal, City created more, and none of United’s changes shifted the balance at all - least of all Mason Mount, who was brought on at half time. United heaved themselves about the pitch like sacks of flour come to life and could do nothing to stop City from going 2 up through an unmarked Haaland header, and then 3 up from Phil Foden. For the red half of Manchester, neither the result nor the performance are surprising - but fans would have hoped their beleaguered side would rise to the occasion in a consequential Derby. City may be imperious, but the limpness of the display has United supporters beginning to question Ten Hag.

Chelsea, after a few weeks of winning, hit a bump in the road when Brentford came to visit in a West London Derby. Thomas Frank and the Bees executed their game plan to perfection, running out 2-0 victors after stifling Mauricio Pochettino’s men. Chelsea produced a few serviceable chances, and looked bright with Noni Madueke and Marc Cucurella going close. However, Brentford's tactics worked a treat and Frank’s crew weathered pressure and blunted the opposition until they were able to break the game open with more offensive play in the early second half. Ethan Pinnock, as usual a defensive stalwart, took center stage and headed in the go ahead goal. Chelsea responded by largely controlling the game, but they were left open and were nearly scored upon twice before - after Roberto Sánchez came up for a corner - the Bees put the game to bed by scoring on an empty net. This result largely alleviates any concern about Brentford, who had been sliding before the international break - but it opens up a fresh pack of worry for Chelsea supporters.

A few members of the chasing pack avoided defeat, but still dropped points. Newcastle twice let a lead slip away to Wolves - and the Magpies may consider themselves lucky to have come away with anything. The match was end to end, with both clubs trading early opportunities - but it was the Tyneside outfit that struck first, when Callum Wilson pounced on a spilled ball in the six yard box. Wolves didn’t back down, and Mario Lemina leveled at a corner. Eddie Howe’s side went ahead again following a confounding little penalty, which seemed bought by the Newcastle player. VAR allowed it to stand, and Callum Wilson made it a brace. The Molineux men were undaunted, however, and wave after wave of pressure finally broke through when Hwang Hee-chan slotted past Pope. It ended 2-2, but - more important than the result - Wolves look set to be without talismanic Pedro Neto for an extended period after he pulled up with a clear hamstring injury. The Portuguese winger has been instrumental to the Midlands club, and supporters will be eager to see him recover as quickly as possible. 

Brighton also failed to earn maximum points, held 1-1 by the visiting flamingos of Fulham. The Seagulls got off to a solid start, ramping up pressure on the Fulham goal - young Carlos Baleba in particular seemed eager to tear the cover off the ball. Eventually the Cottagers’ stoop was breached by a fine finish from Evan Ferguson, who guided the ball past Bernd Leno in goal. Marco Silva’s side grew into the game, and - simultaneously - Brighton were unable to put it out of reach. The improved Fulham attack evened the score in the second half courtesy of a João Palhinha smash, even though the midfielder likely should already have been sent off. Both sides had chances for a late winner, but the spoils were shared in what is a solid point for Fulham. Brighton, on the other hand, are regressing a bit and may be having difficulty navigating the added workload of European competition. Roberto De Zerbi is far from crisis mode, but he could use a win badly.

It wasn’t all bad news for clubs with top of the table aspirations - Arsenal ran out 5-0 winners over a woeful Sheffield United. Emile Smith-Rowe was a surprise starter for the Gunners, but it was Eddie Nketiah, who was filling in for Gabriel Jesus, who stole the spotlight. The Blades started well enough, weathering a burst of Arsenal pressure and even snagging a few opportunities on the break. But that positivity was short lived, as their runs forward left them exposed, and Nketiah weaved through the defense to start the rout. The striker made it 2 shortly after halftime, gobbling up some corner scraps, and put an exclamation point on his hat trick with a thunderbolt - his first ever Arsenal goal from outside the box. The Gunners would add a penalty, steered home by Fábio Vieira, and a goal from Takehiro Tomiyasu in stoppage time. It was as routine a victory as Arsenal could hope for, and as deflating a defeat as Sheffield United would have feared.

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa also dispatched of a promoted side, swatting aside Luton Town at home 3-1. The Birmingham side was on top from the outset, stretching the Hatters’ defense from the jump. John McGinn continued his hot start to the campaign, and the Scot put away a great goal off of a set piece routine. The hosts went into the break up 1-0 but with the match firmly under control. It took only a few minutes for Moussa Diaby to double the lead after halftime, and Villa went up 3-0 via an unfortunate own goal by Tom Lockyer. Luton eventually got on the score sheet through a comedy own goal (netted by Emiliano Martínez but caused by Ezri Konsa), but it was pure consolation. This result keeps Villa in 5th and drops the Hatters into the bottom 3, but they remain the most competent looking of the promoted squads

Liverpool, under a cloud of worry as news emerged before the game that Luis Díaz’s parents had been kidnapped in his hometown, dug deep and put together their most cohesive performance of the season. While it pales in comparison to the safety of their left winger’s family (his Mother has been rescued, but - at time of writing - his Father has not been found), the Merseyside club won the match 3-0 behind goals from Diogo Jota (smartly pounced on a rebound), Darwin Núñez (tap in from a Szoboszlai cross), and Mohamed Salah (empty net finish following a mix up by Forest’s defense). Notably, the Reds also kept a clean sheet and didn’t allow a shot on target until the very last kick of the game - which, incidentally, was a quite tame shot. Liverpool supporters will welcome the almost boring nature of the game; there have been few matches where Klopp’s side seemed so in control. Forest are without a positive result in a while are also mired in a tough run of fixtures. Steve Cooper has earned a lot of credit, but will be desperate for a win soon.

Tottenham Hotspur also earned all 3 points in their match against Crystal Palace, but were slightly less convincing than their compatriots at the top end of things. A win is a win, but it was noteworthy that Ange Postecoglou’s side won 2-1 with only 1 shot on target. That anomaly was possible because it was Palace’s Joel Ward who popped in an own goal in the second half, after a drab 0-0 first 45. Spurs’ second goal, however, was well crafted, and the captain, Son Heung-min guided in a clever finish - aided by Brennan Johnson, who’s back from injury. It all looked comfortable for the North London outfit, but Jordan Ayew decided to keep things interesting by netting his first goal of the season via a shot that was part good finish, part optical illusion - I still can’t tell if the ball hits his arm. There was a late block by Pedro Porro to hold the lead, and Spurs kept their grip on the top spot in the table. While it wasn’t an emphatic victory, Postecoglou continues to do no wrong. Roy Hodgson, in contrast, showed a bit of his spiky side, digging out a few Palace players. The Eagles are comfortably in midtable, but their bright start to the campaign has slightly dulled.

Closer to the bottom of the table, there were key wins by Everton and Bournemouth. The Toffees organized a brilliant but stodgy 1-0 win over favored West Ham, silencing the London Stadium. West Ham rely on teams attacking them to jumpstart their offense, and Sean Dyche wisely made David Moyes create his own attacking spark, which blunted the usually dangerous East London side. Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko were excellent as the Liverpool side corralled West Ham’s creators and kept things nice and contained. The first half ended 0-0, and Everton then enacted phase two of their operation, piling on early pressure in the second half and nabbing a goal by the clinical Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Toffees deserve their flowers for this performance as they came closest to scoring another goal - the best West Ham could manage was a Saïd Benrahma shot which was well saved by Pickford. It ended with just the one score, and it may prove to be a crucial 3 points in Everton’s season. West Ham find themselves empty handed and Moyes will need to figure out how to break down teams in the low block - because, based on this result, more and more teams will try it. 

Finally, Bournemouth earned their first win of the season, topping Burnley 2-1 on the South Coast. It was an invaluable win for Andoni Iraola, whose start to life in the Premier League has been mixed at best. It didn’t come easy for the Cherries - Burnley took an early lead behind Charlie Taylor’s exquisite volleyed finish. Bournemouth were quick to equalize, however, and the match went into halftime knotted at 1-1. In the second half, the hosts were able to pull ahead, and Philip Billing caught James Trafford off his line, lofting a shot over the keeper from distance. It wasn’t easy for the Cherries to ride out the victory, and only a narrow offside (which was correct, though it took nearly 6 minutes to verify) kept Burnley from leveling late in the match. It’s hard to overstate how important this win is for Iraola’s side - it keeps a crisis manageable (and almost certainly saved the Spaniard’s job). Burnley continue to resist adapting their style, which is Vincent Kompany’s prerogative as a coach. But, if it continues this way, the Clarets will be cut adrift before Christmas.