Manchester City and Tottenham closed the weekend drawing 3-3 in a match with major title race implications. The hosts, City, found themselves quickly down 1-0 after sending wave after wave of pressure to the Tottenham backline, only to be undone by the Spurs’ first foray into their half. Son Heung-min - as he loves to do - undid Pep’s defense, finding space and finishing past Ederson in goal. The lead was short lived, however, and it was the Korean international who scored next as well, but it was in his own net following a cross. The Champions quickly pulled ahead, a great passing move ending with a Phil Foden goal. The first half ended 2-1, but Ange Postecoglou’s side would have been feeling immense relief as they could have been down by far more. The second period started much like the first, with City pouncing on mistakes and nearly extending their lead. The North London side was able to grow into the game though, and, in the 69th minute, Giovani Lo Celso made space for himself to curl a low left footed shot in after dinking the post. While both sides had chances, it was Pep’s side that pulled ahead, jumping on some loose play in Spurs’ half and running an overload that led to an easy finish by Jack Grealish. This match kept giving, and before the clock hit 90, Tottenham equalized, this time Dejan Kulusevski heading home a Brennan Johnson cross. It was a frantic game, and it had one more late twist up its sleeve. In the 94th minute, Erling Haaland was fouled and referee Simon Hooper signaled a foul. Thinking he was playing advantage, Haaland hoofed a ball up the pitch, finding Jack Grealish one on one with the goalkeeper. The official then blew his whistle to bring it back to the spot of the foul. What exactly happened is unclear, but City felt very, very aggrieved. This draw pulls the Champions back to 3rd position, with a difficult trip to Aston Villa coming midweek.

Anfield hosted a match to remember on Sunday afternoon, with Liverpool coming back very late to down Fulham 4-3. It all started well enough for Jürgen Klopp’s side; the Reds opened the scoring with a great free kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who struck the ball beautifully (even though it went down as an own goal after deflecting off Bernd Leno). This season’s Liverpool have been adept at holding on to leads, especially at home, but that was not the case this time. Harry Wilson latched on to the Cottager’s first real opportunity and leveled the score. Reasonably unfazed, Liverpool answered with an absolute rocket of a goal from Alexis Mac Allister, who opened his account with Liverpool with a sweetly struck blast off the bounce from distance. Klopp’s men, again, couldn’t hold on and Marco Silva’s side equalized again from a dreadfully defended corner just before halftime. To start, the second period played out as one might expect with Liverpool producing the majority of the chances (Darwin Núñez missed 2 great opportunities) and Fulham looking dangerous on the break. The West London side ultimately made the breakthrough, going up 3-2 after substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid out jumped the Reds’ backline and headed home. Liverpool’s perfect home record was set to be broken, but - in the span of 2 minutes - the Merseyside club reversed their fortunes. First Wataru Endō, who was somewhat of a surprise substitute, curled home a wonderful strike from Mohamed Salah’s cutback. Anfield was fired up, and it took very little time for Trent Alexander-Arnold to pick up on a headed clearance and fire past Leno for the winning goal. A result that’s hugely important for the title race, Liverpool moved into second place in the table.

 In a rare Saturday night contest, Newcastle bagged a well-deserved 1-0 win over Manchester United. The Magpies are deep in an injury crisis and their already questionable depth was even more stretched than usual. But, despite this, the Tyneside club dominated proceedings from kickoff, piling pressure on Erik Ten Hag’s side. While Eddie Howe’s team was clearly better on the night, the first half ended 0-0, and it seemed possible that the Red Devils would snag another late win from a game where they were second best. However, in the 55th minute, Anthony Gordon made the breakthrough, igniting Tyneside with a smart finish. While the Manchester side crafted a few opportunities and even had a goal chalked off, Newcastle looked more likely to add another than they did to concede an equalizer. It was a thoroughly humbling display for Ten Hag, and this performance did nothing to assuage fears that Manchester United can’t handle top level opposition.

Bournemouth kept their undefeated run going, drawing 2-2 to Aston Villa at home. The Cherries started brightly, with Antoine Semenyo opening the scoring in the 10th minute. The South Coast side has begun to gel, and the Ghanaian’s return to the starting lineup is a major factor in their improvement – and it doesn’t hurt that he seems to be a master at finding the corners with low finishes. The lead was short lived, however, and the Birmingham side equalized through a powerful, left-footed finish by Leon Bailey. Andoni Iraola’s side pulled ahead again after half time, this time through their stalwart striker, Dominic Solanke. The Englishman showed his composure, receiving a pass and calmly turning and finding the back of the net. It looked as though Bournemouth were about to record their 3rd win on the spin, but Ollie Watkins had other plans, equalizing in the 90th minute by guiding a header home from Moussa Diaby’s cross. The Cherries will be disappointed to draw, but they look so much more cohesive that the positives from the performance outweigh the negatives. Aston Villa looked flat, which is perhaps unsurprising after they played a Europa Conference league match on Thursday.

West Ham and Crystal Palace also couldn’t be separated, drawing 1-1 at the London Stadium. Kurt Zouma was missing for the Hammers, but Jarrod Bowen returned to the starting lineup earlier than expected. David Moyes’ side shot out to an early lead, with Mohammed Kudus powering home a cross into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Ghanaian has had a huge impact in recent weeks, and he’s shown that he can be a force both in scoring and facilitating (he nearly had a second as well, but it was pulled back for offside). Roy Hodgson’s eagles grew into the match, creating a few good – if unspectacular – chances before halftime. While it took until the second half, Palace were good for an equalizer, coming courtesy of Odsonne Édouard only a few moments after he blazed a gilt-edged chance over the bar. The goal came from an uncharacteristically loose pass from Edson Álvarez, and Palace’s striker made no mistake in his cool finish off the ball. West Ham looked the more likely to grab the winner, but it was not to be. Hammers fans will be mildly disappointed, but this seems to be the new standard for the East London club following European matches in midweek.

Chelsea got back to winning ways, outlasting Brighton in a tense match and leaving Stamford Bridge 3-2 victors. Brighton were hurting from European exploits of their own, and the Seagulls squad remains extremely depleted. The hosts opened the scoring in the 17th minute, when Enzo Fernández headed home an improvised cross from Benoȋt Badiashile. Chelsea ramped up the pressure and added another 4 minutes later after Levi Colwill nodded home, looking set to run out easy winners. It wasn’t that simple of course, and Brighton halved the deficit via Facundo Buonanotte, before Conor Gallagher got himself set off for 2 quick yellows. Roberto De Zerbi’s men dominated proceedings for the next few minutes, only to be undone by a penalty after Mykhailo Mudryk was brought down in the box. Enzo duly converted the spot kick, and Chelsea were back in the driver’s seat. João Pedro looped home a header to cut into the lead, but the Seagulls couldn’t find an equalizer.

While Brentford’s backline is still in flux due to injuries, they had more than enough to put away Luton Town at home. The Bees opened the affair with a solid spell of pressure, living around the Hatters’ box and forcing several blocks and saves from Rob Edward’s side. Luton were able to hold their hosts for the first half, but it was no surprise when Brentford pulled ahead early in the second half courtesy of Neal Maupay. The goal was scrappy, but Maupay could be hugely important to Brentford as they count down the days before Ivan Toney returns (or they raise funds for a replacement with his sale). Ben Mee quickly added a second via a deflected header, and the match looked done and dusted. The Hatters, however, would make it interesting, with Jacob Brown jumping on a mistake and creeping the ball past Mark Flekken in goal. There were shades of tension, but ultimately Brentford put the game to bed with a scrambled home finish by Shandon Baptiste. A steady win for the Bees, which bolsters their hopes to slink up the table.

Manchester United thwarted Everton’s revival last week, but Sean Dyche’s side made up for it on Saturday, going on the road and grabbing all 3 points against Nottingham Forest. There were reasons to worry for the Toffees going into the match, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin out and Beto thrust back into the starting lineup. This looked to be a disaster for the Merseyside club, with the Portuguese striker wildly skying several shots. Both sides had chances early on, with Murillo clearing a shot to keep it 0-0 and Anthony Elanga pushing an attempt wide. Forest went close a few times, but – ultimately – Everton pulled ahead in the second half when Dwight McNeil latched on to a cross and fired a fantastic left footed shot into the net. The Toffees saw the game out, and – while they’re still parked in the relegation zone – this performance could be the spark they need to begin their climb up the table. Steve Cooper, on the other hand, might have managed his final match for Forest. He’s done an excellent job, and the Nottingham faithful will always revere him, but the expectations their owner has – even if unreasonable – seem at odds with what Cooper is producing.

Arsenal held serve at the top of the table, winning narrowly against Wolves at home. At first it seemed as though the Gunners would run away with the match, quickly going up 2-0 on Gary O’Neill’s side. Bukayo Saka got the party started with a beaming bit of interplay with Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Martin Ødegaard doubled their advantage following a great team move, finishing with surety from the top of the box. Leandro Trossard nearly made it 3 before the half, and Arsenal looked to be easy winners. However, as has happened a few times this season, the Gunners didn’t get the killer blow, leaving the opportunity open for their opposition. Wolves eventually took their chance, looking more fluid in the second half despite missing several usual starters and losing José Sá to injury early in the match. Matheus Cunha was the wolf to make the breakthrough, pouncing on a mistake and finishing well. The Midlands side created a few chances to equalize, as did Arsenal, with Eddie Nketiah hitting the post. Mikel Arteta’s side saw out the match and saw themselves retain top spot in the division.

So… remember how Burnley are totally hapless in this division? How they couldn’t make their offensive fluidity translate without exposing themselves in defense? It turns out all they need to do is play their fellow promoted sides. After beating Luton Town earlier this season but otherwise without a win, the Clarets showed how they topped last season’s Championship by obliterating Sheffield United 5-0. It started incredibly quickly; Jay Rodriguez met a cross and steered it into the net within 15 seconds of the opening kick. Burnley didn’t look back, with Jacob Bruun Larsen doubling their lead in the 29th minute. Their advantage got even bigger when Oli McBurnie lost his cool and racked up 2 yellow cards for 2 very similar elbows, and Sheffield United lost one of their best players before the end of the first half. Despite this, Sheffield United briefly regrouped, and the Blades held their opponents until the 73rd minute when Zeki Amdouni made it 3. Luca Koleosho got in on the act, missing a sitter before knocking a 4th goal in off the post. The captain, Josh Brownhill, would cap the performance with a wonderful strike, and the Clarets clocked their first home win of the campaign in style. Burnley still need to prove themselves against more established Premier League sides, but this is a step in the right direction. Sheffield United, on the other hand, have a very difficult decision on their hands, with Paul Heckingbottom’s position looking increasingly untenable. While it’s yet to be confirmed, we have more than likely seen his last game in the Blades’ dugout.