EPL Review: Liverpool rise to challenge, Arsenal step on rake

Following every weekend of Premier League action, theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points to emerge from the slate of matches. Below, we dissect Matchweek 8 of the 2024-25 season.

Liverpool pass 1st big test 💪

Fair or not, Liverpool’s early-season success came with a major asterisk in the eyes of most. Prior to Sunday’s clash with Chelsea, the Reds had one of the most forgiving schedules in the league; Liverpool didn’t face any of the current top nine in their first seven games.

Sunday, then, would provide a more accurate representation of Liverpool’s credibility as a title threat. Consider the test passed. The threat is real.

Led by Curtis Jones, an unlikely hero, and Mohamed Salah, the most likely protagonist, Liverpool held off a Chelsea side that hadn’t lost a game since August, retaining top spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 win. It wasn’t all smooth sailing – Chelsea had more of the ball and took more shots – but Arne Slot’s men dug in when necessary and created just enough to stay unbeaten.

“The better the teams you face, the more you need to fight,” Slot told reporters after the match. “It helps if you play against a Chelsea, it is a big game and everyone feels it. We felt it and the fans felt it because they were there for us today. We showed up, that was the most important thing.”

They need to keep showing up. Liverpool play Arsenal, Brighton, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Manchester City, and Tottenham before the calendar year ends.

If they’re still leading the pack after that run, the caveats will be no more.

Quick free-kicks 📝

Did Wolves get jobbed?

In a word, no. Cruel as Wolverhampton’s last-second 2-1 loss to Manchester City was after Gary O’Neil’s team battled so valiantly for 95 minutes, John Stones’ controversial header was correctly awarded upon a VAR review. The goal was initially called off on the field because Bernardo Silva was adjudged to be interfering with goalkeeper Jose Sa and, thus, offside. But the Portuguese midfielder crucially disengaged with the netminder after a slight bump before Stones’ effort – which is considered a different phase of play and, therefore, not part of the offside conversation – and moved out of the line of sight when the header itself was directed toward the goal.

Wolves, and Manchester City’s title rivals, will understandably be fuming, especially considering the timing of this sequence, but, ultimately, this was the correct call. If anything, a clear push in the back by Matheus Nunes moments earlier, which allowed City to regain possession and charge back up the field to earn the corner kicks that eventually created their goal, was the real uncalled infraction that punished Wolves.

West Ham implode

Tottenham Hotspur deserve credit for pouring it on in the second half of Saturday’s 4-1 win over West Ham United, especially considering the lows they hit in their last match prior to the international break. But let’s not get it twisted: This was an implosion by the Hammers on multiple fronts. Trailing 2-1 and still very much in the match, under-fire manager Julen Lopetegui wanted to make a triple substitution to try and turn the tide. Instead, Spurs scored twice in five minutes amid confusion on the touchline, including a comical own goal that was credited to Alphonse Areola, effectively ending the match.

West Ham didn’t make their desired changes until after the onslaught. Obviously, it was too late by that point. Mohammed Kudus, West Ham’s most credible attacking threat, capped the collapse with a needless red card in the closing minutes. Sack watch is very much on for Lopetegui as West Ham continue to toil without an identifiable style or substance to their play.

Ten Hag continues to deflect

Erik ten Hag always tries to give himself an out. There’s always an excuse. The Manchester United manager’s latest diatribe against the world stemmed from Matthijs de Ligt’s head injury during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brentford. The Dutchman, bleeding profusely from his head after a nasty clash, was forced to leave the pitch multiple times. On one such occasion, after the referee instructed him to depart for treatment, Brentford used their temporary man advantage to score from a corner kick. Ten Hag, fuming in the moment, called the situation an “injustice” after the match. There was no “injustice.” The referee, by rule, must send any player with blood on their person or equipment off the field.

Ten Hag can certainly twist the narrative, you have to give him that. The only sin here was his own. De Ligt, through no fault of his own, was a liability because he had to leave the field multiple times. Ten Hag had more than one opportunity to substitute him and ensure his team had 11 men on the field for the entirety of the half. He didn’t. That’s bordering on coaching malpractice. It’s largely moot because United turned the game around in the second half, but it continues to be clear he’s not the right person to bring Manchester United back to the top.

Arsenal authors of their own demise

Declan Rice said it best after Arsenal’s third red card of the season cost them dearly in an eventual 2-0 loss to Bournemouth. “Naive” and “silly” mistakes are threatening to derail a potential title-winning campaign. The Gunners are certainly good enough to end their title drought, but they have to stop shooting themselves in the foot to make that a reality. Mikel Arteta’s team has already picked up more red cards in the opening eight games of the campaign than in the previous two Premier League seasons combined.

The usually unimpeachable William Saliba was at fault Saturday, hauling down Evanilson as he was going to latch onto a loose ball and head clean through on goal. Leandro Trossard deserves equal blame, though, as his ludicrous backward pass went astray, sailing over everyone, and giving the Bournemouth striker a chance to race forward before Saliba grabbed hold of him. Crucially, the disastrous sequence has a more long-lasting impact than just Saturday’s loss, as Saliba will miss next weekend’s game against Liverpool following the first red card of his senior club career.

Star performer 🌟

Curtis Jones (Liverpool)

Curtis Jones is loving life under Arne Slot right now.

The 23-year-old midfielder, starting in his second consecutive Premier League match after spending the early part of the season as a second-string option off the bench, was the best player on the pitch in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea. Jones won the penalty to set up Mohamed Salah’s opener and then scored the winner himself in the second half, ghosting behind the static Chelsea center-backs with a sneaky run and keeping his composure from in tight to deliver the key goal at Anfield.

Starting in an ostensibly deeper midfield position, Jones was popping up all over the pitch, as evidenced by his decisive tally, and he did a little bit of everything for Slot and his team. In addition to winning a penalty and finding the net, he won six duels, had four touches inside the Chelsea penalty area, made three tackles, and created two scoring chances.

Liverpool’s midfield, once viewed as a liability, suddenly has serious depth.

Best XI 😎

(Courtesy: FotMob)

Highlight of the weekend 🎥

Combine Bruno Fernandes’ deft flick and Rasmus Hojlund’s delicate finish, and you get an exquisite Manchester United goal.

Stat of the weekend 🔢

When will Manchester City lose a Premier League game?

Social media moment 📱

There was a certain irony about Arsenal, the Premier League’s set-piece kings, being undone by a clever Bournemouth set-piece routine. That wasn’t lost on the Cherries’ social media team.

Where we stand 👀

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