Manchester City are the only team who remain unbeaten after eight rounds of Premier League fixtures this season, after coming from behind to secure a last-gasp 2-1 victory at basement club Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Liverpool remain at the summit, though, after edging past Chelsea by a 2-1 scoreline at Anfield just a few hours later, while title rivals Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season away against Bournemouth, losing 2-0 with William Saliba seeing red inside the opening 27 minutes.
Aston Villa have consolidated their place in the top four after beating Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage, while Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur collected all three points against Newcastle United and West Ham United respectively - the former winning 1-0 at St James' Park and the latter claiming a 4-1 victory in North London.
Manchester United ended a five-game winless run in all competitions by beating Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford, and Everton also picked up maximum points in a 2-0 win at Ipswich Town.
Strugglers Southampton threw away a two-goal lead and lost 3-2 at home to Leicester City, while Nottingham Forest have climbed up to eighth place after rounding off gameweek eight with a slender 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
DEFENCE
© Imago
Nottingham Forest's improvements in defence this season have been helped by Matz Sels's performances between the sticks. The Belgian kept his third clean sheet of the campaign against Crystal Palace and made a total of seven saves, including two important interventions to deny Eberechi Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp in the second half.
Abdul Fatawu came on for the final 31 minutes as an advanced right-back against Southampton and completely changed the game, remarkably touching the ball more times in the opposition's box (seven) than any other player on the pitch. The lightning quick 20-year-old assisted Leicester's first goal, was denied a wonder-goal from distance by the woodwork, played his part in the build-up to the Foxes winning a penalty and won the corner that led to his team's dramatic stoppage-time winner.
Michael Keane is not known for his goalscoring abilities and the centre-back surprised many when he rippled the roof of the net from a tight angle to put Everton out of sight against Ipswich. Keane also made seven clearances, completed 90% of his passes and helped the Toffees keep a clean sheet, preventing Ipswich from having a single shot on target until the 80th minute.
Not many teams have stopped Arsenal from scoring in recent times, but Bournemouth managed to keep a clean sheet, largely thanks to the defensive work of Marcos Senesi, who registered five clearances, five ball recoveries, five aerial duels and won four tackles. No centre-back in Europe's top-five leagues has more tackles or defensive actions per 90 minutes than the Argentine this season.
To the delight and surprise of many Man City supporters, Josko Gvardiol is making a habit of scoring superb long-range strikes while operating as an advanced left-back. The Croatian has now scored more goals (six) than any other Premier League defender in 2024 after firing a stunning 20-yard right-footed shot beyond Wolves' Jose Sa. City's No.24 also won three duels, made three ball recoveries and completed 13 passes into the final third at Molineux.
MIDFIELD
© Imago
An established first-team regular under Unai Emery, Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans was a standout performer in Aston Villa's win at Fulham, leading the way with touches (90), accurate passes (60/66), final third entries (13), duels won (six), ball recoveries (six) and chances created (four), while he also provided an assist from a corner for Ollie Watkins.
Another midfield maestro from the weekend was Liverpool's Curtis Jones who put in a man-of-the-match display against Chelsea, winning the penalty that allowed Mohamed Salah to break the deadlock before producing the game's defining moment with his second-half goal. He also won six duels, made six ball recoveries, completed 90% of his passes and made a crucial block to deny Cole Palmer in the first half.
Dejan Kulusevski has been thriving in a central role at Tottenham this season and he impressed again against West Ham. The Swede scored Spurs' equaliser and was arguably their best attacker on the pitch, but he also contributed with eight duels won, eight ball recoveries, three tackles and two successful take-ons in North London.
ATTACK
© Imago
Facundo Buonanotte is making the most of his loan spell at Leicester from Brighton so far this term and was key to the Foxes' revival against Southampton. The playmaker was in the right place at the right time to bundle home his goal, while he completed four dribbles - more than any other player - won 13 ground duels, made seven tackles and completed three key passes at St Mary's.
Son Heung-min was welcomed back to Tottenham with open arms against West Ham and marked his return from injury with an excellent second-half goal, before being denied a second in agonising fashion by the inside of the post. The tenacious South Korean, who had 10 touches in the opposition's box, also played a big part in Alphonse Areola's own goal.
Man United have struggled in front of goal this term, but Alejandro Garnacho stepped up to inspire the Red Devils to their comeback win over Brentford. The Argentine, United's most threatening attacker, netted an emphatic volley to restore parity, while he also registered 10 touches in the opposition's box, two successful take-ons and two key passes.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Sels; Fatawu, Keane, Senesi, Gvardiol; Jones, Tielemans, Kulusevski; Buonanotte, Son, Garnacho
Oliver Thomas
