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Talking points from this weekend's Premier League action

There were 39 goals scored across just eight matches as strikers enjoyed a bumper weekend haul.

Liverpool continued their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Chelsea while Tottenham also showed their prowess in front of goal.

But remarkably there were 39 goals across the weekend's eight matches, including three games which featured seven strikes.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the things we learned from this weekend's action.

Does behind closed doors mean more goals?

There were three seven-goal thrillers over the course of the weekend. Saturday kicked off with Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hat-trick as Everton comfortably beat 10-man West Brom 5-2. The early clash was shortly followed by Leeds' first Premier League victory in a 4-3 win over Fulham, with five different players putting their names on the score sheet for the newly promoted sides. On Sunday Son Heung-min struck four times as Tottenham came from behind to thrash Southampton 5-2. Leicester and Burnley almost joined the seven-goal party, stopping one short at 4-2.

Eyebrows raised over handball decisions

Referee Martin Atkinson awarded a controversial penalty for a Victor Lindelof handball at Old Trafford
Referee Martin Atkinson awarded a controversial penalty for a Victor Lindelof handball at Old Trafford (Richard Heathcote/PA)

The spotlight moved from VAR to the most recent changes to the handball rule over the weekend. During Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, referee Martin Atkinson consulted the pitchside monitor to determine that Victor Lindelof had handled the ball inside his own box, a controversial decision, and Wilfried Zaha put the penalty away at the second time of asking in a poor performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men.

Has the home advantage disappeared?

Without the vociferous support of a full stadium, home advantage appeared to diminish over the weekend. United slumped to defeat to Palace, while Newcastle were comfortably beaten at home to Brighton. The away teams also notched up the goals in the empty stadiums with Fulham, Brighton and Palace scoring three, Tottenham five and Liverpool two.

Liverpool on top again?

Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Matt Dunham/PA)

Jurgen Klopp's men remain the side to beat after they secured two back-to-back victories from the opening games, this weekend recording a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Despite Frank Lampard's more-than-£200million summer spend, Sadio Mane's brace sealed a victory which was compounded by Blues mistakes. Liverpool capitalised on Andreas Christensen's red card for a clumsy challenge on Mane, and were gifted their second following Kepa Arrizabalaga's howler.

Tottenham firing – and there's more to come

With Gareth Bale waiting in the wings, Son bagged four during his side's 5-2 win to remind manager Jose Mourinho of his prowess in front of goal. Bale completed his return to north London on Saturday, and will add to the firepower that Spurs have in the final third of the pitch. Harry Kane assisted all four goals before adding one of his own, and Spurs could prove a threat to all Premier League defences once Bale is added to the squad.

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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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