Saturday’s Premier League actions saw goals, goals, goals and some pretty memorable on-field moments.
Bukayo Saka was the star of the show as Arsenal showed their title credentials by coming back from 1-0 down to earn a 3-1 win over Southampton to ensure they kept the pace with those ahead of them.
Liverpool set the standard for the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the lunchtime kick-off – even though they did lose Alisson Becker to a worrying injury – before Man City earned a 3-2 home win over Fulham thanks to two goals from Mateo Kovacic and a stunner from Jeremy Doku.
Perhaps even more memorably, however, was an epic foot race between two of the Premier League’s fastest stars in Kyle Walker and Adama Traore which ended with one clear winner.
Elsewhere Brentford won an eight-goal thriller with Wolves pile the pressure on Gary O’Neil while Leicester earned a much-needed win over Bournemouth.
Then there was West Ham who clicked into gear with a 4-1 victory over newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
The late fixture between Everton and Newcastle may have ended goalless, but it wasn’t short of drama with Anthony Gordon missing a spot-kick in front of the Gladys Street End.
While supporters were delighted to see the star miss after his controversial move, no one was happier than Abdoulaye Doucoure who channeled his inner-Martin Keown by berating the Newcastle star.
There was plenty to get stuck into, so here are Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy‘s weekend winners and losers.
Winners
Wayne Rooney
Plymouth earned a last-gasp winner of Blackburn to move into a safe mid-table position following a dominant display at Home Park.
Cundy said: “He’s had a tricky start to his life at Plymouth.
“We know what happened at Derby and they got a late, late winner today and managed to get the three points over Blackburn which is a big result.
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“They’re now 14th and just five points off the play-offs so he gets a big thumbs up from me – he did get a red card though!”
That sending off came for a furious reaction to the referee not awarding his side a free-kick in the build-up to Joe Rankin-Costello’s equaliser after 87 minutes.
Thankfully for him, the talkSPORT boys saw the positives from the day in the south west!
Mateo Kovacic
Rodri who?
The Manchester City star scored twice to help Pep Guardiola‘s side to a 3-2 win over Fulham, meaning that the Premier League champions won’t be too worried about the Spaniard’s season-ending injury.
Cundy said: “He scored two big goals today – he got the equaliser and then put them 2-1 up.
“Kova never scores goals but he scored two today! He never scored for Chelsea but when he does it’s a screamer and he got a brace today.
“With Rodri missing – obviously Rodri has come up with massive goals but that’s a position where Kovacic is probably going to be handed that responsibility.
“He’s a big-game player and has played for Real Madrid and Chelsea and so Kova gets in.”
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Steve Cooper
It may have been a shoddy start to the season but Cooper inspired Leicester to a crucial 1-0 win over Bournemouth – a victory that will do wonders for his side’s confidence in their fight to avoid relegation.
Cundy said: “A first win and the first win for a side who were promoted last season with Southampton and Ipswich still waiting.
“It might not have been pretty, but who cares? They picked up three points and so congratulations to him for reaching the dizzy heights of 15th.
“They’re just one point behind Man United who play Villa tomorrow!”
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Losers
Rob Edwards
From Luton’s saviour to now the Hatter’s potential downfall, Edwards’ side suffered their fifth Championship defeat of the season on Saturday.
A 2-0 loss at Sheffield United leaves them 21st in the table, with the club embroiled in a relegation battle as opposed to another promotion push.
Fearing the worst for the 41-year-old, Cundy said: “You cannot be in the Premier League last season, get relegated, and be fighting relegation the next season.
“That cannot happen. You’ve seen Leicester get promoted, you see other teams go back down and have come straight back up.”
O’Hara simply stated: “He’s having a stinker.”
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Gary O’Neil
Few teams score three goals away from home and walk away without a point.
But the luck just isn’t in for Wolves at the moment, with the Midlands outfit losing 5-3 against Brentford – their sixth loss in seven top-flight matches.
Sitting rock bottom of the table, the Wolves hierachy could soon be forced into making a decision over O’Neil.
Cundy said: “You can’t keep losing games, be bottom of the table, and say he should keep his job. We’ve spoken about it, they’ve got Man City after the international break at home, they’ll probably lose that.
“They’ve got Brighton away, tough game, after that they have got some very winnable fixtures, and if they don’t start picking up some points…
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“Crystal Palace at home on November 2, then Southampton the following weekend, you have got to be taking six points out of six there, nothing less.
“If he loses one of those games, you do start to fear for his future.”
Yukinari Sugawara
The Southampton right-back at one point would have been thinking a famous result was on the cards when his side took the lead at Arsenal through Cameron Archer’s 55th minute strike.
But they ultimately fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates, with Sugawara failing to track Gabriel Martinelli‘s run at the far post, who poked the Gunners ahead.
And it was then his poor touch in the penalty box in the closing stages which allowed Bukayo Saka to secure the victory for the title challengers.
Cundy said of the Japan international’s performance: “Here’s the problem that he’s got, he thinks he’s alone in the box, it’s a touch out of his feet.
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“He then looks up and the first thing he notices is Saka is on the end of it – it’s terrible defending.
“As soon as you do that in your box, when you give it away, it’s fatal.”
O’Hara meanwhile quipped: “It was like Cundy playing in centre-half.”
