Manchester United’s shock win over Liverpool at Old Trafford rounded up another set of Premier League fixtures in which the beautiful unpredictability of the competition was once again laid bare.
Chelsea fell to their first defeat of the season, being hammered 3-0 by Leeds United, while Manchester City were forced to come from two goals behind to snatch a draw against Newcastle United in a 3-3 thriller.
It was all rosy in north London, with wins for both Tottenham and Arsenal, while Leicester City and West Ham’s problems continued to mount, with both sides yet to pick up their first win of the season.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Crystal Palace and Fulham, while relegation candidates Everton and Nottingham Forest shared a draw.
101 took a look at this week’s top performers in Team of the Week 3 below.
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GK: Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest)
In truth, it was a poor week for goalkeepers, with just clean sheets and those in question (Ramsdale, Lloris and Meslier) having next to nothing to do. As a result, we have gone for Dean Henderson, who made a string of great saves to claim a point for Nottingham Forest against an Everton side still looking for their first win of the season.
RB: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)
In a bonkers game between the two richest sides in the top-flight, Trippier’s free-kick was a moment of genius. The defender handed St James’ Park real hope, making the scoreline 3-1 with half an hour to play. Though he was perhaps lucky to remain on the pitch after having a red card overturned by VAR, he more than played his part for the Magpies.
CB: Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)
Martinez gave himself some restbite from critics suggesting he will be unable to make it in the Premier League at his height by putting in a brilliant performance in Manchester United’s first win of the season.
Aggressive but rarely reckless, the Argentine added plenty of energy and extra quality to the Red Devils side, and showed why Erik ten Hag was so keen to bring him to the club.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
Symbolic of the turnaround at Arsenal football club in the last 12 months, William Saliba capped another solid defensive performance with a beautiful left-footed strike to grab Arsenal’s third on the day. The Frenchman is already looking the real deal, and has been a major part of Arsenal now sitting alone atop the Premier League table.
LB: Tyrell Malacia (Manchester United)
Brought in for his full debut for Luke Shaw, Malacia was handed the unenviable task of keeping last season’s top goalscorer Mohamed Salah quiet, Though Salah scored, Malacia’s tenacity and work rate embodied what Manchester United tried to do, and he put in a brilliant performance that could leave Shaw on the bench for weeks to come.
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s captain put his side in the driving seat in what could have been a potentially tricky game with two early goals against Bournemouth, both by virtue of being in the right place at the right time.
Having come in for some criticism in the opening two games of the season, the Norwegian got his season up and running in style.
CM: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne’s pass for Bernardo Silva’s goal stole the headlines, but the Portuguese midfielder continued to show just how important he is to his team. He turned in a strong performance despite being stationed on the right rather than his more central position, and grabbed an assist to go with his goal.
CM: Jack Harrison (Leeds United)
There is a buzz around Leeds United for now, and it is spearheaded by the energy of Jack Harrison. Currently third in the Premier League, they dispatched a lethargic-looking Chelsea with a brilliant performance in which they outworked, outran and out-thought their opponents. A goal and an assist for Jack Harrison underlined his importance.
RW: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Zaha was unlucky not to be included last week after his goal at Anfield, but left us in no doubt this time around, with a brace against Aston Villa. The Palace man has begun the season with a new freedom to his play, and is reaping the rewards of having released the shackles.
ST: Che Adams (Southampton)
Southampton needed a goalscorer to step up, and Che Adams did just that over the weekend. Hassenhuttl’s side look low on quality, and will be relying on Adams and Ward-Prowse to stay fit for much of the season. As Adams’ brace against Leicester showed, however, they can still hurt sides.
LW: Alan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United)
The sense of expectation when Saint-Maximin got the ball against Manchester City was palpable around St James’ Park, and the Frenchman delivered time and time again, skipping past defenders for fun.
So often lacking the final product, ASM found it against the Champions, grabbing a pair of assists to cap a brilliant performance.
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