Premier League Picks Of The Week 15

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 15

The 15th week of the Premier League action saw:

30 goals - most by Brighton, West Ham, Liverpool and Tottenham = 3 each

274 shots - most by Fulham = 25

113 on target - most by Liverpool = 12

124 corners - most by Everton = 14

203 fouls - most by Newcastle and Wolves = 18 each

35 bookings - most by Newcastle = 5

1 red card - Duffy for Brighton

3 penalties - 2 scored (Murray for Brighton, Milivojevic for Palace)

What a game! It was a good old clash between rivals Manchester United and Arsenal on Wednesday night, first half more than the second, with bookings galore! I don’t know how all 22 players stayed on the pitch after a brutal first 45 minutes, which saw six bookings (three each), none after the restart! The clash had everything, howlers, bangers, smashers, grabbers... Each time the Gunners took the lead, thanks to Shkodran Mustafi's tame header (26') and Marcos Rojo's own goal (68'), the Red Devils hit back promptly, through Anthony Martial (30') and Jesse Lingard (69'), both pouncing on keeping and defensive errors respectively. After Alexandre Lacazette's cheeky header off keeper David de Gea's loose gloves was disallowed in the last couple of minutes of the match, many followers and the MOTD commentator pointed out Gary Crosby’s goal that stood much in contrast to this decision. A big and crucial call. It meant it stayed at two all and one point each. Shared spoils. It was the first time José Mourinho saw real fight in his side, whilst Unai Emery was happy with the performance but will still have been gutted to have seen two points dropped.

Tuesdays matches were madder than expected! Bournemouth’s “mojo” has returned according to their boss Eddie Howe after their 2-1 against Huddersfield, who threw everything at the Cherries (6-23 shots, 2-6 on target), but it was just not enough. Brighton crushed Crystal Palace 3-1 despite being down to ten men for over an hour after Shane Duffy was sent off for a stupid headbutt (28’). Chris Hughton’s side did brilliantly well keeping control, scoring some beauties, and can be very happy about the three points. Sour for Roy Hodgson though after his side had double the chances (9-18) and with the extra man, but couldn’t make anything of it.

What a team! Abdoulaye Doucouré scrambled one over the line in the 85th minute for Watford to make it a nervous finish for Manchester City at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night. Both sides recorded the same number of shots on target = seven each, the home side pushing and creating most in the dramatic final minutes. But Leroy Sané (40’) and Riyad Mahrez (51’) had done enough each side of the interval to bag yet another win and keep the Citizens at the top, five points ahead of Liverpool before the Reds played the next day, Burnley did get them worried as well, more to their win below.

What a man! New Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri's pre-match programme notes, facing his former side Leicester, beat them all! So touching and true after the tragedy that hit his ex-club. The one-all draw was a fair result, in the end, although James Maddison's equaliser (74') must have hurt after the hosts looked on course for a win after Aboubakar Kamara had given them the lead before the break (42'). The Cottagers's unwanted record of no clean sheets this season continues... They had 25 chances! But just seven on target, and one scored. The result keeps the London side at the bottom of the table. Worrying for their Italian boss.

Sub Lucas Pérez came off the bench to score two goals in five minutes to bank a very special win for West Ham against Cardiff. It ended 3-1, thanks to Hammers keeper Łukasz Fabiański’s first-half penalty save as well, denying Joe Ralls and any chance for the Welsh side to take the lead. The win takes the London club up to 12th, whilst Neil Warnock’s men have only taken one point from seven away games this season and are just two points above the drop zone.

What a goal! James Milner’s equaliser for Liverpool at Burnley was a fine low finish and crucial as hell (62’). The home side had taken a shock lead thanks to Jack Cork capitalising on Alisson’s blunder, unable to gather the ball off a corner (54’). Jürgen Klopp had named a much very different lineup after the Merseyside derby on Sunday, but that was changed after the break, Roberto Firmino’s first touch put the visitors ahead, the second goal just as banging as the first, a decisive tap in (69’)! And Xherdan Shaqiri added an extra boom late on (90’+1) to make it 1-3 and keep the Reds in the title race, two points behind league leader City. The only downside to the comeback was the injury blow to Jo Gomez, who had to be replaced halfway through the first half and will be out for over a month with a fracture.

Newcastle’s great counter equaliser spoilt the night for Everton, who rued lots of missed chances,to then drop two points (19-8 shots to be exact, and 14 corners!).

Charlie Austin’s goal for Saints against Spurs was just a consolation as they lost 3-1 at Wembley, but it was top quality and worth a smile for their new manager Ralph Hasenhüttl (I had to Google the name, it's a funny one and I am half German!).

What the hell?! Wolves 2-1 Chelsea, yes, you read right! What a comeback it was by Nuno Espírito Santo’s men... I was surprised not too see this surprise on first on MOTD! The Blues had dominated with 70% possession and 17 chances in total and it was no surprise when Ruben Loftus-Cheek 25-yard effort was deflected in and gave Maurizio Sarri's men the lead they deserved (18'). But everything changed after the restart, with two goals in four minutes, Raul Jiménez (59') and Diogo Jota (63') turning the game and Molineux on its head. The win takes Nuno's men up to 12th, just four points behind Everton in sixth, whilst Chelsea have suffered back-to-back league defeats on the road and drop to fourth, level on points with Arsenal in fifth, ten points off the top.
And an interesting final note, for the first time in eight years, every single team scored!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Bournemouth 0:0 Huddersfield* - 2:1

Brighton 0:0 Crystal Palace* - 3:1

West Ham 3:1 Cardiff - 3:1

Watford 1:2 Man City - 1:2

Burnley 0:3 Liverpool - 1:3

Everton 3:1 Newcastle - 1:1

Fulham 1:2 Leicester - 1:1

Wolves 0:2 Chelsea - 2:1

Man United 2:2 Arsenal - 2:2

Tottenham 2:0 Southampton - 3:1

*prediction failed to save, damn it, was doing so well!

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter, and RMC Sports coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 14

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 14

The 14th week of the Premier League action saw:

30 goals - most by Arsenal = 4

254 shots - most by Crystal Palace = 29

85 on target - most by Crystal Palace & Chelsea = 9 each

107 corners - most by Crystal Palace = 10

201 fouls - most by Fulham & Tottenham = 17 each

38 bookings - most by Southampton & Man United = 4 each

3 red cards - Mounié for Huddersfield, Capoue for Watford, Vertonghen for Tottenham

3 penalties - 3 scored (Vardy for Leicester, Aubameyang for Arsenal, Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! The Super Derby Sunday was super duper! All three derbies were entertaining to watch, Chelsea ending up comfortable 2-0 winners against a spirited Fulham in the earliest kick-off of the day, followed by definitely-not-shining Liverpool leaving it later than late to find a winner against Everton in the Merseyside derby. But the other London derby between those two matches smashed all expectations, Arsenal firing Tottenham to bits, 4-2 the final score, the Emirates going absolutely mad, goals, cards, penalties, bust-ups galore! The Gunners were relentless, pushing and pressing throughout, absolutely bossing the first half an hour, taking the lead early on thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty after Jan Vertonghen handled the ball in the area (10’). But then a crazy four minutes ensued, Spurs hitting back twice, Eric Dier’s glance and a Harry Kane penalty after Son Heung-min’s pathetic dive in the box, referee Mike Dean falling for it hook, line, and sinker. But Unai Emery’s men did not give up, drew level shortly after the break with Aubameyang’s second (56’) and two crucial substitutions making a big difference: Alexandre Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman set up the equaliser and the Frenchman gave the home side the lead (74’), three minutes before Lucas Torreira settled and sealed it with an outstanding run and finish (77’). Vertonghen’s sending off later on (84’) condemned Mauricio Pochettino’s men to their fourth defeat of the season, their arch rivals taking their place in the top four whilst they slide down to fifth, both sides just separated by goal difference. Tense.

What a team! Bournemouth did brilliantly well and made it very hard for Manchester City, but the league leaders continued their bulldozing run, winning 3-1 to maintain their 100% home record in the league this season and take their unbeaten run to a total of 20 games in the league, sending them five points clear at the top, for just under 24 hours, before the Reds kept the gap down to two points with their late late late winner. More to that goal below.

Manchester United meanwhile were terrible to watch, going 2-0 down inside the opening 20 minutes at Southampton, including an awesome curler by Cédric Soares (20') that put a big fat surprised grin on his boss’ face. But Marcus Rashford inspired a comeback before the break, setting up two goals in six minutes, including Romelu Lukaku’s first goal since September ended his goal drought of 12 games or 981 minutes (33'). It all looked like Mark Hughes’ men were going to collapse and give it away after the restart, but the Red Devils only produced one shot on target in the second half and were a drag to watch. José Mourinho can moan, complain, point and blame as much as he likes, like last week, his job is to manage the team and it will be very surprising if the Portuguese lasts much longer.

What a man! Jürgen Klopp’s celebrations after super sub Divock Origi’s crazy injury-time winner (90’+6’) may be criticised by some, but the fans love him for it. Different to other managers (naming no names), the German just ran on the pitch to celebrate with his keeper, he wasn’t in anyone else’s face from the opposing team nor fans. It shows passion and heart and how much the derby win means to them, keeping the Reds in second, two points behind the Citizens, as mentioned above. Even Toffee boss Marco Silva understood that. Their keeper Jordan Pickford will have woken up today hoping his error was just a nightmare but having to realise it was his fumbling giveaway off the crossbar that cost his side a point and the Merseyside derby honours.

Despite the point against United mentioned above, Saints boss Hughes received the marching orders earlier today. Can’t say it’s a surprise with the side stuck in the relegation zone. As mentioned above, a certain Portuguese manager should be very worried, especially with the high-firing Gunners next on their fixture list!

What a goal! Soares' curler for Southampton mentioned above was a dream. So was Andros Townsend's opener for Crystal Palace against Burnley, an awesome smacker, more to their win below.

It took only 55 seconds for Huddersfield’s Mathias Jørgensen to open the scoring against Brighton, but it went all down hill from there for the home side. Steve Mounié was sent off for a dangerous high challenge (32’), from then on everything and every call went against David Wagner's men, the German-American boss was not happy with Michael Oliver. Shane Duffy equalised deep into injury time before the break. Florin Andone completed the comeback and won it for Brighton with a strong header {69'), his first goal in English football, his club’s first comeback win.

James Maddison’s superb goal (23’) made it 2-0 for Leicester against Watford and his manager Claude Puel a very proud manager, comparing the English youngster to Glenn Hoddle.

And last but definitely not least, Aron Gunnarson’s acrobatic finish (65’) and Junior Hoilett’s curler from distance (77’) completed a perfect comeback for Cardiff after they had fallen behind against Wolves thanks to Matt Doherty (18’) in the Friday night match. Sweet for Neil Warnock to see his side move out of the relegation zone ahead of his 70th birthday, sour for Nuno Espírito Santo, his men dropping down to 12th with the defeat.

What the hell?! After a run of three consecutive wins, Newcastle came crashing down losing 0-3 against West Ham, taking their total of defeats to six of their opening eight Premier League games at St James’ Park this season (W2), the last time that happened was 1953-54. Rafael Benítez blamed the lack of money, the Hammers having spent five times the sum of the Magpies’ investment in the transfer market in the last window. It was very frustrating as the home side had over doubled the chances (16-7 shots). Manuel Pellegrini was full of praise and will surely argue against those numbers, having nowhere near the budget of other sides, and his side in overall control throughout the match.

Crystal Palace scored their first goal from open play and recorded their first home win of the season beating Burnley 2-0. It was a shocking display by the Clarets! It could have been a much worse thrashing if it weren’t for Joe Hart’s saves and Wilfried Zaha’s misses! 29-4 shots, 9-0 on target!!! As mentioned above, Townsend’s goal that sealed the win (77') was an absolute belter! Is Sean Dyche in trouble? Eagles boss Roy Hodgson on the other hand, can be very happy, that’s for sure, his side up to 14th after this win.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Cardiff 1:1 Wolves - 2:1

Crystal Palace 1:2 Burnley - 2:0

Huddersfield 2:2 Brighton - 1:2

Leicester 2:1 Watford - 2:0

Man City 5:0 Bournemouth - 3:1

Newcastle 1:0 West Ham - 0:3

Southampton 1:1 Man United - 2:2

Chelsea 3:0 Fulham - 2:0

Arsenal 1:1 Tottenham - 4:2

Liverpool 3:1 Everton - 1:0

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, BT and Sky Sports match coverage.

LFC Unable To Cope With PSG

Sports - Football - Champions League - PSG 2:1 LFC

Paris St Germain ended up easy 2-1 winners at the Parc des Princes, beating and frustrating the hell out of Liverpool, in their crucial Champions League group clash on Wednesday night.

The result means the Reds drop down to third in group C and will have to beat group-topping Napoli 1-0 or by two goals if they concede in the final and decisive group match on 11th December.

The French league leaders could not have asked for a better atmosphere and start to the match, Juan Bernat giving the hosts the lead, capitalising at the near post after Virgil van Dijk was unable to clear Kylian Mbappé’s cross into the box (13’).

Record-signing Neymar doubled the lead, slotting home from close range after Edinson Cavani’s attempt was saved by Alisson (37’).

James Milner pulled a goal back for the visitors after Sadio Mané was fouled in the box by Ángel Di María just before the break.

Referee Szymon Marciniak had originally given a corner before the linesman made him overturn his decision and point to the spot.

The Polish official was very inconsistent with his calls throughout the night, giving the hosts free kicks for every little touch and turn and dramatic fall, whilst the visitors were left wondering.

Marco Verratti was only cautioned when he lunged in with studs up onto Joe Gomez’s shin (24’) and got away with plenty more challenges after that, whilst one Liverpool player after another got booked (six in total).

Like Jürgen Klopp said after the match, the Reds were definitely not good enough, but the referee made it much worse:

“It looked like we were butchers when you look at the yellow cards we had. It was clever of PSG.”

Clever indeed, cause it frustrated the hell out of the visitors and they were unable to cope with the antiques and calculated overall control by Thomas Tuchel’s men.

The second half was interrupted again and again by someone rolling around, chances were hard to come by either end, any momentum impossible.

The Red front trio were covered well, surrounded whenever the ball came near them, any danger controlled and cleared quickly.

Marquinhos saw a goal disallowed for offside (47’) and his header from the centre of the box was kept out well by Brazilian compatriot Alisson (70’).

Gianluigi Buffon had nothing to do or even worry about on the other side of the pitch, the penalty being the only shot on target from the opposition.

In 16 years, Milner had never lost a game in which he scored, but records are there to be broken, and that one was shattered last night in Paris.

As painful as it was to watch, the Reds know they can do it, the kings of comebacks, just like they did in 2005. Again. And again. 

Klopp just has to look at and question his lineup and formation as it is just not working.

Jordan Henderson and Milner didn’t work too well together in the middle, Van Dijk and Gomez were disturbed by Dejan Lovren and at the front it’s still not clicking.

And it was harsh on Trent Alexander-Arnold and Xherdan Shaqiri, after their brill goals and displays in the league, not to give them a look into this crucial game.

Last season, the Reds were on fire, but leaked too much. This season, it seems like there is more stability but also a weird hesitance, odd caution, annoying softness, worrying weakness to the side, making it difficult for themselves to ignite that flame and take over and find that BOOM again.

When will it finally all click???

PSG Goals: Bernat 13’ and Neymar 37’.

LFC Goals: Milner pen 45’+1’.

Match Stats: PSG 2-1 LFC

Possession: 44%-56%

Shots: 12-8

On target: 8-1

Corners: 5-5

Fouls: 12-20

Bookings: 2-6

PSG Team: 1 Buffon; 14 Bernat, 3 Kimpembe, 2 Thiago Silva (c), 4 Kehrer; 10 Neymar (booked 90’+4’), 6 Verratti (booked 24’), 5 Marquinhos, 11 di María (13 da Silva 65’); 7 Mbappé (25 Rabiot 85’), 9 Cavani (17 Choupo-Mouting 65’). 4-4-2

Subs not used: 16 Areola, 23 Draxler, 27 Diaby, 34 N’Soki.

LFC Team: 13 Alisson; 26 Robertson (booked 90’+3’), 4 van Dijk (booked 90’+1’), 6 Lovren, 12 Gomez (booked 34’); 7 Milner (23 Shaqiri 77’), 14 Henderson (c), 5 Wijnaldum (booked 17’) (8 Keita 66’, booked 90’+5’); 10 Mané, 9 Firmino (15 Sturridge 71’, booked 84’), 11 Salah. 4-3-3

Subs not used: 3 Fabinho, 22 Mignolet, 32 Matip, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)

Man of the match: Marquinhos 

Ground: Parc des Princes

Attendance: 46,880

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, post-match reaction and Sky Sports app.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 13

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 13

These are the Premier League Picks Of The Week 13:

27 goals - most by Man City = 4

251 shots - most by Arsenal = 20

86 on target - most by Tottenham = 9

95 corners - most by Man United = 10

197 fouls - most by Tottenham = 19

25 bookings - most by Brighton, Cardiff, Southampton & Chelsea = 3 each

2 red cards - Maddison for Leicester, Henderson for Liverpool

1 penalty - 1 scored (Vardy for Leicester)

What a game! Claudio Ranieri’s first match as Fulham boss after replacing first sacking of the season Slaviša Jokanović had everything in it, the best and worst, the ups and downs, leaving Southampton reeling and losing 3-2, their manager Mark Hughes on very thin ice wondering what the hell his side have to do to get a win. Stuart Armstrong had given the Saints the lead (18’), but Aleksandar Mitrović’s brace (33’, 63’) ended his six-game league goal drought and completed the perfect comeback with André Schürrle (43’), nullifying Armstrong’s equaliser in-between all of that (53’). It was an eventful encounter between the two struggling sides, Craven Cottage a very relieved and much happier and more hopeful place with their new boss, reducing the climb to safety to barely a point.

What a team! Liverpool are nowhere near their best (yet) but are still unbeaten after ending 0-3 winners at Watford, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s opener (67’), Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stunning free-kick (76’) and Roberto Firmino’s tap-in (89’). It was far from comfortable for Jürgen Klopp’s men though, with captain Jordan Henderson sent off for two daft yellows (82’) and Andy Robertson escaping a penalty shout after fouling Will Hughes as the score was still level. But the records keep tumbling for the Merseyside club, unbeaten after 13 league games with 33 points, only five goals conceded, just two points behind leaders Manchester City, the only other unbeaten side left in the league and country, who thrashed a sorry West Ham side 0-4 at the London Stadium. Chelsea meanwhile, totally derailed and crashed against Tottenham, just 3-1 at Wembley, it could and should have been 7 or 8-1 to Mauricio Pochettino’s side. The result sees Spurs replace the Blues in third, two points ahead of their London rivals, three points behind the Reds.

What a man! Man of the match Jamie Vardy was a game changer at the Amex Stadium. Leicester were second best for most of the first hour, not least thanks to James Maddison’s early sending off after two quick consecutive yellows for a foul and a stupid dive (28’). Glenn Murray had put Brighton ahead early on with his 101st goal for the club on his 100th Premier League appearance (15’). But Vardy injected some energy into the Foxes and life into the game after coming on 11 minutes into the second half. His equaliser from the spot, his first goal since September ending a run of 468 league minutes without a goal, earned his side a point on the road, keeping Claude Puel’s men in 10th place, three points clear of the Seagulls in 12th.

What a goal! Gylfi Sigurðsson’s crucial winner for Everton against Cardiff (59’) made it four home league wins in a row for his side and saw them move into the top six, whilst the Welsh side remain in the bottom three.

Bournemouth Jefferson Lerma’s own goal was gob-smacking (30’), banged in, no chance for anyone to stop it, and with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s eighth strike of the season (67’) secured Arsenal’s fourth league away win of the season, stretching their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions, but still leaving Unai Emery expecting more. Eddie Howe felt rightly hard done by after seeing David Brooks' strike disallowed and Lerma hit the post (the correct side of the pitch this time), his side not sinking easily after their winning start to the season, but momentum has stalled a bit. After losing just two of their opening 10 league games (W6 D2), the Cherries have lost their last three in a row, dragging them down to 8th, whilst the Gunners sit strong in 5th, five points ahead of Everton in 6th and just one point behind Chelsea in 4th.

What the hell?! Manchester United’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace was hard to watch and takes their run to just three wins out of their nine games at home this season. Roy Hodgson’s men had several chances to make it even worse for the Red Devils, coming close to secure not just their first league point but also win at Old Trafford since 1989. José Mourinho was left moaning about his players’ heart and desire, or more the lack of it. Has he ever wondered why? Has he ever looked at what the reason could be = in the mirror?!?!?!

There were loads of #WTF and #ZZZ moans on social media about the Super Sunday match between Wolves and Huddersfield and not much to be expected from it. Same with the Monday Night Football fixture, Burnley against Newcastle. Fool all of them, both matches were cracking to watch, competitive and entertaining, lots happening. Aaron Mooy’s double (6', 74') helped the Terriers off the bottom of the table, whilst Nuno Espírito Santo has watched his side collect just one point from the last 15, their worst run under the Portuguese. The Magpies secured their third successive league win, Sean Dyche left absolutely fuming about his side’s frailty, having won just one of their past nine league home games (D2 L6) after gifting the goals and result, which takes the sides to 13th and 17th respectively.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Brighton 1:2 Leicester - 1:1

Everton 3:1 Cardiff - 1:0

Fulham 2:1 Southampton - 3:2

Man United 1:0 Crystal Palace - 0:0

Watford 1:2 Liverpool - 0:3

West Ham 1:1 Man City - 0:4

Tottenham 1:1 Chelsea - 3:1

Bournemouth 1:2 Arsenal - 1:2

Wolves 1:1 Huddersfield - 0:2

Burnley 0:0 Newcastle - 1:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports and RMC sports coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 12

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 12

The 12th week of the Premier League action saw:

19 goals - most by Man City = 3

247 shots - most by Leicester = 22

83 on target - most by Huddersfield & Liverpool = 7 each

113 corners - most by Leicester = 12

222 fouls - most by Brighton = 21

30 bookings - most by Chelsea = 4

1 red card - Stephens for Brighton

1 penalty - 1 scored (Martial for United)

What a game! When Manchester City took the lead against United thanks to David Silva in the 12th minute, the Red Devils had attempted only 11 passes in that time and only five of those had been successful. The champions had made 104 with 92% accuracy in the same period. Worlds apart! Sergio Agüero doubled the home side’s lead with a smacker shortly after the restart (48’). Anthony Martial got the visitors’ hopes up for a comeback from the spot (58’) after Romelu Lukaku won a penalty seconds after coming on. But José Mourinho’s men were just outplayed. A massive 44 passes in the buildup formed an awesome move which sub İlkay Gündoğan netted from to make it 3-1 and three points to Pep Guardiola’s side. The result takes the champions to the top, past Liverpool, leading by two points and 13 goals! More to the Reds’ win in the early Super Sunday kick-off, which took them to the top temporarily, below. Chelsea meanwhile dropped two points in a scrappy goalless draw against Everton, squeezed in-between the other top two’s wins on Sunday.

What a team! Newcastle are on a roll after recording consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since April, beating Bournemouth 2-1 at St James' Park thanks to Salomón Rondón’s brace (7’, 40’), Jefferson Lerma with the only reply (45’+6’). It's only the second time this season the Magpies have scored more than one goal in a league match and the three points give Rafa Benítez's men a massive boost, taking them up to 14th, one point clear of the drop zone. Meanwhile the other strugglers Huddersfield fought out a goal and point each against West Ham, putting and keeping the sides into 18th and 13th respectively, Alex Pritchard being the first Terrier to score at home in 726 minutes of action! The relegation battle is on with just four points separating the bottom seven!

Arsenal were oh so lucky to stretch their unbeaten run to 16 matches in all competitions thanks to sub Henrikh Mkhitaryan who found a late leveller (86’) against Wolves to deny Nuno Espírito Santo's side a famous win at the Emirates after Ivan Cavaleiro’s close-range finish had given the visitors a shock lead.

What a man! Leicester remembered their owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabhain before their first home game since the helicopter crash. The goalless draw against Burnley followed after a two-minutes silence at the King Power stadium. Maybe the Foxes deserved more after all their chances and dominance, but for once it mattered less. It is understandable Fulham left their managerial change till the international break. The news broke on Wednesday, former LCFC boss Claudio Ranieri replacing Slaviša Jokanović with the Cottagers rock-bottom in the league table. It was an interesting read and quite a surprise about the PL and dismissals, this is the first sacking of the season,  much in contrast to the last few campaigns where there had already been up to five or six p45s handed out at this stage already!

Defender Juan Foyth turned from the zero last week, conceding two penalties, to the hero this week, scoring the one and only and winning goal for Tottenham (66’) at Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. A career first.

What a goal! Sol Bamba’s last-minute ping-pong winner for Cardiff against 10-man Brighton is massive! Their second win of the season pulled the Welsh side out of the relegation zone in Neil Warnock’s 100th game in charge. More to that goal below...

Southampton were not happy to see Charlie Austin’s goal disallowed (66’)- incorrectly! José Holebas’ late equaliser (82’) rescued a point for Watford, levelling after Manolo Gabbiadini had given the home side the lead from close range (20’). More to the officials’ incompetence below.

There were just 14 seconds between Aleksandar Mitrović’s disallowed header for Fulham and Mohamed Salah’s opener on the counter for Liverpool (41’), the Egyptian’s sixth league goal of the season. Another questionable decision by the officials... Xherdan Shaqiri doubled the Reds' lead with a lovely individual finish from inside the box not long after the break (53’). Jürgen Klopp’s men dominated and had chance after chance but still couldn’t fully capitalise, the final click and boom still missing with some sloppy takes/misses and clumsy connections. But it was still enough to sink the London club to their sixth consecutive league defeat and to the rock bottom of the Premier League. No real surprise about the managerial change mentioned above.

What the hell?! Brighton’s Dale Stephens' sending off at Cardiff was harsh, but his tackle on Greg Cunningham was reckless and dangerous, yes, so, red was correct. If only the officials could be more consistent and make correct decisions like that more often! Oh, and talking about decisions, Bamba did look offside in the buildup to the match-winning goal for the Welsh side, and took his shirt off celebrating without any further consequences... Lucky bugger! Like I said last week, and lots of other weeks, EVERY GOAL IS OH SO CRUCIAL. And consistency is oh so missed! Poor refs, ey?! Austin’s extraordinary post-match outburst at St Mary’s reflects and summarises my feelings about that topic = refs and VAR very well!

AND THE NEWS BROKE TODAY: IT WILL FINALLY BE INTRODUCED HALLELUJAH!!! WE WILL HAVE VAR IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE FROM NEXT SEASON!!! 🎉👊⚽️👊🎉

My Predictions - Actual Results

Cardiff 0:0 Brighton - 2:1

Huddersfield 0:1 West Ham - 1:1

Leicester 2:1 Burnley - 0:0

Newcastle 1:3 Bournemouth - 2:1

Southampton 0:0 Watford - 1:1

Crystal Palace 0:2 Tottenham - 0:1

Liverpool 4:0 Fulham - 2:0

Chelsea 2:2 Everton - 0:0

Arsenal 2:0 Wolves - 1:1

Man City 3:1 Man United - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter, Sky and RMC Sports coverage.