Sky Sports' football writers analyse Saturday's Premier League action as Chelsea win at Everton, Liverpool beat nine-man Brentford thanks to the riches of their attacking unit and Erling Haaland proves why he's a cut above all the rest
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Liverpool spent close to £400m on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola. Against Brentford, there was evidence that expensively-assembled attack might finally be clicking.
Isak was on the fringes of the game for long periods, limited to only 16 touches by the dogged hosts. But his brilliantly-taken goal, controlled and rifled home with dizzying speed in the second half, was a reminder of just how deadly he can be at his best.
It took him to five goals for the season. Only Erling Haaland has scored more in the Premier League. He is putting a difficult first season behind him and Andoni Iraola will be encouraged that it was Barcola who provided the assist.
The France international came into the game off the back of scoring a hat-trick against LASK in midweek and while he couldn't find the net against Brentford, missing a golden opportunity in the first half and hitting the bar in the second, Iraola liked what he saw.
"I love that he's having so many chances and being in those situations," said the Liverpool boss.
Then there was Wirtz, who provided the assist for Victor Munoz with a perfectly-weighted through-ball.
It was one of nine chances created - the joint-most by any Liverpool player in a single game since Opta started taking records in 2003/04. Nick Wright
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Chelsea have the best front three in the Premier League but attack being the best form of defence for Xabi Alonso was never going to be sustainable. No team had conceded more goals than Chelsea's 13 after six Premier League matches.
But, in Saturday's 2-0 victory at Everton, they showed a different side to their game. Remarkably, this was not only Alonso's first clean sheet in the league since his appointment but also Chelsea's first clean sheet in the league for nine months.
Defensively, Chelsea have been a liability for some time. Alonso must fix that if his team are to take the leap and challenge again. The win at Everton was a step in the right direction. In the manager's words, Chelsea produced a "serious" and "mature" performance.
These are the characteristics that will differentiate Chelsea from most of the chasing pack in a Premier League season where seriousness is sorely lacking among some of the so-called 'Big Six'. Alonso, clearly, is a serious manager. Zinny Boswell
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Lauding Erling Haaland's goalscoring prowess is clearly not a hot take. It's barely even news. But he is outdoing even his own outlandish standards so far this season.
Twelve goals across all competitions; four just this week, including two in Man City's most recent victory over Ipswich.
Haaland is a symbol of City's immense wealth in a myriad of ways. He's a wealth of talent, leadership and obviously goals.
But he also represents the riches of a club transformed beyond recognition since its Abu Dhabi takeover. The very thing under intense investigation by the Premier League.
Erling Haaland has now netted 100 non-penalty goals in the Premier League, reaching this milestone in fewer appearances than any other player (139).
Haaland is indeed a complete luxury. A high-end sports car with all the optional extras. Everything about him is premium. There is every chance he will go on to be the most ruthless striker the Premier League has ever seen.
And yet, many will still come to view this era of Manchester City through a different lens - no matter the outcome of the club's ongoing appeal process. Too much has already been aired.
It's a shame Haaland's immense gift cannot be celebrated for what it is in its truest form. Perhaps in the future it will be again. Because he really is a different breed of scorer. Laura Hunter
In patches, Newcastle's performance against Aston Villa epitomised the heavy-metal, high-pressing football that defines Mattihas Jaissle's school of Red Bull philosophy. When executed well, it's high-octane and overwhelming for an opponent.
But Newcastle's approach at times seemed to be all-out chaos, planned or otherwise. The Premier League is defined by its physicality, but two yellow cards at the same time for Joelinton and Sven Botman tackles is not something we see often. The latter should also have been sent off.
The Magpies were continuously exposed by Aston Villa's transition and counter, especially in the first half, and the chaos only continued when Dan Burn came on late on as a No 9. You are only using a centre-back up front when you are desperate for a goal or rotating because you have too many. This fell into the former camp.
Amid all this, Newcastle had just one shot on target in the whole game and set a new record for goals conceded in consecutive matches at home in all competitions (16). There were bright moments, but no sense of real cohesion.
The stats this season show that whatever Jaissle is attempting is not working. A change in system coupled with a new, young squad is only exacerbating things and if the German wants to continue the gung-ho approach, it needs to be harnessed in a far better and more productive way. Charlotte Marsh
A headline taken from Sky Sports commentator Gary Weaver, who so eloquently epitomised Aston Villa's last few seasons.
It took them seven matches to win a game last term and while it did not take as long this time around, questions were being asked about whether Unai Emery's glorious revolution at Aston Villa was finally beginning to falter.
A summer exodus coupled with an intense season in which they won the Europa League - had it all come to a head?
Emery is a demanding manager. He's known to hold hours-long meetings and high-intensity training sessions to get the best out of his players. That takes time to adapt to, as Tyrone Mings noted in his post-match interview with Sky Sports .
Rebuilding a team is never easy but Emery is starting to find the solutions, as he always does. Aston Villa are now unbeaten in five games and have kept back-to-back clean sheets.
The clocks go back next Sunday - as Weaver predicted, right on time for Aston Villa to start their charge up the Premier League table. Charlotte Marsh
An ominous stat was provided by Opta during the build-up to Brentford's clash with Liverpool at the Gtech.
"Since their promotion to the top flight in 2021, the Bees have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League (102)."
A surprise, perhaps, given the Bees have taken to the top flight so well and finished in the top half in three of their first five seasons. And one that poses the question: what could have been?
For Brentford fans, that will not bear thinking about.
But that figure increased to 105 on Saturday, as they took the lead against the Reds before falling to a 2-1 defeat in a game they ended with nine men on the pitch.
Without the first of those reds - shown to Yehor Yarmoliuk before half-time, it might have been different. The reality? It's 11 points dropped for the season now, more than any other team in the division.
It has become a horrible habit - and one that needs kicking in to touch by Keith Andrews' men if those European ambitions are to materialise. Dan Long
Could this be the turning point in Alvaro Arbeloa's Fulham reign?
It is certainly a start. With reports suggesting the Spaniard had two games to save his job, he needed a response and his players delivered one.
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Fulham played with an intensity and attacking fluency that had been missing during their winless start to the Premier League season.
They registered 10 first-half shots, moved the ball quickly and repeatedly exposed a Hull side who struggled to impose themselves. Alex Iwobi's goal was deserved, but the hosts could easily have won by a greater margin.
There were encouraging signs of an identity taking shape, with the performance even prompting thoughts of 'Arbeloa-ball' at Craven Cottage.
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Yet one result cannot erase the concerns of the opening weeks, and Fulham made the closing stages unnecessarily nervy before Ryan Sessegnon's stoppage-time red card.
The win lifts them out of the relegation zone and gives Arbeloa breathing space.
Whether it proves a turning point depends on what follows. For now, he has bought himself time and shown what his Fulham side can be. William Bitibiri
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