Brighton’s 3-0 win over Arsenal was illuminated by 19-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas, who capped his afternoon with a brilliant goal from 25 yards — his third in eight days. Nicknamed ‘Babis’ in his homeland in homage to former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta, Kostoulas has already started twice as many Premier League games this season as he did in his first English campaign, when he was a backup for Danny Welbeck. Against the reigning champions he caused Gabriel Magalhães and the rest of the Arsenal defence problems throughout. “We always knew that he’s capable of scoring goals out of nowhere,” said Fabian Hürzeler. “He just has this intrinsic motivation of really improving every day. He gets more and more professional, he understands the demands from the Premier League more, he understands our demands.” The display came in the same week that 16-year-old Max Dowman was thrust into the spotlight.
At Bournemouth, Liverpool’s 1-0 win was an afternoon to celebrate defence rather than attack. Alexander Isak may have been the match-winner on Andoni Iraola’s return to Bournemouth, but Liverpool’s front four, signed for a combined £400m, were shorn of fluidity and chemistry. The real stars were at the other end, with Ronald Araújo strong at right-back and Jérémy Jacquet commanding at centre-back. Liverpool have now kept three straight league clean sheets for the first time since the start of last season, and Jacquet’s partnership with Virgil van Dijk is blossoming. Last week the 21-year-old, a £60m arrival from Rennes, was named in Zinedine Zidane’s France squad for his first senior call-up. “He is adapting really well to the Premier League,” Iraola said of Jacquet. “I think in the first games, physically he was feeling the change of rhythm, he was finishing with cramps, really tired and we had to sub him. Today has been a step forward.”
Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Fulham was a must-win for Michael Carrick, and they failed to win it. Going into the extended international break, United desperately needed a positive, but instead had to settle for a point clinched by Matheus Cunha. Despite the late equaliser there were plenty of worrying signs. For long periods they were lethargic, lacking intensity off the ball and short of snap and fizz in the final third, after a poor week in which they had lost twice. Of particular concern will be the profligacy: United managed 29 shots at Craven Cottage, only six of them on target, and their goal needed a huge deflection to beat Bernd Leno.
At Elland Road, Leeds and Crystal Palace played out a 0-0 draw that gave James Trafford another chance to impress Thomas Tuchel, with Dean Henderson absent from the Crystal Palace net and the upcoming England squad. Trafford, who cost Leeds more than £40m in the summer, was a spectator for long spells before the break, but afterwards showed why he is so highly thought of, making a fine save down to his right from a Yéremy Pino free-kick. The former Manchester City goalkeeper’s ability with the ball at his feet makes him a genuine competitor for Jordan Pickford at international level, and if he carries on as a calming influence at Elland Road he could become his country’s No 1 before too long.
There were contrasting fortunes for two of the weekend’s other forwards. Brian Brobbey’s hat-trick in Sunderland’s 5-3 defeat at Manchester City underlined his value as a No 9, having arrived from Ajax last summer for an initial €20m (£17.2m). The 24-year-old’s first goals of the season — all poacher’s finishes — came in the sixth game of the campaign, but Régis Le Bris had been unconcerned. “It’s really positive for a striker [to score three] — when you don’t score it’s still possible to tell the story differently, but for us it is really clear that he is a good striker and he’s getting better game after game. It’s just a question of time,” said the manager. Brobbey himself was left disappointed: “It’s hard being on the losing side when you’re scoring three goals.”
Coventry’s gutsy 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest means all three promoted clubs now have victories on the board. Jay Dasilva’s superb goal and an organised performance offered a remarkable turnaround from the previous Sunday’s hammering by Brighton. As Frank Lampard noted, facing Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton in three of their first four games was not a kind reintroduction. Defender Stephen Mfuni, 18, delivered an assured Premier League debut; on loan from Manchester City, he had received rave reviews during a four-month spell at Watford. Forest, though, were denied an equaliser by a VAR decision, and footage circulating among their supporters suggests it may have been Mfuni who tripped Caleb Yirenkyi.
Brentford’s 3-0 win over Chelsea was rooted in defending. Jannik Schuster arrived from Salzburg in the summer for around £16m and already looks a typically astute Brentford signing. The 20-year-old made his league debut as a substitute for the injured Nathan Collins against Sunderland, made his first start against Bournemouth and excelled against Chelsea with 12 clearances, three aerial duels won and three shots blocked. By the end the talk had switched to Brentford’s attacking potency, both from set plays and through the quiet probing of Mikkel Damsgaard, but the contrast with Chelsea’s three central defenders — who cost a combined £127m despite Levi Colwill being a youth product — was striking.
Tottenham’s 3-2 home defeat by Aston Villa left them bottom of the table and prompted Roberto De Zerbi to bemoan his side’s lack of resolve in tough moments. “Leaders have to be leaders,” he said. That Spurs lack leaders is clear, and the void makes itself felt beyond weak defending: a dominant first half ended goalless because nobody grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. The £50m signing Mohammed Kudus came on at half-time but only made things worse. Only when James Maddison was introduced and Kudus moved wide did Spurs regain shape and focus. De Zerbi appears to be taking a cautious approach to reintegrating Maddison, who missed a year of football with an ACL injury, but the No 10 has the ability and self-confidence to impose himself on Premier League matches, and his reintroduction may need hastening.
Newcastle’s 2-1 home win against Hull leaves Matthias Jaissle with a respectable eight points from his opening five Premier League games. Keeping the outstanding England left-back Lewis Hall in the summer was imperative, and while there will be times when Sean Steur needs resting, and moments when he makes mistakes, the 18-year-old midfielder is an immensely exciting talent capable of shaping games. A tally of nine injured first-team players suggests Jaissle needs to modify his training regime. A lack of an orthodox centre forward and a natural No 10 makes his preferred 4-2-3-1 hard to pull off, with the squad arguably better suited to three at the back. Judging by their refusal to surrender to a spirited Hull, Jaissle is winning hearts and minds.
Finally, at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Stuart Attwell’s biggest call was to show Abdul Fatawu a second yellow card for simulation — and despite Gary O’Neil’s claim to the contrary, the referee deserved credit. The Ipswich winger had been enjoying a productive afternoon, and Everton were seething over the decision to disallow Thierno Barry’s header when Fatawu anticipated contact from James Garner and dived. He became only the third player in the last six Premier League seasons to receive a second yellow card for simulation, hurting his team as a result. O’Neil admitted Fatawu had “moved his leg towards it a bit” and that he had spoken to the 22-year-old about not giving the referee a decision to make, but his insistence that there was “no desperate need for the referee to get involved” jarred.