Premier League match week seven: Weekend recap of key games

The Premier League will be embarking on its second international break of the season, but before then, it was filled with a thrilling weekend of table-shaping and match-deciding games.

At the end of match week seven, there weren’t many activities around the top four as the table remained the same from match week six. However, there were some points differences as Chelsea – who sit fourth on the table, dropped points against a resilient Nottingham Forest side. Manchester City and Arsenal survived a scare to record comeback victories while Liverpool continued their flawless run with six straight wins across all competitions.

The bottom four of the Premier League table also took shape as match week seven ended with four teams yet to record a win in the League.

The likes of Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all facing difficult times in the League with Southampton and Wolves managers facing a possible sack.

Brentford were the highest scorers during the weekend while Julen Lopetegui was relieved of a huge pressure with a comprehensive win.

The most exciting match of the weekend took place at the Amex Stadium between Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion which Chris Sutton tagged as ‘the high-line derby.’

Football Talk brings you a recap of the key games that happened during the weekend:

Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United

Manchester United travelled to Villa Park to face an in-form Aston Villa side in what looked like the day of reckoning for Erik ten Hag.

Like a company’s boss coming to inspect the work rate and efficiency of employees after a series of underwhelming outputs, United’s hierarchy made a rare appearance at Villa Park in what looked to be a make-or-break chance for the Dutch boss.

The club’s minority shareholder, Sir Jim Ratcliffe alongside chief executive officer, Omar Barrarda, sporting director, Dan Ashworth, and director of sport, David Brailsford – were all at the stadium to watch the match.

It was an underwhelming first half as the game recorded the joint-lowest shots in a Premier League game this season with only six efforts on goal. Fans with Manchester United tickets wouldn’t have been impressed, and neither would the hierarchy in the stands.

While much plaudit can be given to the team’s defensive compatibility where they’ve kept four clean sheets in the Premier League, their attacking return has been far from convincing with five goals this season becoming their lowest goal output in history after seven games.

While Unai Emery’s side looked more comfortable, United didn’t allow clear-cut chances allowing the home side to fire from far out with Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans coming closest to scoring in the first half.

Diego Dalot made a goalline clearance to stop Jaden Philogene’s effort while United’s best chance came from Bruno Fernandes’ free kick which crashed the bar.

United had a good chance late on but Alejandro Garnacho failed to play Fernandes through on goal with the match ending in a stalemate.

The draw now means that the Red Devils, who sit in 14th place have gained only eight points this season, their lowest point accumulation after seven games since the 1989-90 season where they finished the season in 13th place.

While the result at Villa Park might have given Ten Hag a lifeline, the club remains without a win in their last five matches across all competitions while Villa are now in fifth place with equal points with Chelsea who sit fourth.

Brentford 5-3 Wolves

After scoring consecutively in the first minutes in their last two Premier League matches against Manchester City and West Ham United, Wolves fans were already chanting “We’re going to score in a minute” soon after Wolves won the coin toss.

The West Midlands club may have survived the first-minute onslaught, but it wasn’t for long, as former Wolves centre-back Nathan Collins headed in the opener in the second minute of the game.

Gary O’Neill has been under immense pressure, with his side yet to record a win in the Premier League, where they currently sit rock bottom.

However, they were not about to give up without a fight, as Matheus Cunha equalised two minutes later.

Bryan Mbeumo made it three consecutive Premier League goals in three matches and his 49th goal for Brentford with a well-dispatched penalty before Norwaygian forward Jørgen Strand Larsen brought matters level at the Gtech stadium. Christian Nørgaard’s header regained the lead for Thomas Frank’s side, as five goals in 28 minutes brought an entertaining first half to an end.

It was all Brentford after the restart as goals from Ethan Pinnock and Fabio Carvalho took the goal beyond Wolves’ reach. A late Rayan Aït-Nouri goal wasn’t enough to stage any comeback for the visitors as Brentford won 5-3.

It was the highest-scoring game of the weekend and a match that could be consequential for Wolves’ boss, O’Neil who will be facing Premier League champions, Manchester City upon resumption from the international break.

Brighton 3-2 Tottenham 

‘The high line derby’ as Chris Sutton would call it, was expected to be an end-to-end display of tactical and technical battles rather it was a selective 45-minute affair for each time where one side would pick a half to exert dominance.

With a run of five matches without defeats across all competitions, Tottenham were unsurprisingly the better side in the opening 45 minutes of the game as Brennan Johnson made it six consecutive goals for Spurs across all competitions to match Harry Kane’s 2019 six-game goalscoring streak.

James Madison added a second, and the North London club had chances to put the game to bed in the first half.

Then came the turn of the Seagulls, who appeared to choose the second half to exert dominance in the game.

Tottenham’s shocking collapse began when Yankuba Minteh capitalized on Destiny Udogie’s mistake to score just three minutes into the second half.

Ten minutes later, Georginio Rutter found the equalizer with a low strike. The turnaround was completed in the 66th minute, as Spurs’ defensive frailties allowed Danny Welbeck to head in.

Spurs now head for the international break sitting ninth on the Premier League table Brighton’s first win in four matches moved to sixth place and two points behind Chelsea in fourth place.

Arsenal Vs Southampton

Arsenal survived a scare when they hosted a winless Southampton side at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Russell Martin’s side played the game with a lot of intent, limiting Arsenal’s chances and dealing with the Gunners’ set-pieces.

Arsenal struggled to break down the determined visitors in the opening half and went behind shortly after the interval when substitute Cameron Archer found the net with a low shot following a Saints counterattack.

The goal triggered a swift reaction from Arsenal, with Saka intercepting the ball and setting up Kai Havertz, who calmly slotted past Aaron Ramsdale to extend his scoring streak to seven consecutive matches at the Emirates Stadium.

The comeback was sealed when Gabriel Martinelli connected with Saka’s diagonal cross to score after coming off the bench. The goal stood after a VAR check for offside, and Saka later capitalized on another Southampton mistake to score Arsenal’s third to put the game to bed.

The Gunners were well-deserving of the win, having taken 29 shots, and their victory keeps them just one point behind table toppers, Liverpool.

This win marked Arsenal’s 400th Premier League at home, making them only the second club to reach that milestone, after Manchester United.

Manchester City 3-2 Fulham

Mateo Kovacic scored in both halves, while Jeremy Doku also found the net, helping Pep Guardiola’s team secure their first Premier League win in three games. The 3-2 victory over Fulham brought them within one point of Liverpool, who had defeated Crystal Palace earlier that day.

City initially went behind midway through the first half when Andreas Pereira volleyed in from close range, but Fulham missed opportunities to extend the lead.

Kovacic’s brace and a decisive third from Doku punished the visitors’ missed chances, though substitute Rodrigo Muniz made things tense for the champions with a late goal two minutes from time.

City held firm to remain second, advancing to 17 points, while Fulham dropped to seventh on 11 points, trailing sixth-placed Newcastle United.