Tottenham moved up to fourth place, three points behind Arsenal, after a 2-1 win against Everton although a controversial VAR moment left Sean Dyche frustrated.
Richarlison put Tottenham ahead against his former club in the ninth minute, slotting home from Brennan Johnson’s low cross to make it three goals in his last four games.
Son Heung-min doubled the lead in the 18th minute with a powerful finish after Everton keeper Jordan Pickford could only parry Johnson’s shot into the South Korean’s path.
Andre Gomes blasted into the far corner to reduce the deficit in the 82nd minute, but it was too late to stop Everton’s first defeat in five league games.
Everton did have a Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal ruled out earlier in the game though following a VAR review in the 51st minute, with Gomes ruled to have made contact with Emerson Royal’s ankle shortly before when he won possession from him for the Toffees.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday, former Premier League referee Mike Dean described it as “small contact” but argued it was “not enough” to overturn the original call of a goal.
“It’s minimal contact. It’s very, very soft,” he added.
Even former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson agreed, declaring: “I didn’t think it was a foul.”
Everton boss Dyche, meanwhile, had plenty to say about the VAR and the decision after Sunday’s loss.
“I’m a big fan of VAR but I don’t know where that one lives today because I think VAR has over-reffed the moment,” Dyche said.
“The referee and the linesperson has an amazing view, they’ve made the decision with all their experience of doing it. It goes out of the window because they can find contact.
“They find contact with virtually everything. The amount of contact in the game we all know is alarming. They favour a penalty when someone has stepped on a toe. When you are stood on when you’re in the queue to get onto the tube, you don’t fall over. Apparently, that’s a penalty nowadays.
“My question is where is the line between trusting the on-field decision and the referee’s instinct in what they’re doing. Many people will disagree as they will say there is contact, but if I’m the person in the VAR room I am looking at the referee’s position as well, the linesperson’s position and thinking what view have they got.
“Their views were perfect. It was the perfect moment for them to be allowed to referee the game. VAR cannot be refereeing every moment. Nearly every touch is a foul. In that moment, there’s not enough contact for me for a mature professional footballer to go down. The game has got to be really careful, and I’ve said it for years.
“You’ve got to think it would’ve had an effect because of the way we were playing. The feeling in the stadium would have got nervous, but you never know. I’ve not got a crystal ball, but goals do change games and I’d have had a strong feeling of us getting something from the game.”
Forest sign Nuno as new head coach | 00:35
Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou said Everton made it “difficult” for Tottenham to hold on for the win but was glad his players showed the resilience to get the job done.
“I think we started the game well and got ourselves in front,” Postecoglou told Premier League Productions.
“We got a little wasteful with the ball and some of that was because of Everon’s pressure. They work hard and make it difficult. We had to show resilience in the second half to get a result.
“We went through that difficult spell where we got ourselves in front but didn’t end up putting the game to bed. In the context of everything we’re going through with the squad, it’s a big three points.”
Chelsea’s billion-dollar spend continues to look like more of a blunder with every game that passes, but a recent Premier League champion has shown signs they have put a horror season well behind them.
Meanwhile, a European contender’s nightmare start is starting to generate a few nerves as the Premier League was riddled with plenty of VAR drama.
Foxsports.com.au reviews the weekend that was in the latest edition of Premier League Talking Points!
‘I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND’: VAR NON-CALL LEAVES FORMER REF, PL STAR BAFFLED
Referees and VAR are never the most popular figures in the game, but this weekend delivered what might just be the worst decision of the season.
Manchester City beat Fulham 5-1, but the game was finely poised at a goal apiece after Tim Ream equalised for the visitors just two minutes after Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for the champions.
Then, in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, City’s Nathan Ake struck, finding the back of the net with a header from a corner despite teammate Manuel Akanji appearing to be in the keeper’s way while in a clearly offside position.
Had the goal been disallowed for offside, the teams would have entered the halftime break level – and the second half would have been a vastly different prospect for underdogs Fulham.
The ball went through Akanji’s legs as he tried to evade it. But Fulham keeper Bernd Leno didn’t appear to move to make a save until the ball went past Akanji, clearly proving that the offside player interfered with play.
VAR awards City controversial goal | 00:44
Fulham coach Marco Silva raged after the game, saying: “Everyone that plays football and has some knowledge of the game would be 100% sure [the VAR] has to disallow the goal.
“The more times you see that, the more you know it has to be disallowed.
“The player pulled away from the line of the ball and into the direction of goal. It is a clear offside. It is impossible for the VAR not to see it.”
Legendary former Premier League referee Mike Dean was flabbergasted on Sky Sports, saying:
“The goalkeeper can’t go straight away because he has to wait and when he does move, it’s too late. The player has to be interfering.
“It’s 1,000 per cent offside. It’s just offside. I just don’t understand why it wasn’t given. It’s offside in any game of football.”
Even City’s eventual hat-trick scorer Erling Haaland conceded he believed it was offside.
“It was offside,” he told beIN SPORTS after full-time. “I feel bad for them – I would be fuming after this as well. It must be a horrible feeling.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva was furious after an offside was not given for Manchester City’s second goal. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
CHELSEA’S BILLION-DOLLAR BLUNDER
When you spend a record-breaking billion pounds in transfers across just three windows, you expect results. But it’s clear that Chelsea still have some very big problems. Their 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest left them with just one win from four league games – and that was over newly-promoted minnows Luton Town, who spent just $38m this transfer window in a stark comparison to the Blues.
It’s Chelsea’s worst league start since 1995, with their biggest concern being a lack of cutting edge up front. They lost 3-1 to 10-man West Ham despite enjoying a whopping 76 per cent possession and taking 17 shots. Against Forest, where they had 77 per cent possession and 21 shots but managed just two on target.
Former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT: “What I don’t understand with Chelsea is that they had 21 shots and guess how many on target? Two.
“They’re getting into the positions but they just don’t have the quality and it seems to be a theme now.
“You look on social media and the story is that Chelsea sign players but they lose games. They’ve spent £1 billion. Why didn’t Chelsea use a quarter of that money and go out and buy a star?
Chelsea slipped to a shock loss against Nottingham Forest. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“Go and give Paris Saint-Germain an offer for [Kylian] Mbappe that they can’t refuse. Harry Kane, ‘there you go, Daniel Levy. Whatever you want’. £150 million for Harry Kane and you’ve got two superstars.
“They’ve bought loads of players who are average. [Mykhailo] Mudryk came on and he nearly gave away two goals! He was absolutely useless. He’s had 19 games, zero goals and they haven’t got a style of play.”
Chelsea had a very good transfer window in many respects – beating Liverpool to the signings of in-demand Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, selling a host of fringe players, and signing plenty of other talented youngsters.
But they are clearly lacking attacking threat up front, though an injury to Christopher Nkunku plays a big factor in that regard. But €37.00m signing Nicolas Jackson from Villareal missed a massive chance late against Forest, and the rest of their attacking corps have struggled to fire so far this season.
In fact, the Blues made more signings (12) than they have goals this season.
Even their British-record signing Caicedo (£105m from Brighton) has been poor so far at Stamford Bridge. He was good against Luton in their 3-0 win, but gave away a penalty on debut at West Ham and also lost the ball in his own half that led to Forest’s winner.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino has plenty of fresh faces to deploy, but just as many headaches to address.
Mauricio Pochettino has his work cut out for him at Chelsea. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
LIVERPOOL SHOW SIGNS OF OLD SELVES IN FRIGHTENING WARNING
Jurgen Klopp may have had to completely rebuild Liverpool’s midfield during the transfer window, but it was like watching his sides of old as Villa were overrun and outclassed at Anfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored his first goal since a £60 million move from RB Leipzig to cap a brilliant performance from the Hungarian.
Alexis Mac Allister has also impressed early in his Liverpool career and controlled the game with the aid of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who shone in his new hybrid role of moving into midfield when in possession from right-back.
Up front Darwin Nunez continues to find his feet after a difficult first season, while Liverpool’s refusal to cash in on a huge Saudi bid for Mohamed Salah this week was rewarded with another goal.
Klopp’s men had consistently been Manchester City’s biggest challengers for the title for the four years prior to last season’s slump that saw them finish fifth.
The challenge of facing Chelsea and Newcastle away before the visit of Villa looked like a tricky start.
But 10 points from a possible 12 is just what Liverpool needed to raise hope on Merseyside they can be back challenging the European champions for the title once more come May.
Liverpool looked the goods against Aston Villa. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
‘LINGERING SENSE OF UNEASE’ AS TOON’S ALARMING SLIDE CONTINUES
The acquisitions of Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes coupled with the excitement surrounding a looming Champions League campaign meant there was plenty of buzz surrounding Newcastle ahead of the season.
But four games into their Premier League campaign and Newcastle sit in 14th place with just one win.
A 3-1 loss to Brighton on the weekend condemned Eddie Howe’s side to their third league defeat of the season as Evan Ferguson ran riot over a toothless Newcastle outfit.
Granted, Newcastle’s three defeats have come against Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester City, who all finished inside the top six last season.
However, their 5-1 win against Aston Villa in the first game of the season is now looking as more of an outlier than a sign of what was to be expected.
The Times’ Gregor Robertson wrote the Brighton loss “does not portend a crisis but no-one can dispute the lingering sense of unease for Newcastle United heading into the international break.”
“Toothless as Newcastle were, there was no shame in a 1-0 defeat by Manchester City.” Robertson said.
Newcastle have lost three of their four opening games. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“They were made to pay for their profligacy in last Sunday’s 2-1 loss against ten-man Liverpool but were superior for the majority of that game.
“Saturday’s defeat, however, despite a high-octane start against an outstanding Brighton and Hove Albion team, raised more concerning questions for the Newcastle head coach.”
A key element of Newcastle’s defeat to Brighton was the centre-back pairing of Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, with Matt Targett slotting in at left back.
Burn was shifted to the heart of defence after Sven Botman went down against Liverpool and was at fault for Darwin Nunez’s late winner.
The towering defender struggled in his efforts to keep Ferguson quiet as the Irishman was constantly afforded time and space to turn and drive at the Newcastle backline.
The international break couldn’t have arrived at a better time for Newcastle and they will happily take the chance to regroup.
But once the Premier League resumes, they must find form otherwise their Champions League fixtures against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain could get ugly.
Spurs were playing for the first time at home since record goalscorer Kane departed for Bayern Munich.
But in Ange Postecoglou’s first match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the home side showed promising signs of a new era as Pape Sarr’s strike and Lisandro Martinez’s own goal continued United’s sluggish start to the season.
Ange claims first EPL win against United | 02:46
Erik ten Hag’s men escaped with a 1-0 victory at home to Wolves on Monday despite being outplayed.
This time United were punished as they faded after a bright start. Bruno Fernandes should have headed the visitors in front midway through the first-half.
Spurs ended the opening period in the ascendency as Pedro Porro rattled the crossbar.
And the Postecoglou’s men got their reward when Sarr smashed home his first goal for the club on 49 minutes.
A comedy of errors summed up United’s day for the second goal as Ben Davies failed to connect with Ivan Perisic’s cross and Martinez could only turn it beyond the flat-footed Andre Onana.
United’s decision not to rival Bayern with a bid for Kane will now face more scrutiny as they looked toothless without new striker Rasmus Hojlund due to injury.
Kiwi Chis Wood the hero for Forest | 01:25
LIVERPOOL OVERCOME HORROR START TO GET WIN
Liverpool recovered from a terrible start and the controversial loss of Alexis Mac Allister to get their frist win of the season.
Bournemouth had lost 9-0 on their visit to Anfield a year ago but led inside three minutes when Antoine Semenyo drilled into the far corner.
Liverpool needed some inspiration to kickstart their season after a 1-1 draw at Chelsea last weekend.
Luis Diaz provided it as he flicked up Diogo Jota’s cross and then acrobatically fired an overhead kick into the bottom corner.
Jurgen Klopp’s men led nine minutes before half-time, but Mohamed Salah needed a second opportunity to tap in the rebound after Neto had saved his penalty.
The Egyptian has now failed to score three of his last five penalties, but edged ahead of Steven Gerrard as Liverpool’s fifth highest scorer of all time on 187.
Momentum could have swung back Bournemouth’s way when Mac Allister was harshly shown a straight red card for leading with his studs on Ryan Christie, despite minimal contact with the Scotland international.
“I saw the red card back and for sure we have to talk about it. I understand 100 percent how it looks for a ref in that moment, but when you see it back it is the inside of the foot and no power behind it,” Klopp said.
Mac Allister was shown a red card. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)Source: AFP
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean defended the call on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
“His foot’s raised, the guys cleared the ball and the lads caught him,” Dean said.
“[He’s] probably caught him shin high, foots off the floor, I’ve got no issues with it. It was looked at by VAR, that’s been checked and cleared, it’s the right decision from Tom Bramall.”
Arsenal legend Paul Merson though disagreed.
“Because it’s slow motion and it hits his shin, when you look at it you go ‘ooh’. I see what Mac Allister was trying to do, he was trying to play a sidefoot pass but the lad was too quick for him,” he said in response.
“Sometimes that we have to understand, sometimes if someone is too quick for someone, he didn’t mean it. I’ve seen people do people, I didn’t think it was. Best move before Mike [Dean] says anything.”
BBC pundit and former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton said: “I thought the McAllister sending off was a shocking decision”.
A 10-man Liverpool added to their lead within four minutes when Jota pounced after Neto could only palm Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort into his path.
Japan captain Wataru Endo was then introduced after Liverpool finally landed a defensive midfielder on Friday after losing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea.
HAALAND FIRES BLANKS BUT CITY STEP UP TO CHALLENGE
Meanwhile, Manchester City laid down an early-season marker in the Premier League title race as Julian Alvarez’s stunning strike earned a 1-0 win over Newcastle at the Etihad.
A club record 17th consecutive home victory for the treble winners was thoroughly deserved despite their exertions in lifting the UEFA Super Cup in midweek.
Newcastle’s 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa last weekend had raised hopes on Tyneside they could be the pick of the challengers to City’s crown as English champions.
But on this evidence, Pep Guardiola’s men will take some stopping in their quest to become the first side to ever win four consecutive English top-flight titles.
Guardiola was furious at the Premier League for scheduling the game just three days after his side were forced to penalties to beat Sevilla under baking heat in Athens.
City’s squad has also been stretched early on in the campaign by the absence of Bernardo Silva and John Stones, while Kevin De Bruyne will be out for up to four months with a hamstring injury.
But dreams the Magpies could pose a challenge for their frist top-flight league title in 97 years were dampened by City’s dominance before tiredness crept in late on.
City scored a crucial win. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The visitors were happy to surrender possession before the break, but it took a moment of magic for City to find a way through.
Alvarez could be one of the benefactors of De Bruyne’s lengthy lay-off. The Argentine scored 17 goals in his debut season in Manchester despite having to play largely second fiddle to Erling Haaland.
Guardiola may now be forced to pair Alvarez with the Norwegian more often and he showed what he is capable of with a stunning finish into the top corner from Phil Foden’s pass on 31 minutes.
Haaland was not as accurate moments later as he dragged a shot inches wide when played in by another Foden through ball.
Newcastle’s more attacking intent in the second half only succeeded in leaving City more space to exploit in behind.
Erling Haaland reacts after missing a goal opportunity. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)Source: AFP
However, a rare off night for Haaland in front of goal continued. Foden stepped up in the absence of De Bruyne and Silva to be the creative spark in the City midfield.
The England international’s turn and pass picked out Haaland once more on his favoured left foot only for last season’s Golden Boot winner again fail to hit the target.
Haaland went for raw power with his next effort, but was repelled by the legs of Nick Pope as City were made to wait for a second goal to kill the game off.
The European champions were nearly made to pay when Rodri’s slack pass presented Callum Wilson with a huge opportunity.
But 90-million-euro ($99 million) defender Josko Gvardiol showed his worth on his home debut to hold up Wilson and Harvey Barnes’ shot was comfortably held by Ederson.
Despite his side’s fatigue, Guardiola refused to make a single substitution and told one City fan to take his place on the bench when urged to make some changes.
But it all ended in smiles for the home side as City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season to sit second behind Brighton at the top of the table.
BRIGHTON, BRENTFORD BANK WINS
Brighton banked a British record transfer fee that could rise to £115 million ($146 million) for Caicedo.
But the Seagulls continue to soar under Roberto De Zerbi despite seeing their best players picked off by the Premier League’s elite.
Kaoru Mitoma may be the next big-money departure and the Japanese international opened the scoring in stunning style at Molineux as he slalomed past four Wolves defenders before producing a classy finish.
In stark contrast to their performance at Old Trafford, Wolves had no answer to Brighton’s speed of passing and movement as the visitors scored three times in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Mitoma teed up Pervis Estupinan to smash home for 2-0 before Solly March scored twice from Julio Enciso assists.
De Bruyne to miss 4 months with injury | 01:17
Wolves pulled a goal back through Hwang Hee-chan, but a chastening afternoon for Gary O’Neil’s men was rounded off by a red card for Matheus Nunes in stoppage time.
Brentford are also making light of the absence of the suspended Ivan Toney as they won 3-0 at Fulham.
Yoane Wissa opened the scoring before Bryan Mbuemo scored twice after Fulham captain Tim Ream was sent off for a second yellow card.
