Arsenal defeated Chelsea 1-0 to allay concerns about their chances of winning the Premier League and go atop the standings, while Liverpool recovered with a 2-1 victory at Tottenham.
On the day of Unai Emery’s managerial debut, an inspired Aston Villa destroyed Manchester United 3-1, while Newcastle climbed up to third place with a 4-1 victory at Southampton.
At Stamford Bridge, Gabriel Magalhaes headed in Bukayo Saka’s corner for the lone goal, but the narrow margin of victory was the absolute least Arsenal deserved.
Chelsea failed to contribute much offensively as they suffered their first consecutive Premier League losses in two years.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was filled with pride as he said, “For such a young team, the maturity, the poise they showed, the perseverance and courage to play how we wanted to play was fantastic to do it against these kind of guys.”
“Winning at this stadium is an extra thing, another step for this team to maintain their confidence that they can perform well under pressure and against strong opposition.”
With a win, Arsenal moves back up to the top of the standings, two points ahead of Manchester City.
United had gone nine games without a loss, and under Erik ten Hag, the Red Devils seemed to be coming into their own.
Even so, the United squad’s lack of depth was revealed as Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Raphael Varane were sidelined due to injuries, while Bruno Fernandes was suspended.
Leon Bailey’s collision with David de Gea and Lucas Digne’s free kick finding the top corner of the net inside of 11 minutes gave Emery the best possible start to his tenure as Villa manager.
Ten Hag stated, “You have to be prepared for the game, we weren’t. “Both at the beginning of the first half and the beginning of the second half, we lost the game. That can’t happen.”
Just before halftime, a shot from Luke Shaw that Jacob Ramsey diverted into his own net gave the visitors hope.
However, Villa promptly regained a two-goal advantage when Ramsey side-footed a shot into the top corner after 49 minutes.
Only a few weeks after being punished for defying Ten Hag’s orders to enter as a substitute, Cristiano Ronaldo led United.
Once substitute Chris Wood struck the far corner and Kieran Trippier set up Joe Willock to make it 3-0, there was no way back for Ralph Hassenhuttl’s team.
Romain Perraud scored a goal with one minute remaining, but Bruno Guimaraes’ curling strike into the bottom corner gave Newcastle the victory and kept the Saints in the relegation zone.
