- Elsewhere, Chelsea joined Man City and Liverpool at top of the table on points
- Sportsmail has assessed 10 things we learned from the Premier League action
The threw up plenty of the usual talking points and drama over the weekend.
Manchester City and Liverpool could only manage a goalless stalemate while came from two goals down to beat Newcastle 3-2 late on at Old Trafford.
Here, AMITAI WINEHOUSE assesses 10 things we learned from the eighth weekend of the Premier League season.
1. There was nothing needed more than that late winner against Newcastle. This was a moment that can come to define his time at Manchester United.
That club’s myth is defined by great comebacks, like the 1999 Champions League final, and it is no surprise that this, their seventh Premier League win after being two or more goals down at half-time is four more than any other team.
But there have been dawns like this before under Mourinho, only for night fall to be surprisingly close by. This will be forgotten in two weeks if they slip again against Chelsea
2. If this is to be Liverpool’s year, and it is still too early to say, then they will owe a lot to their vastly improved defensive record.
And the power of Anfield is having a part to play in that. They have now kept nine clean sheets on the spin in the Premier League at home, their joint longest run in the league since 1992.
Add in the fact that they have 20 points, their joint-most after eight games in the Premier League, and the signs suggest this is as good an opportunity as they’ve had.
3. Ross Barkley needed that. His time at Chelsea has been defined by the mildly acrimonious nature of his transfer and the sense that, still, he is not living up to his potential.
But Maurizio Sarri sees something in him, which explains his regular usage in the first-team. With Barkley admitting he was under coached at Everton, there are probably few better managers for him than the Italian.
On Sunday he scored and assisted for Chelsea, becoming the first Englishman to do so since Frank Lampard in December 2013. That bodes well for his progress.
4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the bench for the start of Arsenal’s win against Fulham but it is fair to say Unai Emery knows what he has in the Gabonese striker.
It was likely just rotation — and Emery really does need to keep him fresh as the season goes on. Aubameyang has had a hand in more goals in all competitions in 2018 than any other player at the club, with 16 goals and five assists, and that will be key if Arsenal want to keep up this increasingly impressive run.
His two goals off the bench were a great bonus too, and helped Arsenal end this segment of the season in
5. So much has been made of Tottenham’s stadium woes, and rightly so. There was also the spell when they struggled to adapt to playing at Wembley. For the club’s sake, it is good to see their new ground is nearly ready.
That said, it is not having an impact on the pitch now. They are well in the hunt at this stage of the season and have even carried a record over from White Hart Lane – they are unbeaten in their last 38 Premier League home games against promoted sides, a whole season.
They have now also scored in 19 consecutive home league games, the longest run in the top flight.
6. It has not been the easiest of seasons for Gylfi Sigurdsson, but the second Icelandic player in Premier League history to hit 50 goals – No 1 was Eidur Gudjohnsen – is becoming a key part of an increasingly impressive side.
Not that Marco Silva had to work particularly hard on his telling contribution on Saturday. Sigurdsson is notorious for his ability from range and showed it with the stunning individual effort against Leicester.
He has now hit 19 Premier League goals from outside the box – no player has more since his debut in the competition.
7. David Brooks has really not played much first-team football. There were 30 appearances for Sheffield United last season, a fairly surprising £11.5million move to Bournemouth in the summer, and now six games this campaign.
He is starting to roll in the Premier League. He has scored in successive games for the first time in his career.
Elsewhere, Jefferson Lerma and Lewis Cook are starting to become the established midfield two for a Cherries side that has won three of their last four. That’s good news for Gareth Southgate, who is a fan of Cook.
8. Wolves are one of the more attractive teams to watch in the Premier League and thoroughly deserve seventh in the league after their win against Crystal Palace.
But Nuno Espirito Santo has also built a team with resolve. It is a great blend that hints at the brighter future they are striving towards.
It is now just one goal conceded in their last seven games in all competitions. It’s some record, and suggests that even if their strikers fire just once a game, they will be better than fine this season.
9. Huddersfield now have one more draw – Saturday’s 1-1 against Burnley – than Cardiff but the fact both have only scored four times in eight games highlights a damning reality – that if things do not improve in front of goal, they are going down.
The Terriers have a particular issue here because they knew they were not offering up enough in front of goal at the end of last season. It has not been fixed.
They last went 12 on the spin without a win back in 2000. While they are unlikely to hit that 18-year record of 17 victoryless games in a row, as it stands they look like sinking without a trace.
10. It would seem ridiculous, on paper, to start calling for Glenn Murray to be in the England squad, but there are few more in-form strikers in the country right now.
Only Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy have scored more than his 12 Premier League goals in 2018. And it is just Eden Hazard that has bagged more than his five so far this campaign.
His time is not likely to come, but at 35 he’s aging finer than wine.