🦁 Arsenal take top spot; Newcastle down Chelsea; Liverpool hold Man City | OneFootball

The Premier League returned and delivered a host of thrilling encounters.

Here’s what went down.

Havertz seals Gunners’ return to the top

Scorers: Havertz 89′

Arsenal returned to the Premier League summit after Kai Havertz’s late goal tipped the balance against Brentford.

Mikel Arteta’s side enjoyed the first opening when Leandro Trossard shaped to shoot inside the penalty area but dragged his shot wide of the target.

But the Bees almost prospered after Yoane Wissa seized on an Aaron Ramsdale mistake to tee up Bryan Mbeumo for a shot which Declan Rice cleared on the line.

The Gunners appeared to have broken the deadlock late in the first half when Trossard pounced on Mark Flekkeen parrying Gabriel Jesus’ header before VAR deemed it offside.

After the interval, Brentford grew in confidence with Flekken releasing Yegor Yarmolyuk for a run and long-range attempt which was tamely held by Ramsdale.

Thomas Frank’s side continued to up the ante as their visitors were indebted to Oleksandr Zinchencho for making a second goal-line clearance to deny Neal Maupay.

But substitute Havertz finally delivered a breakthrough just a minute from the end of normal time by meeting Bukayo Saka’s cross to the far post.

Howe’s side hit Blues for four

Scorers: Isak 13′ Lascelles 60′ Joelinton 61′ Gordon 84′; Sterling 23′

Newcastle were at their attacking best on Saturday as they beat 10-man Chelsea 4-1.

The Blues travelled to the north east for a mouth-watering clash with Newcastle but they had to do so without Mauricio Pochettino, who was missing from the sideline thanks to a suspension.

It was an end-to-end start to the game with Alexander Isak looking dangerous in behind the Chelsea defence and Conor Gallagher also having an attempt after five minutes.

But it was Newcastle’s Swedish striker who broke the deadlock on 13 minutes as he found space in the area and finished cooly after great work from 17-year-old Lewis Miley.

Chelsea levelled 10 minutes later however as Raheem Sterling’s stunning free kick found the top corner.

The west London outfit had their tails up now and could have scored another soon after as Enzo Fernandez forced a smart save from Nick Pope.

On the stroke of half time Newcastle were almost ahead as Kieran Trippier hit a David Beckham-like free-kick that rattled back off the crossbar.

On the hour mark Newcastle went ahead of Jamal Lascelles ghosted into the area and scored an unmarked header.

And just a minute later Joelinton capitalised on a mistake from Thiago Silva and scored the Magpies third with an easy finish.

Things were made even more difficult for Chelsea with 20 minutes to go as Reece James was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Eddie Howe’s side were humming now and got a fourth late on as Anthony Gordon cut in from the left and fired an effort in to the far corner.

Soucek ensures Burnley heartbreak

Scorers: Rodriguez (PEN) 49′; O’Shea (OG) 86′, Soucek 90+1′

A late double from West Ham ensured the capital club beat Burnley 2-1 despite a poor performance.

The Hammers could go level on points with Newcastle if they won at Turf Moor but key man Jarrod Bowen missed out thanks to injury.

It was Vincent Kompany’s side who enjoyed most of the ball in the first half with the Lancashire club frustrating David Moyes’ men with their neat patterns of play and intricate passing.

That spilled over late on as Mohamed Kudus chopped down Charlie Taylor for a deserved booking.

Into the second half and Burnley took the lead on 49 minutes as Jay Rodriguez scored from the penalty spot.

West Ham had been poor all afternoon but with four minutes to go they got a lifeline as Dara O’Shea put the ball into the back of his own net.

The sign of a good team is winning when you don’t play well, and that’s what happened as Soucek netted in added time for a West Ham lead.

Brighton end barren run

Scorers: Elanga 3′ Gibbs-White (PEN) 76′; Ferguson 26′, Joao Pedro 45+2′ (PEN) 60′

Brighton ended their barren run as they beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at the City Ground.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side were hoping to bounce back from their poor Premier League form, aiming to win their first in five games with Nottingham Forest as the opponents.

But the Seagulls got off to the worst possible start as Antony Elanga headed in at the back post to give Forest a lead after only three minutes.

Evan Ferguson was at his best midway through the half however as the Irish striker used his nous to get half a yard and then curled an effort into the bottom corner.

And right on the stroke of half time the away side took the lead as Joao Pedro arrived late and headed home.

After the break the Seagulls got their third from the penalty spot as Joao Pedro scored his second of the afternoon.

Things got interesting for the hosts with 15 minutes to go as Lewis Dunk was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of 10 seconds.

The ensuing penalty resulted in Morgan Gibbs-White slotting home from the spot.

Hatters late show is enough

Scorers: Mengi 72′ Brown 83′; Olise 74′

Luton used their rapturous home crowd to see themselves over the line for a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and their first ever Premier League home victory.

Luton were the biggest beneficiaries from Everton’s points deduction with the Hatters starting Saturday out of the relegation zone on six points.

It was a fairly insipid opening quarter that was livened up on 26 minutes as Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski made a smart double save from Michael Olise.

After the break Palace were dealt a double blow as both Cheick Doucoure and Eberechi Eze went off injured.

Roy Hodgson’s side thought they had brushed off that bad luck and finally got their goal on 66 minutes but Odsonne Edouard’s goal was ruled out for handball.

Luton then inflicted more heartache on the visitors as Teden Mengi scored a with a neat finish at the back post to send the crowd into raptures.

Palace responded instantaneously however as Olise got an equaliser just two minutes later with a brilliant effort from the edge of the area.

This topsy-turvy game took another turn with seven minutes to go as Jacob Brown got to a cross before the Palace defence and slid in.

Cherries but Sheff Utd to the sword

Scorers: McBurnie 90+7′; Tavernier 12′ 51′, Kluivert 45+3′

Bournemouth really clicked into gear on Saturday afternoon as they beat Sheffield United 3-0.

Bramall Lane was the setting for a battle of the in-form sides with the Blades winning last time out and the Cherries unbeaten in two.

And it was the visitors who took the lead after only 12 minutes as Marcus Tavernier waltzed in and fired home.

The south coast club were in complete ascendancy and doubled their advantage in added time as Justin Kluivert capitalised on a goalkeeping error and scored into an empty net.

After the break Bournemouth continued their dominance and bagged a third on 51 minutes as Tavernier got his second of the evening.

Ollie McBurnie scored in added time but it was too little too late for the hosts who struggled throughout.

TAA makes profligacy pay

Scorers: Haaland 27′; Alexander-Arnold 81′

A late equaliser from Trent Alexander-Arnold helped Liverpool to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

It was a frantic start to proceedings with Bernardo Silva trying to provide some calm in the middle of the pitch with a few good, early touches.

The first real chance of the game came on 10 minutes as Phil Foden capitalised on a mistake by Alisson but saw his low effort saved by the Brazilian.

Five minutes later Darwin Nunez got on the end of a Mohamed Salah cross but his header was saved well by Ederson.

The deadlock was broken however, on 27 minutes, as Erling Haaland found space just outside the area and finished with aplomb.

After some Liverpool pressure, it was City who could have doubled their advantage on 40 minutes as Foden cut in from the left but his low effort was brilliantly tipped around the post.

Into the second half and once again Liverpool provide some good moments but it was City who had the best chances.

Doku gave Mac Allister the slip on 52 minutes but his cutback to Julian Alvarez was skied over the bar.

City thought they had doubled their lead on 68 minutes as Ruben Dias tapped in at the back post but his effort was ruled out after a push on Alisson.

Against the run of play however, Liverpool got themselves level.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his first goal of the season with 10 minutes to go as he fired in low from the edge of the area.

Next up

Sunday will see Tottenham host Aston Villa whilst Manchester United travel to Everton.