🔬 The Debrief as the Premier League delivers a Saturday of drama | OneFootball

The Premier League returned from it’s international break slumber with a bang as eight games took place on Saturday afternoon, with goals flying in left right and centre.

Here’s how it all went down.

What happened?

Despite an injury-hit cast, Newcastle United picked up a much-needed win as they came from 3-1 down to beat West Ham United 4-3 in a Premier League classic, courtesy of two late goals from Harvey Barnes.

In the 3pm games, Tottenham came from behind to beat Luton Town, courtesy of a winner from talisman Heung-Min Son.

However, there was no such success for Chelsea, who led twice only to be pegged back to a 2-2 draw against a Burnley side that played over half the game with 10 men, increasing the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino.

Another boss under pressure is Nuno Espiríto Santo, and his Nottingham Forest side claimed what could be a valuable point against Crystal Palace courtesy of an excellent Chris Wood header.

But the goal of the day came courtesy of Rodrigo, who struck a spectacular stoppage time overhead kick to rescue a point for Fulham against Sheffield United in a 3-3 thriller, while another late goal settled Bournemouth vs Everton, with Seamus Coleman putting past Jordan Pickford to see the Toffees fall to a 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth.

Aston Villa continued their own push for fourth with a hard-fought 2-0 win over midlands rivals Wolves, while Manchester United lost ground on both Unai Emery’s side and Spurs as they escaped with a 1-1 draw against Brentford.

Player of the day – Arijanet Muric

Though Chelsea didn’t deserve to beat Burnley, they could well have done if it weren’t for Arijanet Muric.

Now Vincent Kompany’s no.1 ahead of James Trafford, the youngster pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the Clarets on level terms and ensure that they came away from Stamford Bridge with a point.

Though its still a long way to safety for the Clarets, should Muric be able to replicate his performance going forwards maybe, just maybe, they can beat the drop.

Stat of the day

The stat of the day comes from the Vitality Stadium and, unfortunately for Everton fans, it’s not a good one.

Courtesy of their late 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, the Toffees continued their tricky season and equalled an unwanted record in the process.

Sean Dyche’s side have now gone 12 games without a win in the Premier League, something which matches the club’s longest ever set of results without collecting three points.

It is a record that will need to come to an end soon if Everton are to stand any chance of climbing away from the relegation zone and towards safety.

What this means

Wins for Villa and Spurs combined with a point for United sees Erik ten Hag’s side fall eight points behind in the race for Champions League football.

Just below them, Newcastle’s win over West Ham moved them within a point of the Hammers and reignited their hopes of European football come the end of the season.

At the other end of the table, losses for all of Everton, Nottingham Forest and Luton Town saw Crystal Palace inch closer to safety with their draw, and Burnley close the gap to those hovering above the drop zone with a point of their own.

There is little to separate the sides in midtable, with now only six points between the eighth-placed Hammers and Bournemouth in 14th, a group of clubs that includes strugglers Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

What they said

Mauricio Pochettino was not happy after his Chelsea side let another lead slip:

“We didn’t show the consistency and the capacity to deal with and manage the game. It is a result that shows that we need to improve in many areas if we want to be competitive.”

David Moyes was also left dejected after throwing away a two goal lead.

“I’m gutted. This feels like a bad defeat,” said West Ham’s manager. “We did a lot of good things and were a threat but we didn’t defend well enough. I don’t think you can say we were in control at 3-1.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was much happier though after his side’s late win over Everton.

“We played the game we had to play. It is always difficult against Everton. I thought we were quite smart not to make mistakes and we had the clear chances. We deserved to win. One mistake for them, one mistake for us.”

But the same could not be said for Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, whose side threw away the lead against Fulham and dropped two vital points.

“I’m delighted with the attitude but obviously the result is difficult to take. Being 3-1 up, you expect your team to see the game out. The goals are poor from our point of view, with a set piece yet again.

What comes next?

There are just two games left of the Premier League weekend, but they promise to be brilliant. Liverpool welcome Brighton before Manchester City play host to Arsenal on a day that is sure to see the top three of the Premier League shaken up.

After that, there is just a 48-hour wait for more top flight action, with all 20 clubs involved in midweek action including Tottenham vs West Ham United and Manchester United vs Chelsea.

The Premier League is well and truly back.