🔬 The Debrief as Chelsea come back against Spurs while Arsenal stumble | OneFootball

Premier League action returned on Sunday after plenty of drama played out across the top flight of English football yesterday, with Arsenal and Chelsea looking to remain on song as London rivals looked to keep up with pace-setters Liverpool.

Both clubs remained in the capital to take on Fulham and Tottenham in a pair of London Derby's, with a chance to temporarily close the gap to Arne Slot's high-flying Reds after their Merseyside Derby meeting with Everton was postponed.

Elsewhere, Leicester City and Ipswich both remain desperate for points in attempts to stave off relegation, while Brighton's young manager Fabian Hürzeler was on the hunt to climb back into the top five.

Here's how it all went down.

What happened? 📝

The first capital clash of the day saw Arsenal stumble in the Premier League title race with a 1-1 draw at Fulham.

📸 Ryan Pierse - 2024 Getty Images

Though the Gunners did well to battle back through William Saliba after going a goal down thanks to an early Raúl Jiménez strike, Mikel Arteta's men will undoubtedly lament once again dropping points against a side they also struggled against last term.

Bournemouth banked all three points on their travels in a 2-1 comeback win over Ipswich at Portman Road. Goals from Enes Ünal and a Dango Ouattara strike in the 5th minute of added time canceled out Conor Chaplin's first-half opener.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's magic touch continued when Leicester fought back to earn a point at home in a 2-2 draw against high-flying Brighton.

Despite doing 2-0 down with goals on either side of the half from Tariq Lamptey and Yankuba Minteh, Jamie Vardy and Bobby De Cordova-Reid combined to rescue a point with goals in the final five minutes of action at the KP Stadium.

Finally, Chelsea once again displayed their title credentials as the Blues battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to see off struggling Tottenham 4-3 away from home, with Cole Palmer bagging a brace from the penalty spot.

Spurs looked to be on course for a huge three-point haul after early strikes from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, but instead, capitulated in typical fashion while no doubt leaving boss Ange Postecoglou infuriated despite a stoppage-time goal by Son Heung-min.

Player of the Day 🔥

Though Cole Palmer unquestionably deserves a real shout here, it's hard to look past Jamie Vardy here, as the 37-year-old continues to prove timeless for Leicester City.

With his legend already secure in Foxes lore, Vardy just keeps on going this season while showing no signs of stopping after becoming the second-oldest player in Premier League history to bag a goal and an assist.

His new boss is unquestionably rather proud indeed as Van Nistelrooy has now taken points in his first two matches in charge.

Stat of the Day 📊

To Dare Is To Do? In the case of Tottenham, continuing to show yourselves as wholly incapable of keeping it together is not a good look.

Going 2-0 up, only to spectacularly capitulate, has become synonymous with the North London club. To do it this evening against a rival just compounds the situation further.

Ange Postecoglou may have additional choice words tonight as Tottenham have now lost a Premier League fixture for the 11th time when owning a two-goal or more lead.

Not the league record you would want to be associated with.

What this means 🤔

Arsenal's draw against Fulham edges them one point closer to Liverpool (who retain a match in hand) as they now sit third in the table, while the Cottagers rest comfortably in mid-table (10th) and level on points with Brentford.

Bournemouth's comeback win has them sitting in 8th and just a single point outside of the top five as the Cherries continue to impress during a three-match winning run. Ipswich have now lost three in a row as they begin to entrench themselves in the relegation zone.

Brighton missed their chance to climb back into the top five after failing to seal all three points and sit 7th, with Leicester now in 16th and five points clear of the bottom three.

Enzo Maresca's Chelsea have now taken full possession of 2nd after securing their fourth consecutive league win, and are now sitting just four points off Liverpool in the title race while pulling two points clear of Arsenal. Spurs sit 11th and have won just one in their last five, with pressure continuing to pile on Postecoglou.

What they said 🗣

Mikel Arteta urged his players forward after their disappointing draw, with the Spanish tactician stating "We cannot feel sorry for ourselves. We have to stand up for ourselves, and now we have to continue to improve and look at what we can do better so that the opposition have zero chances to win the game. That’s the objective."

Ipswich Town will certainly have wished for points today, with boss Kieran McKenna discussing the 'devastated' dressing room. "There were so many good things in the game and the performance. Some of our play was really good, right up to their first goal. It’s a really disappointed group."

Ruud Van Nistelrooy has once again flexed his managerial muscles after taking up his new post at Leicester City, but paid special thanks to Jamie Vardy in their comeback draw against Brighton. "If you are on the scoresheet and make an assist, then you have to say this result would not be possible without him."

And Chelsea hero Cole Palmer explained the thinking behind his Panenka penalty: "When I stepped back and looked at the clock I thought it was a bit frantic, the game is all over the place and I thought the keeper was ready to dive so I just chipped it. I'm just trying to score and thankfully it went in."

What's next? 👀

West Ham United plays host to Wolves tomorrow in the Monday evening clash before a full list of fixtures next weekend, including the always anticipated Manchester Derby.

📸 BEN STANSALL - AFP or licensors