Although Manchester City snapped their losing streak, a Belgian star might have given Pep Guardiola a £100m headache that doesn’t look like being solved any time soon.
Elsewhere, a maligned Chelsea recruit’s resurgence has helped the Blues finally kick into gear while a dark horse might not be flying under the radar any more.
Review the weekend that was in the latest edition of Premier League Talking Points!
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Everton see RED in Merseyside Derby loss | 02:54
MORE COVERAGE
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‘England’s greatest ever’: Tributes flow as legends mourn death of football icon Bobby Charlton
BELGIAN RECRUIT LEAVES CITY WITH £100M HEADACHE
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi put 37-year-old James Milner out of his misery at halftime at the Etihad after being torn apart for 45 minutes by the speed and skill of City’s Jeremy Doku.
The Belgian set up Julian Alvarez’s opening goal in a 2-1 win as the champions recovered from losing back-to-back league games for the first time since 2018.
Doku’s dazzling start to life at City since a £55 million ($AUD105m) move from Rennes in August has left one of the stars of last season’s treble triumph in the shade.
Jack Grealish was again left on the bench by Pep Guardiola and has his work cut out to regain his starting place ahead of Doku on the left of City’s attack.
Grealish, who moved to the Etihad from Aston Villa in 2021 for a staggering £100m ($AUD192m), struggled to live up to the lofty price tag in his first season at the club.
However, the winger kicked into gear in his second season having adapted to Guardiola’s notoriously detailed way of playing as he scored five goals and bagged seven assists in the league.
But now, it seems the fleet-footed 28-year-old is back where he began.
Grealish started in City’s second and third league games before a small hamstring issue sidelined him for two weeks.
He has since failed to start in City’s last four games, coming on in the 87th, 80th and 75th minute against Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Brighton respectively while he remained on the bench for the entire Arsenal game.
Instead, Guardiola has deployed Doku and Phil Foden at left wing in place of Grealish.
It is a long season and the English star will no doubt prove to be a pivotal figure as the campaign wears on, but the early signs are not promising.
ABSURD STATS BEHIND DARK HORSE’S RESURGENCE
Only Manchester City have won more than the 62 Premier League points amassed in 2023 by a transformed Villa under Unai Emery.
Most of that haul has come at home with Villa Park restored to being a fortress.
Victory over West Ham was an 11th consecutive home league win for Emery’s men, who have their sights set on reaching the Champions League for the first time.
Additionally, Emery’s troops have scored 17 goals in their four home league games against Everton, Crystal Palace, Brighton and West Ham.
In fact, they have scored three or more goals in the first four games, a feat they have not achieved in 102 years.
“For me to play at home is always something special,” said Emery.
“We have to believe and always connect with the fans.”
The form of Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins encapsulates Villa’s revival. Luiz became the first Villa to score in six consecutive home league games after netting twice against West Ham.
Only Erling Haaland and Salah have more Premier League goals and assists than Watkins since Emery took charge a year ago.
With the win against West Ham, Villa sit just two points off top spot in the league and have scored the second-most goals in the competition.
It might be time for the football world to truly understand what Emery has cooking at Villa Park.
261-DAY DROUGHT FLIPPED ON ITS HEAD AS BLUES FIND FORM
It took Chelsea’s $167 million man Mykhailo Mudryk 261 days to score his first Chelsea goal.
Now, he has two in three games.
The Ukrainian winger attempted a cross against Arsenal but it looped over David Raya who was caught out of position to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead over the Gunners.
Granted, Mauricio Pochettino’s side blew their two-goal advantage as Arsenal managed to snatch a draw.
But the fact Mudryk got on the scoresheet along with Chelsea getting a result against a title contender in Arsenal having struggled earlier in the season is most certainly cause for optimism.
“The 22-year-old’s personal story seems linked with the new era at Chelsea,” Sky Sports’ Peter Smith wrote.
“The hasty, expensive deal to snatch him out of Arsenal’s grasp reflective of the club’s seemingly chaotic transfer policy; the struggles to reproduce the form he’d shown previously and the subsequent drop in confidence … and now the rejuvenation under Mauricio Pochettino.
“It is symbolic his long-awaited first goal for the club came in the win at Fulham which seems to have kickstarted Chelsea’s season.
“Mudryk could be the driving force to Chelsea’s improvement.
“He and the team may have been denied that winning feeling in the end on Saturday but both look set for more positive months ahead.”
Pochettino will have to hope Mudryk continues his form as Chelsea have a daunting run of Premier League fixtures ahead of them.
The host Brentford on October 28 before games against Tottenham (away), Manchester City (home), Newcastle (away), Brighton (home) and Manchester United.
BASEMENT DWELLERS’ BOLD CALL BLOWS UP IN THEIR FACE
Gary O’Neil savoured revenge on his return to Bournemouth as Wolves came from behind to win 2-1 and extend the Cherries’ wait to taste victory under Andoni Iraola.
O’Neil was surprisingly sacked in June despite comfortably leading Bournemouth to survival last season against the odds.
The club’s owner, American Bill Foley, admitted he didn’t “feel good” about making the decision but that the chance to hire Iraola was too good to turn down.
The Spaniard had earned a reputation as one of the continent’s most promising young coaches for the job he did at Rayo Vallecano despite meagre resources.
By contrast, Bournemouth splashed out over £100 million in the transfer window but are yet to see any return on that investment with just three points and no wins from nine games.
Next weekend’s clash against Burnley could prove Iraola’s last roll of the dice with City and Newcastle to follow before the next international break.