Liverpool and Manchester City victorious, tough day for Arsenal

The eighth round of the Premier League kicked off with the London derby between Tottenham and West Ham. After their shocking comeback defeat to Brighton before the international break, Spurs bounced back with a 4-1 victory over the Hammers. Despite the visitors taking the lead through Kudus, Postecoglou’s men hit back with goals from Kulusevski, Bissouma, an own goal by Aréola, and Son.

Leicester secured a second consecutive win with an incredible comeback against Southampton at St. Mary's. Despite goals from Archer and Aribo for the hosts, the Foxes turned it around with strikes from Buonanotte, Vardy, and a last-gasp winner from Jordan Ayew. Aston Villa also triumphed away with a 3-1 win over Fulham (Raul Jimenez gave the Cottagers the lead, but Rogers, Watkins, and a Diop own goal sealed the victory for Villa). Emiliano Martinez saved a penalty from Andreas Pereira and celebrated in his usual flamboyant style.

Welbeck handed Brighton a victory over Newcastle, while Ten Hag’s Manchester United overcame a scare from Brentford’s Pinnock, winning thanks to Garnacho and former Atalanta striker Hojlund. Everton secured three crucial points against Ipswich with goals from Ndiaye and Keane. Arteta’s Arsenal suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth, with Christie and Kluivert on the scoresheet. The Gunners played with 10 men from the 30th minute after Saliba’s red card.

Manchester City and Liverpool took full advantage, with City winning 2-1 against Wolverhampton (goals from Gvardiol and Stones after Strand Larsen’s opener for Wolves) and Liverpool beating Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield (Salah and Jones for the Reds, Nicolas Jackson for the Blues). Liverpool leads the table with 21 points, with City just one point behind. Aston Villa joins Arsenal on 17 points.

In the Bundesliga, all the big teams secured wins. Borussia Dortmund beat St. Pauli 2-1 at home with goals from Bensebaini and Guirassy, despite an equalizer from Smith. Leipzig triumphed 2-0 away at Mainz with goals from Xavi Simons and Orbàn. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen, the reigning German champions under Xabi Alonso, came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1. Boniface missed a penalty early on, and Marmoush gave Frankfurt the lead from the spot, but Andrich equalized for Leverkusen, and Boniface redeemed himself with the winner in the 71st minute.

Bayern Munich put four past Stuttgart, bouncing back from their 3-3 draw with Eintracht two weeks ago. Kane was in sensational form, netting a hat-trick to take his league tally to eight goals (although the top scorer remains Egypt’s Marmoush). Coman completed the rout. Bayern and Leipzig now sit atop the Bundesliga with 17 points, Freiburg follows with 15, while Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin (2-0 winners over Holstein Kiel) are tied on 14 points. Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund are close behind with 13 points.