Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League tree, Man City continue to purr along, while Man United condemned Liverpool to their fourth straight defeat in all competitions.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s resurgence rolled on, Sunderland impressed again at home, and we had a third sacking of the season.
Read on for our favourite statistics from gameweek 8.
Stats you might have missed
- Mateta records highest xG in a decade
- United’s creator in chief
- Perfect 10 for the Arsenal
- Teenage kicks
- Ange’s short reign ends in pain
- Haaland jets to double figures (again)
- Forgotten man on fire
- Sunderland’s fortress of light
- Woltemade’s red-hot start rolls on
- Noughts and crosses
- Bees sting hopeless Hammers
Mateta records highest xG in a decade
- Jean-Philippe Mateta recorded the highest xG, 3.67, of any Premier League player in the last 10 years.
Jean-Philippe Mateta hammered home a hat-trick in Crystal Palace’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.
Remarkably, the striker’s 3.67 xG represents the highest by a player in a Premier League game in the last 10 seasons at least.
Metata could even have snatched a last-gasp winner, but fired his effort over when he seemed destined to belt in a fourth.
United’s creator in chief
- No player has created more chances in the Premier League than Bruno Fernandes since his arrival at Manchester United in early 2020
It was a dream weekend for Manchester United, who handed Liverpool their fourth consecutive defeat in a 2-1 win at Anfield.
The Red Devils struck early after 63 seconds through Bryan Mbeumo, before Harry Maguire secured the win late on with a trademark header from a pinpoint Bruno Fernandes delivery.
That assist marked Fernandes’ 52nd in the Premier League, the fifth-most by a United player in the competition’s history. He’s now up to 560 chances created, more than any other player since his debut, underlining his status as one of the league’s most consistent creators.
Perfect 10 for the Arsenal
- Arsenal have had 10 different players score this season, the most of any Premier League club.
Arsenal have opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table following a narrow 1-0 win away to Fulham.
The Gunners look like the team to beat at this early stage of the season, boasting six wins from eight games, just three goals conceded, and 15 goals scored.
In fact, Leandro Trossard’s goal against Fulham means that the Gunners are the first club to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this season.
Teenage kicks
- Chelsea have had two teenagers score in the same Premier League season for the first time since 1998/99.
Chelsea secured a 3-0 victory away at Nottingham Forest, a result that ultimately brought an end to Ange Postecoglou’s blink and you’ll miss it tenure at the City Ground.
The Blues’ breakthrough came shortly after halftime, as 19-year-old Josh Acheampong netted his first-ever goal for the club. He’s not the only young talent to make an impact at Chelsea this season: 18-year-old Estevao previously scored a dramatic late winner against reigning champions Liverpool.
This marks the first time since the 1998/99 season that two teenagers have scored for Chelsea in the same Premier League campaign.
Ange’s short reign ends in pain
- Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest is the second shortest in Premier League history.
Speaking of poor Postecoglou, his Nottingham Forest tenure has officially gone down as one of the shortest managerial reigns in Premier League history.
He failed to register a single win in eight matches across all competitions, collecting just one point from a possible 15 in the league.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea proved to be the final straw, with Postecoglou dismissed within minutes of the full-time whistle. His tenure lasted just 39 days, which is the second-shortest in Premier League history, behind only Sam Allardyce’s 30-day stint at Leeds.
Shortest Premier League Tenures (Days)
| Manager | Club | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Allardyce | Leeds | 30 |
| Ange Postecoglou | Nottingham Forest | 39 |
| Les Reed | Charlton | 40 |
| Javi Gracia | Leeds | 69 |
| Rene Meulensteen | Fulham | 75 |
Haaland jets to double figures (again)
- Erling Haaland is the only player to ever score 10 goals after eight Premier League games, a feat he’s achieved three times.
There’s simply no stopping the Erling Haaland steam train right now after he raced into double figures for the new Premier League season following a brace in the 2-0 win against Everton, which extended his tally to 10 goals in eight league games.
Haaland is the only player to reach 10 goals at this stage of the season. More impressively, this is the third time he’s done it!
He now has a staggering 23 goals in just 13 games for club and country this season.
Forgotten man on fire
- Emi Buendia has now scored three goals across his last four games for Aston Villa, as many as his previous 44 matches combined.
Aston Villa have burst into life with five wins on the spin in all competitions, including Sunday’s impressive come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Tottenham thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia.
Buendia, a forgotten figure at the club who nearly departed in the summer, has played a key role in Villa’s resurgence with three goals and an assist in his last four appearances, matching his goal tally from his previous 44 games combined.
Sunderland’s fortress of light
- Sunderland have won 10 points from their opening four home league games of a Premier League season for the very first time.
Sunderland shrugged off their defeat to Man United by bouncing back to claim three points at home to rock-bottom Wolves, a result which moved them up to 7th and within one point of Liverpool in 4th.
The Black Cats have made a mockery of pre-season predictions, which in part has been down to their superb home form, having collected 10 points from their opening four games at the Stadium of Light.
In fact, the new boys have already accrued more points this season (14) than Southampton did in the whole of last season (12).
Woltemade’s red-hot start rolls on
- Nick Woltemade became only the fifth Newcastle player to score four goals in his first five Premier League appearances.
Nick Woltemade has continued his blistering introduction to Premier League life, becoming just the fifth Newcastle player to score four goals in his first five appearances.
While Newcastle fell to a defeat against Brighton at the weekend, the new signing once again impressed – this time with a moment of real class, flicking the ball past Bart Verbruggen with a clever backheel finish.
Woltemade joins some fine Toon company, matching the early goal returns of Les Ferdinand, Michael Owen, and Callum Wilson (all four), while Loic Rémy leads the list with five.
Noughts and crosses
- Leeds registered the most crosses of any team this season.
Leeds United fired blanks in a disappointing 2-0 defeat away to fellow new boys Burnley.
The game saw Leeds whip in a whopping 47 crosses into Burnley’s box, which is the most by a team in a Premier League match this season.
Leeds had 68.9% possession and 19 shots but ultimately failed to make their dominance count.
Bees sting hopeless Hammers
- West Ham have lost their opening four home league games of a season for the first time in their entire history.
Nuno Espirito Santo is still searching for his first win as West Ham manager after a lacklustre 2-0 home defeat to Brentford – a result that saw the Bees pick up their first league away win under Keith Andrews.
Brentford dominated throughout, racking up 22 shots (7 on target) and 58% possession, while West Ham managed just seven attempts and only one on target.
The defeat marked a historic low for the Hammers, who have now lost their first four home league games of a season for the first time ever.