What happened in the Premier League this weekend? Arsenal stay perfect, Liverpool off the mark, Haaland reaches major milestone
Tom Hancock
Here’s your essential round-up of the key Premier League storylines from every game on Matchweek 3.
Friday
Ipswich 0-2 Liverpool: Isak secures Iraola’s first win
Alexander Isak’s quickfire early brace saw Liverpool past Ipswich at Portman Road as the Reds notched their first win under Andoni Iraola.
After a torrid first season on Merseyside, Isak has already equalled his 2025/26 Premier League goals total – and Liverpool will hope there are plenty more to come from their £125m striker.
With Bradley Barcola debuting off the bench following his £123m move from PSG and Cody Gakpo continuing his fine start to the season with two assists – going to four goal involvements in three games – a formidable-looking Reds front three is taking shape.
Saturday
Newcastle 2-2 Bournemouth: Magpies remain unbeaten as Cherries crumble again
Newcastle showcased their powers of recovery to make it five points from their first three Premier League games of Matthias Jaissle’s tenure.
Jacob Ramsey’s 88th-minute strike completed an impressive comeback at St. James’ Park, with the Magpies scoring two goals in their opening three league matches for the first time since 1995.
Meanwhile, Marco Rose’s wait for a first victory as Bournemouth boss goes on after he saw his side drop points from a winning position for the third week running.
Man City 1-0 Coventry: Haaland hits another huge milestone
Erling Haaland’s 300th club career goal – and his third this term – proved the difference as Manchester City saw off a Coventry side whose dogged performance suggested their first point of the campaign shouldn’t be too far away.
The Norwegian goal machine reached the 300 mark in just 384 appearances – quicker than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe – giving him a sensational goals-per-game average of 0.78.
For Man City alone, the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner averages 0.80 goals per game – and he’s now also scored more headed goals in the competition than any other City player (20).
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Spurs: Spurs (sort of) up and running – but barely
Tottenham put a on the board at the third time of asking, though they might count themselves fortunate to have got even that after Neco Williams’ would-be Nottingham Forest winner was controversially disallowed.
Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said his side’s “biggest challenge” will be to “find the right mentality” – and it’s a department they’ve been badly lacking in so far, failing to score in the Premier League this season.
It’s the first time since 1974 that Spurs have drawn a blank in their opening three league games; they’ll try again at home to Everton on Saturday.
Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace: Palace off the mark as lopsided Fulham suffer from sieve-like defence
Twice coming from behind to win this London derby, Crystal Palace responded well to their 4-1 home thrashing my Man City the previous time out, picking up their first points under Pierre Sage and showing great resilience to record a fourth straight victory at Craven Cottage in all competitions.
For Fulham, it was a story that’s become worryingly familiar already with Alvaro Arbeloa at the helm: clearly very capable going forward, they racked up a Matchweek-high 3.14 Expected Goals (xG) – but for the second time in as many home Premier League outings in 2026/27, they leaked three goals.
Hull 0-0 Aston Villa: Hull continue impressive start while Villa’s wait goes on
Hull are the story of the 2026/27 Premier League season so far, taking seven points from the first nine available and keeping three clean sheets – making them the only team yet to be breached in the division. Two tough-looking away trips to Chelsea and Newcastle follow, but the Tigers will fear no one.
By contrast, Villa – while they’ve at least secured their first point – remain goalless after a summer of huge squad upheaval. Unai Emery’s frustration was plain to see at the MKM Stadium as his side continue to adapt to life after Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins et al.
Brighton 1-1 Leeds: Brighton complete the set as Leeds lengthen binary pattern
A win, a loss and a draw: it’s been a mixed bag to begin the campaign for Brighton, but they’ll will have been pleased enough with this having trailed for almost an hour. Luka Vuskovic headed in his first Seagulls goal, demonstrating why he was among Europe’s top-scoring centre-backs last term.
Leeds, meanwhile, must be mathematicians’ favourites at the moment: they’re dealing only in ones and zeros in the Premier League so far, beating Forest 1-0 on the opening weekend before back-to-back 1-1 draws.
Brentford 1-1 Sunderland: Brentford stay steady as Sunderland show second-hand strength again
Brentford have scored five Premier League goals via four different scorers this term (with Igor Thiago) yet to be among them. That variety of goalscoring sources bodes well for the Bees, for whom Vitaly Janelt broke the deadlock with his second of the campaign – already doubling his 2026/27 total.
As they did in beating Fulham 1-0 a week earlier, though, Sunderland found a way through in the second half. Enzo Le Fee’s penalty did the trick this time after the hero from their previous outing, Wilson Isidor, caused problems from the bench once more and won the spot-kick.
Sunday
Everton 2-2 Man United: Maitland-Niles marks Everton debut in style to deny Man United
Debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles snatched a point for Everton with virtually the last kick of the game – and what a kick it was from the former Arsenal man, off the bench to send an unstoppable piledriver into the top corner from 25 yards.
Everton fans were left frustrated by a transfer window that saw them lose star man Iliman Ndiaye and end up down to one senior striker – but they’ll be reassured by their attacking exploits at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Tyrique George bagging their first equaliser with a ferocious near-post effort.
For the first time in 2026/27, Manchester United scored first – but for the third time in as many games, they conceded two goals. Michael Carrick’s team are still a work in progress, and the Man United boss expressed his frustration at letting two leads slip: “It feels like a defeat,” he admitted.
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Arsenal end Chelsea’s perfect start to maintain their own
One anticipated this London derby would be a pulsating encounter – and it certainly lived up to the billing. Arsenal maintained their 100% start to the season and ended Xabi Alonso’s own 100% start at Chelsea in doing so.
Morgan Rogers’ opener after 77 seconds set the tone – and sparked the ire of Gunners fans who felt he should have joined them instead this summer – but Mikel Arteta’s side ultimately did what champions do.
Arsenal replied through Kai Havertz and completed the comeback courtesy of Martin Odegaard, showing the threat he poses when breaking into the box – something the Gunners didn’t see enough of last term from their captain, who’s already struck three times in all competitions this campaign.
