Speaking after his team’s draw against Leicester, Everton boss Sean Dyche said: “Very positive display. We had chances that went begging again unfortunately, which we have done too many times in games where we should be killing them off. We didn’t manage to do that today but a lot of positives to take.
“James Garner was ill and got thrown in last minute and played excellently, Youngy and Illiman produced some superb play for the goal, lots more positives.
“Unfortunately you come away from a game where you probably should win with just a point. Normally you would be pleased with a point but at the moment we would have loved that win obviously.”
Ezri Konza said his team showed “character and togetherness” after Aston Villa completed a second-half comeback to beat Wolves 3-1 at Villa Park.
He had high praise for Jhon Duran and said: “He’s a big talent. We see it every day in training. It’s important for him to stay humble and we’ll help him do that. He’s still young.”
And on the tribute to Gary Shaw, he said: “It’s been an emotional week for us with the passing of Gary Shaw. On Tuesday we wanted to dedicate the win to him. And we wanted to do it today in front of our fans and in front of his family.”
Harvey Barnes told BBC MOTD that his team were not “solid” or “aggressive” in their 3-1 loss against Fulham this afternoon.
He said: “It wasn’t clicking for us. On the ball we weren’t good enough and off the ball, you can see with their goals, we weren’t at our level.
“It was disappointing to go in at half time and we needed a reaction. We got one - to a degree, anyway, because we didn’t get the result - but there were more promising signs in the second half.
“The basics weren’t there for us. Off the ball we were not as solid as we normally are and not as aggressive as we usually are on the ball. Our levels weren’t there.”
Speaking to BBC MOTD after Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Ange Postecoglou praised his side’s performance, but said they should have won by more goals: “It was a good win, a good performance. Our performances have been good all year but today we got the result as well which is the most pleasing but. We should have won by a fair bit more but we still got the job done.”
He said Dominic Solanke “worked his socks off” and that his goal would have been “a great moment for him, especially at home”.
On Brennan Johnson, Postecoglou said: “He’s had a top week, he’s scored two goals, he’s won us a game to get through in the [League] Cup. Life’s good. Sometimes going through tough moments gives you perspective of what’s important.”
Speaking to BBC Sport after Fulham’s 3-1 win over Newcastle, Emile Smith-Rowe said his team is “really happy” and he feels “really confident” at Craven Cottage.
On the key to his side’s win, he said: “Sticking together and staying patient at times, we know Newcastle are a really strong team so we had to sit at times and be patient, get the ball and score. We’re really happy.
“Happy we took our chances, first few games we struggled to take our chances, so we’re happy with our three goals.
“It starts off the pitch, it’s like a family in there and we know we want to do everything for each other and want to work and want to win.”
Southampton 1 Ipswich 1
Late drama at St Mary’s as Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy fires in a stoppage-time screamer as Ipswich break Southampton hearts in the 94th minute.
After Aaron Ramsdale looked to have sealed a first win for the Saints with a superb save to deny George Hirst from a Jack Clark cross, Ipswich equalised from the subsequent corner after Ross Stewart’s headed clearance found the midfielder who brings the ball under control and finds the top left corner via a big deflection off Joe Aribo.
A hugely entertaining encounter looked to be going the way of the Saints, who had lost their first four games, thanks to 18-year-old Tyler Dibling’s fifth-minute strike. But the home side were left to rue missed chances through Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton-Diaz and are left with just one point instead of a much-needed three. Ipswich are also still seeking a first win of the season but will return home to East Anglia feeling like they have won.
Tottenham 3 Brentford 1
Thomas Frank may be rethinking his bold game plan of taking the lead before the opposition have woken up. For the second week running his Brentford scored in the first minute, only to find themselves ultimately on the losing side.
And just as against Manchester City last weekend, all that early onslaught did was apparently anger their opponents. For Tottenham, though, this was the most welcome of results.
Not only did they respond to that early setback with real aggression and resolve, quickly equalising, then taking the lead before James Maddison’s third secured the points late on. But there were also goals for a couple of their players who had been suffering online abuse from so called fans.
Dominic Solanke scored his first for the club, while Brennan Johnson scored his second in a week. Both were created by the irrepressible Maddison, who epitomised Ange Postecoglou’s approach with his speed of thought and application, forever looking to play the ball forward as quickly as possible. With him on this sort of form, all that suggestion that Tottenham and Ange-ballo were in decline really was a touch premature.
Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
Liverpool enjoyed a South American carnival as Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez led a first half blitz against Bournemouth.
Either Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola missed the blueprint to trouble Arne Slot’s side provided by Nottingham Forest last weekend, or he is so wedded to his beliefs he didn’t care.
It’s a fine line between commending a visiting side for their ambition and condemning their naivety. Bournemouth played exactly the game Liverpool wanted at Anfield and Diaz and Nunez cashed in.
Diaz was mesmerising from the start and continued the theme of the season wherein he has added an end product to his scintillating build-up play. For all Liverpool’s intent to dominate possession, the opening goal on 26 minutes was pure route one, Ibrahima Konate’s 60 yard pass controlled and finished by Diaz.
The second two minutes later was more cultured. Diaz fed by Trent Alexander-Arnold and beating Kepa Arrizablaga at his near post.
Nunez scored with a typically audacious individual strike before half-time, cutting inside and swerving into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Liverpool dropped into first gear in the second half, Nunez and Diaz subbed to standing ovations after 71 minutes to enable Federico Chiesa to make his Anfield debut as the host eased to victory.
What a cracker of a first half that was. For the second Saturday on the bounce, Brentford took the lead within the first minute. And just like last weekend at Manchester City, they headed into the break 2-1 down, the cheek of their opening salvo merely serving to wake up their opponents.
Tottenham, infuriated by Bryan Mbeumo’s superb finish within 25 seconds, tore into their visitors, their press furious and relentless. Led by James Maddison on sparkling form, they tore back into contention.
Dominic Solanke hit the equaliser after Maddison’s shot was saved, then the midfielder set off a warp-speed counter attack, which was finished by Brennan Johnson.
His finger to lips celebration a telling response to those Spurs fans who have been querying his value to the side. Not that Brentford were out of it: they should have scored when Fabio Carvalho robbed Vicario and laid the ball off toe Mbeumo. But his shot was weak. If the second half is as good as the first, we are in for a treat.
If Newcastle beat Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon, they will move to the top of the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season.
They have won in each of their last five Premier League meetings against the home side and have had an impressive start to the season with three wins and one loss.
Form is certainly on their side.
However, if they do win, their time on top of the table could be short-lived with both Man City and Arsenal able to overtake them in tomorrow’s heavyweight clash.
Tottenham have suffered a frustrating start to the season, with two losses, a draw and one win in their opening four fixtures.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou’s advice? Do some yoga.
As Jon West reports, the coach has told angry fans to “take a breath and do some yoga” instead of criticising his players.
Last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal stoked up a barrage of social media disapproval that might have turned into an avalanche had not two late goals secured a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Coventry in midweek.
The signing of striker Dominic Solanke, who cost £65 million from Bournemouth, has also been questioned after three games without a goal, which saw manager Postecoglou reply with some angry words of his own.
“People are just so quick to judge,” he said. “It’s a small sample. If he had gone 15 games without a goal or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed but I just think take a breath, do a bit of yoga.
“Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that. We don’t have to rush to make judgment all the time.”
Spurs host Brentford this afternoon in the unfamiliar position of 13th in the Premier League table. Despite Postecoglou’s advice, fans will head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon with just one thought on their minds: victory.
Read more from Jon here.
Despite Arne Slot currently preferring Diogo Jota to Darwin Nunez, the Uruguayan has been granted an unprecedented spot in Liverpool’s starting XI this afternoon.
As Chris Bascombe explains, Nunez’s maverick reputation has been more of a curse than blessing since his arrival. He has enjoyed wonderful moments, but they are in danger of being packaged as memorable cameos rather than sustained periods of excellence.
The modern game is far more about adding the finishing touches to choreographed training ground drills than free spirits relying on their instinct in the heat of battle.
Whenever he has been summoned off the bench this season, whether Liverpool have been comfortably ahead as they were against AC Milan in the San Siro in midweek or desperately seeking an equaliser against Nottingham Forest three days earlier, Nunez has still looked like the raw number nine of his first two years, drawing the same crazy patterns as his eagerness to impress with extraordinary attempts is in sharp contrast to the poise and purpose of Liverpool’s other attackers.
Jota, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah possess game intelligence as much as incredible skill, intuitively understanding where they should be operating in all zones. The signing of Federico Chiesa means Slot has six forwards to choose from, the Italian having already shown during his career that a football brain accompanies his rapid pace. When he is picked, as with the other four, there is an expectation he will carry out his attacking and defensive duties with equal vigour. With Nunez, there is a feeling that there is more hope he will do so.
Today presents a golden opportunity for Nunez to prove himself a worthy selection among Liverpool’s talented and wide-ranging pool of attacking options.
Read more from Chris here.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the six matches kicking off at 3pm in the Premier League.
In today’s 12:30pm kick-off, West Ham are trailing Chelsea 3-0 after an early brace from Nicolas Jackson shocked the London Stadium crowd.
Cole Palmer added to Chelsea’s goal tally – and to West Ham’s misery – with a tidy finish just two minutes into the second half.
Across the capital, Tottenham host West London rivals Brentford and will hope to bounce back after a flat start to the season. They have lost two of their opening four games and were most recently beaten 1-0 in the home North London Derby fixture. It has not been a smooth start to the season for Brentford either who are without key players including Yoane Wissa and Josh Dasilva.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth head to Anfield, where they have suffered nine defeats in 10 visits. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is a doubt as he deals with a muscle strain and Harvey Elliott remains sidelined as he continues recovery from an ankle injury. The home side will be looking for a strong response after a shock 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest last weekend marked new manager Arne Slot’s first loss at the club.
Wolves make the short trip to Villa Park, with the home side in excellent form after starting the season with three wins in four games. Their visitors have struggled to make a similar impact, with three losses and a draw. Jhon Duran has scored the winning goal in all three of Villa’s Premier League victories this season, while Ollie Watkins has been involved in seven goals in his last six home fixtures for the club.
Fulham prepare to host Newcastle as the visitors seek to preserve their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. It has been a difficult week for the hosts after they dropped two points from winning positions in the league and suffered a penalty shootout defeat in a midweek Carabao Cup clash. Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Sven Botman remain sidelined with injuries and manager Eddie Howe confirmed a late call will be made on the availability of striker Alexander Isak who was forced off at half-time in their last game.
Ipswich travel to Southampton as both sides look to build on recent results after a tough start to the season. Kieran McKenna’s side held both Brighton and Fulham to a draw in their last two Premier League fixtures, while Southampton were victorious in their Carabao Cup tie against Everton on Tuesday night.
Leicester and Everton are both still on the hunt for their first Premier League win of the season as the two clash at the King Power Stadium. The hosts were two goals up against Crystal Palace in last week’s league fixture however they collapsed in the second half and were held to a two-all draw after a Jean-Philippe Mateta brace. Meanwhile, Everton were dumped out of the Carabao Cup after suffering penalty shootout heartbreak against Southampton.