If we have learned one thing above anything else so far in the Premier League this season, it is to not turn off your television or leave your seat early. There was yet more late drama but this time champions Liverpool were the victims and not the beneficiaries of the added time as they were dealt a late sucker punch by Chelsea's Brazilian wonderkid Estevao.
Liverpool's dream start to the season has well and truly come to an end with three successive defeats in all competitions and Arsenal are now top of the league after a routine win over West Ham. The only downside for Mikel Arteta's side is their run of injuries and they will miss Martin Odegaard after he damaged knee ligaments, completing a dismal run of fitness issues for the Norwegian maestro.
injury is probably the only thing that could stop his compatriot Erling Haaland right now after Manchester City's hitman scored his 12th goal in nine matches to down Brentford and put Pep Guardiola's side just three points off the top spot. It was not a completely straightforward afternoon for City though as they were left sweating again on the fitness of Rodri.
Speaking of sweating, Antoine Semenyo is in red hot form for a Bournemouth side who had the lowest net spend in the league and yet look as strong as ever.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from matchday seven in the Premier League…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Jack Grealish
It was probably the scrappiest goal Jack Grealish has ever scored and he might have hoped for a better one on the eye as his first for Everton. But in terms of importance he could hardly have done better than ram in a 92nd-minute winner which saw the Toffees become the first side to beat Crystal Palace in six months and 12 Premier League games.
"Do you know what’s mad? The last games we’ve played here we’ve been drawing and I keep saying to myself in the 85th minute, 'Come on Jack, go and score. Imagine if you scored now'," Grealish said. "I did it against Villa, I did it against West Ham and I didn’t score, so today I actually said the same thing again and I scored and I ran to where my mum and dad were."
Grealish had already won over Everton fans by notching four assists in his first two starts and his last-minute winner further cemented his status as the first idol of the club's shiny new Hill Dickinson stadium. The magnificent riverside arena is starting to feel like home now for David Moyes' side, who are unbeaten in their four games there and now have a last-gasp, smash-and-grab win to savour.
And Grealish, who regrets how he conducted himself at times during his disappointing stay at Manchester City, feels very much at home as Everton's maverick.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Rodri and Martin Odegaard
It was a difficult weekend for Manchester City and Arsenal's best midfielders. Both Odegaard and Rodri had injury concerns heading into their respective matches and things got even worse as they both came off in the first half and are now set for spells on the sidelines.
Odegaard had been battling a shoulder injury in the last two weeks but he had a brand new problem to worry about during Arsenal's 2-0 win over West Ham after banging his knee against Crysencio Summerville and doing damage to his medial collateral ligament.
The Gunners star made unwanted Premier League history as the first player to be substituted in the first half of three consecutive matches and will now miss Norway's crucial World Cup qualifier against Israel plus their friendly with New Zealand. Arsenal say Odegaard will work on returning to action as soon as possible but he will be a doubt for their games against Fulham and Atletico Madrid when club action resumes.
Rodri also had to withdraw from international duty with Spain after suffering a hamstring injury in the first half against Brentford, just days after Guardiola had warned the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner was not ready to play three games in a week. He said the injury was "not that big" and will clearly be looking to get back as soon as possible. But with him suffering a few niggling injuries this season after missing almost the entirety of last term, City must already be concerned about his long-term durability.
AFPWINNER: Antoine Semenyo & Bournemouth
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola lost three quarters of his back four in the summer as Dean Huijsen, Ilya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez all departed. And yet his team look even stronger after rising to fourth in the table on the back of their enthralling comeback win over Fulham. While the Cherries made a massive windfall of £144 million in transfers, their best bit of business was to sign Antoine Semenyo to a new contract.
The Ghana international's equaliser was a stunning piece of play, jinking past two defenders by the byline before slotting in from an almost impossible angle in a goal reminiscent of Nwankwo Kanu's legendary strike against Chelsea for Arsenal. And after Justin Kluivert's sizzling long range strike had put Bournemouth in front, Semenyo made sure of the points with a lung-bursting run up the pitch to thump home Ben Gannon-Doak's lay-off.
"He is incredible. He shows it every game now. He is just world class," said a gushing Kluivert. And Iraola underlined how important it was to keep him when he said: "Every season he has got better. I make him not look too much at the numbers. If we are playing well collectively, the numbers will arrive."
The numbers have arrived: Semenyo has six goals and five assists from seven games, with only Erling Haaland scoring more or contributing a bigger percentage of goals to his team.
AFPLOSER: Arne Slot
Virgil van Dijk urged Liverpool fans not to panic after their second defeat in a row by Galatasaray, and then they went and lost for the third consecutive game. Liverpool made a habit of winning matches at the death at the start of the season but now the reverse is happening, with Estevao's 95th-minute sinker following Eddie Nketiah's 96th-minute goal at Crystal Palace.
The Reds are in their worst run of results since the spring of 2023 and Arne Slot has a lot to contemplate during the international break after seeing Arsenal take his side's place at the top of the Premier League table. His two most expensive signings, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, have disappointed so far, while last season's talisman Mohamed Salah can do nothing right. He missed a sitter in the second half at Stamford Bridge after being played in by Wirtz but otherwise he failed to create any danger at all.
Liverpool's defence should also concern Slot, who replaced three of his starting back four in the space of 10 minutes and had to ask Ryan Gravenberch to deputise at centre-back following the injury to Ibrahima Konate. The next fixture at home to Manchester United should see Liverpool return to normal but a draw or defeat to their dysfunctional arch rivals will be very difficult to explain.
