As birthdays go, it was probably the best present he could ever have wished for. For my former colleague, who I’ve known since he first burst onto the scene and was always destined for a career in sports journalism, will be buzzing all week after what happened.
Make no mistake, his beloved Nottingham Forest deserve all of the acclaim that comes their way after they turned on the style and produced a superb Premier League performance at Anfield.
They were hugely impressive from start to finish as goals from defender Murillo – outstanding at both ends of the pitch – Nicola Savona and captain Morgan Gibbs-White sealed a highly impressive 3-0 success against Liverpool.
An early goal-line clearance from Elliot Anderson also helped secure a first clean sheet in 20 league matches for the boys from the Trent.
Talk about a birthday bonanza. Many happy returns Chris.
As for Liverpool, they have now lost six of their past seven Premier League games as manager Arne Slot’s near £450 million summer spending spree comes under further scrutiny.
If that was the standout result of the weekend, it had all began with an early kick-off which saw Chelsea edge out newly promoted Burnley in a hard-fought encounter at Turf Moor which saw them move up to second.
Manchester City had the chance to return there at teatime but slipped up at Newcastle in a game both sides will argue they could have won.
Fresh from their 3-0 dismantling of Liverpool before the international break, I always thought this would be a close encounter and a proper test of their title credentials – and so it proved.
Harvey Barnes was the hero with two goals in seven minutes midway through the second half. In between that, Ruben Dias briefly levelled for City.
The hosts, who went into the weekend in 14th place, will feel it was a deserved after City shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma made three big saves to deny in-form German frontman Nick Woltemade.
City had chances of their own and were left rueing the decision to allow Barnes’ winner to stand – a lengthy VAR ruling decided it was onside.
Two teams who have had very different campaigns so far can take heart from their share of the spoils on the south coast on Saturday.
West Ham are showing some signs of form under new boss Nuno Espírito Santo and they led 2-0 at Bournemouth at the break, thanks to a fine first-half double from Callum Wilson against his former club – for whom he scored 67 goals in 187 appearances.
Yet the Cherries have not impressed so many in the footballing world without displaying real character and, despite suffering back-to-back away league defeats just before the international break, they demonstrated those characteristics once more as Marcus Tavernier reduced the deficit in the 69th minute before substitute Enes Unal rescued a point a minute after coming off the bench.
The peril of Wolves has been well documented and the dismissal of Vitor Pereira has not helped in my view.
Certainly his successor didn’t have to wait long to realise what a tough job he has inherited.
Rob Edwards, who swapped promotion-chasing Middlesbrough for Molineux, could only watch on as Daniel Munoz and Yeremy Pino struck in the second half to move Crystal Palace briefly up to fourth with a deserved victory.
In failing to win any of the first 12 games – their first time since the 1983-84 campaign – Wolves also edged closer to Sheffield United’s record of 17 for the longest winless start to a Premier League season.
As for the Eagles, they continue to deliver Premier League 2025 highlights aplenty, led by manager Oliver Glasner and captain Marc Guehi.
Onto Sunday and a player who is improving with each passing week was the hero as Aston Villa came from behind to win at Leeds.
Two superb second half finishes, the second from a free-kick, sealed the points at Elland Road and move Unai Emery’s men, who had such a slow start to the campaign, up to fourth spot.
Of course, there is no doubt who the weekend belonged to.
With both Liverpool and Man City losing on Saturday, leaders Arsenal had the chance to pull further clear at the top and, even with a number of key men missing with injuries, they weren’t going to let their North London rivals stop them from opening up a six point lead at the summit.
Spurs were second best throughout at the Emirates, and the Premier League 2025 betting odds surely make their arch rivals title favourites.
This SBOTOP scribe couldn’t help but be impressed with the way they despatched Thomas Frank’s men who had previously been unbeaten away from home this term.
Furthermore, that the Gunners did it without the injured quartet Gabriel, captain Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokores, made it more impressive.
It was a day to remember for summer signing Eberechi Eze, a boyhood Arsenal fan who was possibly destined for Spurs until a summer injury to Havertz prompted them to intervene.
His first hat-trick in senior football sealed a 4-1 win and was the first treble in a north London derby since 1978.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
