By Samuel Peters
Erling Haaland scored two goals in Manchester City’s Premier League match against Brentford, which they won 2-1, bringing his season total to nine in the English Premier League.
Despite conceding a goal in the first 23 seconds due to a defensive error, City rallied to maintain their perfect record to stay atop the table with 12 points.
Haaland’s performance was particularly notable as he played despite the recent death of a close family friend. The Norwegian striker’s two goals put him close to becoming one of only a few players in English top-flight history to score three consecutive hat-tricks. Although he had several chances to complete the hat-trick, including hitting the post, Haaland ultimately finished with two goals.
At Southampton, Manchester United secured a crucial 3-0 away victory against the homeside, bouncing back from their previous defeat to Liverpool.
Matthijs de Ligt scored his first goal for Manchester United, heading in a cross from Bruno Fernandes. Then Marcus Rashford ended his goal drought, scoring his first since March 2024. The hosts did not help themselves as Jack Stephens was sent off late in the game for a reckless challenge to which substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored the third goal for United in stoppage time. The win was important for Erik ten Hag’s side after their poor performance against Liverpool before the international break.
Playing at Anfield, Nottingham Forest secured a surprising 1-0 victory against home side Liverpool, ending Liverpool’s perfect start to the season under new manager Arne Slot.
Substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the winning goal with a curling shot from the left to secure Forest’s first win at Anfield in any competition since 1969. Liverpool had entered the game confident after three wins without conceding. The result puts Forest in fourth place in the Premier League table, with Liverpool two places above them but only one point ahead.
Finally, Chelsea secured a 1-0 away win against Bournemouth with a late goal from substitute Christopher Nkunku. The match set a new Premier League record with 14 yellow cards issued. Bournemouth had more chances throughout the game but Nkunku scored the winning goal after a pass from debutant Jadon Sancho. The game was aggressive and hard-fought, leading to the record number of bookings with six yellow cards for Bournemouth and eight yellow cards for Chelsea. This surpassed the previous record of 12 yellow cards set in matches between Chelsea vs Tottenham (2016) and Wolves vs Newcastle (2010).
