In our performance-based take, it is a clean slate at the start of each gameweek, which means you can go from top to bottom (and vice versa) in the space of a few days, with the one-to-20 rankings assessed purely on how well each team played in their previous match.<\/p>\n
You can also stay bottom. Sorry, Fulham, we know that you set up camp in the Crystal Palace penalty area on Saturday, but defending at the other end does actually matter.<\/p>\n
In case you are wondering how we decide where to position teams, we watch all 10 Premier League games in full across Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Monday too, if required), make copious notes about the good, the bad and the ugly at each match, and try to make sense of it all afterwards.<\/p>\n
To describe this gameweek as tricky is an understatement. There were a couple of exceptional 45-minute performances and some strangely subdued displays (Brentford and Mamadou Sangare, we take full responsibility for Saturday, after getting far too carried away in the first two gameweeks). More generally, though, it was a weekend in which there was precious little to choose between a dozen or more sides.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, the summaries below continue to provide you with a weekly snapshot of each club\u2019s performances across the 2026-27 Premier League. And, naturally, we welcome your feedback.<\/p>\n
1. Arsenal (last week: seventh)<\/strong><\/p>\n Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta called it an \u201cavalanche\u201d.<\/p>\n The Arsenal manager was talking about the way his team responded to going a goal behind inside two minutes on Sunday, and the wave after wave of attacks that produced a sense of inevitability that the champions would turn this game around.<\/p>\n Martin Odegaard ran the show. Kai Havertz reminded everyone why he is such an intelligent footballer. New signing Ezri Konsa introduced himself to the Emirates Stadium crowd in a way they will never forget (a superb challenge on former Aston Villa team-mate Morgan Rogers, whose touch was far too heavy \u2013 albeit not as heavy as one Viktor Gyokeres took later on), and Riccardo Calafiori continues to thrive in a position that is probably best described as \u2018everywhere\u2019.<\/p>\n There were important contributions from others, too, including Christos Tzolis, who was back on song after a difficult evening at Villa Park in gameweek two \u2013 his pass, Havertz\u2019s nonchalant dummy and Odegaard\u2019s emphatic finish delivered the match\u2019s defining moment.<\/p>\n Now that\u2019s how you build a winner \ud83e\udd0c pic.twitter.com\/WoqqcbFTfs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Premier League USA (@PLinUSA) September 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With and without the ball, Arsenal were hugely impressive.<\/p>\n 2. Sunderland (last week: eighth)<\/strong><\/p>\n Brentford 1-1 Sunderland<\/p>\n An outstanding first-half performance from Sunderland, who opened up an excellent Brentford team time and again with brilliant, incisive football. They\u2019d made 25 entries into the penalty area by half-time, engineered four great chances to score and had a goal disallowed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the best first halves we\u2019ve had in the Premier League,\u201d said Regis Le Bris, Sunderland\u2019s head coach, sounding almost \u2014 but only almost \u2014 as excited as us after seeing Nilson Angulo keep an overhit cross in play with a backheel volley.<\/p>\n Brian Brobbey\u2019s hold-up play was exceptional \u2014 one superb lay-off led to Enzo Le Fee thumping a shot off the upright. Unfortunately, Brobbey also got in the way of Noah Sadiki\u2019s goalbound shot. Sadiki was so good that (this next bit is not easy to write) he got the better of Sangare, who was subbed at half-time, along with two other Brentford players.<\/p>\n Although the momentum of the game shifted in the second half, the very least Sunderland deserved was the point that arrived courtesy of Le Fee\u2019s late penalty.<\/p>\n 3. Leeds (last week: 13th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Leeds United<\/p>\n After being totally outplayed in the opening 45 minutes at home against Brentford last week, Leeds took their frustration out on Brighton six days later.<\/p>\n With 25 minutes gone, the shot count read 6-0 in Leeds\u2019 favour. Playing with tempo, urgency and conviction, they were terrific. Ethan Ampadu snapped into tackles, Noah Okafor had the beating of Ferdi Kadioglu and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was a menace with his physicality. The player who really caught the eye, though, was Ao Tanaka, whose superb performance helped Leeds control midfield.<\/p>\n Tanaka was also desperately unlucky not to score \u2014 he hit the crossbar in the first half and had a goal disallowed after he strayed fractionally offside shortly after the restart.<\/p>\n Leeds manager Daniel Farke only had one complaint. \u201cAt half-time, we should have been out of sight,\u201d the German said.<\/p>\n Those missed chances, particularly the one Lewis Dunk cleared off the line after Calvert-Lewin was through on goal, came back to bite the visitors in the second half, but that should not detract from the way they played.<\/p>\n 4. Liverpool (last week: 12th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Ipswich Town 0-2 Liverpool<\/p>\n Last week at Anfield, we said that Nottingham Forest looked more like an Oliver Glasner team. Against Ipswich, Liverpool looked more like an Andoni Iraola team.<\/p>\n There was a pace and intensity to the way in which they began this game, reflected in the first goal after only six minutes, which started with Milos Kerkez aggressively pressing Abdul Fatawu from behind. When possession was turned over, Cody Gakpo had one thought \u2014 play forward, fast.<\/p>\n The pass the Netherlands forward wrapped into Alexander Isak\u2019s feet was perfect. The ball he played with the outside of his boot for Isak\u2019s second a few minutes later was even better and underlined his importance to Liverpool.<\/p>\n The assist \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8 The finish \ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n Quickfire double as Gakpo and Isak combine for a second time inside three minutes \u2728 #IPSLIV<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lgFqJx2tUO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Committing seven players forward to press, Iraola\u2019s side could have had a third first-half goal through Dominik Szoboszlai.<\/p>\n It was not a perfect performance. Florian Wirtz was ineffective, and there were moments when a more ruthless team than Ipswich might have punished Liverpool. But the combination of Isak\u2019s goals, the quality of Gakpo\u2019s assists and Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo\u2019s display in the problematic right-back spot provided positives for Liverpool, as well as the result.<\/p>\n Oh, one other thing, Victor Munoz is quite a sight when he goes through the gears.<\/p>\n 5. Bournemouth (last week: 10th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Newcastle United 2-2 Bournemouth<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to finish games (well),\u201d Marco Rose, Bournemouth\u2019s new head coach, said. \u201cAnd if we are not finishing games, then we need to defend our goal like it\u2019s the last game in our life.\u201d<\/p>\n The script on Saturday was worryingly familiar for Bournemouth, who relinquished a lead late on for the third game out of three this season \u2014 but in this case, it was a two-goal advantage that got frittered away.<\/p>\n For 45 minutes at St James\u2019 Park, they had been superb. OK, both their goals were deflected, but it was no more than they deserved after making life extremely difficult for Newcastle. \u201cThey had no real solution against our pressing,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n Alex Scott was outstanding once again, while the impressive Adrien Truffert nullified Anthony Elanga.<\/p>\n But the problem for Bournemouth is a soft centre when the clock is running out and the pressure is cranked up. Newcastle won the first and second contacts following the deep cross from Amar Dedic that led to Jacob Ramsey equalising.<\/p>\n Two points from three matches does not reflect how well Rose\u2019s team have played in them.<\/p>\n 6. Coventry (last week: 19th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Manchester City 1-0 Coventry City<\/p>\n Correct, Coventry are above Manchester City in our performance table even though they lost to them. The rationale being that Frank Lampard got his tactics spot on at the Etihad and on another day \u2013 a day when Coventry were more decisive in front of goal \u2013 their head coach would have been celebrating an unlikely result.<\/p>\n Lampard felt his players deserved a point after creating several excellent chances. The best of them fell to Taiwo Awoniyi, at a time when the game was goalless, after a wayward pass from Antoine Semenyo. Awoniyi dragged his shot wide, though, and Erling Haaland was not so generous when Semenyo set him up at the other end later in the first half.<\/p>\n Jack Rudoni and Ellis Simms also went close as Coventry, who set up with a three-man central defence and carried a genuine threat with their set pieces, gave a far better account of themselves compared to the opening day of the season at Arsenal.<\/p>\n 7. Manchester City (last week: first)<\/strong><\/p>\n Manchester City 1-0 Coventry City<\/p>\n \u201cNot all the performances are going to be nice,\u201d Enzo Maresca, City\u2019s head coach, said. \u201cYou also need ugly moments.\u201d<\/p>\n A game that was supposed to be a stroll ended up with their supporters relieved to hear the final whistle after Maresca\u2019s team failed to score the second goal that would have broken Coventry\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n Enzo Fernandez made his City debut but it was Elliot Anderson, with his quick-thinking and incisive passing, who stood out in midfield, linking play intelligently with Rayan Cherki and Haaland in particular. That trio combined to force Carl Rushworth into two smart saves in the first half, either side of Haaland\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n Cherki, as ever, was a lot of fun to watch and unlucky not to score with a shot that hit the post after some dexterous footwork. Iliman Ndiaye, another City debutant, showed flashes of promise, while Gianluigi Donnarumma made a couple of big saves when needed (the less said about the moment the Italian nearly let the ball go under his foot and over the goal-line, the better).<\/p>\n 8. Chelsea (last week: fifth)<\/strong><\/p>\n Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea<\/p>\n Yes, Chelsea were beaten, and they deserved to lose on the balance of play. Arsenal, like a wounded animal after Morgan Rogers had dared to open the scoring, put Chelsea under relentless pressure in the lead-up to Kai Havertz equalising. But Chelsea were still competitive \u2013 competitive in a way that they haven\u2019t been in this fixture for some time.<\/p>\n Pedro Neto hit the post, Joao Pedro was inches away from connecting with a clever Cole Palmer pass, and Estevao forced David Raya into an exceptional save.<\/p>\n The disappointment from the visitors\u2019 point of view will be the goals they conceded. Robert Sanchez would have come under heavy scrutiny had he been beaten inside his near post in the same way that Emi Martinez was for Arsenal\u2019s equaliser.<\/p>\n As for the second goal, the makeshift nature of Chelsea\u2019s midfield was exposed as Reece James, sidetracked by the play developing on the Arsenal left, allowed Martin Odegaard to drift into the penalty area and score.<\/p>\n 9. Everton (last week: 11th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Everton 2-2 Manchester United<\/p>\n A long week at Everton at least had a happy ending<\/a>.<\/p>\n This performance was classic Everton: backs to the wall and coming out fighting when everyone had written them off.<\/p>\n After a shambolic end to the transfer window on Tuesday night, more doom and gloom was descending on Hill Dickinson Stadium five days later when United\u2019s Benjamin Sesko headed home what looked to be an 88th-minute winner.<\/p>\n Step forward, Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Signed on deadline day in what felt like an act of desperation\/opportunism (delete as appropriate), he hit a once-in-a-lifetime strike from distance that nestled in the top corner. Cue pandemonium.<\/p>\n What a way to introduce yourself to your new fans \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n Ainsley Maitland-Niles \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/ZPC04c25xj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Premier League (@premierleague) September 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It was a point that Everton probably deserved after a spirited second-half display that was helped by the impact of the substitutes. Maitland-Niles will grab the headlines but fellow replacement Hayden Hackney did as much as anyone to change the game.<\/p>\n Signed from Middlesbrough in the summer after being named the Championship\u2019s player of the season, Hackney was full of energy, keen to pass forward at every opportunity and involved in the build-up to both goals.<\/p>\n 10. Manchester United (last week: second)<\/strong><\/p>\n Everton 2-2 Manchester United<\/p>\n \u201cWe should have seen the game out,\u201d Michael Carrick said.<\/p>\n United\u2019s head coach had a face like thunder post-match, and understandably so after his team allowed two points to slip through their grasp in the dying seconds.<\/p>\n There is a bigger picture that is troubling, too: two goals conceded against each of Hull City, Ipswich Town and now Everton.<\/p>\n It was a disjointed performance on Sunday as United failed to make the most of some promising moments (Marcus Rashford tormented Merlin Rohl on the visitors\u2019 left flank) and lost control of the game for periods in the second half. After Bryan Mbeumo\u2019s well-taken effort shortly after the restart opened the scoring, it was 40 minutes before United registered another shot on target.<\/p>\n \n United head coach Carrick said his side should have seen the Everton game out (Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n One positive was the contribution of Luke Shaw, whose eagerness to break forward was a regular feature of United\u2019s attacking play and caused Everton plenty of problems. An underlap early on led to Bruno Fernandes hitting the crossbar and it was Shaw\u2019s overlap and cross that created their second goal for Sesko. He also made an excellent challenge on Thierno Barry to close the door on a shooting opportunity.<\/p>\n Carrick knew, though, that his team should have managed the game better after Mbeumo\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n 11. Crystal Palace (last week: 18th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t play as we expected,\u201d Pierre Sage, the Palace manager, said. \u201cI\u2019m happy, but disappointed for the other team and the coach, because they had opportunities (to win), too.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard not to warm to Sage, who seems like a genuinely nice bloke and has a way with words.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like with the car, when you put some petrol inside you can drive,\u201d the Frenchman said, after Palace\u2019s restorative victory at Fulham.<\/p>\n Palace \u2014 and Sage in particular \u2014 badly needed that result after starting their season with losses to Everton and Manchester City, even if there was a smash-and-grab element to it.<\/p>\n The visitors scored from their only two shots on target in the second half \u2014 the first in bizarre fashion, after Gonzalo Garcia\u2019s clearance bounced in off Tyrick Mitchell, and the second following their best passage of play in the game. Linking with Jorgen Strand Larsen and Yeremy Pino \u2014 the Spain international deserved an assist for an exquisite outside-of-the-boot pass earlier on \u2014 Anan Khalaili made a fine third-man run at the end of a dozen passes.<\/p>\n We do need to talk about Palace without the ball, though. Fulham had 25 shots, and Palace have now conceded eight goals in their three matches. That is not sustainable.<\/p>\n 12. Newcastle (last week: third)<\/strong><\/p>\n Newcastle United 2-2 Bournemouth<\/p>\n After feeling bitterly disappointed at allowing two points to slip late on at St James\u2019 Park against Liverpool in their season opener, fortune smiled on Newcastle in their second home league game.<\/p>\n Bournemouth were the better team, both in terms of the data (17 shots to eight, more than twice as many on target too, and with an xG figure that was considerably higher) and the eye test.<\/p>\n It was uncomfortable watching Newcastle trying to play out in the first half, when Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw were loose on the ball against an aggressive press. New coach Matthias Jaissle admitted Newcastle \u201ccouldn\u2019t match\u201d Bournemouth\u2019s intensity in that period.<\/p>\n Summer signing Amar Dedic is a lot of fun going forward from right-back, as we saw at Tottenham a week earlier, but his marauding runs leave space for opponents to exploit \u2014 as was the case with the second Bournemouth goal.<\/p>\n Credit to Newcastle for the fightback, though, which started with a Harvey Barnes wonderstrike and was completed late on by substitute Jacob Ramsey.<\/p>\n \n Jacob Ramsey celebrates his late equaliser (Michael Driver\/MI News\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n 13. Nottingham Forest (last week: sixth)<\/strong><\/p>\n Nottingham Forest 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur<\/p>\n One step forward, two steps\u2026 actually, Saturday wasn\u2019t that bad.<\/p>\n Following their fine performance in a 2-2 draw away to Liverpool a week before, Forest played OK against Spurs. But no more than that. The creativity was not there, which is a shame when Morgan Gibbs-White is on the pitch. You get the feeling that coach Oliver Glasner is still searching for a way to get the best out of Forest\u2019s talisman.<\/p>\n It is certainly no surprise that Gibbs-White was involved in their best move of the game, after James McAtee and Liam Delap (their new striker was more effective when he dropped a little deeper to receive) combined neatly.<\/p>\n Neco Williams \u2014 impressive again \u2014 bundled the ball over the line at one point but it was controversially disallowed for handball. \u201cI think the goal must stand. It\u2019s not \u2018Clear and obvious\u2019,\u201d Glasner said.<\/p>\n \n Neco Williams\u2019 effort was disallowed for handball (Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n At least Xaver Schlager, signed from RB Leipzig on a free transfer, seems to have hit the ground running. Alongside McAtee in central midfield, the Austrian played with calm authority.<\/p>\n 14. Tottenham (last week: 17th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Nottingham Forest 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur<\/p>\n Ah, Spurs. Plenty of the ball, xG more than twice that of their opponents but no shots on target. \u201cWe need to make better decisions,\u201d Roberto De Zerbi, their head coach, said.<\/p>\n De Zerbi seemed to be happy with a lot of aspects of how Tottenham played, which was not quite how it felt as a neutral.<\/p>\n Savio showed some really nice touches, for sure, including a nutmeg on fellow Brazilian Murillo, but the winger signed from Manchester City this summer was also involved in a passage of play that spoke to the point De Zerbi made about decision-making.<\/p>\n After taking a short corner and getting the ball back, Savio turned down a chance to cross and chose to chop instead. With five team-mates, including both centre-backs, waiting in the penalty area, he chose to chop again \u2014 only this time he lost the ball.<\/p>\n Later, Omar Marmoush failed to release Andy Robertson on the overlap, with Mohammed Kudus waiting unmarked for a ball in the middle. It was that sort of day.<\/p>\n 15. Aston Villa (last week: 15th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Hull City 0-0 Aston Villa<\/p>\n The good news: Villa registered their first shot on target of the Premier League season at the third time of asking.<\/p>\n The bad news: it was their only one all game, and they still have not scored after three games.<\/p>\n According to their manager Unai Emery, Villa executed their game plan well, with one exception \u2014 that clinical final touch in front of goal.<\/p>\n Dominant in possession, they could and should have taken the lead through Emiliano Buendia \u2014 a move that started with another demonstration of Zion Suzuki\u2019s fantastic distribution with his feet, with the goalkeeper arrowing a diagonal pass to the feet of George Hemmings.<\/p>\n Nicolas Jackson, John McGinn, Hemmings and Ross Barkley also had opportunities to score.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t being clinical, we weren\u2019t being ruthless,\u201d Emery said.<\/p>\n \n Unai Emery said his team weren\u2019t ruthless enough (Stewart Kendall\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images)<\/p>\n After Buendia\u2019s miss, Villa seemed to lose a bit of belief. They had plenty of the ball, and learnt from the mistakes of Manchester United and Coventry City, who had peppered the Hull penalty area with crosses in the previous two matches without success. But it all felt a bit pedestrian.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should understand that we are rebuilding the team,\u201d Emery added.<\/p>\n A fair point, but Villa need three of those soon.<\/p>\n 16. Hull (last week: ninth)<\/strong><\/p>\n Hull City 0-0 Aston Villa<\/p>\n OK, Hull, we get it now \u2014 you\u2019re going to go through the whole season without conceding a goal while averaging 30 per cent possession. Impressive.<\/p>\n Seven points from a possible nine represents an incredible start for the promoted side, and it could easily have been three straight wins, had Oli McBurnie managed to make a better connection with a lovely Ryan Giles cross in the 90th minute. Giles, their left wing-back, seemingly does not stop running.<\/p>\n For the most part, Hull were Hull: organised, disciplined and obdurate \u2014 and that is something to respect, even if they do not keep you on the edge of your seat. Occasionally, something curious happens \u2014 Semi Ajayi, who plays on the right of their back three, setting off on a wild overlap just before half-time, for instance.<\/p>\n Mohamed Belloumi was fun to watch again. The 24-year-old Algerian loves a nutmeg and produced a terrific shot that clipped the crossbar in the second half.<\/p>\n Sergej Jakirovic, the Hull coach, mentioned the Champions League afterwards. He was joking\u2026 wasn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n 17. Brighton (last week: 14th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Leeds United<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a real lack of intensity and energy in the first half,\u201d Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton\u2019s head coach, said.<\/p>\n For the second week in succession, his lads started a Premier League game badly, only this time they were grateful for Leeds not punishing them in the same way Chelsea did at Stamford Bridge the previous Sunday.<\/p>\n Untidy in possession, Brighton looked flat in the first half. Ferdi Kadioglu, operating as a right-back in the absence of the injured Mats Wieffer, struggled against Noah Okafor, and Leeds threatened to overwhelm their hosts at times.<\/p>\n But the tide started to turn after the break as Malick Yalcouye, who was so impressive at Chelsea, had a growing influence on the game with his dynamism and desire to break forward.<\/p>\n Yalcouye\u2019s emergence feels like a big plus for Brighton, and the same can be said for the way in which Luka Vuskovic has adapted to the Premier League overnight. Aged 19, the Croatian centre-back signed from Tottenham without ever making his official debut, capped another fine display with an equaliser that will surely not be his last goal of the season \u2014 he loves a header.<\/p>\n 18. Brentford (last week: fourth)<\/strong><\/p>\n Brentford 1-1 Sunderland<\/p>\n This column was in danger of turning into some sort of Brentford fanzine after the first two games of the season, especially given our obsession with Mamadou Sangare. Well, Sunderland made the long trip to west London on Saturday and spoiled the party.<\/p>\n The visitors played so well in the opening 45 minutes that Keith Andrews, Brentford\u2019s head coach, made three changes at half-time \u2014 withdrawing Sangare (on a yellow card), Michael Kayode (who suffered at the hands of Nilson Angulo), and Dango Ouattara (ineffective on the right flank).<\/p>\n Even the odd chance to counter-attack went badly wrong \u2014 summed up by the sight of Ouattara almost knocking over team-mate Mikkel Damsgaard with a wayward pass.<\/p>\n Brentford improved after the interval, giving Sunderland less time on the ball and playing with more tempo. Igor Thiago had a header saved shortly before Vitaly Janelt\u2019s left-footed shot found the top corner.<\/p>\n As a side note, it was refreshing to hear Andrews say he had no complaints with the referee\u2019s decision to penalise Keane Lewis-Potter for the penalty that brought Sunderland\u2019s late equaliser. \u201cI thought it was poor defending from us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 19. Ipswich (last week: 16th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Ipswich Town 0-2 Liverpool<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we were excellent,\u201d Gary O\u2019Neil, the Ipswich manager, said.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t quite see it like that, Gary.<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent\u201d is taking it a bit far after a game in which Ipswich conceded twice at home in the opening nine minutes and were handicapped by a real lack of quality at the other end of the pitch.<\/p>\n Granted, they stayed in the match after the disappointment of making such an awful start, when goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen was beaten inside his near post and then found himself in no man\u2019s land for Alexander Isak\u2019s second after Jacob Greaves was wrong-footed. But it was hard to see O\u2019Neil\u2019s team scoring.<\/p>\n Early in the second half, Ipswich had a great chance to counter in a four-vs-four scenario, but Exequiel Palacios\u2019 pass was sloppy and got easily cut out by Alexis Mac Allister. That felt symptomatic of their poor decision-making in attacking positions.<\/p>\n 20. Fulham (last week: 20th)<\/strong><\/p>\n Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace<\/p>\n Fulham dominated possession, had 25 shots, 64 touches in the Palace penalty area and their xG was 3.13. In Josh King, they also had the game\u2019s standout performer. King scored one and had a hand in the second with a terrific dash in behind \u2014 a type of run that he was still making in stoppage time.<\/p>\n The problem, though, is staring head coach Alvaro Arbeloa in the face: Fulham are loose out of possession (in part because of their expansive approach with the ball and a lack of pace at the back), defensively naive and an accident waiting to happen \u2014 and there were multiple such accidents on Saturday.<\/p>\n If their aggressive press does not work \u2014 and that was the case with Palace\u2019s second goal \u2014 Fulham are wide open.<\/p>\n Palace had a four-vs-three overload and scored in farcical circumstances. Timothy Castagne, the right-back, was dragged out of position for the first goal, leaving Joachim Andersen exposed, while Anan Khalaili broke on the inside of left-back Antonee Robinson in the lead-up to the winner.<\/p>\n Ben Chilwell was the instant match winner on his @CPFC<\/a> return! \ud83e\udd85 pic.twitter.com\/u0EoUPa6lD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Premier League (@premierleague) September 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Three games, no points, seven goals conceded.<\/p>\n\n
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