What we learned from Matchweek 3

Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics and tactical lessons from Matchweek 3, including:

- Szoboszlai emerges as TAA replacement, Arteta misses the moment
- Hurzeler’s substitutions inspire Brighton win - and Guardiola gets his wrong
- Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye thriving under Moyes
- Another goalless game shows why Villa need Elliott and Sancho
- Potter finds victory with a more reactive way of playing
- Late penalty could be the most important moment of the Amorim era
- Stadium of Light crowd is Sunderland’s most important asset this season
- Bournemouth have a realistic shot at Europe
- Joao Pedro is an early contender for signing of the season
- Newcastle’s second blank shows the impact of Isak transfer saga

Szoboszlai emerges as TAA replacement, Arteta misses the moment

Dominik Szoboszlai’s incredible free-kick was the standout moment of a dull contest at Anfield that seemed destined to end 0-0, which would have been a good result for both sides.

That being said, Liverpool’s vulnerability at the back, coupled with their shaky first-half performance on Sunday, handed Arsenal the rare opportunity to go for a statement three points.

Mikel Arteta was instead more fearful of Liverpool’s attackers than he was excited by their defensive record. The Arsenal manager selected three defensive midfielders in a conservative set-up and instructed his players to consistently take the least risky option in possession.

With Arsenal tentative, Szoboszlai provided the key moment.

It capped a fantastic all-action performance from Liverpool's stand-in right-back. Szoboszlai often filled in within midfield or hung back intelligently when Liverpool went forward, and he also played several brilliant long passes reminiscent of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Jeremie Frimpong’s aggressive overlapping runs had been leaving Arne Slot’s side too open. At this rate, Szoboszlai could find himself being Liverpool’s first-choice right-back this season.

Hurzeler’s substitutions inspire Brighton win - and Guardiola gets his wrong

This was exactly the topsy-turvy match we expected; Brighton & Hove Albion’s expressive game left plenty of space for Manchester City to counter-attack into, and better finishing from Erling Haaland would have sewn the match up in the first half.

But Brighton managed to grab control thanks to an inspired quadruple substitution from Fabian Hurzeler that produced an energetic finish. Pep Guardiola’s changes had the exact opposite effect.

The four Brighton subs, introduced on the hour mark, were all involved in the goals: Yasin Ayari played the ball into the box that won the penalty which James Milner scored, before good work from Georginio Rutter helped create the opening that led to Brajan Gruda's late winner.

Unfortunately for City, Guardiola’s changes helped tip the balance in Brighton’s favour. He brought on Rico Lewis and Ruben Dias in the 85th minute, changing half of his back four and seemingly confusing the team’s organisation in the process.

For Brighton's winning goal, Lewis incorrectly stepped out to press, allowing a long ball down the line to find the free Kaoru Mitoma. The knock-on effect of his error was John Stones scrambling across, leading to Brighton benefiting from a five on three.

Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye thriving under Moyes

It may have come as a shock to some that David Moyes has put together a glamorous and expressive attack at Everton.

Moyes has a reputation for being a conservative head coach, yet he has always given individualistic players licence to roam – and be creative – from within his defence-minded set-up.

That’s certainly what we saw at Molineux, where Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye regularly swapped positions, made unexpected runs, and interacted dynamically to overwhelm Wolverhampton Wanderers' defence.

Dewsbury-Hall's superb strike v Wolves

Grealish is already playing like the Aston Villa star he once was, gliding into the left half-space to weave through teams on the run. His second assist of the game, a delicate chip through to Dewsbury-Hall, was something we haven’t seen from him in years.

The runs of Dewsbury-Hall gave Grealish an option throughout, while Beto’s movement in the box should see plenty more Grealish crosses lead to goals.

With Tyler Dibling still to come in, all of a sudden Everton are one of the most exciting teams in the country. Fans may be starting to dream of a top-10 finish.

Another goalless game shows why Villa need Elliott and Sancho

Unai Emery badly needed a busy deadline day and he got it. As well as gaining the vast Premier League experience of former Man Utd defender Victor Lindelof, Villa brought in Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho to add, more importantly, additional pace, guile and creativity in the final third.

Villa are the only team in the Premier League who are yet to score a goal. On Sunday evening, they never looked like doing so.

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace have consistently found a way of luring Villa into their pressing traps and countering through the middle, and it was a familiar story at Villa Park despite Emery attempting to change things.

Villa were a little more direct in their play, and by starting Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand, there was at least an attempt to use width following a constricted defeat at Brentford the previous weekend.

But it didn’t work, partly because Villa looked stale in all areas. New faces and an injection of energy into the forward line is just the lift they need.

Potter finds victory with a more reactive way of playing

It took 84 minutes before West Ham United finally made the breakthrough thanks to a brilliant improvisation from Jarrod Bowen, the man who consistently drags the Hammers forward when they need him most.

But this was not a typical West Ham performance. They were sturdy at the back throughout the game, standing strong in a deeper tactical setup that focused more on fast breakaways than the slow, possession football Graham Potter had been trying to install.

As part of the change of strategy, Potter moved from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 system, which showed considerably more balance. The formation is surely here to stay, and so too might be an approach that invites the opponent to dominate possession.

The large gap between their defence and midfield in this  graphic below shows how direct West Ham were.

West Ham host Tottenham Hotspur and Palace in their next two matches. Neither opposition manager, Thomas Frank nor Glasner, particularly want to hog the ball and try to break down a low block.

Potter’s new reactive way of playing could be just what West Ham need to take off in September.

Late penalty could be the most important moment of the Amorim era

Just imagine what the headlines would have been if Manchester United had drawn 2-2 with Burnley. Two points from the first three matches, with Man City and Chelsea up next, would have added to a challenging start to the season.

Only in the fullness of time will we know what Bruno Fernandes’ penalty winner, scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time, will really mean.

If Ruben Amorim goes on to be a successful Man Utd head coach, then it might be his "Mark Robins moment". Robins scored a late winner in the FA Cup third round back in 1990, saving Man Utd’s season and kickstarting the Alex Ferguson era as the legendary manager went on to win the competition for his first trophy with the club.

Man Utd now enter the international break with a victory under their belts and refreshed by a jubilant atmosphere at the final whistle at Old Trafford.

None of the underlying problems are solved, of course, but the psychological impact of moving past the Grimsby Town shock is incalculable.

Stadium of Light crowd is Sunderland’s most important weapon this season 

The Stadium of Light is an intimidating place to go, and it’s bound to catch out a lot of teams expecting something more manageable when facing a promoted club.

Not since their rivals Newcastle United were promoted in 2016/17 has a promoted side had a stadium filled with over 45,000 fans. It makes all the difference.

Sunderland managed just a single shot on target prior to Enzo Le Fee’s penalty eight minutes from time, but once the equaliser was scored there was no stopping the hosts.

With the fans in full voice, the players suddenly looked reenergised and dangerous, eventually scoring a winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time

Regis Le Bris' side have won their first two Premier League games at the Stadium of Light. Last season it took until 19 October before a promoted side had won two matches.

Sunderland’s home ground, and the noise of their fans, is their most important asset this season.

Bournemouth have a realistic shot at Europe

It was more than a little surprising that Thomas Frank, whom we have praised for his versatility so far as Spurs head coach, was unable or unwilling to make any changes during a match in which Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth were clearly superior in all departments.

The visitors pressed with their usual boundless energy, unsettling Spurs and preventing Frank’s football from finding any kind of fluency.

Only two Premier League clubs have a better record than Bournemouth after three matches, which is enough evidence for fans to start believing they can qualify for Europe.

The Cherries took just 12 points from their first 12 Premier League matches of last season and only six points from their first 11 the season before, yet despite those slow starts they finished ninth in 2024/25 and 12th in 2023/24.

So, it stands to reason that racing out of the blocks could mean Bournemouth will be pushing towards the top seven.

Nobody would have predicted that, given that three of their starting four defenders were sold this summer. But Iraola has proved that it’s his tactical system, not individual players, behind his success.

Bournemouth already have two clean sheets this season. It took them until 5 December to reach that figure last year.

Joao Pedro is an early contender for signing of the season

Chelsea enjoyed their fair share of luck in this one. Had Josh King’s goal not been overturned by VAR, Fulham might have gone on to win, but instead Joao Pedro – yet again – set Chelsea on their way with an opener deep into first-half stoppage time.

Joao Pedro's opener v Fulham

Amid the controversy, Pedro’s impact on this game has perhaps been lost, but that headed goal was indicative of the start he has made. In all competitions, which includes a starring role at the FIFA Club World Cup, Pedro has five goals and two assists in six matches as a Chelsea player.

Those are staggering numbers, and they’re made even better when considering Pedro started out playing as a No 9 but has more recently been used as a No 10.

To put it another way, Joao Pedro first excelled by scoring all the striker goals Nicolas Jackson could not, before stepping up to fill Cole Palmer’s shoes from a deeper position.

A transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs doesn’t seem to have fazed Pedro. The 23-year-old looks a bargain.

Newcastle’s second blank shows how the impact of the Isak saga

Newcastle fans must be feeling relieved that the transfer window is finally over and the Alexander Isak saga is done. He got his coveted move to Liverpool on Transfer Deadline Day and the Magpies boosted their attacking ranks by signing two strikers, Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

The hope is that a resolution to their No 9 problem will prevent any more matches like the 0-0 draw at Elland Road.

Newcastle didn’t register a single shot (that wasn’t blocked by a defender) until the 41st minute. They have now drawn two matches 0-0 in 2025/26, more than in 2023/24 (none) and 2024/25 (one) combined.

They missed Isak over these first three games. More than that, they have missed having an actual No 9. Woltemade scored 12 Bundesliga goals for Stuttgart last season and Wissa netted 19 times in the Premier League for Brentford. Things should improve for Newcastle from here.