Premier League: Winners and losers as Saka shines and Crystal Palace falter

With the exception of a small handful of teams (who all had the misfortune of playing each other) every side absolutely went for it at the weekend. This led to an abundance of goals, and in the end, football fans were the true winners.

But where there are winners, there must also be losers - so we have broken down who shined the brightest last weekend, and who needs to pick up the slack a bit.

Do you agree with our picks, or did someone else put in a stellar performance that flew under the radar?

Winner: Bukayo Saka

Against Southampton, there could be no argument against Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka being the man of the match. Assisting Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli before adding a third goal of his own, he was practically in a league of his own on the pitch. His movement is sublime - everyone knows this, but it’s his vision that sets him apart from the rest of the pack.

You see some wingers who get into space, slow down and look up to evaluate their options. Saka doesn’t slow down and instead of spending a couple of seconds looking up, he just fires a quick glance and knows immediate where his teammates are going to be. That is partly down to Mikel Arteta’s system but is also the hallmark of an attacker who can play on instinct.

Loser: Chelsea FC

After utterly spanking Brighton the previous weekend, fans were eagerly anticipating a repeat result against a similar sort of side. Nottingham Forest have impressed this season - much like the Seagulls - but players like Cole Palmer should have been enough to overpower them on raw talent alone.

Instead, both sides had a similar number of chances (despite Chelsea dominating possession) and although Palmer helped set up Madueke’s goal, a 1-1 draw was absolutely indicative of how both sides turned up on the day. Full credit to Forest however - they went to Stamford Bridge with the intent of winning the game, and came very close to doing so. Chelsea, however, must do better if they are to be considered serious Champions League contenders; these are the games you cannot drop points in.

Winner: Erik ten Hag?

Yeah, I can’t believe I just wrote that either. But I think it’s true - ten Hag is one of this weekend’s winners (for now).

At the time of publication, the Dutchman is still Manchester United’s manager. Despite choking a 2-0 lead against Porto mid-week, ten Hag rallied his troops to deliver a 0-0 bore draw against Aston Villa at the weekend.

But right now, NOT losing might just be enough to keep him off Universal Credit. He also received a public show of support from owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who attended the game at Villa Park alongside new sporting director Dan Ashworth.

Any man capable of keeping his job under that sort of pressure is a winner in my eyes.

Loser: Crystal Palace

I honestly just feel bad for Crystal Palace at this point. They’re not really doing anything wrong, it’s just that Lady Luck isn’t on their side right now.

Their 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool may well be the result of struggling offensively, but they had more shots on target despite having far less possession. I think it’s fair to say that they’re sorely missing the services of Michael Olise, who left for Bayern Munich in the summer - but even then, Oliver Glasner’s side is playing decent football.

Palace were even thrown a bone with Liverpool goalie Alisson going off injured, but just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net. I’m convinced that the results will come though.