The latest weekend of the Premier League left behind a plethora of gripping narratives. Manchester City have confidently settled into the role of the league's villain amidst legal troubles, while Florian Wirtz, Oliver Glasner, Michael Carrick, and several others are facing tough times.
Winners of the round
Manchester City
The citizens top the division table, from which they may soon be excluded. The club has fully embraced the persona of the main antagonist in football's drama, devoid of a heroic figure. While the situation appears absurd, those in Manchester are relishing the moment, continuing to achieve maximum sporting results on the pitch amidst clouds looming off it.
Walter Benitez
The Argentine has turned out to be a genuine gift for Crystal Palace, arriving at the club for free last summer. Benitez epitomises the perfect second-choice keeper: in 13 matches, he’s kept six clean sheets, played a key role in securing the Conference League trophy, saved two penalties in the shoot-out against Millwall, and helped defeat Nottingham Forest under Oliver Glasner’s leadership. Dean Henderson can now take his time to complete his recovery from injury.
Crystal Palace
While the financial landscape of the Premier League grapples with a severe crisis of trust, the London club sits comfortably in 12th place, providing its supporters with stability and optimism.
Brighton
Fabian Hurzeler's team is demonstrating an outstanding level of play: Pascal Gross's incisive passes, Chema Andres's tackles, Juaen Hadjam's debut goal, and the immediate tactical reshuffle following a red card. The depth of the squad allows the Seagulls to cope with a challenging injury crisis, and their last seven victories in the Premier League have all come without conceding a goal.
Arsenal
The Gunners continue to uphold their playing identity, showing character in tough matches and clinching victories through sheer class.
Gary O'Neil
Only four clubs have spent less time leading matches this Premier League season, yet while competitors languish at the bottom, Ipswich Town has firmly established itself in the upper half. The team's three victories have come thanks to late goals, with the Tractors managing to secure a quarter of the points needed for survival in just six games. O'Neil is confirming his reputation as the league's top crisis manager.
Chelsea
As the London side under Xabi Alonso continues to score and win, confidence in their chosen path remains steadfast.
Jordan Henderson
The English veteran is vying for the title of transfer success of the year, silencing sceptics with a brace and a stunning free-kick against Bournemouth.
James Justin
The defender has scored as many Premier League goals against Arsenal as Andy Cole, Michael Owen, and Frank Lampard, surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy's tally, as well as the combined totals of Les Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs.
Brentford
After conceding an early goal at Villa Park, the Bees equalised just two minutes later. This season, Thomas Frank's side has trailed for a total of only six minutes, whereas their closest competitors have spent 58 minutes behind.
Joe Gelhardt
With the penalties he won, the forward has recorded the same number of goal contributions (seven goals and assists) as matches he started in the Premier League.
Rodrigo Bentancur
The Uruguayan effectively saved his team at the cost of self-sacrifice: coming on as a substitute, he couldn't prevent a conceded goal, but just 12 minutes later earned a red card, winning praise from the coaching staff. Yet, Bentancur has played 382 minutes this season without a single goal from Spurs during his time on the pitch.
Losers of the round
Liverpool
The team faced a specific objective in the weekend's central fixture, yet they failed to hold on to their advantage and secure the win.
Florian Wirtz
The 23-year-old German playmaker looks like a pale shadow of himself: only two players have taken more shots without scoring in this Premier League season, but Julio Enciso and Diego Gomez created several clear goal-scoring opportunities, while Wirtz's tally remains at zero. In contrast to Ryan Cherki, who has seamlessly settled at Manchester City for a much smaller fee, Liverpool's record signing at £116 million is having a weaker second season than his debut. Even Bradley Barcola found an excuse in adapting to the physicality of English football, something that cannot be said for the German midfielder.
Alvaro Arbeloa
The former Real Madrid boss is struggling to get to grips with the realities of the Premier League.
Bournemouth
The cherries' status as a giant-killer is swiftly fading. Marco Rose's side has lost influential players to injury, including Eli Junior Krupi, Justin Kluivert, and Alex Scott, facing a punishing schedule at the start of the season and lacking answers against top clubs following a drubbing from Chelsea.
Oliver Glasner
Nottingham Forest suffered an embarrassing defeat against Crystal Palace: leading the score and dominating the first 40 minutes at Selhurst Park, the team experienced an inexplicable 20-minute collapse. The Forest team gifted the Eagles their first home win of the season, and owner Evangelos Marinakis is unlikely to tolerate such generosity for long.
Michael Carrick
A formula has firmly established itself at Manchester United: the specialist is not the root of all evil, but he hasn’t offered a solution to their problems either. The team is displaying a colossal lack of energy both with and without the ball. Losses to newly-promoted sides, lacklustre draws against relegation candidates, and a home defeat against a majority have exposed the summer recruitment errors and the systemic deadlock of the club's project.
Brenden Aaronson
Since April 2026, the American midfielder has not been on the pitch when Leeds scored any Premier League goals. In the subsequent 10 matches, the team netted 13 goals, but all of them came either after he was subbed off or before he was introduced.
Aston Villa
In previous seasons, the Birmingham side consistently finished in the top six for home performances. Now, they have gathered fewer points at their home ground than only Coventry City. The closure of the North Stand for major renovations is affecting the atmosphere at Villa Park and highlights the transitional status of Unai Emery's team.
Sunderland
The loss of Brian Brobbey and a tough stretch of matches against Champions League clubs have complicated life for the Black Cats. Even with their numerical advantage at home, Regis Le Bris's team looked bewildered ahead of a string of six matches in 16 days.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
The Everton defender made two glaring positional errors while attempting to play a back-heel in his own penalty area. Gaps in the defensive flank again reminded everyone of the player’s own words, stating he is not a defender, but an attacking player by nature.
