The Good, The Bad

The tops and flops from the Premier League weekend.

Here, we look at the good, and the bad, from this weekend’s Premier League action.

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THE GOOD

Chelsea are not in the title race, according to their coach Enzo Maresca. Yet Sunday’s 4-3 comeback win over Tottenham, inspired by Cole Palmer’s penalty double, means the Blues are just four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who do have a game in hand following the postponement of the Merseyside derby. Palmer has now hit 50 Premier League goal involvements for the club, while he has become the first Premier League player to net 12 out of 12 penalties in the competition, too. Maresca has unlocked the kind of attacking impetus from Enzo Fernandez that the midfielder showed at the 2022 World Cup, while Nicolas Jackson continues to lead the Blues line with rigour and Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke are excelling out on the wings. Doubts remain over Chelsea’s defence, and maybe that is what will see them fall short in a title challenge, but right now, they are the best of the rest behind Liverpool.

Chris Wood is now Nottingham Forest’s record goalscorer in the Premier League, after he netted his 25th goal for the club in the competition with his winner against Manchester United, on the day he turned 33. The New Zealander planted a brilliant, looping header back across goal, over Andre Onana and in off the far post. Perhaps it came with a stroke of luck, but it was a slice of good fortune Wood, who has continued the stellar form that he showed at the end of last season, was worthy of. He is now on double figures for the season, with only Cole Palmer, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah having scored more league goals than Wood this term.