Manchester City dropping points for the second consecutive week in the Premier League has opened the door in the title race and the teams behind them have taken advantage. Liverpool went away to Wolves winning 2-1, Arsenal needed a 94th-minute winner but they dispatched Leicester City 4-2 and Chelsea defeated Brighton 4-2 with all four goal coming from Cole Palmer. Under Arne Slot, the Reds were expected to have a learning curve as he got up to speed in the Premier League but his talented squad has picked up on minor tweaks quickly to keep the ball rolling.
Jurgen Klopp left Slot with a squad capable of challenging for a title so the Dutch manager hasn’t had to reinvent the wheel at Anfield. His style is a marked difference from Klopp’s looking to control the match via possession and it has led to impressive results. The Reds weren’t at their best against Wolves but managed to hold them to only 0.56 xG on seven shots.
Liverpool will want to be better at taking their own chances but with a goal from Ibrahima Kounate and another from Mohamed Salah, that’ll be plenty to win most matches if the defense is up to snuff. So far in the Premier League season, no team has a better xG against than Liverpol’s 4.45. They’re underperforming their actual goals allowed slightly by only allowing two so far but it shows that Liverpool’s strength is their defense.
Bolstered by a stout midfield and interchangeable attackers, this is a Liverpool side that will be in the race all season even with Champions League commitments. Let’s take a look at the rest of the top five.
Premier League top five
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 15 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 14 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 14 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 13 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 12 |
Arsenal made things as hard as possible taking 37 shots for 4.98 xG but it wasn’t until Leandro Trossard scored in the 94th minute of play that the Gunners took the lead after blowing a halftime 2-0 lead. It’s a fair result after dominating Leicester City during the match but it’s also a reminder of Arsenal’s mentality. No matter how late it is, the Gunners feel like they’ll get a winning goal to see out a match and they’ve been able to accomplish that.
Keeping pace with City is something that they’ve done for two seasons running so now is the time to get over the hump. When Arsenal face Liverpool on Oct. 27, that could be a match to show who is in the driver’s seat for the title. Chelsea had an impressive performance to insert themselves in the conversation but defense could be their undoing over the course of a long season.
Being in the race while in European competitions is when the mental and physical demands of a title race truly test you. Liverpool and Arsenal have the depth but injuries are where Manchester City are beginning to struggle a bit. Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri are massive misses for City and it’s something that they’ll have to overcome in order to lift a fifth consecutive Premier title. In the case of Aston Villa, they have similar depth concerns but also lack the experience of a true title charge.
