LONDON — Manchester City gave a defiant response after being found guilty of breaching the English Premier League’s financial rules as the leaders romped to victory at Liverpool.
Manchester United’s miserable start has put boss Michael Carrick under pressure, while Bruno Guimaraes came to Arsenal’s rescue.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points from this weekend’s action:
Man City win exacerbates uncertainty
In any other season, Manchester City would be in pole position in the title race after a flawless start that includes statement wins away to their two biggest rivals in Liverpool and Manchester United.
Yet, whether Enzo Maresca’s men are in the running for the title at all is clouded in uncertainty until a ruling on their appeal against a guilty verdict on more than 100 charges of breaking financial rules.
City managed to shut out the noise surrounding their trip to Anfield, powering to a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki after Liverpool were reduced to 10 men by Ryan Gravenberch’s red card.
Yet, the sight of City sitting top of the table with a perfect record from their opening six games will only intensity the calls for a swift resolution to the case to prevent the issue hanging over the world’s most watched league.
Man Utd hit 40-year low point
Manchester United’s return of six points from their opening six league games is the club’s worst for 40 years as they again failed to take advantage of playing against 10 men.
Tottenham rallied from being both a goal and a man down to level through Dominic Solanke in stoppage time at Old Trafford and a 1-1 draw was the very least the visitors deserved.
Only poor finishing cost Tottenham a first league win of the season after they bossed United for long periods to put more scrutiny on Michael Carrick, just months after he was handed the United job on a permanent basis.
United lost 1-0 to Manchester City last month despite playing for over an hour with a man advantage and did likewise in losing at home to Everton last season.
Carrick now faces a crucial 10 days with tough away games at Atletico Madrid, Leeds and Como.
“The pressure is on him, the questions are obviously always with the manager and you just hope they can come out of it in these next few weeks,” former United captain Gary Neville said.
Guimaraes makes his point
Bruno Guimaraes stated his case to start for the Premier League champions after the Brazil midfielder came off the bench to seal Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Leeds.
Arsenal were in danger of a second successive defeat when they fell behind at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
But after Riccardo Calafiori’s equaliser, former Newcastle star Guimaraes landed the decisive blow just minutes after he was introduced as a second-half substitute by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
It was Guimaraes’ second league goal since his close-season move to north London and his first at the Emirates.
Guimaraes hopes his contribution can guarantee a start in Arsenal’s Champions League home game against Lille on Tuesday.
“I felt amazing and I can’t wait to score more goals now. It was very loud when I scored. I want to hug them (the Arsenal supporters) for everything they have been doing for me,” Guimaraes said after diving into the crowd in celebration of his goal.
Guimaraes has made just one league start for second-placed Arsenal and Arteta said he “wasn’t at the level” required during that loss at Brighton.
“I couldn’t wait to go to the pitch and I was very anxious on the bench. So, getting in the game and scoring an important goal is always a very good feeling,” Guimaraes said.
