The Premier League continues to push closer and closer to the World Cup break, but on Halloween weekend, the ten matches that were played brought much to the season’s ongoing storyline. Some teams faced tricks, and some got great treats. Some teams put their best costumes on and had impressive showings, and some weren’t able to dress up their poor performances. Overall, this week was another example of how competitive and exciting this league is on a week to week basis. Without further ado, here is the recap of every match in the Premier League in Matchweek 13, with possible Halloween references included.
Liverpool 1-2 Leeds United
After Liverpool endured a rough afternoon on the road at Nottingham Forest last weekend, they were desperate for a response. Well, nothing like hosting a struggling Leeds team at Anfield, right? Especially since Liverpool hadn’t lost at home yet this season, right? Wrong. American manager Jesse Marsch and his Leeds side walked into one of the toughest road fixtures in world football, and won. An errant Joe Gomez pass gifted Leeds’s striker Rodrigo the opener early on, but Mohammed Salah responded to equalize just ten minutes later for the Reds. The game then remained scoreless until the final minute of regular time, where Leeds’s Crysencio Summerville squeezed a shot past Allison to give Leeds their first win since August. The win also propelled Leeds out of the relegation zone, and relieved a massive amount of pressure off of Marsch. As for Liverpool, the loss marked their first defeat at Anfield in the Premier League since March 7, 2021. And, the defeat was star Liverpool defender Virgil van Djik’s first loss at Anfield. He had previously gone 70 games unbeaten in all competitions as a defender when playing at home for the Reds. Liverpool now sit in ninth, as they are now closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
Brighton 4-1 Chelsea
Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who left his post at Brighton earlier this season to join the Blues, had a nightmare return when he visited his former club on Saturday. The Seagulls were all over Chelsea from start to finish, as Leandro Tossard and Pascal Groß scored to help hand Potter his first loss as Chelsea boss. The glaring issue resided in Chelsea’s defensive woes, as both Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were responsible for own goals in the contest, which only made the day worse for Chelsea. Kai Havertz provided the lone goal for the visitors. Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi finally picked up his first win as Brighton manager as well, and Brighton sit in a comfortable eighth place, while Chelsea fall to sixth.
Bournemouth 2-3 Tottenham
Antonio Conte and his Spurs side looked to be headed towards a third straight defeat on the south coast, when Cherries striker Kieffer Moore scored a brace to give Bournemouth a two-goal lead over Spurs. However, a strong second half comeback by Tottenham gave the visitors a much-needed win. Ryan Sessegnon scored the first for Spurs, and his goal was followed by a Ben Davies header and the winner by substitute Rodrigo Bentancur in second half stoppage time. The final two goals for Spurs came off of corners, and the win means Conte’s side holds third place in the league going into an important match with Liverpool next week. Bournemouth are starting to struggle after a good stretch of form earlier in the season, as they now have lost three straight and have only won one game in their last seven tries.
Leicester City 0-1 Manchester City
Manchester City was able to pick up a nice three points at the King Power Stadium this weekend. City were without star striker Erling Haaland for the first time this season because of an injury, but all City needed was a world-class free kick from star Kevin de Brunye to seal the victory over the foxes. Leicester pushed for an equalizer late on, but couldn’t get any points out of the match, and the loss puts them back into the relegation zone going into Matchweek 14. City’s win put them at the top of the table temporarily, but due to Arsenal’s win, they were knocked back to second place.
Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest
The Gunners were business as usual on Sunday as they swept Forest aside to take top spot from Manchester City. Gabriel Martinelli scored the first for Arsenal early on, and the goals kept coming. Reiss Nelson scored a brace (which were his first two Arsenal goals), and Thomas Partey and Martin Ødegaard followed up to give the Gunners their largest win of the season. Mikel Arteta’s side are also the first team to achieve 10 wins in the PL this season. The only concern for Arsenal was the injury that star youngster Bukayo Saka suffered in the first half. Forest couldn’t keep the good times going after their upset over Liverpool last weekend, and they sit rock bottom of the table.
Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United
Man United completed an impressive run in the month of October with a win over the Hammers at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford scored his 100th goal for the Red Devils with a header in the 38th minute, and that would prove to be the only goal United needed. Erik Ten Haag’s side continued to impress on defense, with a fourth clean sheet in the last five games in all competitions. United finished October unbeaten, and they sit in fifth, one point behind Newcastle. West Ham only have one win on the road so far this season, as they finish the week in the bottom half of the table.
Newcastle United 4-0 Aston Villa
Newcastle won their third successive match as they pummeled Villa on Saturday. English striker Callum Wilson scored a brace, and Joelinton and Miguel Almiron tacked on the other two as Newcastle scored four goals or more for the third time this month. Aston Villa, after a big win over Brentford last weekend, took a big hit as they now sit only one point above the relegation zone. The Magpies continue to push forward, as they remain in the top four after the nice win.
Brentford 1-1 Wolves
The Bees and Wolves both scored a goal and took a point from the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday. Center Back Ben Mee scored an acrobatic goal to give Brentford the lead, but a fantastic effort from Wolves’s Ruben Neves pulled the visitors level. The game finished tied, but Wolves had to play the final minutes with only 10 men, as striker Diego Costa was shown red for violent conduct late on. Wolves snapped a two game losing streak in the process, but only are ahead of Forest in the table. Brentford are now winless in their last three games.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton
Odsonne Édouard scored his third goal of the season for the Eagles as Palace picked up their third consecutive win at Selhurst Park. The Eagles striker scored his goal late in the first half after one of his earlier strikes was disallowed by VAR, and the lone goal lifted Palace to tenth in the standings. Southampton find themselves right above the drop zone, with a tough couple of games looming before the World Cup break.
Fulham 0-0 Everton
Fulham and Everton played out the only scoreless game of the weekend at Craven Cottage. Both sides had great chances, but no one looked to score more than Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic. He attempted 10 of Fulham’s 24 shots, but only one of his shots was on target. The Serbian and Fulham were frustrated that they only took a point, but the good start for Fulham this season continues, as they are now in seventh in the standings. The Toffees get a good point on the road, and they sit 12th.