Referees Take Center Stage, Arsenal's New Signings Shine on Wild EPL Weekend
Well, what a weekend of Premier League action that was!
Amid some absolutely stunning goals and scintillating attacking football, the officials took center stage as controversy clouded the action - Sunday in particular - as the linesmen took decisions into their own hands, but enough of that; let's leave that debate to the experts.
More interestingly, we saw Arsenal swat aside Sam Allardyce's Everton at the Emirates, Alexis Sanchez bagged his maiden goal for Manchester United, and the relegation dogfight became even more intense.
Here are six of the best moments from the Premier League this weekend...
Best Goal
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Brighton piled further misery on a depleted West Ham side on Saturday, smashing three well taken efforts into the back of Adrian's net, but none were more well taken than Jose Izquierdo's curled effort.
The Colombian took one touch to get the ball out of his feet before sweeping a stunning strike into the top right hand corner of the Irons' goal, much to the delight of the AMEX faithful as they got one over on a fellow survival battler in the Hammers.
Honorable mentions must go to Victor Wanyama's thunderous effort at Anfield, which almost took the net off, as well as Danilo's powerful whipped strike away to Burnley, whereas James Ward-Prowse's clever free kick must also receive some credit.
Best Assist
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Despite succumbing to a 3-2 defeat to relegation rivals Southampton, West Brom can take some comfort in the knowledge that in Chris Brunt's delicious delivery onto Salomon Rondon's head, they have the best assist of the week within their ranks.
The Irishman's left foot has always possessed magic, but his cross into the Venezuelan from deep out on the left wing was mesmeric and deserved to have contributed to more than just a consolation.
Best Save
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This weekend's action provided little in terms of high quality saves for the camera, but one shutout that was sure to whet the appetite of all the photographers inside Turf Moor would've been Ederson's stunning fingertip save from Aaron Lennon's driven effort.
The Brazilian reacted marvelously to tip the forward's shot onto the crossbar and preserve City's slender lead, and despite being beaten later on in the match, the former Benfica man can go home with his head held high after such an excellent save.
Best (Offside) Debut Goal
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Arsenal fans were given a treat in the late kickoff on Saturday at the Emirates as they were able to witness their new arrivals start together from the off against Everton, and boy were they entertaining.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan racked up three assists on his home debut for the Gunners, including one for former Borussia Dortmund teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Gabon international delicately opened his account in north London with a cute dink over Jordan Pickford.
It was so delightful, in fact, that the linesman even decided to ignore the blatant offside and allow it to stand such was the beauty of the chip...
Best Premature Celebration
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After Mohamed Salah's 21st goal of a stunning league campaign for the Reds so far, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Egyptian's 91st minute strike past Hugo Lloris would have earned all three points for Jurgen Klopp given the lateness of the strike, but Liverpool, as always, found a way to give it away.
Virgil van Dijk's late swipe at Erik Lamela gifted Spurs a last-minute equalizer from the spot that Harry Kane converted for his 100th career Premier League goal, and in doing so made Klopp's passionate dash down the touchline after Salah's goal look all the more foolish.
Maybe wait until after the final whistle next time, Jurgen...
Best Miss
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Raheem Sterling's decisive goals this season have earned City a staggering 13 points alone, although his missed chance to secure three more for Pep Guardiola's men was embarrassing to say the least.
Kyle Walker's low driven cross found the former Liverpool man in acres of space at the back post with the goal at his mercy, only to see the ball skew off his left foot and into the section of City fans stood in disbelief behind Nick Pope's goal.
Even more amusingly, after giving him a kiss having just missed a chance last week, Guardiola showed his ruthless side, instantly dragging the 23-year-old off the pitch following the horror miss.
