Brighton Thrash Crystal Palace 5-0 as City Stay Perfect and Arsenal Keep Pace: Premier League Matchweek 7 Roundup

Some derbies simmer. This one was over before most of the Amex had settled into its seat. Brighton & Hove Albion scored three times in the first 10 minutes against Crystal Palace on Sunday, added two more after the break, and walked off with a 5-0 win that was part statement, part warning to the rest of the Premier League: the team in third place is not here to make up the numbers. According to Sportradar’s match timeline, Jaydee Canvot headed Pascal Groß’s free-kick into his own net in the fourth minute, Diego Gómez doubled the lead three minutes later from the halfway line, and Yasin Ayari swept home the third on 10 minutes after Charalampos Kostoulas set him up.

The Gómez goal is the one that will live on every highlight reel between now and May. As StraightBet’s roundup reported, Opta measured the strike at 51.3 metres — the longest-range Premier League goal since Wayne Rooney’s effort for Everton against West Ham in November 2017 — after Gómez spotted Walter Benítez off his line and launched the ball from just inside the Palace half. Kostoulas scored the fourth himself in the 49th minute, and substitute Jack Hinshelwood, an academy graduate, finished the rout in the 84th. The Sun reported that Brighton have now won four straight Premier League games without conceding for the first time in their history, and StraightBet put numbers behind the surge: 23 goals in seven league matches, a last-four aggregate of 15-0, and four consecutive clean sheets, with just five goals conceded all season.

Palace were gone in 10 minutes

For Palace, this was a collapse with a paper trail. StraightBet reported that their 17 goals conceded are their worst defensive return at this stage of a league campaign since 1980-81, according to Opta, and The Sun noted they are shipping more than two goals per league game under Pierre Sage. They sit 14th on seven points. Brighton, by contrast, finished Sunday third on 16 points, as StraightBet confirmed — briefly second before Arsenal’s later win at Forest nudged them down a place, which tells you everything about how tight the top of this table already is. Gómez also became Brighton’s 11th different league scorer this season, per StraightBet, which is the real headache for opponents: there is no single threat to shut down.

Watch the official highlights from the Amex below, via Sky Sports Premier League:

City stay perfect, Arsenal refuse to blink

Manchester City remain the standard. On Saturday they beat Ipswich Town 3-2 at the Etihad, according to Sportradar, through Phil Foden and two Erling Haaland goals, as StraightBet reported — Daizen Maeda equalised for Ipswich and Zian Flemming’s late penalty made the finish uncomfortable. Seven games, seven wins, 21 points, 19 goals scored. StraightBet reported that Enzo Maresca is the first manager to win his first seven Premier League matches in charge of a club. That is a startling stat seven weeks into a season, even for City.

Arsenal kept the gap at three points the hard way. Their 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday came from substitute Noni Madueke’s deflected effort in the 80th minute — GhanaMMA, citing BBC Sport, reported the winner and the goal time, and StraightBet noted it was Arsenal’s only shot on target all afternoon. Six wins from seven and 18 points is title-challenger form even when the performance is not pretty, and StraightBet pointed out that Arsenal have kept clean sheets in three of their four league away games. Mikel Arteta will take substance over style in October every single time.

United drop another lead as Liverpool dig in

The Roses rivalry delivered the weekend’s most familiar story. Manchester United led at Elland Road through Bryan Mbeumo in the 35th minute — KhelNow reported that Youri Tielemans picked him out for the second time in the half — but Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised six minutes after the break, reacting quickest after a corner was headed down. KhelNow noted it was Calvert-Lewin’s seventh goal in his last seven Premier League appearances. United lost Lisandro Martínez to injury at half-time, per KhelNow, and could not find a winner. The numbers are grim: United are 13th on seven points, with one league win and none in their last five, according to StraightBet. Michael Carrick’s side keep taking the lead and handing it back, and Elland Road was never going to forgive that.

Liverpool, meanwhile, did the opposite. They fell behind at Brentford to a Keane Lewis-Potter header, levelled through Victor Muñoz, and won it through the returning Alexander Isak, according to StraightBet’s roundup and NBC Sports’ highlights index. Brentford’s task got harder with sendings-off — NBC listed dismissals for Yehor Yarmoliuk and Vitaly Janelt — and Liverpool climbed to fifth on 12 points. It was not polished, but after a stop-start opening to the season, a comeback win away from home is exactly the kind of result that restarts a campaign.

The rest of Matchweek 7

Chelsea were the weekend’s other climbers. Pedro Neto scored both goals in a 2-0 win at Everton on Saturday, Sportradar’s results list confirmed, taking Chelsea to fourth on 13 points. Aston Villa won 1-0 at Newcastle United through Johan Manzambi’s first-half header, per StraightBet. Bournemouth earned their first league win, beating Sunderland 2-0 through Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson, and Fulham got their first victory too, Alex Iwobi scoring the only goal against Hull City. Nine matches are in the books; the tenth, Tottenham against Coventry on Monday night, closes the round — and you can follow it and the rest of the season on our Sports front.

What comes next is a sprint. Brighton go to Liverpool on Sunday after a Conference League trip in midweek, per StraightBet’s fixture look-ahead, while City and Arsenal both turn to Europe, with PSG against Barcelona headlining Champions League Matchday 3 on Tuesday. Seven weeks in, the table has a clear shape — City perfect out front, Arsenal and this remarkable Brighton side chasing, and a queue of famous names already playing catch-up. If this weekend proved anything, it is that the chasers are not waiting politely.