The Premier League is back after the international break, with plenty more thrills and spills to keep everyone entertained. (More Football News)
Manchester United got back to winn🥂ing ways with a꧃ sweeping 3-0 win over Southampton, while Nottingham Forest stunned Liverpool at Anfield.
Manchester City continued their perfect start with a comeback win over Brentford, and on Sunday Arsenal claime🍸d bragging rights in the North Lond♕on derby.
But who were the lucky winn🔯ers and the unlucky losers to emerge from this weekend's set of fixtures, according to the underlying metrics?
With the help of Opta data, let's find out.
Lucky winners: Nottingham Forest
Li💟verpool had made a perfect start to life under Arne Slot and were yet to concede a goal heading into matchday 4, but after a two-wee🧔k break, things were not quite as rosy.
The Tricky Trees had faced 26 strikes before Callum Hudson-Odoi's long-range effꦡort curled beyond Alisson, ending a 55-year wait for a Forest win at Anfield.
Forest managed just five shots ཧin the game, creating an expected goals (xG) of 0.44, with Hudson-Odoi's strike only contributing 0.07 to that. They also managed just five touches in the opposition box.
Liverpool may not have been at their high-flying best, but they had 34 touches in the opposition area and had 14 attempts on Forest's goal but could not find a way through a well-drilled Nun𒐪o Espirito Santo side as Slot got his first taste of defeat in the job.
Unlucky losers: Brighton
Technically, Brighton were not 'losers' as they continued their unbeaten start ൲to the season with a 0-0 draw with Ipswich Town.
But based on the metrics, they were unlucky not to come away with three points against the newly prom🥀oted side.
The Seagulls had a whopping 21 shots at the Amex Stadium, but accumulated just 1.66 xG, and only ♍managed to test Arijanet Muric on six occa🔴sions despite their continued dominance.
They alꦇso had three big chances, from which players would have been anticipated to do better, but Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter failed to convert them as Fabian Hurzeler's side endured a frustrating day.
Lucky winners: Arsenal
Most Arsenal fans will not care hꦗow the victory over rivals Tottenham happened, just that they came away from the visit with three points, but the Gunners were savvy in their victory.
Indeed, ✅Arsenal's two lowest possession averages (on record) in a Premier League game against Spurs have both come in 2024, with Sunday’s match their lowest total (36.3%).
Mikel Arteta's side did create a slightly higher xG (0.74 to 0.71), but fﷺrom a much lower shot count as they only had seven attempts on Spurs’ goal, with Gabri𝓰el Magalhaes’ close-range header worth 0.23 xG.
It was Arsenal's lowes♎t xG of the season so far (0.87 xG on MD2 is second), but their clinical edge proved the difference🌄 against a wasteful Spurs.
Unlucky losers: Fulham
Like Bri🐎ghton, Fulham do not class as losers as they drew 1-1 with West Ham, but Marco Silva will be disappointed to have l𝕴et the three points slip from their grasp.
Raul Jimenez's goal looked to have earned 𒁏them a second win of the 🍰season until Danny Ings' clinical finish denied them.
Fulham were another of the teams to have 21 shots this weekend, the joint-most along with the Seagulls, though their 1.54 xG came in slightly lower, despite creating four big chances, of which they squandereᩚᩚᩚᩚ✃ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚd three.
West Ham had only accumulated 0.52 xG until Ings' intervention, pu♋shing it up to 0.76 with their third and last shot on target, condemning the Cottagers to a second consec🐻utive draw.
