Premier League Week 4 Review: Leeds, Brighton, and Nottingham Impress
Leeds hit top gear, City turn a red card into a weapon, and Brighton’s captain scores like a No 10. Week four of the Premier League performance table had everything: heavyweights rattled, promoted sides refusing to bow, and a couple of big names looking alarmingly short of ideas.
This isn’t about league points. It’s about how teams actually played over the weekend. On that measure, the table looks very different.
1. Leeds United (last week: 3rd)
Leeds United 4-1 Newcastle United
Elland Road has seen nights like this before. It has been a while.
Leeds didn’t just beat Newcastle; they tore through them. From the first whistle, Daniel Farke’s side played with a ferocity that left Newcastle begging for half-time. The first-half onslaught came in waves, Jayden Bogle popping up everywhere – blocking Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goalbound header at one end and, via a hefty deflection, getting his name on the scoresheet at the other.
Calvert-Lewin was monstrous. He bullied Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw from first minute to last, climbing above them, pinning them, dragging them into duels they never looked ready for. A goal and an assist barely covered his influence.
Noah Okafor drifted in off the left, all subtle movement and sharp touches, and got his reward with a goal. Behind them, the midfield three of Anton Stach, Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka simply ran over Newcastle. Every loose ball seemed to land at a white shirt’s feet.
Farke called it “top-class”. It was. The only irritation? Conceding in the 90th minute on a night that deserved to be perfect.
2. Brighton (last week: 17th)
Coventry City 0-5 Brighton
Two words: Lewis Dunk.
The Brighton captain, 34 years old and supposedly old enough to know better, strode onto a loose ball and swept it from 30 yards into the top corner with the kind of nonchalance usually reserved for training-ground shooting drills. Goal-of-the-season talk in September rarely feels justified. This did.
Brighton didn’t need that strike to win the game. It just underlined the gulf. Fabian Hürzeler’s side are missing Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter, yet they remain the division’s most potent attack, scoring at a rate that makes a mockery of their injury list.
Malick Yalcouye punished soft defending to continue his quietly impressive start to life in the Premier League. Charalampos Kostoulas produced a piece of juggling and improvisation that belonged on a futsal court. Pascal Gross and Yasin Ayari, Brighton’s other scorers, ran the midfield with a calm authority, dovetailing in and out of possession.
Coventry were fragile. Brighton were ruthless. The scoreline told the truth.
3. Nottingham Forest (last week: 13th)
Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Oliver Glasner enjoyed this. You could hear it in his voice.
Forest were good in the first half. After the break, for a spell, they were something more. They came out as if someone had flicked a switch in the dressing room. First to everything, snapping into duels, playing with a conviction that left Villa chasing shadows.
Liam Delap, the standout player on the pitch, needed less than a minute of the second half to stamp his mark. One touch, set, then a thumping strike from distance. He might have had more: a header into the side-netting, another ruled out.
Xaver Schlager and James McAtee controlled the middle. Schlager’s diagonal switches opened the pitch, and he nearly capped his display with a header from a Daniel Muñoz cross. Muñoz himself was relentless down the right, and when Ian Maatsen limped off, leaving Villa down to 10, that flank became a runway.
No surprise that Forest’s winner came from that side, Morgan Gibbs-White adding the deftest of flicks in the build-up. And somewhere in all of it, Neco Williams brought a high ball out of the sky with a touch that would have graced any stadium.
Forest didn’t just win. They imposed themselves.
4. Manchester City (last week: 7th)
Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City
Strip away the VAR farce. Look at the football.
Manchester City lost Phil Foden to a straight red after 23 minutes and somehow looked more in control with 10 men than they had with 11. Enzo Maresca read the game, read the opponent and flipped the script.
United want space to run into, transitions to feed off. City simply refused to give it to them. They dropped off, tightened up and waited. Rayan Cherki, their most inventive player, was sacrificed at half-time. It was a brave call. It was also the right one.
Iliman Ndiaye came on and played the game the situation demanded. He carried the ball, bought time, won fouls, dragged City up the pitch. Erling Haaland compared some of his touches to Neymar’s. That might be a stretch, but on this day, in this context, Ndiaye was exactly what City needed.
Elliot Anderson, meanwhile, ran himself into the turf. Again. This is just who he is now.
City turned a potential disaster into a tactical clinic. United never solved the problem in front of them.
5. Arsenal (last week: 1st)
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
This was the other side of champions.
At Sunderland, Arsenal’s football was rarely pretty. It didn’t need to be. Mikel Arteta’s team were dragged into a fight and didn’t blink. Sunderland, roared on at a ground that will hurt plenty of visitors this season, went direct, went aggressive, and leaned heavily on Brian Brobbey’s power up front.
Arsenal had to grind. They did.
Christos Tzolis, rattled at Villa Park a week earlier, showed he’d learned the lesson. Kicked, nudged, knocked off his stride, he responded by chasing back half the length of the pitch to make a sliding tackle after a decision went against him. It set the tone.
David Raya, as so often, provided the turning point. Enzo Le Fée stepped up from the spot with the game goalless. Raya guessed right, saved superbly, and within moments Arsenal were ahead thanks to Bruno Guimarães’ spectacular strike from distance after coming off the bench.
Sunderland kept coming. Arsenal didn’t fold. Those collapses belong to a different era.
6. Hull City (last week: 16th)
Chelsea 2-2 Hull City
Hull arrived at Stamford Bridge as relegation favourites in the bookmakers’ eyes. They left as something very different.
Sergej Jakirović’s side didn’t just cling on for a point. Late on, they went for the throat. If Mohamed-Ali Cho had made a cleaner connection with Ryan Giles’ trademark delivery, they might have taken all three.
Hull’s start – eight points from four games – is the third-best by a promoted side in Premier League history. You can see why. Out of possession, they sit in a narrow 5-4-1, low block, disciplined, hard to break. With the ball, they have Mohamed Belloumi, a wonderfully inventive presence who scored twice here and looks entirely at home at this level.
The work rate is relentless. Deep into stoppage time, Regan Slater was still harrying, nicking the ball off Valentin Barco in the 92nd minute. That snapshot summed it up: a team that refuses to accept its supposed place in the pecking order.
7. Fulham (last week: 20th)
Liverpool 0-0 Fulham
At last, a Fulham performance Alvaro Arbeloa could embrace.
Anfield is an unforgiving place to go when you’re under fire, yet Fulham emerged with a clean sheet and a point that felt like more. This wasn’t a smash-and-grab. It was controlled, measured, intelligent.
David Affengruber, on his Premier League debut, stepped in for Joachim Andersen at centre-back and never looked overawed. Ahead of him, Alex Iwobi played high on the left, drifting into what Arbeloa called the “inside winger in the pocket” role, dovetailing with Antonee Robinson to give Liverpool persistent problems down that flank.
Josh King did what Josh King does: ran in behind, turned defenders inside-out – Dominik Szoboszlai will not enjoy watching back the moment he was sat down by a sharp chop – and reminded everyone that Fulham might not be able to keep him for long.
The only thing missing was a goal. Gonzalo Garcia thought he had it, only for Jeremy Jacquet to clear off the line. Still, for a team that had taken a battering in recent weeks, this felt like a reset.
8. Bournemouth (last week: 5th)
Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford
Bournemouth keep playing well. They keep not winning. The tension between those two truths grows with every game.
Marco Rose liked what he saw in attack, and with reason. Bournemouth moved the ball with purpose, created chances, and produced one flowing move in the final quarter of an hour – Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, Tyler Adams, Marcus Tavernier, then Rayan – that deserved a better finish than the tame shot it ended with. That, in miniature, is their season so far.
Evanilson led the line with intelligence, dropping in, spinning away, constantly offering for Antonio Silva’s passes from deep. Brentford’s defenders never looked comfortable with him.
Yet again, though, Bournemouth couldn’t hold a lead. For the fourth game running, individual errors cost them. Silva, Rayan and Scott all passed up excellent chances. Brentford needed just two shots on target, both from Kevin Schade, to escape with a point.
There is a lot to admire here. But admiration doesn’t change the league table.
9. Ipswich Town (last week: 19th)
Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town
Ipswich’s win at Selhurst Park was messy, dramatic, and ultimately deserved.
Gary O’Neil’s side played against 10 men for almost an hour after Axel Disasi’s red card, yet somehow spent long spells under pressure in the second half. At 2-2, Anan Khalaili found himself completely unmarked at the back post and contrived to miss. Ipswich breathed out. Then they finished the job.
The numbers back O’Neil’s instinct. More shots, more on target, more touches in the box, and an expected goals tally at least double Palace’s. The standout again was Leif Davis. From left-back, he delivered a sumptuous cross for the opener, then scored the second himself, then climbed highest for a header that crashed off the bar and led to the third.
It was a performance dripping with productivity from a position that used to be purely functional. For Ipswich, Davis is a weapon.
10. Sunderland (last week: 2nd)
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
If you want to study how to play with your back to goal as a No 9, start here.
Brian Brobbey gave a masterclass against Arsenal. Time and again, he backed into Ezri Konsa, absorbed the contact, pinned him, and brought others into play. By the 94th minute, he had done it nine times, each one a small victory in a bruising personal battle.
Sunderland leaned into his strengths. Direct, high-tempo, aggressive. Within seconds of kick-off, Granit Xhaka had robbed Myles Lewis-Skelly. Inside two minutes, Brobbey had barged Konsa over. Arsenal got the message quickly: this would not be a gentle evening.
The game pivoted on two moments in quick succession. Enzo Le Fée’s penalty, saved by David Raya. Bruno Guimarães’ long-range strike at the other end. Sunderland had Arsenal uncomfortable for long spells, but at this level, fine margins bite.
Even in defeat, though, there was plenty to like. Sunderland look built to trouble big sides.
11. Chelsea (last week: 8th)
Chelsea 2-2 Hull City
Chelsea are becoming a paradox: irresistible going forward in flashes, infuriatingly brittle at the back.
The first goal was a delight. Cole Palmer, João Pedro and Morgan Rogers combined crisply, carving Hull open inside seven minutes. It felt like the start of a routine home win. It wasn’t.
Defensively, Chelsea keep tripping over the same rakes. Twenty Premier League games without a clean sheet tells its own story. For Hull’s equaliser, they broke one of the most basic rules in the book: don’t let the ball bounce. They let it bounce twice. Malo Gusto, Jorrel Hato and Wesley Fofana all played their part in the chaos.
Xabi Alonso didn’t sugarcoat it. If you’re soft, you get punished. Chelsea are soft.
The problems run deeper than individual errors. In transition, they’re wide open, the absence of Moisés Caicedo in midfield leaving a gaping hole. And yet, in the final minutes, they had Palmer, Rogers, João Pedro, Estevão and Danny Welbeck all chasing a winner while Hull pressed high and hunted Valentin Barco in midfield.
It’s breathless. It’s entertaining. It’s also unsustainable.
12. Everton (last week: 9th)
Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Everton
This felt like a question disguised as a point.
Everton survived an early storm at Spurs. David Moyes admitted his side could have been blown away in the first 15 minutes, yet Jordan Pickford barely had a serious save to make. The first, from Matheus Fernandes after the break, was a trickle. The second came in the 89th minute, needed only because Pickford had sliced a pass straight to an opponent seconds earlier.
Jarrad Branthwaite was outstanding, throwing himself in front of shots from Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. In front of him, James Garner set the tone, snapping into tackles and then helping to launch Everton’s best attacking moment, linking with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to tee up Brennan Johnson.
Dewsbury-Hall later had a chance of his own after Antonín Kinský attempted the “most dangerous pass in football” at precisely the wrong time – a reminder that even goalkeepers at this level can flirt with disaster.
Everton were solid, organised, awkward. But against a Spurs side low on belief, could they have shown more ambition? The opportunity was there.
13. Tottenham Hotspur (last week: 14th)
Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Everton
The pattern is becoming depressingly familiar.
Spurs started with intent. For a quarter of an hour, they buzzed: bright movement, sharp passing, Everton pinned back. Yet even in that spell, they never truly looked like scoring. The clearest opening fell to Mateus Fernandes after Savio’s set-up. One touch, shoot, goal? No. He rolled his boot over the ball, hesitated, and the chance vanished.
Then the confidence drained away. The tempo dropped. Sideways and backwards passes took over.
One sequence summed it up. Micky van de Ven won the ball in the centre circle. Sandro Tonali shuffled it to Fernandes. Fernandes went back to Tonali. Tonali to Rodrigo Bentancur. Bentancur to Tonali again. All within a few yards, all utterly devoid of threat. The crowd’s frustration was audible.
Late on, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall indulged in a pointless bounce pass that irritated Roberto De Zerbi as much as it did the fans. Spurs finished with just two shots on target, one greeted with ironic cheers.
This is a team playing within itself, and everyone in the stadium can feel it.
14. Brentford (last week: 18th)
Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford
Brentford left the south coast with a point they scarcely deserved.
This wasn’t the side that tore into Spurs on opening day or dominated Leeds for 45 minutes at Elland Road. They lacked rhythm, control, and any real cutting edge beyond Kevin Schade.
Schade scored twice – Brentford’s only shots on target – and admitted afterwards they were “lucky” to escape with a draw. One of those goals came gift-wrapped from a poor pass by Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Mamadou Sangaré, so impressive in the first two matches, flickered only briefly, winning the ball in the build-up to the opener but never quite hitting previous heights. The bigger worry sits up front. Igor Thiago is still searching for his first Premier League goal and offered little here.
Right now, Brentford’s attacking threat begins and ends with Schade. That’s not a sustainable plan.
15. Liverpool (last week: 4th)
Liverpool 0-0 Fulham
After back-to-back wins over Ipswich and Atletico Madrid, Liverpool hit a wall.
Andoni Iraola called it the kind of game you sometimes need to win with a set piece or a flash of brilliance. Liverpool had the set pieces – Victor Muñoz saw a header saved by Bernd Leno, Alexander Isak had a half-chance late on – but there was no spark, no moment of genius to bail them out.
Bradley Barcola is still finding his legs. Florian Wirtz endured a grim afternoon, his best contribution a neat flick to release Barcola in the second half. The Frenchman’s cutback failed to find Isak, and that misconnection felt emblematic of the entire display.
Liverpool looked flat. Lethargic. Short of ideas and energy. Fulham were disciplined but hardly ferocious opponents. That only makes the lack of incision more troubling.
16. Aston Villa (last week: 15th)
Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Unai Emery didn’t hide behind refereeing decisions.
He felt James McAtee should have been sent off for the challenge that injured Ian Maatsen, but he didn’t pretend it changed the fundamentals. “We played so, so poor,” he said, and the numbers agreed: Forest had 22 shots to Villa’s seven.
Emery burned through his substitutions by the 63rd minute in search of a spark. When Maatsen limped off late on, Villa were down to 10 and out of options. The midfield, in particular, was ragged. Within a minute of the restart, both Ross Barkley and Boubacar Kamara had coughed up possession in dangerous areas. Kamara’s error led directly to Liam Delap’s opener.
Up front, Villa lacked a focal point. Nicolas Jackson, the man supposed to provide it, was withdrawn at half-time amid fears he might collect a second yellow. Tammy Abraham replaced him and barely made a dent.
The day ended with Johan Manzambi volleying his first touch for the club straight into touch. It was that kind of afternoon.
17. Manchester United (last week: 10th)
Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City
Take the VAR controversy out of it. What’s left for Manchester United is deeply worrying.
Phil Foden’s red card should have tilted the derby their way. Instead, it exposed them. Against 10 men, United were ponderous, unimaginative, and strangely devoid of belief. Their best efforts came from distance, Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo both hitting the post. It took until the 70th minute for them to register a shot on target after the dismissal.
The passing was slow. The movement was predictable. Bruno Fernandes, usually the team’s heartbeat, drifted through the game out of sorts. Michael Carrick’s decision-making on the touchline didn’t help either. Benjamin Sesko, a natural centre-forward, watched on for too long while United floated hopeful crosses towards nobody in particular.
This wasn’t just a defeat. It was a reminder of the gulf between these two squads – and a damning indictment of how little United did with a numerical advantage.
18. Crystal Palace (last week: 11th)
Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town
Pierre Sage didn’t sugarcoat it. Palace can’t defend crosses. They can’t dominate their own box. And until they fix that, chaos will follow them.
Axel Disasi’s red card, reckless and avoidable, made life harder. But it doesn’t explain why Ipswich’s Emersonn was allowed a free header between Disasi – appealing for offside instead of marking – and Honest Ahanor, who had drifted into no man’s land.
The questions pile up. Why was Daichi Kamada so passive when Tyrick Mitchell faced a two-on-one before the second goal? Who exactly were Anan Khalaili and Chris Richards meant to be marking when the cross came in? Could Will Hughes or Ahanor have done more to stop Julio Enciso delivering for the third? How did Davis win yet another header in the box seconds later?
At 2-2, Khalaili had the chance to change the story, arriving unmarked at the back post. He missed. Palace’s problems, on the other hand, are hitting the target every week.
19. Coventry City (last week: 6th)
Coventry City 0-5 Brighton
Frank Lampard tried to focus on the positives. The problem was, they didn’t last long.
Coventry started with intent, but once Brighton found their stride, the game ran away from them. The second goal was a mess: Aurele Amenda had to get to the ball before Malick Yalcouye and didn’t. Soon after, Taiwo Awoniyi saw red, and any remaining resistance crumbled.
Defensively, Coventry look naive and brittle. The same issues that surfaced in the home defeat to Hull reappeared here. Charalampos Kostoulas beat Bobby Thomas to the ball by a fraction for the penalty that led to Brighton’s third, a tiny margin that felt symbolic of the wider gap between the teams. Brighton were a step ahead everywhere.
Coventry did carve out chances, particularly in a bright 10-minute spell around the half-hour mark, but even with Bart Verbruggen in excellent form, the lack of conviction in front of goal is becoming a worrying theme.
20. Newcastle United (last week: 12th)
Leeds United 4-1 Newcastle United
Alan Shearer called it “an absolute s*** show” at half-time. He wasn’t wrong.
By then, Newcastle were 3-0 down and being humiliated. Leeds were rampant; Newcastle were passive, disjointed and physically outmatched. Dominic Calvert-Lewin manhandled Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw, winning everything in the air, bullying them in duels they simply couldn’t cope with.
The injury to Nico Gonzalez after 19 minutes made a bad situation worse. In came 18-year-old Sean Steur alongside 20-year-old Lewis Miley in midfield, asked to handle Anton Stach, Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka. It was too much. Steur’s misplaced pass gifted Leeds their second goal, officially credited to Jayden Bogle but born from Calvert-Lewin’s towering leap over both centre-backs.
Newcastle were overrun in the middle, fragile at the back, and toothless going forward until a flurry of substitutions in the second half. Six of their seven shots arrived after the interval, by which time the contest was long gone.
The damage wasn’t just on the scoreboard. It was in the questions this performance raises about Newcastle’s depth, resilience and direction.
