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Haaland Fires Again As Chelsea Seek Rhythm And Liverpool Suffer Late Blow

Ogunbiyi Kayode

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September 29, 2025

The Premier League delivered a full range of emotions this weekend, from Erling Haaland’s inevitable brilliance in Manchester to Chelsea’s restless search for consistency and Liverpool’s costly late lapse in south London. Goals flowed at the Etihad, predictions split ahead of a tricky Stamford Bridge test, and a single defensive error brought Liverpool’s unbeaten start to an abrupt end.

Haaland Distorts the Scoreboard Again

For 89 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland looked strangely subdued. Burnley’s back three crowded him out, leaving Manchester City to lean on the unlikely attacking partnership of Matheus Nunes and Maxime Esteve. By the final whistle, though, Haaland had done what Haaland does best—score twice and bend the narrative to his will. His late brace sealed a 5–1 City win and pushed his astonishing run to 14 goals in seven games for club and country, while also making him the Premier League’s highest-scoring Norwegian, surpassing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The scoreline flattered City. Burnley manager Scott Parker argued that “five-one does seem really harsh,” and he had reason to protest. Two of City’s goals came via unfortunate deflections off defender Maxime Esteve, and the visitors threatened to take the lead early in the second half when Lyle Foster and Quilindschy Hartman both went close. Yet Haaland thrives on turning tight games into routs. He first hooked in a Jeremy Doku cross, then capitalised when Hjalmar Ekdal and Esteve collided to race clear and steer a clinical finish past Martin Dubravka.

While Haaland’s numbers drew praise—“The numbers are insane,” Pep Guardiola marvelled—the afternoon also showcased Nunes’ growing influence. Deployed as a makeshift right-back, the Portuguese midfielder scored one goal and forced another own goal in a four-minute burst that broke Burnley’s resistance. Guardiola hailed Nunes as “a midfield player in the final third” and encouraged him to exploit his pace and physicality. Yet Nunes’ defensive inexperience also contributed to Burnley’s first-half equaliser, a reminder of the void left by Kyle Walker’s departure and a potential concern for City in tighter contests.

Stamford Bridge Searching for Stability

While City celebrated another routine victory, Chelsea approached the weekend in a more complicated mood. Having lifted both the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup last season, optimism should have been plentiful at Stamford Bridge. But a transatlantic summer, a string of injuries and the integration of new signings have slowed Enzo Maresca’s early progress.

The Blues sit only two points off second place, but their performances have been anything but predictable. Their lone league defeat came in a chaotic match in which they played almost the entire first half with ten men before Casemiro’s dismissal briefly levelled the numbers. Even in defeat, Chelsea remained competitive, a testament to Maresca’s second-half adjustments, yet the inconsistency carried into a midweek cup tie against Lincoln City that swung wildly before Chelsea scraped through.

Maresca admitted he had to “read the riot act” at half-time, laughing as he described the need for physical desire and “winning second balls” in the face of League One resistance. Youngsters Jamie Gittens and Jorrel, he noted, lacked experience in such bruising fixtures. “It’s more about desire,” the manager said, “and we struggled in the first half.”

That unpredictability sets the stage for Chelsea’s clash with Brighton. Pundits on the Stick to Football panel are split: Jamie Carragher predicts a 2–1 Chelsea win, citing home advantage, while Ian Wright tips Brighton by the same score, pointing to the Seagulls’ resilience despite their own struggles to score following the departures of Evan Ferguson and Joao Pedro. Whatever the outcome, Chelsea must marry fight with finesse to maintain momentum in a season where, as Maresca warns, physical commitment remains the gateway to expressing their technical quality.

Liverpool’s Sudden Slip

If Chelsea’s campaign is hard to read, Liverpool’s early season had been reassuringly steady—until a late twist at Selhurst Park ended their unbeaten league run. Crystal Palace dominated the opening stages and deservedly led through Ismaïla Sarr, only for Federico Chiesa to level after a string of Alisson saves kept the champions in the game.

The decisive moment arrived deep into stoppage time from a seemingly harmless long throw. Substitute Curtis Jones inadvertently glanced the ball on, and fellow substitute Jeremie Frimpong misjudged the flight, losing track of Eddie Nketiah. The Palace striker needed no second invitation, blasting past Alisson to seal a 2–1 victory and send the home crowd into delirium.

Manager Arne Slot did little to shield his players from responsibility. “We can only blame ourselves for defending the way we did,” he admitted, before pointedly adding, “One player was too offensively minded in that moment, which led to them scoring the winner and us losing the game.” While Slot stopped short of naming Frimpong, the Dutch full-back’s error was plain to see, and Liverpool were left to digest both their first league defeat and the lesson that even a single lapse can undo 90 minutes of effort.

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