This week saw the return of the Premier League after its extended hiatus for the Qatar World Cup, and the league immediately demonstrated why it is often regarded as the most exciting competition of its kind in the whole world.
The typical schedule of Boxing Day matches started with an exciting tie between Brentford and Tottenham that ended 2-2. Spurs battled back from a 2-0 deficit to get a point, and from there, goals continued to come at a rapid pace throughout the rest of the day.
Brighton & Hove Albion were too good for struggling Southampton in a 3-1 win at St. Mary’s, and Wolves climbed off the bottom of the table with a last-gasp 2-1 victory at Everton. Fulham cruised to a 3-0 victory at nine-man Crystal Palace. Newcastle continued their push for Champions League football with their own 3-0 win at Leicester City.
Liverpool came away from Villa Park with a 3-1 victory in the evening game, and then Arsenal bounced back after surrendering a goal to West Ham to win 3-1 at Emirates Stadium and momentarily extend their advantage at the top of the table.
On Tuesday, Chelsea broke their losing streak of three consecutive league matches with a 2-0 win against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. At Old Trafford, Manchester United demonstrated that they were superior than Nottingham Forest with a 3-0 triumph over the latter team.
Champions Erling Haaland set a new record for the quickest player to achieve 20 Premier League goals when he scored one of Manchester City’s goals in their 3-1 victory against Leeds United to close off the round.
In the picture gallery that can be seen above, Premier League analyst Jon Turner has chosen his squad of the week for the competition, which will begin on Friday with the next round of matches. Simply click on the arrows to go to the next picture, or swipe your finger across the screen if you’re using a mobile device.