Premier League Winners and Losers from Every Week 9 Matchup

Week 9 of the Premier League has had its usual thrills, spills, surprises and drama.

The usual: Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer scoring.

The surprises: Crystal Palace picking up its first win of the season over Spurs.

The drama: late winners, equalizer and a titanic end-of-the-week clash that was a perfect advertisement for the Premier League.

The B/R World Football broke down every fixture from the slate as we analyze the Winners and Losers from this week's schedule.

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There are still people out there who doubt Erling Haaland. Or worse yet, convince themselves he's not a must-buy in Fantasy Premier League…

Well, his opener against Southampton once again proved he is one of the most creative finishers in the game. Falling away from goal while under pressure, the giant Norwegian hit the ball into the ground and bounced it beyond the helpless Aaron Ramsdale.

Haaland ended his 'draught' of two games with his brilliantly contorted effort in midweek.

He missed a sitter against Saints, but that barely matters when he is so impactful in so many games. City didn't score lots of goals, but Haaland did score the winner.

If anyone has earned a little calm during moments when he isn't quite performing, it's him. That's a measure of the player's quality though, freakish numbers aren't enough. Southampton put up a decent enough fight and should take heart from not getting spanked by a Manchester City side that now leads the Premier League table.

- Nick Akerman

Kieran McKenna changed half of his team for Ipswich's trip to Brentford. It looked like a stroke of genius when goals from Sammie Szmodics and George Hirst had them 2-0 up at a stunned Gtech Community Stadium.

But Ipswich hasn't won a game since being promoted, though. It wasn't going to be that easy.

McKenna watched on as his side conceded three in seven in-play minutes either side of half-time. Brentford are an excellent attacking side, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoan Wissa capable of punishing any defence in the league, but it was too easy. Once Harry Clarke was sent off on his top-flight start with 20 minutes left, the game looked over.

Liam Delap's equalizer off the bench, in those circumstances, would have secured an excellent point.

That makes Mbeumo's botched cross for 4-3 even more difficult to swallow for Ipswich. The 96th-minute winner means an afternoon of hard work accumulates to absolutely zero.

Ipswich simply cannot afford to give up such excellent positions if they're to maintain their status in the division. McKenna is smart, equally capable of pragmatism and going for it. At this level, that only works in spells. He needs to find ways of managing games and translating that to his players. Ipswich are going to quickly sink if he doesn't.

- Nick Akerman

Context is everything in football. Ipswich's disappointing draw doesn't feel the same as Wolves' draw, despite both teams remaining winless and needing to get three points on the board.

Gary O'Neil's team were easily outplayed in the first half against Brighton. Although the performance lifted in the second half, Evan Ferguson's goal made it 2-0 with five minutes left. The done deal wasn't completely sealed though.

What followed was the Wolves we saw in pre-season; sharp, aggressive, attacking in numbers. Rayan Aït-Nouri's goal gave them hope. Matheus Cunha's might just change the course of their season. A deflected effort from the Brazilian at the death earned the Midlands club a point and perhaps gave O'Neil's men a platform to build on.

A 2-2 draw away at Brighton is a good result at the best of times, so to strike twice in the closing stages and leave with a point should be celebrated.

O'Neil's team are still searching for complete balance–the full-backs are still getting caught too high up the pitch–but this was a remarkable turnaround that should lessen pressure on the manager slightly.

- Nick Akerman

Aston Villa have been the darlings of the Champions League this season, sitting atop of the table with three victories in a row.

But their exploits after their European excursions have been less fruitful.

With the opportunity to pass yet-to-play Arsenal in the league table, Villa struggled to break down a resolute Bournemouth until the 76th minute when Ross Barkley opened the scoring.

It looked to be enough to seal three points until Evanlison changed the script at the death. A set-piece goal for the Cherries robbed the hosts of the win and the opportunity to go over the Gunners.

It's the second straight draw for the Villians after a Champions League match, following last month's drab 0-0 draw with Manchester United after a thrilling win over Bayern Munich.

Although the draw sees Unai Emery's men continue their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competition, it's nevertheless two points dropped for the Villians, who could be leapfrogged by Chelsea should the Blues beat Newcastle on Sunday.

- Lucky Ngamwajasat

Another Premier League game, another dramatic ending.

Fulham looked on their way to three points after Alex Iwobi's 61st-minute strike gave the visitors the lead. But Everton have found a way to be resolute in recent weeks and have found some form at a time when relegation rivals continue to struggle.

Sean Dyche's 81st-minute substitution of Beto in favor of Dominic Calvert-Lewin proved to be the magic touch needed, as the Guinea-Bissau international turned in an Ashley Young cross into the back of the net with a powerful header.

The 1-1 draw extended Everton's modest unbeaten run to five games and six points above the relegation zone.

- Lucky Ngamwajasat

Cole Palmer mildly thawed out last time against Liverpool, with the Reds' defense keeping him under a hot lamp for most of the game.

Of course, his brilliance has become such a near-formality that any deviation from the norm is shocking.

However, a galaxy-brain secondary assist and an almost effortless run from the halfway line that ended with a goal put Palmer well and truly back in the freezer against Newcastle United.

The England international's 2-1 victory was another inspired performance, once again proving just how much he means to this Chelsea team.

The Blues have been a lot more consistent this season, thanks to a little bit of stability under Enzo Maresca's guidance. But the back line is still prone to putting them under a little bit of duress, as was the case again as Alexander Isak took advantage of some lax Chelsea defending to bring the game level after Nicolas Jackson's opener.

Again, it was up to Palmer to sort out the mess, and he did so with his typical ice-cold composure.

- Leo Collis

Crystal Palace fans were getting flashbacks to Frank de Boer amid a season that started with no wins in their first eight games. However, a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur broke that winless drought and eased the pressure on manager Oliver Glasner.

Jean Philippe-Mateta got the all-important goal, and Eagles fans will be hopeful that it's also a signal he'll be getting back to the form he ended last season in. It was just his third goal of the campaign, marking a notable regression from the closing stages of 2023-24, in which the Frenchman scored 10 in a nine-game span.

But for all of the hope and relief the result brings to Palace fans, Glasner, and Mateta, questions will once again be raised about Spurs and manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian isn't firmly on the hot seat yet, but four wins and four losses in nine league games have him at least hovering over it.

The goal came after Spurs encountered difficulties when playing out from the back, with Micky van de Ven getting his pocket picked and the comedy of errors continuing from there.

Responsibility for that shouldn't exclusively land at Postecoglou's door, but it's in his direction that fingers will be pointed after the game.

- Leo Collis

That's it. Surely, that's it.

Few Manchester United managers have been afforded the patience that Erik ten Hag has had when results haven't been going their way, but this simply cannot go on much longer.

Ten Hag has continually blamed everything but himself for the club's lack of goals and lack of anything resembling the Red Devils of old, but a 2-1 loss to West Ham United—which saw the Hammers leapfrog over their opponents into 13th place in the table—must be the end of the line.

Manchester United were familiarly wasteful in front of goal, were seemingly out of ideas, and brought very little excitement against a West Ham side that has been achingly disappointing so far this season. In a game between two teams seemingly going nowhere, it was the Londoners who finished with a confidence-boosting victory—while Manchester United will be going back north with even more questions to answer.

Regardless of whether the penalty for a foul on Danny Ings—converted by Jarrod Bowen—was warranted or not, the result remains the same, and the Red Devils' board has to follow through with a decision they should have made months ago.

- Leo Collis

Arsenal didn't win the battle at the Emirates, and it might cost them the war for the Premier League title, too.

The Gunners saw both Gabriel Magalhães and Jurrien Timber leave the field with injury in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool. They were already forced to start the game with Thomas Partey at right back, as the club's treatment room is occupied by Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney. Mercifully, William Saliba was only suspended and will be back in action next week.

Finishing the game with a back line comprised of Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Partey doesn't look great with Newcastle United and Chelsea on the horizon, as well as Internazionale in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta gambled on the fitness of Timber, who looked all but certain to miss the meeting with the Reds until his name appeared on the team sheet, and the Dutchman might now be out for much longer.

For about 80 minutes, it looked like that bet was going to pay off with a win. But then Mohamed Salah equalized following good work from Trent Alexander-Arnold—who was otherwise woeful—and Darwin Núñez.

Bukayo Saka—another injury doubt before the game—opened the scoring, only to see Virgil Van Dijk draw things level. Mikel Merino narrowly beat the offside trap to give Arsenal the lead going into the break, but Salah's cool finish ensured the points were shared.

The Gunners will see this as two points dropped, but the consequences in the coming weeks could be even more severe if they can't get vital defenders back to health.

- Leo Collis