Villa End Manchester City's Perfect Start, Arsenal Draw Level and Spurs Win at Chelsea After Palmer's Red Card
Nicolas Jackson scored twice at Villa Park, Ezri Konsa netted his first Arsenal goal against Everton, and Cole Palmer's red card swung Stamford Bridge as Saturday reshaped the top of the table.
Sunday, October 25, 2026/2 min read
The Premier League has two leaders again, and neither is unbeaten. Manchester City arrived at Villa Park on Saturday with seven wins from seven and left with their first defeat, 2-1, while Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 to move level with them on 21 points, Reuters reported via Daily Sabah. Add Tottenham's win at Chelsea and the afternoon rearranged the table.
How did Aston Villa beat Manchester City?
Nicolas Jackson scored in the sixth minute, assisted by John McGinn, and again in the 60th, assisted by Ibrahim Mbaye, according to a MundoNow match summary. In between, Erling Haaland headed an equaliser from a set piece in the 52nd minute, set up by Iliman Ndiaye. It was not enough for City, whose seven-game winning streak ended.
Jackson said afterwards, "It's just the beginning; we're trying to work game by game." Villa, on 11 points, sit sixth.
What did Arsenal do against Everton?
Ezri Konsa, who joined Arsenal from Villa in the summer, scored his first goal for the club in the seventh minute, heading in a Viktor Gyokeres corner. Gabriel Magalhaes made it 2-0 in the 68th, a goal confirmed after a VAR review, on the day he made his 200th Premier League appearance. Ben White set it up, in his own 200th appearance for the club.
It was the first set-piece goal Arsenal had scored this season, MundoNow noted, after they scored 29 from set pieces on the way to last season's title. It was also their ninth straight home win, and Gyokeres made his first league start of the campaign.
Why did Chelsea lose to Tottenham?
A tight game opened up late. Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders put a corner into his own net in the 77th minute, and Cole Palmer was sent off in the 80th for a second yellow card after a rough foul on Conor Gallagher. Mathys Tel added a second in the 87th. It was Tottenham's first win at Stamford Bridge since 2018. Tottenham's record now reads two wins, three draws and three defeats, and Chelsea are fourth in Reuters' account.
Spurs' first league win of the season came against Coventry, as we reported on Monday. Elsewhere on the day, Oscar Bobb's 80th-minute goal gave Fulham a 1-0 win away to Coventry, who are 19th, according to the same Reuters report.
What does the table look like now?
City and Arsenal share the lead after eight rounds, each with seven wins and one defeat. Chelsea, who finished with ten men and without a goal, sit fourth, while Tottenham are 12th and Everton ninth, according to Reuters. Fulham's win lifted them out of the bottom three and into 13th.
The weekend's lesson is how thin the margin at the top has become. City had won seven in a row and still could not stop Jackson twice; Arsenal needed a defender and a recent signing to break down a stubborn Everton. With a full round still to digest, neither leader can claim comfort heading into the next fixtures.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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