Premier League weekend wrap-up: Liverpool go top, Man City in crisis and Ruben Amorim can breathe easy for now

The final weekend of Premier League action before the September international break has wrapped up, and once again there are no shortage of narratives to come from the latest slate of matches.

We witnessed a top of the table clash, a bit of a reprieve for a beleaguered manager and more questions arise from a struggling title contender.

Here are some of the bigger talking points from Matchweek 3.

Liverpool show championship pedigree

Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Image

We've yet to see the best out of Liverpool this season, as they've looked far off their own lofty standards through the first three matches of the young campaign.

Despite this, the Reds are now the last team standing with a perfect record atop the Premier League table, after Sunday's 1-0 victory over fellow title hopefuls Arsenal.

The match was hardly anything to write home about however, as the sides cancelled each other out for much of the contest at Anfield.

The visiting Gunners had their chances, but none were of the quality to get past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. The same could be said for the hosts and Arsenal 'keeper David Raya, who enjoyed a relatively stress-free day outside of the one moment that Liverpool needed to secure all three points. It came in the 83rd minute, when Dominik Szoboszlai lined up for an ambitious free-kick and fired an unstoppable blast that screamed past Raya and into the top-left corner.

It was the kind of world-class strike that was needed to decide the match between the two powerhouses, and it actually breathed life into an otherwise overly cagey affair.

Man City have a lot of work to do

Manchester City's four-goal romp to start the 2025-26 league season was only two weeks ago but it feels like it could have happened in another lifetime given what has happened since. 

Pep Guardiola's men followed up their 0-4 masterclass victory at West Ham United in Matchweek 1 with another lifeless home game against Tottenham, who claimed a two-goal victory at the Etihad to confirm their status as City's bogey team.

While their performance in that Matchweek 2 encounter was below standards, it could be written off as the latest chapter in a quirky rivalry with the North London side, who have simply had Man City's number in recent years.

However, Sunday's  2-1 loss to Brighton will surely set off some alarm bells for Guardiola, who has guided his side to losses in two of the first three games of the season despite a costly summer overhaul.

The latest loss came after Erling Haaland had given the Sky Blues a first-half lead, which they proceeded to squander in the closing 45 minutes by conceding a 67th-minute penalty and then allowing a Brighton counterattacking goal to seal the result in the dying minutes.

The international break comes at an opportune time for City, who must use the time to regroup ahead of the Manchester derby on September 14.

A reprieve for Ruben Amorim?

Speaking of which, it's been a rough start for Manchester United, who entered the season under even more scrutiny than usual after coming off a truly disastrous 2024-25 campaign.

Things didn't get any better for Ruben Amorim and Co. as they began 2025-26 with a loss and draw in the league, followed by a humiliating elimination from the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town.

The cup disappointment brought louder calls for Amorim to be sacked by the club, and the manager's comments to the press in the lead-up to Saturday's match against Burnley at Old Trafford portrayed a man who seemed almost resigned to his imminent departure.

Then the match happened, and it looked to be another in a growing line of Man United disappointments as the Red Devils allowed visiting Burnley to draw level on two separate occasions. Another dire result seemed certain until an ill-advised shirt-pull gifted the hosts a penalty kick at the death, which Bruno Fernandes struck well to secure the first victory of any kind for his side this season.

The release of emotion throughout Old Trafford was palpable as the Red Devils finally found that winning feeling. But will it be enough to buy Amorim some more time at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in the world?

Spurs tumble back to Earth

Heading into the weekend, there were only two Premier League teams who had won both of their first two matches without giving up a single goal: Arsenal and Tottenham.

Neither can make that claim after Matchweek 3, as both fell 1-0 this weekend.

While Arsenal can leave Anfield with their heads held high that they went toe-to-toe with the reigning champions and only lost due to a world-class free-kick, Spurs don't have that same luxury.

After pummeling Burnley in their season-opening game and humbling Man City at the Etihad last week, Tottenham returned to North London looking to remain hot before the international break.

Instead, they allowed Bournemouth to score early and hold on for the one-goal victory, doing so in style as the Cherries outshot Spurs 20-5 for Thomas Frank's first loss in charge of Tottenham.

Being dominated at home is definitely not the way Spurs hoped to end August, and Frank now has some work to do to ensure that they return looking more like the team that stormed through the first two matches.

How to watch the Premier League in Canada

Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season on DAZN.

With Fubo Sports on DAZN, Canadians can catch Premier League action as well as Serie A. Additionally, DAZN is the home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Bundesliga and more.

For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.