Premier League weekend wrap-up: Postecoglou's humbling Forest debut, West Ham back to reality and Liverpool's late show

The Premier League returned to action following the international break, and the latest round of matches once again provided no shortage of stories.

Among the bigger narratives from the weekend was a new man in charge at one club, a London derby gone horribly wrong for another, and the league leaders finding new ways to stay on top.

Here are some of the bigger talking points from Matchweek 4.

No new manager bounce for Big Ange

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Nottingham Forest made a big change over the international break as they swapped Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange Postecoglou in the manager's office, with the hopes that the former Tottenham and Celtic boss can breath life into an ambitious club that started the Premier League season off poorly.

Postecoglou famously led Spurs to a Europa League title last season but also guided the side to a 17th place finish in the league, a stark constrast in results under the 60-year-old's tutelage. Postecoglou's adventurous preferred style of play is something that Forest and owner Evangelos Marinakis believe in, and they surely hoped that a fresh approach would pay immediate dividends in "Big Ange's" first match on the sidelines for his new club.

Unfortunately for Forest and Postecoglou, that first match came at the Emirates, where a well-oiled Arsenal machine was waiting for them. Despite missing several key players, the Gunners put on a clinic against their visitors to the tune of a 3-0 victory, a scoreline which could have been more lopsided if not for some unpolished finishing on Arsenal's part.

There was to be no "new manager bounce" for Forest, but they didn't bring Postecoglou in to defeat Arsenal in this specific match anyway — although it would have been nice. 

West Ham snapped back to reality

The Hammers endured a woeful start to the campaign, losing 3-0 at newly promoted Sunderland in Matchweek 1 before a humbling four-goal home loss to London rivals Chelsea a week later.

West Ham looked a legitimate relegation candidate from the outset, as they were never really in either of their first two matches (despite scoring first against Chelsea). Then they were bounced at the first hurdle in the Carabao Cup by fellow Premier League strugglers Wolves, adding insult to injury.

However, things looked considerably brighter in Matchweek 3 as the Hammers went into the international break on a high, pummeling Nottingham Forest by three goals at the City Ground and driving the final nail in the coffin for Espirito Santo's time in charge of that club.

With two weeks to reflect on that surprising result, some fans may have been given hope that — just maybe — things could be looking up for the beleaguered side. 

Then the international break ended and reality smacked West Ham in the face, to the tune of a 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur victory at the London Stadium.

Based on what we've seen so far out of Graham Potter's team, it's fair to say that this weekend's result is far more indicative of West Ham's true level than the blip against a Forest side whose manager already had one foot out the door.

Liverpool leave it late... again

For any other club, you'd be inclined to believe it was luck.

But Liverpool isn't any other club, and they once again pulled off a late victory to secure all three points and keep their perfect league record intact.

Their latest heroics came against Burnley, who dutifully defended Turf Moor with frustrating effiency against the reigning Premier League champions. 

The Clarets made no bones about their game plan, as they didn't even register a shot on target throughout the match. Yet they seemed destined to claim a scoreless draw and end the Reds' winning streak, until Hannibal Mejbri foolishly handled the ball inside his own penalty area in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

There was no doubt about the legitimacy of the infraction, as the Burnley midfielder's face showed exactly how guilty he was.

And, as he has done so many times before, Mohamed Salah calmly stepped up to the spot and slammed home the match-winner.

The result gives Liverpool four straight victories to start the season, and three of them have come from a game-winning goal in the 88th minute or later. Liverpool's other win was the 1-0 result against Arsenal in Matchweek 3, which came courtesy Dominik Szoboszlai's audacious free-kick in the 83rd minute. 

The lesson? Never neave a Liverpool match early.

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