Chelsea slugged it out with Premier League leaders Arsenal in a fiery 1-1 draw that set the stage for a gripping title battle, while Alexander Isak finally produced a riposte to critics branding him an expensive flop at Liverpool.
Below are three talking points from the weekend’s action:
Chelsea pack a punch
After trading blows with Arsenal for 94 pulsating minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were left bruised but unbowed.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had insisted that his young team were not title contenders ahead of their crucial clash with the Gunners.
But Chelsea showed that they are capable of going toe-to-toe with Mikel Arteta’s men, despite the 38th minute dismissal of Blues midfielder Moises Caicedo for an ugly lunge on Mikel Merino.
In total, there were six yellow cards for Arsenal and one for Chelsea, who refused to be intimidated by the leaders.
They even took the lead through Trevoh Chalobah’s second half header – from a corner routine that mimicked Arsenal’s own set-piece prowess.
Although Merino headed Arsenal’s 59th minute equaliser to leave third-placed Chelsea six points behind the north Londoners, Maresca could take heart from a spirited display that suggested they could emerge as title challengers sooner than he expected.
Maresca said: “I think we showed we are heading in the right direction.
“We are closer. We’ll see where we are in February and March and then we’ll assess our target.”
Isak makes his point
Alexander Isak slid to his knees as Liverpool’s players rushed to embrace the Sweden striker, whose celebration of his first league goal for his new club was tinged with relief as much as euphoria.
On a freezing afternoon in east London, Isak finally showed the predatory instincts that convinced Liverpool to pay a British record £125 million ($165 million) to sign him from Newcastle in the transfer saga of the summer.
EPL: 10-man Chelsea hold Arsenal at Stamford Bridge
The 26-year-old calmly converted Cody Gakpo’s pass with a low first-time finish from just inside the area.
After five league games without a goal, it was Isak’s second strike for Liverpool and his first in 10 matches since netting against second tier Southampton in the League Cup in September.
Both Isak and Liverpool boss Arne Slot had been under fire during a woeful run of nine defeats in 12 matches in all competitions prior to their trip to West Ham.
While the doubts will linger for a while longer given the extent of Liverpool’s stunning decline after last season’s title triumph, this was a step in the right direction, AFP reported.
Frank exchange
Thomas Frank defended his tactics after Tottenham’s dismal 2-1 defeat against Fulham on Saturday extended their wretched home record in 2025.
Tottenham conceded twice in the first six minutes, and Mohammed Kudus’s reply wasn’t enough to stop the north Londoners suffering a fourth defeat in their last six league games.
It was a brutal week for the under-fire Frank after a 4-1 thrashing by north London rivals Arsenal and a 5-3 loss at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
Tottenham have won only three of their last 13 fixtures under Frank, who has criticised by supporters for his conservative tactics since arriving from Brentford to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou in the summer.
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