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If this Premier League weekend had been made into a film, it would have had title-race tension, derby-day drama, an unexpected screamer and yet another VAR controversy nobody wanted.

The match that defined the weekend

Are we already looking at a two-team title race? Arsenal and Manchester City both preserved their perfect starts to the season, and each side showed plenty of character in doing so.

Arsenal survived some anxious moments at Sunderland, with David Raya rescuing his team by saving a penalty just moments before substitute Bruno Guimaraes produced a brilliant opening goal.

The Gunners were not at their fluent best, but they rounded off an important week with a third consecutive win. It was exactly the kind of result on which title-winning campaigns are built.

Player of the weekend

There is always something satisfying about a big-money signing delivering displays that very quickly make people stop talking about the transfer fee. Elliot Anderson arrived at Manchester City for £116m with major expectations on him, especially after Rodri's exit from the Etihad, but if he keeps performing like this he will prove a huge success.

Anderson was superb as 10-man Manchester City fought their way to a 1-0 victory at Manchester United, despite playing for more than an hour a player short. The 23-year-old put in a tireless shift in midfield and finished the match having won four fouls, seven duels and played seven line-breaking passes. A complete all-action display from the headline signing.

Manager of the weekend

Fabian Hurzeler deserves far more credit. There was a brief spell last season when he faltered during a run of just one win in 13 matches. Brighton, however, kept faith with their inexperienced head coach, who guided the Seagulls into Europe and has made a magnificent start to this campaign.

Going into the weekend, Brighton were leading the Premier League for goals scored, expected goals, big chances, possession won in the final third and average possession at 71%, before dismantling Coventry City with a five-goal masterclass in their fourth fixture.

Brighton are averaging 3.25 goals per game so far this season and are sitting inside the top four.

The weekend's antagonist

There were quite a few needless red cards across the weekend, but Taiwo Awoniyi's was the worst of the lot.

The Coventry City forward was shown a straight red against Brighton for a reckless swinging arm, shortly after his side had gone two goals behind. Coventry then fell apart with 10 men, losing 5-0 and extending their scoreless, pointless return to the Premier League. Awoniyi owes his teammates an apology.

The result or event nobody saw coming

Take a bow, Lewis Dunk.

Brighton's long-serving centre-back is not exactly known for scoring spectacular goals, even if he has flirted with knuckleball free-kicks before. This one, though, was truly special.

It was a highly unlikely Goal of the Season contender from the Seagulls captain.

Someone who did not get the headlines

To put it mildly, Vitalii Mykolenko has not always been fully appreciated at Everton. The Ukrainian's limited attacking contribution has often made him a target for criticism, but this weekend the left-back showed exactly what he can do.

Mykolenko produced a series of crucial interceptions as Everton held Tottenham Hotspur to a goalless draw and maintained their unbeaten start to the season. His seven successful tackles were the most recorded by any player in a Premier League match this season, as he shut down the left side effectively.

The one moment dominating Monday's football conversation

There are few things more tedious than debating how VAR stepped in and still managed to get the major decision wrong.

Even so, there is no escaping the fact that Manchester City's controversial derby winner at Old Trafford is the incident leading the headlines. It is difficult to understand how Enzo Fernandez could be judged not to be attempting to play the ball, with VAR apparently unable to assess two phases of play at the same time.

Pro Ref, formerly PGMOL, has issued an official apology to Manchester United after admitting there was an "error of judgment" in allowing the goal to stand.

A mess, and far from the first one.

The storyline carrying into next weekend

Liverpool's midfield is a huge concern, and with only one win in four matches, Andoni Iraola will be desperate to find an answer. Iraola rotated the side that had beaten Atletico Madrid in midweek, but the players who came in failed to make their case.

Kostas Tsimikas had a poor game at left-back, while Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai do not look effective as a two-man midfield pairing. Gravenberch has struggled for form this season, while Szoboszlai's urge to cover every area left large spaces for Fulham to attack.

If Liverpool are going to continue using Florian Wirtz in an advanced central role, then they need a natural defensive-minded midfielder behind him. The current structure is not functioning, and Liverpool are already losing ground.