Premier League Notebook: Chelsea stunned by West Ham in five-goal thriller

It was all change at the top of the Premier League this weekend, as Manchester City woke up on Monday as the new league leaders.

Chelsea were stunned by West Ham in a London derby, where a freak goal decided a 3-2 thriller, while Liverpool moved up to second, thanks to a last-gasp goal by super sub Divock Origi.

Here’s everything you need to know from another wild weekend in the Premier League.

Heart-breaking Jota

I couldn’t have been the only bettor keen on Diogo Jota’s chances of scoring at the weekend. The Liverpool striker went into the game with Wolves having scored the winner in the same fixture last year, and was fresh off four goals in his last three league games.

When he took advantage of a defensive mistake and ran towards goal with the keeper out of position, I leapt out of my chair. As he got to six yards out and there was still no goalkeeper, I’d already started planning out how to spend my winnings.

Of course, he missed. Cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm music.

While it was a heartbreak for Jota punters, there was last-minute delight for Liverpool, as Divock Origi came off the substitutes bench to score in the fourth minute of stoppage time in a remarkable finish.

That 1-0 win lifted Liverpool to second in the league, as Chelsea fell to third.

Lucky in London

Chelsea started the weekend with a remarkable defensive record, having only conceded six goals all season. Their defensive had played a huge part of their 12-game unbeaten run, as they travelled to face a West Ham side without a win in three games.

Thomas Tuchel’s side took the lead not once, but twice, yet West Ham kept pulling them back. Firstly, Jorginho’s sloppy back pass and a rush of blood to the head for Edouard Mendy meant Manuel Lanzini could score from the spot before Jarrod Bowen swept home a lovely curling effort from outside of the box.

With the teams locked at 2-2 heading into the final few minutes, Arthur Masuaku caught a huge piece of luck as his cross, turned shot, confused Mendy and beat the keeper at his near post.

It was uncharacteristic from Mendy and Chelsea, with the Blues’ next chance to bounce back coming at home to Leeds United next week.

Fred the Red

Fred has been the center of a lot of criticism from Manchester United fans over the last few months, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time in charge at the club came to an end. But he popped up on Saturday in Ralf Rangnick’s debut as the new coach and scored an absolute beauty, as the Red Devils beat Crystal Palace 1-0.

It was the first time in 234 days that United had kept a clean sheet at Old Trafford, while they also made 77 passes in the final third of the pitch — more than they’d done in any league game this season. Those are just two of many positives Rangnick can take from the game, and none more so than Fred’s performance.

Fred made 60 of his 72 passes and made more tackles than anyone else on the pitch. His superb goal with just 13 minutes of the match remaining was the cherry on top of a much-improved performance in midfield.

Race off the bottom

Coach Eddie Howe managed to guide Newcastle to their first win of the season, as the Magpies won a huge relegation battle with Burnley at St James’ Park. Callum Wilson’s goal before half-time was enough to decide the game and means Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich are all locked on 10 points inside the relegation zone.

Newcastle will be well-fancied to escape, given the huge influx of cash into the club after they were bought out earlier this season, but every team will want to avoid being bottom at Christmas. Only three teams in Premier League history have ever been bottom at Christmas and survived — a 10.3% survival rate.

Watford are the most likely team to get dragged into the battle to avoid the drop, as they sit three points clear in 17th after their 3-1 defeat to Manchester City. The Hornets travel to Burnley on December 15 in what could be a defining game in the race to stay in the Premier League.

Another Brighton draw

Finally, a note that it’s time for bettors to get on board Brighton to draw every week! Incredibly, the Seagulls have drawn eight of the last 10 league games after Neal Maupay’s last-minute goal at the weekend saved a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

The record for most draws in a season is 17, with Brighton on track to smash that currently and tie 20 games this year if they continue at this pace.

Up next is a home game with Tottenham on Sunday.