Premier League Fallout: Hot talking points from Matchday 11 as Liverpool bounce back and Arsenal march on

There was no shortage of domestic drama this weekend as the Premier League continued to provide its customary dose of thrills and spills in an action-packed Matchday 11. 

Here we round up a few of the big talking points from anther captivating top-flight weekend.

Salah on song as Klopp sees red & Haaland draws a blank

The game of the weekend saw last season's top two Liverpool and Man City renew acquaintances in a pulsating encounter at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool came into the game 13 points adrift of City off the back of their worst start to a league campaign in 10 years.

But Mohamed Salah's sensational second-half goal sealed a 1-0 victory for the Reds to end Man City's unbeaten start to the season and restore the feel-good factor on the red side of Merseyside.

The result also extended Liverpool's unbeaten record at home to 28 Premier League games, while Pep Guardiola's side tasted defeat on the road for the first time since August 2021, ending  the fourth longest unbeaten away run in Premier League history.

It was a tale of two strikers going into the match: City star boy Erling Haaland had plundered nine goals in his last five Premier League appearances while Salah had drawn a blank

But it was the Egyptian who stole the show with a timely return to form to kickstart Liverpool's season into life as Klopp's Reds became only the second Premier League side all season to prevent Haaland from scoring.

Salah netted a six-minute Champions League hat-trick against Rangers in midweek following a period of poor form and he picked up where he left off against City.

The 30-year-old was at this best for the winning goal, cushioning Alisson's long kick and spinning away from City defender Joao Cancelo in one sweeping movement before keeping his cool to beat the advancing Ederson.

In the most dramatic incident from a number of flashpoints, Klopp was shown a straight red card for berating referee Anthony Taylor's assistant. 

Klopp later apologised for the outburst but insisted his behaviour had been borne out of frustration at what he saw as the officials' failure to award Liverpool a free-kick for a challenge on Salah.

"Something snapped in that situation, I'm not proud of that - I deserved a red card, and the way I looked in this moment is not right," the German, 55, admitted.

While Klopp's tirade was the highest-profile instance of dissent, it was by no means alone on a day packed with controversy.

His counterpart Guardiola angrily confronted Taylor when the referee decied to disallowed a Phil Foden goal for a foul by Haaland in the build-up.

After the game Guardiola claimed the exchange saw a section of Liverpool supporters throw coins in his direction.

"The crowd tried but they didn't touch me," Guardiola told reporters. "Maybe next time they will be better."

To nobody's surprise, a rivalry that has been simmering for the best part of five years finally boiled over, making April's return fixture at the Etihad must-watch viewing. 

Gerrard in the hot seat at Villa Park

Steven Gerrard is quickly discovering how harsh life can be as a Premier League manager.

With Villa needing a morale-boosting performance in front of their own fans, the Midlanders were once again their own worst enemy as a combination of wasteful finishing and calamitous defending saw them slip to a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.

The hosts struck the woodwork twice in a dominant first-half display but could not make their superiority count.

Tyrone Mings began the season out of favour and the centre-back won't have done his case for future involvement any favours with a botched clearance that set up Mason Mount for Chelsea's opener.

Chelsea were gifted a second goal as Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez misjudged the flight of Mount's second-half free-kick, giving Graham Potter's Blues an unassailable lead.

After the game Gerrard insisted he "won't hide from the noise" as his side were booed off with Villa 16th in the Premier League, a point above the bottom three after just two victories from their opening 10 games.

"I think I'd be stupid not to concern myself or be aware of where we are and I accept that," Gerrard said.

"You can understand the frustration because they've seen the team perform ever so well for an hour but no goals.

"I have to accept it and try and do everything I can to change the way they're feeling at the moment."

Thursday's trip to Fulham now becomes a crucial fixture for Villa's season and Gerrard's future as manager.

Fortune favours Arsenal as Gunners underline title credentials

League leaders Arsenal proved they have earned the right to be considered genuine title contenders with a resilient away-day win at luckless Leeds on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners underlined their title credentials with victory at Elland Road courtesy of Bukayo Saka's first-half goal before the Premier League pacesetters rode their luck to hold on in a frantic second half.

There was drama from the outset as a power cut outside Elland Road saw the game halted minutes after kick-off.

After a delay of around 40 minutes, the technical problems with VAR and goalline technology were fixed and the match restarted.

Arsenal took the lead before Leeds striker Patrick Bamford, on as a second-half substitute, had a goal ruled out before having a spot-kick saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

It looked like Bamford had the chance of a reprieve in injury time when referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Arsenal's Gabriel for kicking out at the striker, and awarded the hosts a penalty.

But both decisions were overturned after Kavanagh reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor.

City's failure to beat at Liverpool later in the day means Mikel Arteta's side are now four points clear after a stellar start to the campaign which has seen them collect nine victories from 10 Premier League games.

"This is something special," Arteta said of Arsenal's start, which is there best since 1904.

"This is not a coincidence. It shows the willingness that I see in the eyes of the players to win, to compete."

Next up for Arteta's history-chasing young guns is a trip to the south coast to face Ralph Hasenhuttl's stuttering Saints.