David Coverdale highlights the talking points from Sunday's matches.

Brighton continue Champions League charge with another BIG win

Brighton & Hove Albion are playing in the UEFA Conference League this season, but the UEFA Champions League awaits next campaign if they maintain this trajectory.

A 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace – their biggest win over their rivals in 70 years – was the Seagulls’ fourth victory by three or more goals in the Premier League this season.

Incredibly, only three sides in Premier League history have scored more goals in their first seven games of a season than Brighton’s 23. And only Barcelona have scored more goals than them across Europe’s big-five leagues this term.

Brighton’s best-ever Premier League finish was sixth in 2022/23 but, ahead of trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, they are on course to break that record in 2026/27 and qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Against Palace, Fabian Hurzeler’s fast starters raced into a three-goal lead in only nine minutes and 30 seconds, the earliest a team have scored three in a Premier League match since Newcastle United against Tottenham Hotspur in April 2023.

The pick of the goals was by Diego Gomez, who scored from just under the halfway line, a distance of 51.3m – the furthest range top-flight goal since Wayne Rooney’s effort for Everton against West Ham United nine years ago.

Gomez is Brighton’s 11th different Premier League scorer this season, with his goal sandwiched between a Jaydee Canvot own goal and a Yasin Ayari strike.

Charalampos Kostoulas got on the scoresheet before setting up Jack Hinshelwood. With three goals and two assists in the Premier League this season, Greece striker Kostoulas is behind only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal for goal involvements by teenagers in Europe’s big-five leagues.

Brighton, though, are not only prolific goalscorers. They have also kept four consecutive clean sheets and conceded the joint-fewest number of goals (five) with champions Arsenal.

Palace, however, continue to leak at the back, conceding 17 goals this season, their worst defensive record at this stage of a campaign since 1980/81.

Arsenal's impressive squad depth proves decisive again

Arsenal further underlined the strength of their squad as one of their substitutes again scored the decisive goal in a Premier League win, this time over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has often talked about the importance of his "finishers" – those players who come off the bench and end a match.

And after Bruno Guimaraes broke the deadlock after coming on in a 2-0 win at Sunderland last month, then scored the winner against Leeds United last week, this time Noni Madueke proved to be their super sub, with a deflected shot in the 80th minute.

It was Arsenal’s only shot on target and came just as they looked set to be held to a goalless draw at the City Ground for the third successive season.

Jurrien Timber also came off the bench and contributed to a clean sheet, the Gunners’ third in four Premier League away matches this season.

“If you look at the quality of our starting XI and bench it's absurd,” Madueke told BBC Match of the Day. “We know that we're going to start some and finish some and for me it's the same mentality every time – I just want to create or score.

“All 20-something players are elite and of the highest level. You know on the bench you're ready to have an impact.”

Arsenal have won six of their first seven games of a Premier League season for only the fourth time and remain second in the table, three points behind Manchester City.

Forest are in the relegation zone and are, along with Schalke, one of only two teams yet to score at home this season in Europe's big five leagues.

Calvert-Lewin is keeping elite goalscoring company

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the Elland Road hero yet again as he helped Leeds United come back to draw with rivals Manchester United.

The striker cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener in the 51st minute for his fourth Premier League goal of the season – all of which have come at home.

Calvert-Lewin has now 12 Premier League goals at Elland Road since his move from Everton two summers ago, with only Erling Haaland (19) and Igor Thiago (14) scoring more home goals in the competition in that period.

Since April 2026, the 29-year-old has registered eight top-flight goals, second only to Haaland's 13.

“I feel the support from the club and the fans and it is a great feeling stepping on to the pitch, particularly at Elland Road,” Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports. 

For Man Utd, this was a fifth league game without a win, and their one win from their opening seven games is their fewest number at this stage since 1986/87.

However, one crumb of comfort for Man Utd boss Michael Carrick is the form of Mbeumo, who has four goals in his first seven top-flight matches this season. Three of Mbeumo's goals have put his team 1-0 up, with only Haaland registering more openers this season.

Bournemouth's in-form duo secure Rose's first PL win

Marco Rose finally earned his first win as a Premier League manager and has Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson to thank for lifting his AFC Bournemouth side out of the bottom three.

Evanilson set Tavernier up for the Cherries’ sixth-minute opener against Sunderland, before scoring himself just after the break for his 100th career goal.

The attacking duo have been directly involved in seven of Bournemouth’s nine Premier League goals this season, with Evanilson joining Brighton’s Pascal Gross and Declan Rice at the top of this season’s assists chart on four.

Tavernier has a happy knack for breaking the deadlock in games, with 14 of his 22 Premier League strikes now coming as match openers – the highest percentage of any player with 20-plus goals in the competition’s history.

For Sunderland, defeat dropped them into the relegation zone as they were again the architects of their downfall.

Defender Kevin Danso was at fault for Tavernier’s goal, before being sent off in the 17th minute, then Omar Alderete's short backpass allowed Evanlison to score.

No side have committed more errors leading to goals than Sunderland’s five this season.