By virtue of banishing a third curse in as many Premier League gameweeks - after exorcising their Newcastle United and West Ham United demons - Arsenal hold a three-point lead atop the tablethanks to their 1-0 beating of capital rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Both the red half of London and Manchester were celebrating again come Sunday evening, as Manchester United's exceptional 2-1 success over Liverpool condemned the Reds to their fourth straight defeat, leaving the holders behind Manchester City after their2-0 win over Everton.
Bournemouth occupy the fourth and final Champions League spot after an exhilarating 3-3 drawwith Crystal Palace, although Chelsea are within touching distance courtesy of a 3-0 trouncing of Nottingham Forest, which hammered the last nail into Ange Postecoglou's coffin.
The Blues now find themselves ahead of Tottenham Hotspur on account of the Lilywhites' latest home failure - this one a 2-1 defeatto Aston Villa - and Thomas Frank's side only lead Sunderland on goal difference after the newly-promoted outfit saw off Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0.
Burnley and Brentford also bested Leeds United and West Ham United by the same scoreline, while Brighton & Hove Albion sneaked into the top half as a result of their2-1 triumph at home to Newcastle United.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.
Goalkeeper: Martin Dubravka (Burnley)
A shout-out must go to Man United's Senne Lammens for his imperious display at Anfield, but the evergreen Martin Dubravka excelled in Burnley's beating of Leeds, where his four saves, seven recoveries and two punches went a long way towards a well-earned clean sheet.
Centre-back: Josh Acheampong (Chelsea)
Josh Acheampong bags his first goal for Chelsea ?
The Blues lead at the City Ground...@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/kie1JWKoAK
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 18, 2025
In 2024, Josh Acheampong's Chelsea career appeared to be falling apart amid a bitter contract dispute, but the young defender looks every inch at home in the Blues defence and was a standout performer vs. Forest, netting a strong header while also registering four interceptions and three successful dribbles.
Centre-back: Nordi Mukiele (Sunderland)
Flaunting the qualities that caught Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen's eyes, Sunderland's Nordi Mukiele has seamlessly adapted to the rigours of the Premier League and produced a fine finish through the legs of Wolves' Sam Johnstone, not to mention also winning 10 of his 11 aerial duels.
Centre-back: Harry Maguire (Man United)
Harry Maguire with a MASSIVE header to send the away end wild! ? pic.twitter.com/moUtr2aDsj
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 19, 2025
Do not underestimate the effectiveness of Bruno Fernandes's fabulous first-time delivery, but Harry Maguire did what Harry Maguire does in both penalty boxes to propel Man United to a famous win at Liverpool.
When there is a header to be won and a bottom corner to be found, Maguire's eyes light up, and the Englishman made a number of decisive contributions at the other end with eight clearances and four recoveries.
Right wing-back: Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace)
Brentford's Michael Kayode is incredibly unfortunate to miss out, but having claimed one assist for Jean-Philippe Mateta before playing a crucial role in the Frenchman's second against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace's Daniel Munoz continues to demonstrate why some of the world's most revered clubs are allegedly after him.
Central midfield: Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa)
Tottenham's two lynchpins Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur may have combined for the first goal of the game on Sunday, but Boubacar Kamara ended up stealing the midfield spotlight, winning an astounding 14 of his 17 duels and completing 89% of his passes in that North London victory.
Central midfield: Lesley Ugochukwu (Burnley)
Whether Chelsea will end up regretting their decision to let Lesley Ugochukwu leave only time will tell, but the 21-year-old has now scored more goals in his last two games for Burnley than he did across 46 for the Blues and Southampton, netting a powerful header against Leeds and also contributing three interceptions to a crucial Clarets victory.
Left wing-back: Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
Pedro Neto strikes from a free-kick ?
In the blink of an eye Nottingham Forest are 2-0 down...@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/hd7VZGUl2P
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 18, 2025
Amid the intense competition for starts in the Chelsea attack, Pedro Neto is a constant, and Saturday showed why; the Portugal international produced a phenomenal burst of pace and cross for Acheampong, shortly before his free kick found its way through Matz Sels.
Second striker: Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)
Joining extremely esteemed company, Jean-Philippe Mateta is now just the third French player to score more than one hat-trick in the Premier League after Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry, although the Palace talisman was also guilty of missing three big chances in the Eagles' six-goal spectacular with Bournemouth.
Second striker: Danny Welbeck (Brighton)
Whispers of an England recall are now growing ever louder for Brighton's timeless centre-forward Danny Welbeck, whose calm chip and ruthless first-time finish propelled the Seagulls to a statement win over Newcastle at the Amex, where the 34-year-old also created three chances for his teammates.
Centre-forward: Erling Haaland (Man City)
Fans, pundits and journalists alike are running out of superlatives for the Scandinavian sensation, who scored his 10th and 11th goals of the Premier League season in City's beating of Everton and has now netted in six successive top-flight matches, butthere are two areas of his game where he is evolving even further.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
PL TOTW GW8
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-2-1): Dubravka; Acheampong, Mukiele, Maguire; Munoz, Kamara, Ugochukwu, Neto; Mateta, Welbeck; Haaland
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