It was a weekend of twists, turnarounds, and talking points in the Premier League as players took to the pitch one final tome before heading out for the November international engagement with their respective countries.

Manchester City headline it all with an emphatic win over Liverpool as Pep Guardiola’s 1000th game on the touchline ended in style as the Cityzens close the gap on Arsenal, who were held by Sunderland earlier.

While their Manchester rivals continue to rise, United salvaged a dramatic draw it Spurs, who are now unbeaten in eight in the fixture, and Aston Villa delivered a masterclass at home to bring down Bournemouth.

From Brentford’s comeback to Chelsea’s dominant night at Stamford Bridge, here’s how the weekend unfolded across the Premier League.

Top 10 highlights of the Premier League weekend 

Pep Guardiola mauled a clueless Slot on the 1000th anniversary 

Manchester City ensured Pep Guardiola had priceless joy at the end of his 1000th game anniversary after sealing a massive win over arch rivals Liverpool to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal.

Goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and Jeremy Doku secured a 3-0 win for the Cityzens in the Etihad, and Guardiola finally sealed his first win over Arne Slot, who won one and drew one of their two meetings last season.

After missing an early penalty, Erling Haaland opened the scoring just before the half hour with his 99th Premier League goal, heading home Matheus Nunes's cross from the right to make up for his penalty miss.

Nico Gonzalez doubled that advantage through a deflected strike in the third minute of added time in the first half, some minutes after Virgil van Dijk's equalizer had been controversially ruled out for offside.

Jeremy Doku sealed the win with a curling shot on the edge of the box three minutes after the hour mark, making it a fourth consecutive win across all competitions for City, who are slowly finding top form again.

Sunderland unlocked Arsenal in a thrilling draw 

Arsenal lost both their clean sheet and winning runs at the Stadium of Light as an inspired Sunderland put up a remarkable performance to earn a point late on, after initially ending the historic clean sheet run with a first-half goal.

Mikel Arteta and his team's plans of going nine points clear at the league summit were dealt a huge blow after Arsenal's very own Academy graduate Daniel Ballard blasted home the ball following a set-piece six minutes after the half-hour.

The goal ended a run of eight consecutive clean sheets across all competitions, five of which have come in the league, but Arsenal responded and took the lead with two quick second-half goals from Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard.

However, more drama unfolded later in the game as substitute Brian Brobbery scored deep into added time to deny the league leaders the win, as it finished all squared in the Stadium of Light.

Glance, just glance at the second for United, again

Manchester United rescued a late draw at Tottenham Hotspur thanks to Matthijs de Ligt's header in the final minute of added time, despite leading for more than 50 minutes following Bryan Mbeumo's opener.

The visitors moved to second spot after Bryan Mbeumo scored his fifth career goal against the host to break the deadlock just after the half-hour, heading home Amad Diallo's cross following an unconvincing clearance.

But it was Spurs who were more dominant, especially after the interval, and their good attitude paid dividends six minutes from time, when substitute Mathys Tel scored on the turn to level the score at 1-1.

The Frenchman, at 20 years and 195 days, became Spurs' youngest Premier League goalscorer against Manchester United since Dele Alli in 2016, with the goal coming just five minutes after his introduction.

Benjamin Sesko was presented with a glorious chance to restore United's lead but was denied by a sensational tackle from Micky Van de Ven, and the Slovenian player was injured in the process, unable to continue, leaving United down to 10 men after all five substitutions had been exhausted.

Spurs completed the comeback as Richarlison headed home Wilson Odobert's cross in injury time, but Matthijs de Ligt had the final say with a last-minute header from Bruno Fernandes's corner to tie the game at 2-2.

Aston Villa exposed Bournemouth like never before this season

An unbelievable outcome in one of the main fixtures of the weekend saw Aston Villa put four unanswered goals past Bournemouth to mark a return to winning ways at Villa Park after the defeat at Liverpool in the previous Matchday.

A much more competitive scene was expected, but it was all about Unai Emery's charge in the first half, and they complemented it with a two-goal advantage from Emiliano Buendia and Amadou Onana.

Argentine midfielder scored a scrumptious free-kick two minutes before the half hour to continue his impressive form, while Onana pounced on a deflected pass from Morgan Rogers from the edge of the box to establish a cushion five minutes before the break.

Bournemouth started the second half with intent, but with two goals ahead, Villa was keen not to surrender their lead, and added two more within five minutes of the final 13.

Substitute Ross Barkley glanced home a header following a corner for his first goal of the season, his fifth against Bournemouth, six minutes after coming on, and another substitute, Donyell Malen, sealed a 4-0 win after Youri Tielemans' shot came off him.

The Bees sting Newcastle United in the Gtech

For the first time this season, Brentford have come from behind to win a game following their inspired performance against Eddie Howe's Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, which ended in a 3-1 victory.

In a fixture that has become high scoring since the start of 2024, the visitors took the lead through Harvey Barnes three minutes before the half-hour mark with their only shot on target of the match.

However, Brentford fought back after the interval and restored parity through Kevin Schade before the hour mark, and followed up with Igor Thiago's brace, which included a penalty conceded by Dan Burn, who was sent off with a second booking.

With his two goals, Brazilian striker Igor Thiago now has eight Premier League goals so far, second only to Erling Haaland, who continues to run away at the top with his 14th of the season in the win over Liverpool.

Chelsea takes advantage of Wolves' misery

It was a perfect evening for the host in Stamford Bridge as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Wolves, despite a barren first half, during which they were completely dominant but could not convert their chances.

They finally took one of their many chances through an unusual source, as Malo Gusto got his first career goal, heading home Alejandro Garnacho's cross from the left from close range, leaving Sam Johnston no chance at all.

The lead was doubled five minutes after the hour mark, as Estevao, who replaced Liam Delap just a minute earlier, fired a low cross across goal, which was deflected into the path of fellow Brazilian Joao Pedro, and the former Brighton man blasted home his shot to make it a goal in back-to-back Premier League games.

Alejandro Garnacho got his second assist of the day following a beautiful run as Chelsea hit Wolves on the break. The Argentine beat his marker for pace before sending his low cross to Pedro Neto for an easy finish in the 73rd minute.

Impressive Forest gets first win under Dyche

After halting Manchester United's winning run in the previous weekend, Sean Dyche registered his first win as Nottingham Forest boss after a comeback home win over Leeds United.

The visitors took the lead through German striker Lukas Nmecha 13 minutes into the game, extending the hosts' clean sheet drought, but the lead lasted less than two minutes before Ibrahim Sangare, who reacted quickest to slot home a loose ball.

The comeback was completed in his 68th minute as Morgan Gibbs-White scored his second headed goal in as many Premier League games from Omari Hutchinson's cross, while the latter also won a penalty converted by Elliott Anderson for the deep into added time to seal the win.

Clinical Everton knocked Fulham out of the park

The unpredictable nature of the Premier League saw Everton coast to a 2-0 victory over Fulham at the Hill Dickinson stadium on Saturday evening and mark a return to winning ways after weeks of struggles.

David Moyes's side were winless in their most recent three games heading into the weekend, and after a dominant first-half display, Idrissa Gana Gueye gave them the lead with his second goal of the season, four minutes into added time before the break.

They had a third goal ruled out for offside five minutes before the hour mark, but victory was sealed nine minutes from time, as Michael Kean headed home Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's corner kick to take the game beyond Fulham.

West Ham United takes advantage of Burnley 

For the first time since the end of February, West Ham United have won back-to-back Premier League games as they see off Burnley on Saturday to continue their rejuvenation under Nuno Espirito Santo.

In a fixture they had not lost since the start of 2021, West Ham fell behind five minutes after the half hour, as the visitors' sustained pressure paid off, with Zian Flemming powering a header past Areola to break the deadlock.

Callum Wilson responded with the leveler a minute before the break and substitute Tomas Soucek completed the comeback 13 minutes from time, while Kyle Walker-Pieters ensured safety of it 10 minutes later, making Josh Cullen's last gasp goal a mere consolation.

Brighton cancel out Palace in London 

Crystal Palace were held in a scoreless home draw with Brighton in the only fixture of the weekend that produced no goals.

Premier League standings update 

Manchester City closes the gap on Arsenal to four, while Chelsea assumes third spot. Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur completed the top five following thrilling draws in their respective games.

Aston Villa moved up to sixth while Manchester United followed Liverpool's loss in the Etihad. Crystal Palace completes the top 10 but failed to leapfrog Bournemouth, who have now dropped to ninth after back-to-back losses.

Brentford and Everton follow 11th-place Brighton, while Newcastle United are now just two points off the drop zone. Fulham and Leeds United are a point adrift, but only goal difference separates Burnley from what is becoming inevitable.

West Ham United and Nottingham Forest continue their efforts to move out of the drop after back-to-back positive results, but the same can't be said for Wolves, who continue to wallow in 20th place.