The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its ninth game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

Derby Days

This weekend had some big derby matchups across the country, as the 2 Manchester sides met, we had the North London derby and a midlands derby between Leicester and Nottingham Forest.

The Manchester derby was a highlight of the weekend, as City dominated their rivals in the 1st half, to take a 4-0 lead into the break. United didn’t dig in and hold on however, and instead they went after City to restore some pride as they bagged 3 to City’s 2 in the 2nd half to record a memorable 6-3 final score. Both Haaland and Foden bagged hattricks for City, which further adds to Haaland’s incredible scoring run, while for local lad Foden it was a moment to remember as he secured the points and a confident victory with his 3rd and City’s 6th.

In North London, it was Arsenal who got their impressive start back on track after their stumble against Manchester United 2 weeks prior, by beating arch rivals Tottenham 3-1. Taking an early lead, Arsenal were then pinned back by a Kane penalty, before restoring their lead early in the 2nd half. Later in the game, Emerson Royal became reckless and was shown a red card which Arsenal capitalised on moments later as Xhaka added the 3rd and secured a big win for Arteta’s side.

On Monday there was another derby match in the midlands as Leicester ran riot over newly promoted Nottingham Forest. James Maddison was on top form as he bagged a first half brace, which along with a strike from Harvey Barnes, meant the points were sealed for Brendan Rodgers’ side even without the final nail in the coffin from Daka.

Goals Galore

This week of fixtures saw 36 goals in the 10 games, averaging 3.6 goals per game, and while we saw 2 0-0 draws, there were plenty of goals elsewhere. We had the aforementioned 9 goal demolition between the 2 Manchester sides, the North London derby had 4, the midlands derby between Leicester and Forest 4, and Newcastle vs Fulham had 5 (we will get to that shortly). Even some shared points still entertained as Liverpool and Brighton drew 3-3.

It has been an exciting weekend of action, and despite still being at an early stage of the campaign, it’s fair to say this season is showing signs of promising excitement thus far.

Howe’s Entertainers

It’s too soon to many any major predictions, but Eddie Howe is slowly performing wonders up at Newcastle, after claiming valuable points early in the season. With only 1 defeat which came at the hands of a last minute winner for Liverpool, they have been resolute in picking up points, however it may have been a bit worrying that they have drawn 5 games already this season. Eddie Howe unleashed his attacking talent however in this weekend’s game as they dominated another impressive side in Marco Silva’s Fulham 4-1 away from home. It’s certainly their defence that has been solid this season, but when those attacking players turn on the style as they did against City and now Fulham, they look a real threat.

Miguel Almiron looked like a man on a mission as he bagged a brace and his 2nd & 3rd goals of the season. With the early red card for Fulham’s Chalobah, Newcastle knew the 3 points were there to be taken, and Howe’s game plan almost certainly changed to allow his players off the leash. Things got worse for Fulham with Mitrovic departing after 37 minutes with injury, and Newcastle will be looking to build on this to turn more of their draws into wins, and make this season comfortable for the Geordies.

Matchday 9 Player of the Week: Phil Foden Almost overshadowed by his Norwegian teammate, but Foden’s hattrick in this exciting fixture just about edged him ahead for player of the week. With 3 goals, 95% pass accuracy, 80% shot accuracy from 6 attempts, 100% tackle success and 5 recoveries, he put in a shift for his boyhood side and it was clear how much the goals and the result meant to him and to City in their attempt to retain the league title.

Matchday 9 Game of the Week: Manchester City 6-3 Manchester United We’ve already mentioned this fixture heavily (although I may never return to this game again after this post), but it deserves a mention, as any 9 goal Manchester derby deserves to be game of the week. With City running riot early, it looked like Ten Hag’s side were crumbling under the pressure despite having a decent run of form in the last few games. After the break however, the side returned from 4-0 down to get 3 goals and actually win the second half, but City showed their class once again on a day their supporters, and certainly Phil Foden will never forget. For Haaland, just another hattrick is another day at the office.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the ninth round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.