Arsenal usurped Liverpool at the top of the Premier League as an alarming losing streak for the defending champions extended to three games at Chelsea.
The Gunners cruised to a 2-0 win over West Ham to take top spot, while Manchester City are well in the title hunt thanks to Erling Haaland's form after a 1-0 victory at Brentford.
Antoine Semenyo's double fired Bournemouth up to fourth, while Ange Postecoglou's wait for a win as Nottingham Forest boss goes on after a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle.
AFP Sports looks at three talking points from the Premier League weekend.
Liverpool missing Trent
Arne Slot has a two-week international break ahead to come up with answers to Liverpool's slump.
The Reds' decision to tear apart the squad that romped to the title last season has so far backfired, despite investing a record near £450 million in new signings.
Even in a seven-game winning streak in all competitions to begin the campaign, a string of poor performances were masked by moments of individual brilliance and late goals.
Hugo Ekitike is the only new face to have made a positive start, but he was left on the bench for the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge as £125 million striker Alexander Isak started.
Isak and £100 million playmaker Florian Wirtz are yet to score a Premier League goal, and their arrivals, allied to the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, have completely unbalanced Slot's team.
The Dutchman has routinely turned to midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to fill Alexander-Arnold's shoes at right-back.
Mohamed Salah is also struggling without the ammunition he used to be supplied by Alexander-Arnold, who holds the Premier League record for assists by a defender.
Liverpool only trail Arsenal by one point and in time the wealth of attacking talent at Slot's disposal should come good.
But after finishing second for the past three years, Mikel Arteta's men are now in the driving seat to end their wait since 2004 for a Premier League title.
Will Postecoglou get time?
Postecoglou was typically defiant in insisting he is up for the fight to turn Forest's fortunes around.
Just seven games into his reign, though, there are already questions whether the Australian will be given the chance by the club's exacting owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Some Forest fans called for Postecoglou's head during a 3-2 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland on Thursday.
Marinakis' decision to part company with Nuno Espirito Santo over personal differences was not a popular one after the Portuguese led the club into Europe last season for the first time in 30 years.
Now, Forest are looking over their shoulders, just one point above the relegation zone.
In Postecoglou's short reign, they have also been dumped out of the League Cup by second-tier Swansea and taken just one point from their opening two Europa League games.
Semenyo loyalty lifts Bournemouth
Unbeaten since the opening night of the season at Anfield, Bournemouth have shrugged off losing many of their key players in the transfer window.
The Cherries banked over £150 million for defenders Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi, who earned glamour moves to Real Madrid, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.
Semenyo, by contrast, showed his commitment by signing a new contract.
Only Haaland has scored more Premier League goals this season than the Ghanaian, who has netted six and provided three assists in seven games.
"I think it's very important (the contract extension) because he shows the willingness to stay here," said Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.
"It means that you are happy and trusting what we are trying to build."