Brighton moved up to second with a 2-0 win over ten-man Brentford, Bournemouth beat Ipswich 2-1 to make it eight straight wins in all competitions, Noah Okafor’s first-touch goal sank Tottenham at Leeds, and Fulham and Newcastle drew 1-1 at Craven Cottage.
Falmer, England: The headline fixtures of the weekend belonged to the big clubs, but the rest of the Premier League had plenty to say. Brighton’s afternoon was the most emphatic of the results that did not involve Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea.
Brighton move into second
Diego Gómez settled it early and Pascal Gross finished it before the break as Brighton beat Brentford 2-0 at the Amex on Sunday. Gómez struck a left-footed shot from more than 25 yards into the top corner in the 15th minute. Eight minutes later Brentford were down to ten when Igor Thiago’s booking was upgraded to a straight red after a VAR review for catching Chema Andrés in the face with a raised forearm.
Brighton took full advantage. Keane Lewis-Potter pulled down Luka Vuškovic at a corner, and Gross sent the penalty into the top corner in the 42nd minute. Brentford did not manage a shot on target in the second half. The win was Brighton’s seventh in ten league games and lifted them to second on 22 points, five behind leaders Arsenal. Brentford stayed eighth on 14.
Bournemouth’s winning run reaches eight
Bournemouth won 2-1 at Portman Road to extend their run to eight wins in all competitions, a streak that includes their Europa League win over Sparta Prague. Evanilson scored in the fifth minute after Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton lost the ball while trying to dribble out of defence, leaving the forward an empty net. It was his fifth league game in a row with a goal.
Bournemouth doubled the lead seconds after the restart. Ryan Christie’s shot deflected off Issa Diop and then Leif Davis and into the net, and the goal was credited as an own goal by Davis in the 46th minute. Jack Clarke pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 73rd, but Ipswich could not find an equaliser. Bournemouth are seventh.
Okafor’s first touch
Saturday’s early game at Elland Road was decided by a single touch. Okafor came off the bench, and about 97 seconds later he drove a right-footed finish across the goalkeeper into the bottom corner in the 79th minute for a 1-0 win over Tottenham. Fellow substitute Harry Wilson set it up from a throw-in inside the box, and VAR checked a possible handball by Wilson before the goal stood.
Earlier, a four-minute VAR review of Jayden Bogle’s challenge on Mathys Tel ended with no red card. The result moved Leeds to eighth on 14 points and left Tottenham tenth on 12.
Murphy and Muñiz share the points
Newcastle held the lead at Craven Cottage for barely three minutes. Jacob Murphy curled a left-footed shot from around 25 yards into the far corner in the 80th minute after a loose Fulham pass in midfield. Rodrigo Muñiz equalised within three minutes, finishing into the far corner for 1-1.
Saturday 7 November: Leeds United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Okafor 79′); Fulham 1-1 Newcastle United (Murphy 80′, Muñiz 83′).
Sunday 8 November: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Brentford (Gómez 15′, Gross 42′ pen; Thiago sent off 23′); Ipswich Town 1-2 Bournemouth (Evanilson 5′, Davis own goal 46′; Clarke 73′ pen).
