Sport / Football

Sunday in the Premier League: a goal from halfway, and United held again

Brighton scored three times in the first ten minutes and beat Crystal Palace 5-0, with Diego Gomez scoring from inside his own half. Manchester United drew 1-1 at Leeds, Bournemouth finally won, and Arsenal ground out a late 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.

Brighton, England · October 18, 2026

Brighton's afternoon was effectively over as a contest before some fans had sat down. Jaydee Canvot turned the ball into his own net in the fourth minute, Diego Gomez scored three minutes later, and Yasin Ayari made it three inside ten minutes on the way to a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Amex. Gomez supplied the moment of the weekend. He robbed Adam Wharton near the halfway line, took a touch, and fired the ball over goalkeeper Walter Benitez and in, a goal that drew instant comparisons with David Beckham's famous strike from his own half. Charalampos Kostoulas scored just after half time and Jack Hinshelwood added the fifth in the 84th minute.

The numbers behind Brighton are starting to look serious. They have scored 23 goals in seven matches, and according to Opta only three teams in Premier League history, Arsenal in 2009-10, Manchester United in 2011-12 and Manchester City in 2019-20, have scored more at this stage of a season. This is the same Brighton side that beat defending champions Arsenal 3-0 earlier in the campaign. Palace, meanwhile, were not beaten late or unluckily. They were overwhelmed from the first whistle, and a derby scoreline like this one tends to follow a manager into the following week.

At Elland Road, Manchester United's turbulent week ended with a point that felt like a reprieve and a warning at the same time. Bryan Mbeumo put United ahead in the 35th minute, turning in a cross from six yards, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled in the 51st, chesting down a corner and poking the ball home. Lisandro Martinez, whose public challenge to the club hierarchy after a Champions League loss had dominated the buildup, started the game and was substituted at half time. United have now won just one of their seven league games and sit 13th, while Leeds are seventh. Manager Michael Carrick called the hard earned point a platform to build on. It will need to be.

The other two results moved the bottom of the table. Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0 at home for their first league victory of the season, climbing to 15th and leaving Sunderland 19th, inside the relegation places. In the late game, Arsenal won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest through a deflected Noni Madueke strike in the 80th minute, on a day when they held about 75 percent of the ball and still created barely more than one expected goal. The win moves Arsenal back into second, three points behind Manchester City, whose perfect Saturday is covered in our Saturday roundup. Forest slip into the bottom three.

Put the weekend together and the shape of the season sharpens. City are perfect and clear at the top, Arsenal are winning the kind of tight away game that title challengers have to win, and Brighton are the league's entertainers with the goals to back it up. At the other end, United's problem is no longer a bad week. One win in seven is a pattern, and patterns are what get managers judged in November.