A busy Saturday of Premier League and EFL action saw Newcastle United storm to an early two-goal lead against Hull City, while Everton edged ahead of Ipswich Town and Arsenal were made to work hard by a spirited Brighton side celebrating a special anniversary at the Amex.
At St James' Park, Newcastle wasted no time putting their midweek 4-1 thrashing at Leeds behind them. Joe Willock opened the scoring inside three minutes, latching onto a Harvey Barnes cutback to fire the hosts ahead. Barnes turned provider again just four minutes later, teeing up Lewis Hall to lash home a second and hand Eddie Howe's side a commanding early cushion. The result threatens Hull's unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign, with the visitors having arrived on the back of a battling 2-2 draw at Chelsea. Newcastle made two changes from their Elland Road defeat, bringing in Sean Steur and Willock in place of Amar Dedic and Nico Gonzalez, while Hull handed full Premier League debuts to Lucas Herrington and Sorba Thomas.
At Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton took the lead against Ipswich Town through Thierno Barry, who netted his fifth goal of the season after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall supplied the assist. It proved to be a rare bright passage for the hosts, who had earlier been indebted to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for a string of important saves. Pickford denied Ipswich on multiple occasions, twice thwarting Abdul Fatawu — first with a smart parry from a driven effort inside the box, and then racing off his line to deny the winger a clear sight of goal after a loose pass from Jarrad Branthwaite let Emersonn in behind. Jack Grealish came into the Everton side in place of Tyrique George, while Ipswich made two changes following their smash-and-grab victory at Crystal Palace, with Christian Walton and Abdoul Ouattara replacing Kjell Scherpen and Jacob Greaves.
Down on the south coast, Brighton marked their 125th anniversary in style, sporting a special edition kit as they took the game to reigning champions Arsenal. The Seagulls, fresh off a 5-0 demolition of Coventry, started sluggishly but grew into the contest, pressing Mikel Arteta's side back for long spells without finding a breakthrough. There was a shout for a penalty when Bukayo Saka went down in the box, though replays suggested he had stumbled of his own accord, and the Arsenal forward made no real appeal himself. Brighton made two changes from their previous outing, with Chema Andrés and Pascal Struijk coming into the side, while Lewis Dunk dropped out of the squad entirely. Arsenal, who arrived on the back of a 2-0 win at Sunderland, brought in Gabriel Magalhães and Jurriën Timber, with Myles Lewis-Skelly making way and Ben White missing out through injury.
Elsewhere, there was late drama at Tottenham Hotspur, who suffered another home humiliation as Aston Villa came from behind to win 3-2 in stoppage time, Jan Paul van Hecke heading home a last-gasp winner from an Andy Robertson free-kick. In the Championship, Millwall and West Ham United shared a dramatic 2-2 draw at the New Den amid controversy after Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall accused West Ham striker Taty Castellanos of spitting at him during a heated exchange over the new goalkeeper time-wasting rules. Cardiff City beat Charlton Athletic 3-1, while Stoke City came from behind to beat Sheffield United 2-1 with a stoppage-time winner from Sam Gallagher.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.