Eight goals at Old Trafford, nine in Cardiff and a Manchester City defeat in Nottingham. Football got through a fair amount before the international break.
United and Villa leave defending for later
Manchester United and Aston Villa finished 4-4 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with United scoring twice in stoppage time.
Villa led by two goals on two separate occasions. Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back in added time before Patrick Dorgu headed in the equaliser. United remain 18th, while Villa had enough chances to spend the journey home wondering how four goals became one point.
Forest give City a rough afternoon
Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground. Jair Cunha opened the scoring and Liam Delap struck twice, handing City a third straight league defeat and moving Forest up to 16th.
City have gone from perfect starters to three league losses on the bounce. Forest supporters will quite reasonably focus on the 3-1. The Nottingham Forest 1865 T-Shirt is live for anyone still enjoying that scoreline.
Cardiff turn 4-1 into 5-4
Cardiff City produced the Championship result of the week by beating Burnley 5-4. Alex Robertson’s own goal put Burnley 4-1 up in the 62nd minute. Yousef Salech scored twice, Jack Moylan converted a penalty and Robertson completed the comeback with the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
One name appeared on both sides of the afternoon. The own goal will survive in the small print. The winner will be the bit Cardiff fans remember.
Morton fans bring a chicken to the conversation
A clip from Greenock Morton’s 3-2 comeback at Partick Thistle kept doing the rounds this week. Morton supporters had turned up in Halloween costumes, including one dressed as a chicken, and gave Tony Watt a very specific reception after the final whistle.
Watt owns chickens and had celebrated his goal with his familiar chicken routine. Morton then came back to win, the away end supplied its own poultry-themed response and Watt laughed along on social media. More than half a million views later, the chicken had earned a decent afternoon’s work.
Arsenal stay clear and Sunderland finally win
Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0 through Martin Ødegaard and reached 27 points, six clear at the top. It was their sixth one-goal league win of the season, which is a fairly efficient way to avoid unnecessary excitement.
Sunderland also had something worth celebrating. A 1-0 win over Chelsea brought their first league victory since August and kept them level on points with Manchester United.
Coming up: three dates worth planning for
Tuesday 24 November, 6.45pm: Galatasaray v Aston Villa. Villa head to Istanbul in the Champions League. It is the kind of European away trip that stays in the diary long before the flight does.
Thursday 26 November, 8pm: Sunderland v Jagiellonia Białystok. The Stadium of Light hosts another Europa League night. The Sunderland’s On Their Way Europa League T-Shirt is ready for the occasion.
Sunday 6 December, 2pm: Newcastle United v Sunderland. The Tyne-Wear derby returns at St James’ Park. Both the Newcastle United and Sunderland collections are live, with enough time to order before derby day.
That is the week: 4-4, 5-4, City beaten in Nottingham and a chicken in an away end. Football remains very good at filling a Monday morning.
