Football is back, and the Premier League results from Saturday, October 10 suggest the 16-day international break did nobody’s defending any favours.
Six matches produced 20 goals, two comeback wins, two red cards and one late Old Trafford draw that ended the day like a bucket of cold water. Fans spent two weeks begging for club football. They got it, plus a reminder to be careful what they wish for.
Arsenal 2-1 Leeds: Nerves, a comeback and a Saka day to forget
After heading into the international break on the back of a 3-0 thumping from Brighton, Arsenal fans could not have asked for a worse way to resume the Premier League. Leeds, unbeaten and unbothered by the occasion, led through James Justin in the 55th minute. By then the champions had managed just five shots, which is not what “title contenders” usually means. 
Then Arsenal remembered who they were. Riccardo Calafiori levelled seven minutes later, and Bruno Guimaraes, off the bench again, thumped in the winner on 70 after a Declan Rice flick.
It was the second time in three league games he has won it from the bench, which raises awkward questions about why he starts there at all. But then, that seems to be a recurring theme with Arsenal’s midfielders.
By the way, if anyone has a memory-wiper, they should probably lend it to Bukayo Saka, because this was one afternoon he’ll wish to forget. He was quiet for most of it, then spurned a stoppage-time one-on-one that would have made the scoreline kinder to him.
We think it’s hightime someone told Arsenal’s starboy that at 25, he’s no longer a boy. How long does he want to keep dragging the swing set with Max Downman?
READ: Arsenal Teenager Max Dowman Receives 3 Guinness World Records After Club’s Title-Winning Season
Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth: Henderson turns back time
If Arsenal’s day was a slow-burn thriller, Chelsea’s was a smash-and-grab. Jordan Henderson, on his home debut, scored his first Chelsea goal after 65 seconds from a Cole Palmer pass. Ninety seconds later he turned provider, setting up Morgan Rogers for 2-0.
Sky Sports News described it as the fastest two-goal lead in Chelsea’s Premier League history. Most supporters weren’t even in their seats yet.
Joao Pedro made it 3-0 within a minute of the restart after good work from Pedro Neto. Evanilson pulled one back, which gave Bournemouth about fifteen minutes of dignity, only for Joao Pedro to rip said dignity back to shreds as he added a second at the 67th minute.
Then Jordan Henderson made sure the last was the best as he smashed home a 25-yard free kick in the 70th minute. By Opta’s count, at 36 he became the oldest Chelsea player directly involved in three or more goals in a Premier League game.
Villa, Ipswich and Brighton keep the 3pm drama coming
Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford
Yehor Yarmoliuk put the Bees ahead on ten minutes, and Nicolas Jackson levelled within two. John McGinn’s deflected effort looked like the winner on 77, but Kristoffer Ajer equalised two minutes later.
Brentford stay unbeaten through six games, while Villa are still waiting for a league win at Villa Park.
Ipswich 2-1 Fulham
Ryan Sessegnon put Fulham ahead on 55. Abdoul Ouattara then levelled with a 30-yard strike on 88, and captain Dara O’Shea headed the winner in stoppage time. Fulham reportedly won the expected-goals battle, 1.81 to 1.15.
Arsenal fans know a lot about winning matches on xG.
Sunderland 0-2 Brighton
Maxim De Cuyper broke the deadlock on 53, helped by a Pascal Gross pass. Four minutes later Pascal Struijk was sent off after a VAR review for denying Wilson Isidor a clear goalscoring chance. Brighton defended like men possessed with ten, and substitute Jaouen Hadjam sealed it in the third minute of stoppage time.
Sunderland have now lost three league games in a row.
READ: Farewell, Lionel Messi: 10 Unforgettable Moments That Defined 21 Years With Argentina
Man United 1-1 Tottenham: “El Trashico” closes the day
Imagine attending a party, and after having an absolute feast all day, the servers roll in plain white rice to end the day. That was how it felt watching Manchester United vs Tottenham for the evening kick-off. Spurs should have won it, and spent most of the first hour proving it. Savinho failed to beat Senne Lammens and Dominic Solanke spooned a good chance over.
Their expected-goals figure (1.62 to United’s 0.85) said what the scoreboard didn’t. Fans are still debating if Bruno Fernandes actually played the match.
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Then United did what United do: a moment of quality from Bryan Mbeumo put them ahead on 73. Five minutes later Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-to-head contact with Luke Shaw, and the game turned from forgettable to unintentionally comic, with bookings flying on both sides.
United, though, as has become their style, never know what to do with an extra man on the pitch, and did what they always do in such situations: they sat back and waited. Up until Solanke headed in a Sandro Tonali cross in the 92nd minute, and Spurs left with a point they probably deserved, which is more than can be said for those who had to sit through 90 minutes of such anti-football.
Elsewhere: Barcelona purr, Real Madrid limp and Vinicius sees red
Over in Spain, Barcelona carried on as if the break never happened. Anthony Gordon scored his first Barcelona goal in the second minute, Gabriel Jesus doubled the lead on 30, and Jules Koundé nodded in the third from a Lamine Yamal corner on 73.
Hansi Flick’s men are now eight wins from eight, five points clear at the top, and managed all that without the injured Raphinha. Getafe mustered a single shot on target all night, and have presumably framed it.
Real Madrid, by contrast, limped past Villarreal 1-0. Yan Diomande’s first goal for the club, set up by Federico Valverde in the 62nd minute, settled it after VAR overruled an offside flag. Unfortunately for the Bernabéu, the headline belonged to Vinícius Jr. Off the bench at the break, he thought he’d made it 2-0. VAR then spotted him pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up, so the goal was chalked off and he was shown a straight red around the 72nd minute.
Mourinho’s ten men held on, but Vinícius’s rough season has gone from “form dip” to “disciplinary matter”, and beIN Sports reports he now risks missing El Clásico.
The clone theorists are having a very good evening.
READ: International Break To Remember: From Vinicius ‘Clones’ to Ronaldo’s Exit, 16 Days of Madness
What the Premier League results tell us
Arsenal wobbled but won, Chelsea went wild, and Brighton proved ten is plenty. Meanwhile, United and Spurs combined to make a draw feel like a hostage situation.
If this is what a break does to the Premier League, FIFA should schedule another one next month.
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