Weekend awards: Best performance, goal, comeback and more!

Football writer Adrian Kajumba looks at the standout players and moments from Matchweek 8.

Best performance - Curtis Jones

Having become a father during the international break, Curtis Jones might have been forgiven for not being at his liveliest for Liverpool against Chelsea.

But instead the midfielder was the total opposite, full of energy and integral to the 2-1 victory which took Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League. 

“I’ve had loads of sleep, did you not see?” Jones smiled in his post-match interview.

Jones’s second-half winner was the highlight of an all-action performance in which he also won two penalties, though one was overturned by VAR, and was key to Liverpool nullifying Cole Palmer, producing a crucial block to deny the Chelsea star.

Jones's winner v Chelsea

Jones came off to a deserved standing ovation in the 81st minute and finished the match having had the most shots on target, joint-most shots, joint-most chances created and joint-most ball recoveries of all Liverpool players.

He also posted the second-best passing accuracy (although it should be noted that the only Liverpool player who surpassed him was Diogo Jota, who went off with an injury after 30 minutes), was joint-third for successful tackles and third for passes, as well as touches among his team-mates. 

Jones's performance v Chelsea

In short, Jones’s fingerprints were all over this Liverpool win.

Best set-piece routine - AFC Bournemouth

After having two goals from corners ruled out earlier this season against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, it was third time lucky for AFC Bournemouth against 10-man Arsenal and more than worth the wait.

They went 1-0 up following another clever routine when Lewis Cook’s delivery was flicked on by Justin Kluivert to fellow substitute, the unmarked Ryan Christie, who guided a well-controlled finish into the top corner.

Christie's goal v Arsenal

Following William Saliba’s first-half sending off, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola explained: "We could exploit the advantage [of having one more player] on the edge [of the area].

“It is difficult for them. They have to choose some places to leave, one [player] free or the edge of the box with less players.”

Christie said: “Shaun Cooper is the attacking set-piece coach and has always got something up his sleeve.” 

Bournemouth went into Matchweek 8 as one of seven clubs yet to score from a corner but finally ended that run from their 54th.

And doing so by outwitting Arsenal - scorers of the most set-piece goals, with four, and goals from corners, with three, this season - only added to Bournemouth’s satisfaction.

“It is nice to be the ones winning like this,” Iraola smiled.

Best goal - Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City have got far more for their money than even they might have expected from Josko Gvardiol, scorer of yet another eye-catching goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Gvardiol was signed from RB Leipzig last summer for a reported £77million billed as a left-footed centre-back.

But he has proved to be even more effective as a goal-scoring left-back whose right foot is just as good as his favoured one.

Gvardiol's superb strike v Wolves

Only eight of the Croat’s 36 Premier League appearances have come at centre-back, with Pep Guardiola's use of him as a full-back allowing Gvardiol to contribute more in attack.

Subsequently, no defender has scored more Premier League goals since Gvardiol’s August 2023 debut than his six and his strikes have revealed an unexpected strength - his shooting ability with his right foot.

Wolves were the latest to discover that when Gvardiol bent a brilliant long-range, right-footed effort into the top corner to make it 1-1.

Remarkably, Gvardiol is still to score with his left foot for Man City, with six of his seven goals in all competitions being right-footed efforts and the other a header against Nottingham Forest last season.

Best comeback - Leicester

On a weekend of Premier League comebacks, Leicester City produced the most historic turnaround to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Southampton.

There seemed to be only one winner at St Mary’s Stadium when Leicester fell 2-0 behind after 28 minutes.

But they staged a stunning fightback inspired by second-half substitute Abdul Fatawu, who was directly involved in the build-up to two of the three goals, with the turnaround completed through Jordan Ayew’s winner in the eighth minute of added time.

That was Leicester’s latest goal on record and made this the first time they had ever come from two goals down at half-time to win a Premier League game, at the 64th attempt.

Ayew's dramatic winner v Southampton

Leicester’s recovery was also in keeping with a trend of this season - Premier League teams refusing to accept defeat more than ever.

Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Man City also recorded victories after going behind in Matchweek 8.

And there have been 17 comeback wins in 2024/25 from 79 matches played, with the current percentage of 21.5 per cent significantly higher than the previous best for a campaign of 16.6 per cent, recorded last season. 

See: An incredible day of comebacks on Saturday

Best assist - Bruno Fernandes 

As he soaked up the acclaim after scoring Manchester United’s much-needed winner against Brentford, Rasmus Hojlund made a point of telling the fans that Bruno Fernandes deserved as much of it as him.

It was Fernandes’s deft flick around the corner that put Hojlund through on goal to score with an impudent chip over Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Hojlund’s first Premier League goal of the season ensured Fernandes’s pass got the finish it deserved.

Fernandes's brilliant assist for Hojlund v Brentford

And if the Dane needed a moment to potentially kickstart his Premier League season, so too did Fernandes.

By his own admission, the Man Utd captain has not hit his usual heights this season. 

He has yet to score in any competition in 2024/25, and has had the most shots this season without scoring in the league.

PL players' most shots without scoring 24/25

While before this weekend, he had just one league assist to his name and has created only eight chances this season, ranking him joint-58th among top-flight players, compared to last campaign where he topped the charts for that particular Premier League statistic.

Having accepted during the international break that he had to “improve” on his return to club duty, his piece of inventiveness to open up Brentford for Man Utd’s decisive goal was an encouraging start.

Best save - Mads Hermansen

Leicester’s remarkable recovery at Southampton would surely not have been possible without more heroics from their goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

With the score at 2-0, the Dane produced a stunning reaction stop to prevent defender Wout Faes powering a diving header into his own net.

And the true value of Hermansen’s save emerged as the match wore on and Leicester turned it around in dramatic fashion after being kept in the game by their goalkeeper.

Hermansen’s flying stop was his latest key contribution to the Leicester cause this season. 

His performance at Arsenal in Matchweek 6 featured a Premier League high for the season of 13 saves in 90 minutes.

He is the goalkeeper with the highest Expected Goals On Target (xGOT) figure, which measures the shot after it was taken, therefore taking into account the quality of the shot on goal, is making the second-highest number of saves per game among regular starting 'keepers, with 4.88, and has made the second-most saves, with 39. 

Best expected stats 24/25