Alexander Isak responded at last to critics who labeled him an overpriced failure, while Thomas Frank’s troubles deepened at Tottenham.

AFP Sport reviews three key talking points from the weekend’s matches:

Chelsea deliver a strong performance

After exchanging intense moments with Arsenal over 94 thrilling minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea came away battered but undefeated.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had stated that his youthful squad were not title contenders before their vital game against the Gunners.

Yet Chelsea proved they can match Mikel Arteta’s side, despite the 38th-minute red card shown to Blues midfielder Moises Caicedo for a reckless tackle on Mikel Merino.

In total, Arsenal received six yellow cards and Chelsea one, with the latter refusing to be daunted by the league leaders.

Chelsea even took the lead thanks to Trevoh Chalobah’s second-half header – from a corner routine that mirrored Arsenal’s own set-piece skill.

Although Merino’s header for Arsenal’s equalizer in the 59th minute left third-placed Chelsea six points behind the north Londoners, Maresca drew encouragement from a spirited performance suggesting they could challenge for the title sooner than expected.

“I believe we showed progress in the right direction,” the Italian coach said.

“We’re getting closer. We’ll evaluate where we stand in February and March, then decide our goals.”

Isak proves his worth

Alexander Isak dropped to his knees as Liverpoolplayers rushed to congratulate the Swedish striker, whose celebration of his first league goal for the club mixed relief with joy.

On a cold afternoon in east London, Isak finally demonstrated the clinical instincts that convinced Liverpool to pay a British record £125 million to acquire him from Newcastle in the summer’s transfer saga.

The 26-year-old calmly finished Cody Gakpo’s pass with a low first-time shot from inside the box.

After five league matches without scoring, this was Isak’s second goal for Liverpool and his first in 10 games since netting against second-tier Southampton in the League Cup in September.

“It was very important for us as a team to take the lead, but also crucial for him because I think it was his third or fourth chance in the match,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.

Both Isak and Slot had faced criticism during a dreadful run of nine losses in 12 games across all competitions before their trip to West Ham.

Though doubts remain due to Liverpool’s surprising decline after last season’s title win, this marked a positive step forward.

Frank responds

Thomas Frank defended his strategy after Tottenham’s poor 2-1 home defeat to Fulham on Saturday extended their miserable home form in 2025.

Tottenham conceded two goals within the first six minutes, and Mohammed Kudus’s goal wasn’t enough to prevent the north London side from suffering their fourth loss in six league matches.

It was a harsh week for the embattled Frank following a 4-1 thrashing by Arsenal and a 5-3 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.

Tottenham have won only three of their last 13 games under Frank, who has faced criticism from fans for his cautious tactics since arriving from Brentford to replace the dismissed Ange Postecoglou over the summer.

“Obviously, the game plan became much harder after going 2-0 down. We fell behind when we shouldn’t have, and we played through the middle when we shouldn’t have,” Frank explained.

“Those mistakes came from rushing too much. But I’m not worried because we’ve seen clearly that other times it has worked much better.”