August
The season began with Manchester City’s new £51m signing, Erling Haaland, scoring … a lot. The Norwegian struck twice on his Premier League debut at West Ham, scored another against Newcastle where City rescued a 3-3 draw, and then racked up back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. Contrast that with Darwin Núñez, Liverpool’s big summer recruit, who netted on his league debut at Fulham before head-butting Palace’s Joachim Andersen to earn a red card and suspension. The highlight (lowlight?) of the month came after Chelsea’s match with Tottenham, when the rival managers, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, became locked in a comically fierce handshake.
