Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea's main aim is to offload players as the end of the transfer window draws closer.

The Blues have made 12 signings so far and are the highest spenders in the Premier League.

On Tuesday, they added goalkeeper Mike Penders to their ranks from Genk for a reported €20million on an eight-year contract.

Penders has made just two senior appearances for the Belgian side, both of which came last month, and the 19-year-old will spend the rest of the season on loan with the Belgian side.

Chelsea currently have over 40 players in their squad, with England internationals Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell among a group of 15 currently training away from the first team.

The club's desire to sell players has been well-documented to avoid falling foul of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, and Maresca says they are prioritising the outgoings this week.

"The target is to solve the economic problem in terms of selling players," Maresca told the club website. "From there, we try to do our best and see where we arrive.

"For us, the target in this moment is to improve players. No one from the club asked me to compete for the Premier League or compete for a Champions League spot.

"I want to see my team play the way we want to play and compete every game. I want to see on the ball a clear idea of what they want, and off the ball, a very aggressive team. The most important thing is to be better game after game."

Kepa Arrizabalaga is believed to be the next player out of the door at Chelsea, with a medical set at Bournemouth ahead of a potential season-long loan.

However, Chelsea are still being linked with players, with Jadon Sancho and Ivan Toney reportedly of interest to the London club.

We're into the swing of the new Premier League season, with matchday two bringing plenty more thrills and spills.

Big wins for Chelsea and Manchester City were accompanied by hat-tricks for Noni Madueke and Erling Haaland, while Everton's miserable start to 2024-25 continued as they were thrashed 4-0 at Tottenham.

But who were the lucky winners and the unlucky losers to emerge from this weekend's set of fixtures, according to the underlying metrics?

With the help of Opta data, let's find out.

Lucky winners: Chelsea

While Chelsea's thumping 6-2 win at Wolves was the most emphatic victory of a goal-laden matchday, perhaps fortune smiled on the Blues as they got off the mark under Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea's six goals came from an expected goals (xG) figure of just 1.68, with the Blues giving up chances worth 1.96 xG at the other end. 

Madueke was joined on the scoresheet by Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix as Maresca became the first manager in Premier League history to see his team score six goals in his first away game at the helm.

Unlucky losers: Wolves

It might be a tad generous to suggest Wolves were unfortunate after shipping six goals on home soil, four of them coming in a miserable second half as they attempted to chase the game.

However, it is certainly fair to say the scoreline did not tell the full story of a game in which Gary O'Neil's men managed 12 shots to Chelsea's 14 and bettered the Blues' 21 touches in the area, registering 25.

Chelsea's xG overperformance of 4.31 is the largest of the season by some margin, with Brighton and Spurs both outdoing their underlying figures by 1.57 in their victories over Everton.

No team managed a bigger overperformance than that throughout the entirety of last season, either, with Newcastle's eight goals from 3.92 xG versus Sheffield United the closest any team got.

Lucky winners: Arsenal

Chelsea's win at Molineux was one of just two games in the Premier League on matchday two where the victors lost the xG battle.

But on a weekend where justice was largely done, Arsenal could perhaps count themselves fortunate to leave Aston Villa with a 2-0 victory.

The Gunners accumulated just 0.87 xG to Villa's 1.28, but goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey maintained their 100% start to the season.

This is the third time they have won their first two matches of a top-flight campaign without conceding a goal, having previously done so in 1924-25 and 1971-72.

Unlucky losers: Aston Villa

Villa were a lucky winner on matchday one as they escaped the London Stadium with a 2-1 victory over West Ham, but there was to be no repeat against Arsenal.

Unai Emery's team only hit the target with three of their 11 shots, and striker Ollie Watkins was particularly wasteful as he failed to net from two efforts worth 0.87 xG.

That is the second-highest figure registered by a player who failed to score in a Premier League match this season, after Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic versus Southampton on Saturday (0.98 xG).

Brighton have announced the signing of Matt O'Riley from Celtic on a five-year contract.

The Denmark international was signed for a fee believed to be more than £25million, a new record transfer fee received by a Scottish club.

O'Riley joined Celtic in January 2022 from MK Dons, going on to make 124 appearances for the Scottish champions. He scored 27 goals and registered 35 assists in all competitions for them.

In the Scottish Premiership last season, only Lawrence Shankland (24) scored more goals than O'Riley (18), while he got the most assists (13).

Of his goals, 13 were scored from big chances, while he created the third-most chances of any player in the competition (93), behind only James Tavernier and Danny Armstrong.

"He plays a very specialist position; he is very good at occupying and attacking the right space. He likes making deep runs, and knows when to attack at the right time," Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said of his new signing.

"He enjoys getting forward and attacking the opponent's penalty area, but he also has a good defensive instinct. That balance makes him special. He is a great character and has a good ambition to succeed and that's something which is very important for us."

Celtic had rejected five bids from Atalanta from O'Riley, with their highest offer being £21.5m plus add-ons.

The 23-year-old is Brighton's eighth signing of the transfer window, following Yakuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Malick Yalcouye, Brajan Gruda, Ibrahim Osman, and Georginio Rutter into the club.

Pep Guardiola has hailed Erling Haaland for pressing "like an animal" and believes the Manchester City striker is in better physical shape than he was last season.

Haaland scored his 10th hat-trick for City as they came from behind to beat Ipswich Town 4-1 on Saturday, moving onto four goals from two Premier League appearances in 2024-25.

The Norwegian has now scored at least once against all 23 teams he has faced in the Premier League, with Harry Kane (32/32) the only player to have faced more sides in the competition while scoring against all of them.

However, Guardiola has been most impressed with Haaland's work off the ball, saying: "I like when he runs a lot. I like when he presses like an animal. I like it. It helps to score a goal.

"When you are connected defensively, you are connected offensively. His body language – imagine a central defender has the ball and he makes a sprint with this body and legs moving. It's scary.

"This is not negotiable. If you don't score a goal, it's fine. But you need to do it."

Haaland scored 27 top-flight goals to win his second Golden Boot last season, despite missing almost two months with a foot injury in the middle of the campaign.

Guardiola believes Haaland is over his physical issues, adding: "He feels good. Last season he always had problems in the hips, in the ankles, in the knee.

"This season of course he takes care of himself with the physios really well, but I had the feeling that he is sharper.

"After training sessions he stays longer to practice crosses and control. Last season it never happened because he was not perfect.

"With his body, he has to be perfect to perform at that level. That's why you have an incredible organisation to help the players to be comfortable to perform at their best."

Ipswich Town have completed the signing of defender Dara O'Shea from Burnley for an undisclosed fee.

The Republic of Ireland international put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Portman Road, while becoming Kieran McKenna's ninth capture during the ongoing window.

Former West Bromwich Albion and Burnley defender O'Shea will bring Premier League experience to the Tractor Boys' backline following their promotion to the top flight.

"I'm really excited to sign for the club," the 25-year-old told TownTV.

"It was really hard not to pay attention to everything the team was able to achieve last season, and to have the chance to join a club with such ambition and momentum was really attractive. 

"I want to play in the Premier League and test myself against the best players in the world, which is something I want to do for as long as possible, and I can't think of a better place to do that."

Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of David Carmo from Porto for £10m (€11.7m), with the defender going out on loan to Olympiacos for the season.

The Portuguese-born defender, who represents Angola at international level, spent the second half of last season in Athens.

Carmo joins on a five-year deal and is Forest's ninth signing of the summer transfer window.

He began his career at Braga before moving to Porto for €20m in the summer of 2022, but only managed 27 appearances before being loaned to Olympiacos, who are owned by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, in January.

Meanwhile, reports emerged on Sunday that Forest's move to sign Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah had broken down.

Nuno Espirito Santo's team are, however, rumoured to be in talks with Feyenoord over Mexico forward Santiago Gimenez, who scored 23 Eredivisie goals last term.

Liverpool still have "a lot to prove" despite maintaining their strong start to the Premier League season, so says new boss Arne Slot.

Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah in Sunday's 2-0 win over Brentford continued the Dutchman's perfect record as Reds head coach following their opening-day win over Ipswich Town last week.

Slot's side are yet to concede a goal this term, scoring four in return, as he became the first Liverpool boss since April 1991 to win his first two league matches in charge.

Yet Slot knows it is early days as he aims to walk in the shoes of the legendary Jurgen Klopp.

He told BBC Sport: "The fans loved to see the team playing really well but they also loved to see the team working very hard.

"I liked what I saw so if I like it then mostly the fans like it.

"Again we won against Ipswich, won against Brentford. Two good teams but I am not expecting them to be in the top six in the upcoming year so still a lot to prove for us in the upcoming weeks and months."

Liverpool were frustrated in their attempts to extend their lead against the Bees by visiting goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who made six saves, but Slot was quick to point out the defensive solidity shown by his team, who limited Brentford to just 0.36 expected goals (xG).

"Most importantly, we did not concede much," the former Feyenoord coach said.

"The only big chance we conceded was a set piece and that is always so difficult when you play Brentford. They can threaten in many ways but one is certainly set pieces, and we controlled that quite well apart from that one moment."

Slot also praised many of his players for returning from their holidays in fine physical condition, and he thinks that has been one of the main factors in Liverpool achieving two wins out of two so far.

"The players came back after three weeks of holiday and in most cases two weeks before the start of the games but they came back really strong physically", he said.

"Compliment to the players for how they came back and, like I have said, we haven't changed much compared to the former regime, so it is not so difficult for them to start playing again. That was a very positive thing."

Slot's biggest test as Liverpool coach comes next week, with the Reds heading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Virgil van Dijk insists there is "no reason" for him to start looking elsewhere from Liverpool, despite his contract at Anfield now running into its final year.

The Reds made it two wins from two under new head coach Arne Slot as Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah were on target in a 2-0 victory over Brentford.

Van Dijk made his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool at Anfield, and celebrated the milestone with a second clean sheet in as many matches.

The skipper has less than a year remaining on his existing contract with the club he joined from Southampton in January 2018.

Nevertheless, he maintains he is very relaxed about the situation, while instead focusing on evolving under his new boss.

"I am very calm," he told Sky Sports. "The thing is, I want to play the best season I can. I want to be important and stay important to the club. Then, we will see.

"Everything happens for a reason, but for now, there have been no changes in my situation. I am very calm about it and there is no reason for me to start thinking about something else. I have a whole season left to play.

"We have to - I won't say forget about the Jurgen period - but that is in the past, and we had an amazing time, and now it is a time for the new boss to hopefully be successful.

"Obviously, [I have] that extra responsibility because I know the players inside and out. But I am here for him [Slot].

"I told him that from day one, and I will help them and the backroom staff. I want to be successful, and we are in the same boat. There is extra responsibility there."

Alexis Mac Allister is pleased with the development of Liverpool so far under new coach Arne Slot, but knows there is still work to do.

Mac Allister helped Liverpool to their second straight win to start the 2024-25 Premier League season, as the Reds swatted Brentford aside 2-0 at Anfield.

Slot became the first Liverpool boss to win his opening two league matches since April 1991 in the process.

And Mac Allister, who was integral to much of Liverpool's play, believes Liverpool are swiftly adapting to their new coach's approach.

He told Sky Sports: "We played a fantastic game.

"The team gave everything from the first minute which you could see and it was a good game. In possession and without the ball it was good so we are really pleased."

Liverpool were in dominant form for much of Sunday's encounter, mustering 19 shots for an accumulative 2.65 expected goals to Brentford's 0.36 xG.

But Mac Allister knows there is still more to come from the Reds, who are one of four teams to have won their opening two matches.

"We know there is still room for improvement," Mac Allister said.

"In the transition sometimes we need to be patient but instead we are quite direct but we are in that transition [towards that style]. Everyone is working hard to get into Arne's ideas."

Slot's biggest test so far as Liverpool coach arrives next Sunday in the form of Manchester United at Old Trafford, and Mac Allister is aware of the enormity of the fixture for both players and supporters.

"We know against Man Utd it is a derby, it is very important for the club and for us. We will prepare during the week and do our best to win that game," he added.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot made himself at home at Anfield as goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah secured a 2-0 victory over Brentford.

After winning by the same scoreline away at Ipswich Town last week, Slot saw his team dominate much of Sunday’s encounter to keep up their perfect record to start the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Slot waited just 13 minutes for his first home game to spark into life – Diogo Jota leading a rapid counter-attack from a Brentford corner before laying it off to Diaz, who lashed in beyond Mark Flekken to mark his 100th Reds appearance in style.

Flekken and Nathan Collins combined to keep Liverpool at bay in the second half, while Brentford – who were again without Ivan Toney – went close through Kristoffer Ajer at the other end.

However, Liverpool’s dominance finally told when Diaz turned provider for the Reds’ second, which was expertly guided home by Salah with 20 minutes remaining.

Cody Gakpo’s deflected effort struck the crossbar late on, as the Reds joined Manchester City, Brighton and Arsenal on two wins from as many matches.

Data Debrief: Slot makes himself at home

Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win his first two league matches in charge since Graeme Souness in April 1991. 

Stretching back to last season, Liverpool have now scored in each of their last six league games, scoring 15 goals during that run.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot made himself at home at Anfield as goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah secured a 2-0 victory over Brentford.

After winning by the same scoreline away at Ipswich Town last week, Slot saw his team dominate much of Sunday’s encounter to keep up their perfect record to start the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Slot waited just 13 minutes for his first home game to spark into life – Diogo Jota leading a rapid counter-attack from a Brentford corner before laying it off to Diaz, who lashed in beyond Mark Flekken to mark his 100th Reds appearance in style.

 Flekken and Nathan Collins combined to keep Liverpool at bay in the second half, while Brentford – who were again without Ivan Toney – went close through Kristoffer Ajer at the other end.

However, Liverpool’s dominance finally told when Diaz turned provider for the Reds’ second, which was expertly guided home by Salah with 20 minutes remaining.

Cody Gakpo’s deflected effort struck the crossbar late on, as the Reds joined Manchester City, Brighton and Arsenal on two wins from as many matches.

Data Debrief: 

Jota has contributed to goals in his last 3 games in the Premier League (2 goals, 1 assist).

Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win his first two league matches in charge since Graeme Souness in April 1991. 

Stretching back to last season, Liverpool have now scored in each of their last six league games, scoring 15 goals during that run.

Noni Madueke believes his link-up with Cole Palmer is perfectly balanced after he set him up for a hat-trick in their 6-2 thrashing of Wolves.

Enzo Maresca earned his first Premier League win thanks to Madueke's 14-minute hat-trick, after Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen had cancelled out Nicolas Jackson and Palmer's goals in the first half. New signing Joao Felix then rounded off a superb display for the Blues with 10 minutes remaining.

It is the fifth time that a player has assisted each goal for a team-mate's hat-trick in the Premier League, and Madueke was pleased with how well they complimented each other on Sunday.

"It is unbelievable. He is cold, and I am fire, so it mixes well," Madueke told PLP.

"He has the ability to always play a pass at the right time. I like to get the ball in space, beat people and make things happen, so luckily today it worked.

"The first [goal] was a bit lucky. Second one was all Cole Palmer; two brilliant passes, with the weight of pass I just had to step onto the ball and score.

"I'm made up for the hat-trick, but more made up we won the game."

Madueke was the subject of ire from the home fans after posting a now-deleted Instagram post with a less-than-complimentary opinion about the city of Wolverhampton.

"I just want to apologise to everyone that I might have offended," he added. "It is just a human mistake, an accident.

"It wasn't meant to be out on my socials like that. I'm sure Wolverhampton is a nice town, and I'm sorry."

Maresca is the first manager in Premier League history to see his team score six goals in his first away game in the competition. Despite being pleased by the emphatic nature of the win, Maresca admitted there were still improvements to be made.

"The performance was good. I think the first half was not a complete performance, we started well in the first 10 to 15 minutes, we scored a goal and had two or three more chances," he told Sky Sports.

"Then we lost a few easy balls. When you want to build from behind you cannot allow yourself to lose easy balls, otherwise you concede set pieces and counter-attacks. You need to be more accurate. Overall, the performance was good."

Meanwhile, Wolves sit at the bottom of the early standings having failed to win their first two games, stretching their losing run to five matches in the Premier League.

After a bright first-half performance that twice saw Wolves come from behind to level the score, Gary O'Neil was left frustrated with the easy nature of Chelsea's goals in the second half.

"We gave Chelsea a lot of help, so there is an awful lot I need to fix," O'Neil told BBC Sport.

"They were unacceptable [mistakes] from us. I am all for positivity and when the lads do well, they know they have done well, but from all of us as a group, to concede those three goals as we do is unacceptable."

Eddie Howe was "very grateful" to see a late Bournemouth winner disallowed against Newcastle United, acknowledging he could not initially see any issue with Dango Ouattara's goal.

A controversial encounter on Sunday ended in a 1-1 draw after a stoppage-time effort from Ouattara was overturned following a VAR review.

The officials decided the ball had struck Ouattara's arm, rather than his head, from a right-wing corner, although referee David Coote did not visit the pitchside monitor to assess the incident.

The decision gave Newcastle a reprieve, having rescued a point through Anthony Gordon's equaliser after Marcus Tavernier netted the opening goal in the first half.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola felt it was "so obvious" the ball had come off Ouattara's shoulder, and Howe appreciated it was "a contentious decision", even if he welcomed it.

"I thought the game was lost because I initially hadn't seen anything wrong with the goal," the Newcastle coach told BBC's Match of the Day.

"We have had it both ways. We have had it for us and against us, and we are very grateful for that moment because we have battled hard.

"What we had at that stage of the game was a valuable point. But I understand that it is a contentious decision."

Iraola added: "It was so obvious. I think everyone who watches the game would agree.

"I think the shoulder; it never touches his skin. We have very short sleeves.

"They say it is factual; show me the facts. I have just seen the video, and the fact is it doesn't touch the arm, it is the shoulder, a clear goal and three points for us.

"It is something that is not even controversial. It is definitely not something for VAR to intervene.

"I have nothing against the referee; he gave the goal, they did not give him the chance to see it again. [It was] someone in the VAR, who supposedly is not going to intervene too much, they say, because they trust the referee.

"It doesn't matter that I complain now; it is two points less."

Noni Madueke plundered a second-half hat-trick as Enzo Maresca claimed his first Premier League win as Chelsea boss in emphatic fashion, with the Blues dispatching Wolves 6-2.

It was all square at the break, with Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen cancelling out Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer's goals in a thrilling first half at Molineux.

Madueke put the game beyond Wolves' reach, though, netting a 14-minute hat-trick from a trio of Palmer assists before new signing Joao Felix added further gloss for the visitors.

Cunha and Mario Lemina had a goal each ruled out for the hosts, but Gary O'Neil's team were cut open at the back and ultimately soundly beaten.

Chelsea's victory takes them into the top half as one of seven teams on three points, while Wolves are 19th after two defeats.

Data Debrief: Blues find their groove

Maresca got his first Premier League win in style, and he is the first manager in the competition's history to see his team score six goals in his first away game.

Madueke, who helped to seal Maresca's first win on Thursday, has now scored more goals in Wolverhampton (three) than he has at Stamford Bridge (two in 18 games). 

It is also just the fifth time that a player has assisted a team-mate's hat-trick in the Premier League, with Palmer finishing the day with three assists and one goal.

As for Wolves, they accumulated a higher expected goals tally (1.92) than Chelsea (1.56), but could not prevent themselves from being on the wrong end of a thrashing.

Bournemouth were denied a dramatic winner against Newcastle United as Dango Ouattara's stoppage-time goal was overturned following a VAR review in Sunday's 1-1 draw.

The Cherries would have been deserving victors at the Vitality Stadium having controlled their first Premier League home game of the season both before and after Marcus Tavernier's first-half opener.

But Anthony Gordon equalised with 14 minutes to play, setting the stage for a chaotic finale in which both sides came close to claiming all three points.

It looked as though substitute Ouattara would have the decisive say, only for his effort to be ruled out for striking his arm.

Former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is still yet to beat his old side in the Premier League but would have been relieved to come away with a point that keeps Newcastle within touch of the teams at the top, while the Cherries remain winless.

Data Debrief: Solanke missed as Evanilson debuts

Bournemouth were enraged by the decision that denied Ouattara, yet they surely should have secured victory long before that stoppage-time drama.

Newcastle actually forged three 'big chances' to Bournemouth's two, as quantified by Opta, but they had offered precious little prior to a glaring miss from Cherries debutant Evanilson that could have put the game to bed on 64 minutes.

The Brazil international prodded wide following a centre from Antoine Semenyo, who also created Tavernier's goal, failing to net from chances worth 0.75 expected goals as Bournemouth perhaps missed the departed Dominic Solanke – twice a scorer in this fixture last season.