Another day of Barclays Premier League action sees Leicester go joint top while Newcastle, Norwich and Man Utd all got much needed wins with Sunderland's woes continuing. Here are your Saturday night takeaways;
Chelsea meltdown continues
Marko Arnautovic's acrobatic finish was enough to inflict a third consecutive league defeat on the Blues as Jose Mourinho served out his one game stadium ban.
In truth, Chelsea were nowhere near as poor as they have been in recent games, with Pedro, Eden Hazard and Loic Remy all going close for the visitors, but it's a seventh defeat of the season, something that Mourinho has never experienced as a manager.
7 - Jose Mourinho has lost seven league games in a campaign for the first time as a manager. Humbled.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 7, 2015
A combination of wayward shooting, excellent goalkeeping from Jack Butland and on one occasion, the post, meant Chelsea were unable to hit the back of the net.
The result sees last season's champions slip into 16th position, three points ahead of BPL new boys Bournemouth and just ahead of perennial strugglers Sunderland and Aston Villa.
Media speculation will only intensify after today's performance and with 'The Special One' already teetering at the edge following multiple off field bust ups and sideline shenanigans coupled with the drastic loss of form, it's surely a matter of when rather than if for the Portuguese manager to be relieved of his duties.
It will be little comfort to Chelsea fans this evening, but technically, this was their best performance away from home this season.
Chelsea's 7 league defeats this term 0-3 v Man City 1-2 v Palace 1-3 v Everton 1-3 v Southampton 1-2 v West Ham 1-3 v Liverpool 0-1 v Stoke
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 7, 2015
United double papering over the cracks?
Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata got themselves on the scoresheet as Man Utd eventually broke down a stubborn West Brom side at Old Trafford earlier today, with Jesse Lingard's opener the first league goal for Van Gaal's team in 260 minutes of action. Mata then slotted a penalty home in second half injury time to add some gloss to the scoreline.
As has been the trend in recent weeks, they dominated possession but the ball saw a lot of lateral movement rather than quick attacking football deep in the opponent's half.
The lack of cutting edge in front of goal has been a source of frustration for fans in recent weeks, and that trend continued today as United could only muster a single shot on target in the first half, a number which had grown to just three by the end of the game.
Defensively United have been exemplary this season, but at times they have failed to build upon that solid foundation to attack, with the Van Gaal philosophy favouring a more cautionary approach, and that continued today.
510 - Manchester United have now gone 510 minutes without conceding in all competitions. Rearguard.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 7, 2015
Although they managed to score twice, the first had an element of luck about it as West Brom's Chris Brunt is credited with the assist.
Although Anthony Martial did well to get in behind to win the penalty, it was against a stretched Baggies defence late in the game.
Great result today. Now we go into the international break on the back of 2 good wins. What did people think... https://t.co/fFv0CZmm4z
— #Mufc (@RedMancsUnited) November 7, 2015
It was a much needed victory for United, but they are still a long, long way away from the finished article.
Elliot sticks his hand up
Ireland's goalkeeping woes have been well documented coming up to the crucial Euro 2016 play-off with the Bosnians next week, but they will have eased somewhat after the performance of Rob Elliot in today's early kick off.
Newcastle were completely overrun by Bournemouth for the majority of the game, but somehow managed to come away with the three points after an Ayoze Perez goal and some Rob Elliot heroics between the sticks.
Image: Richard Sellers / EMPICS Sport
The three-time capped international has been enjoying a run of games in the first team recently, and proved good value for money today with some outstanding saves, earning a second successive clean sheet despite being the last line of protection behind a fairly atrocious Newcastle defence.
Saves from Dan Gosling and Matt Ritchie in particular stand out, both of which came at crucial times during the 90 minutes.
Nine in Nine as Foxes fly high
There are no superlatives left to describe Jamie Vardy's start to the season, as he grabbed his ninth goal in as many consecutive games to help Leicester into a three way tie for top spot.
The early season form of Claudio Ranieri's men shows no signs of slowing down but it is Vardy who is stealing the headlines, and deservedly so.
The former Fleetwood Town striker is the league's top scorer with 12, five goals ahead of Romelu Lukaku, Odion Ighalo and team mate Riyad Mahrez, who, along with Vardy, has been the driving force behind the Foxes' push to the upper echelons of the table.
The recently capped England striker is now just one goal away from equaling Ruud Van Nistlerooy's record of 10 goals in 10 games after his penalty today.
Jamie Vardy is now just one match away from Van Nistelrooy's BPL all-time record!!! pic.twitter.com/SGwppv5bu0
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) November 7, 2015
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
