Weekend wrap: Saliba guilty, Tosin freed and Gavi's emotional return

Liverpool beats Chelsea, City struggles without Rodri, VAR controversy in Arsenal & Chelsea games, Serie A title race tightens, Gavi returns for Barca

Gavi receives the captain's armband on his return from a lengthy layoff in their 5-1 win over Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday. (Photo credit: FCBarcelona)

League football returned to our screens at the weekend following a weekend of international actions, and we’re here to dissect some talking points from the high-octane games we witnessed.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool marches on.

Arne Slot predicted that it would be their first real test of the season, and Liverpool excelled in it, defeating Enzo Maresca's Chelsea at Anfield.

In a "bald men" derby, Curtis Jones quickly gave Liverpool the lead again, keeping them ahead despite Manchester City's victory earlier in the day.

Will City survive without Rodri and KDB?

It was looking like another dropped point for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City on Sunday at the Molineux as Wolves stood firm, but another late John Stone goal handed the champions a win they deserved.

Wolves had gone in front, but Jovsko Gvardiol curled in a beauty later in the first half to end the first half leveled. It was clear that the midfield battle wasn’t the same without Rodri and chief orchestrator Kevin De Bruyne. Will Manchester City find a way to continue winning without them, or will their absence hurt?

Saliba red, Adarabioyo yellow?

The same scenario, but a different decision situation, put the VAR system in England under scrutiny at the weekend when Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo hacked down Diogo Jota in the exact spot where William Saliba had brought down Evanilson; the Arsenal player received a red card, but the Chelsea player did not.

As we await Howard Webb and his team's explanation, it's crucial to emphasize the importance of maintaining consistency in their practices. They took into account the distance for the Chelsea decision, yet overlooked it for the Arsenal one. Could Webb have intervened, given his presence on the phone at the stadium on Saturday?

Is the Italian Serie A a three-horse race?

With Napoli securing another victory away from home on Sunday and Inter Milan achieving the same against AS Roma, can we conclude that the league this season is between these two teams, with Juventus coming in third?

The Old Lady secured a 1-0 victory over Lazio, keeping them in close proximity to the other two and only trailing by three points. Given that Napoli only plays once a week due to their lack of European commitments, could this be Antonio Conte's championship to lose?

Gavi returns after 11 months.

Barcelona’s wonder kid Gavi has returned from a nasty injury that kept him off the pitch for almost a year in their 5-1 annihilation of Sevilla at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

The youngster got a standing ovation as he made a late entry into the game, contributing his own little quota to the glossy result, and you now wonder if the Catalonians will manage his minutes to avoid a recurrence of such a nightmare. Welcome back, son!