Premier League roundup: Biggest stories from Matchday 10

"We won seven in a row, now we lost three in a row," Maresca said. "We need balance on that, and just during the international break try to understand what we can do better."

Chelsea's inconsistency came back to bite it

Is there any Premier League team more fun than Chelsea? The freewheeling London club is capable of breathtaking unity and shocking collapse in equal measure. That kind of inconsistency doesn't win titles, but it does turn a developing team into must-watch television.

Case in point: Chelsea's 1-0 loss to bottom-of-the-table Sunderland this week. Chelsea cruised into this match high off its glorious 2-0 win over Man United but left it utterly broken by a controversial penalty call. That call — and its resulting Enzo Le Fée penalty kick goal — doomed Chelsea to its fourth loss of the season.

Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso, to his credit, refused to dwell on the decision and took responsibility for the loss himself. "It's our mistake," he said plainly, and it's that kind of self-awareness that could help Chelsea evolve into a far more consistent team in the future. It's must-watch TV today for the wrong reasons, but Alonso has the humility and gumption to make it must-watch TV for the right ones.

Brighton won the battle of surprise European challengers

The two best surprises of this young Premier League season are Brighton and Brentford. Both entered the campaign without much fanfare; both kicked it off with impressive on-field fireworks. Their meeting this weekend was a genuine top-five clash, and it was Brighton — under the tutelage of young coaching phenom Fabian Hurzeler — that came out ahead. It won 2-0 to lift itself into second place and send Brentford hurtling down into ninth.

Brighton's exceptional offense has earned most of the plaudits this year (its goal difference of +19 is the best in the league by far) but its midfield deserves just as much credit. German utility man Pascal Groß has emerged as one of the league's finest central players; it's worth wondering why he wasn't called up by German national team coach Jurgen Klopp for the team's upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Man United and Aston Villa reminded us all that the Premier League can, in fact, be very silly indeed

Sometimes, soccer games read like chess matches; sometimes, they read as pillow fights. Manchester United versus Aston Villa was firmly in the latter camp, and that made it all the more enjoyable.

It started, as most United games do these days, with disaster. Villa went 2-0 up in under six minutes, then lost its concentration and allowed United to equalize before halftime. United struggled to find its footing after the break and quickly went down 4-2, but it threw everything it had at Villa's makeshift defense and tied the game at 4-4 in the final seconds of the match.

This was United's second major comeback this week after its 3-2 win over Roma in the Champions League. It didn't help the team's Premier League case much — United remains mired in the relegation zone in 18th place — but it did help the team build some positive momentum in advance of the international break. Will coach Michael Carrick survive it? Two weeks ago, the answer was almost certainly no ... but these two wild, lovable and indeed very United comebacks might have earned him more time in the driver's seat.

The Premier League will return for Matchday 11 on Saturday, Nov. 21.