F365’s 3pm Blackout: Liverpool cracks still clear to see as Slot, Howe in trouble after 19-goal afternoon | OneFootball

This weekend’s three 3pm fixtures in the Premier League were pretty uninspiring on paper, but it has proved to be one of the wildest afternoons of the 2025/26 campaign.

19 (yes, NINETEEN) goals were scored in three fixtures, with Liverpool managing to hit West Ham for five while looking rather sh*t in the process

Elsewhere, there was further misery at St James’ Park for Newcastle United as Everton boosted their European hopes, while there was the not-so-small matter of a game of the season contender at Turf Moor between Burnley and Brentford.

Here is F365’s 3pm Blackout…

Liverpool 5-2 West Ham: The most unconvincing five-goal win ever?

Coming off one of the Premier League’s “biggest robberies” against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool extended their winning run against West Ham in an equally concerning performance.

Ex-Liverpool star Stephen Warnock predicted a “really difficult afternoon” for his former side, and it was despite the hosts racing into a 3-0 lead in the opening half and ending up 5-2 victors.

West Ham were a real threat in attack and their resurgence under Nuno Espirito Santo has made survival look increasingly likely, though they will go down if they continue to defend as they did against Liverpool.

Hugo Ekitike’s 16th goal of his debut campaign preceded Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister scoring from West Ham’s achilles heel (corners). Still, the Hammers’ self-belief in attack did not subside as Liverpool encouraged them and the visitors twice reduced the deficit to two before their poor defending ultimately got the better of them.

The unconvincing nature of Liverpool’s 5-2 win is underlined by West Ham finishing the game with a greater xG, with the loud groans from the home crowd at 3-1 and 4-2 highlighting the lack of trust towards Arne Slot and his underperforming players, who will not be as lucky when they come up against a more resolute defence from now until the end of the campaign as the clamour for the head coach’s demise persists.

Newcastle United 2-3 Everton: Eddie Howe in trouble as boos ring around St James Park

You know it’s a silly afternoon in the Premier League when even David Moyes’ Everton gets in on the high-scoring high jinks, having twice netted moments after Newcastle to restore their lead in a massive 3-2 victory.

A scrappy 1-0 away win for Everton felt the most likely outcome pre-match, but they instead went the far more entertaining route of earning three points and handing Newcastle their third consecutive home defeat in the Premier League.

Newcastle’s game management was appalling as they sacrificed control of the game on multiple occasions with some poor defending, while Everton had the better of the chances despite having much less possession and were clinical when their opportunities came.

Jordan Pickford produced one of the saves of the season to deny Sandro Tonali and Newcastle an equaliser in the match’s closing stages, but a win was all that Everton deserved for their endeavour and chances.

The Toffees are now up to eighth in the table and have a real chance of qualifying for Europe, while Newcastle will need to win a trophy to earn a place in Europe next season as they continue to flounder in the bottom half due to their severe lack of consistency.

Burnley 3-4 Brentford: Comeback merchants suffer late heartache in seven-goal thriller

Burnley are going to go down, but they are not going to get relegated without a fight.

Scott Parker’s side battled back from behind to claim points in their previous two Premier League matches, and they were unfortunate not to produce their best comeback to date at home to Brentford.

Days after Keith Andrews was deservedly rewarded with a new long-term contract until 2032, Europe-chasing Brentford put 19th-placed Burnley to the sword via some incredibly poor defending in the opening half.

Brentford’s front four had a field day as each had a goal involvement as the hosts netted from two set-pieces and Igor Thiago’s one-on-one to grab his 18th goal of the campaign.

But a careless own goal by Michael Kayode gave hope to Burnley and they were level within 15 minutes of the second half as Jaidon Anthony and Zian Flemming scored, but this was nothing compared to what came in the final ten minutes of the game.

Two incredibly tight VAR calls denied Burnley a fourth goal in the closing stages, while Damsgaard broke their hearts with a stoppage-time winner that retains Brentford’s cushion on the sides chasing them for seventh spot.