The Premier League shortlists for November have been published, highlighting individual runs that shaped the month.

Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes closed November with three goals, two of which arrived in the win over Manchester City. Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a memorable strike against Manchester United, also scoring against Newcastle and providing an assist against Fulham. Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku produced one of the season’s most eye-catching individual displays as he demolished Liverpool and helped Pep Guardiola’s side remain competitive in the title race.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes finished November with four assists, creating goals against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. Morgan Gibbs-White enjoyed a three-game scoring streak for Nottingham Forest, firing home against Man Utd, Leeds United and in the away victory at Liverpool.

Chelsea defender Reece James featured in all four of the Blues’ Premier League matches in November. His assist in the 1–1 draw with Arsenal capped off a truly stunning individual showing in a month which yielded a total of three clean sheets. Arsenal’s Declan Rice added attacking impetus with a goal against Burnley and an assist in the north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Brentford striker Igor Thiago continued his hot form, adding five goals across November with strikes against Newcastle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley among them.

Managers with strong cases included Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s unbeaten month, which produced wins over Burnley and Tottenham as well as draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa won three of four and emerged as outside contenders in the title race. Pep Guardiola’s Man City scored a league-high 10 goals in November, including the victory over Liverpool. Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion conceded once in four games, producing wins over Leeds, Brentford and Nottingham Forest. Chelsea went unbeaten under Enzo Maresca with three wins and a draw. Marco Silva’s Fulham recorded three wins over Wolves, Sunderland and Tottenham.

Recent monthly winners: Jack Grealish (Everton, August), Erling Haaland (Man City, September), Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd, October). Recent manager winners: Arne Slot (Liverpool, August), Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace, September), Ruben Amorim (Man Utd, October).

Arne Slot insisted he can steer Liverpool out of a damaging sequence after their latest defeat, accepting responsibility while refusing to concede the season. The visitors extended their lead when Morgan Gibbs-White slotted a third goal into the bottom corner with 12 minutes remaining, a strike that left Slot standing on the touchline open mouthed as a portion of the crowd began to leave.

Slot acknowledged the scale of the problem after Liverpool suffered their sixth reverse in seven league games but remained bullish about recovery. “Yes of course there’s a way out, especially with the quality players we have,” he told his postmatch press conference. “Lately, it’s almost constantly that we miss our chances and the ones we concede go in,” he sighed. “That will not continue throughout the whole season.”

Set pieces again proved decisive. The centre back Murillo finished crisply from a corner for the opener amid an offside controversy that surrounded his strike. That goal was one of nine Liverpool have conceded from dead-ball situations across the opening 12 games of the season, matching the total they conceded from set pieces in the entire 2024–25 campaign.

Slot highlighted the problem succinctly. “The first time they arrived in our box they scored,” Slot added. “It’s a difficult cocktail to drink if you miss your own chances and almost every time you concede a chance, the ball goes in.” Mohamed Salah was tasked with marking Murillo for the corner and lost his man, and 33 seconds after the interval he again failed to track Neco Williams’s run, which led to Nicolò Savona being teed up for Forest’s second goal.

Liverpool had started the match promisingly, rattling off eight shots in the opening 30 minutes. “I hadn’t seen us create that much in an opening half hour maybe all season,” Slot would later muse. Yet the early chances counted for little when set-piece frailties and defensive lapses handed the visitors control, leaving little visible prospect of the Anfield turnaround the club’s history is known for.

Liverpool suffered a heavy 3-0 home defeat at Anfield as Murillo, Nicolò Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White scored to secure Nottingham Forest’s victory. The result extended Liverpool’s poor run to eight defeats in their last 11 games across all competitions. £125 million British record signing Alexander Isak touched the ball just 14 times and was judged the Reds’ worst performer on the day.

Manager Arne Slot took ownership of the club’s difficulties. “If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility,” he said. “We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We were unable to score a goal. You never know in this stadium, if you score a goal, then things can work out.” Slot acknowledged the timing of fixtures ahead and the need for hard work. “Of course, it was damaging. It was already hard to be 1-0 against a team blocking everything. It’s that simple. In a few days, we have to play in the Champions League again and then play three Premier League games in a short space. Keep your head up and work incredibly hard. We are trying every single day.” He also commented on the squad: “It’s always helpful to have experienced and quality players. It’s not working out at this moment.”

There was controversy over Murillo’s opener. Dan Ndoye was in an offside position close to goalkeeper Alisson, but VAR determined he was not interfering with play because he was not obscuring the Brazilian’s line of sight and did not make an impactful move towards the ball. That decision was noted as the opposite of one made two weeks earlier when Van Dijk thought he had scored against City.

Captain Virgil van Dijk was blunt in his assessment of the dressing room’s response. “We concede too many easy goals. They scored obviously from a set piece again,” he said. “It’s a very difficult situation at the moment. … It’s a problem. Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well. Football is a team and everyone has to take responsibility. We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going.” He added: “Everyone is disappointed, like they should be, because losing at home to Nottingham Forest is, in my eyes, very bad. That’s the least I can say about it. Those goals we conceded are far too easy and we all have to look in the mirror. I’ve been at this club so long now and we’ve been through adversity. We will bounce back but it doesn’t happen overnight. I’m not a quitter and we will keep going.”