It was another frantic weekend of Premier League football with 30 goals scored in total. Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham remain unbeaten and all three promoted teams – Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United – stay on a single point.
Here are five things we learned from the weekend…
MANCHESTER CITY LOOK UNSTOPPABLE
Embed from Getty ImagesManchester City have won all six of their Premier League game and strolled past Nottingham Forest despite being down to ten men for much of the game. A beautiful finish from Phil Foden and a clinical header from Erling Haaland put City in a comfortable position in the first half. Rodri was sent off for grabbing Morgan Gibbs-White’s neck and hauling him to the ground and the midfielder will serve a three game suspension.
Manchester City got through the second half with minimal fuss and picked up the three points to take their tally to 18, a maximum return. Three other teams are unbeaten in the Premier League but it seems it is going to take something special for any side to stop Manchester City from claiming a fourth title in a row.
SPURS’ FEEL GOOD FACTOR
Embed from Getty ImagesSpurs are unbeaten in six Premier League games and it feels like Ange Postecoglou has had an instant impact on and off the pitch. The addition of James Maddison has been a masterstroke, the attacking midfielder has seamlessly slotted into the team adding goals and assists. Spurs came from behind twice at the Emirates Stadium and took a well earned point back across north London. In the absence of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min has taken the number nine spot and excelled, scoring a brace against Arsenal to add to his terrific hat-trick at Burnley.
Postecoglou has injected belief back into the Tottenham fanbase, almost immediately winning them over with his exciting brand of football. A season with no European football could be the perfect tonic to rebuild and have a positive season in the Premier League. It has been an encouraging start, can they keep it going?
MORE PROBLEMS FOR POCH
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea have suffered back-to-back home defeats in the Premier League with the feeling of discontent growing at Stamford Bridge. Aston Villa lost in Poland on Thursday night in the Europa Conference League, turned up to West London three days later and took all three points. Malo Gusto was sent off for a heavy challenge on Lucas Digne and striker Nicolas Jackson received a fifth yellow card in six league games for blocking a free-kick, meaning both players will be suspended for their next match away at Fulham.
Chelsea have not scored in three league matches and with an extensive injury list, the problems are piling up for Pochettino. The sacking culture has become almost normalised at Chelsea over the years and pressure is growing on the manager. One win in six is not what Todd Boehly would have expected after another summer of high spending.
LIVERPOOL ARE IN THE TITLE RACE
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool have gone under the radar this season. All the focus has been on whether Arsenal can compete with Manchester City and Tottenham have stolen the headlines too with early success under their new manager. But Liverpool have won five games in a row after the opening day draw with Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp’s side have scored 15 goals and have scored three goals in four separate games.
Apart from Manchester City, Liverpool have arguably been the best team in the league so far. Defensively, they have only conceded five goals, and were without Virgil Van Dijk for two of their league games after his red card at Newcastle. Liverpool have shown flashes of attacking brilliance but have also demonstrated determination to win from behind on two occasions. Their next three games will test their character again as they play Tottenham, Brighton and Everton.
UNITED CALM JITTERS WITH GRITTY WIN
Embed from Getty ImagesIt has been an unsettling start to the season for Manchester United. They went into their game against Burnley needing to get back on track after three defeats in a row. Yet again, it was not a convincing performance from Erik ten Hag’s side but a piece of brilliance from Bruno Fernandes won the game for United.
In all of United’s three wins this season, they have edged the game by just one goal. This is still a cause for concern, with United’s next fixtures are against Crystal Palace, Brentford and Sheffield United. The win against Burnley has eased the pressure, but Manchester United still have a lot to prove in the early stages of the season.
