Welcome back everyone!! I would like to thank you for spending time reading the new weekly recap of the Premier League.  My apologies for the delay on this one, or should I say Joe being a slow-ass editor…JUST kidding 😉  Better late than never!!
Let’s get started!! Â What a week it was!! Plenty of goals to go around and a big game on Sunday to kick off the year with a Derby!!
On Saturday morning we had the Red Devils kick off the week with a bang! Â They continued where they left off last week as they visited Swansea for their first away match this year. The first chance in the game came for Jordan Ayew as Swansea lead a quick counter attack which led to an Ayew shot from the side of the box which went off the top post just three minutes in. Man U recovered quickly as they started pressuring an organized Swansea defense trying to eliminate any mistakes that would cost them. A breakthrough came right before the half, as a corner for Man U opened up the scoring. First it was Paul Pogba who found the header, sending it off the top post, hitting and bouncing on the goal line yet staying out. But defender Eric Bailly was there to knock in the rebound for his first ever goal with Man U. In the second half, Swansea decided to take out Kyle Bartley a defender and replace him with Wayne Routledge a midfielder, which the Red Devils took full advantage of. It gave them plenty of room to do damage as the second goal come from Romelu Lukaku with a beautiful pass by Henrikn Mkhitaryan which found Lukaku all by himself in the box giving him his third goal this year. Â Two minutes later Paul Pogba found the net as well by another beautiful pass by Mkhitaryan giving him his second assist of the day and fourth for the year. Before the final whistle Anthony Martial got into the action as well as he took on the defense all by himself to score his second goal of the season. Final score 4-0; another impressive show put on by Man U as they showed if you give them room, they will make you pay. They sent another message by dominating their opponent and displaying how well they are being coached by Jose Mourinho.
After struggling in week one, Arsenal looked to get back on track on the road against Stoke City. They didn’t waste time to pressure Stoke, with Oxlade Chamberlain leading the chances with his great passing ability. Two great chances came early from free kick situations when Chamberlain found Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey sneaking behind the defensive line, only for Jack Butland to make two wonderful saves. Arsenal continued to pressure although they couldn’t capitalize on their chances as they went into halftime all tied up. Just when Arsenal was getting back on track with chances, a midfield mistake sent Stoke City on the counter attack as Said Berahino’s wonderful pass found Jese splitting the defense as he shot one past Cech to give Stoke City the 1-0 lead in the 47th minute. Jese was making his debut as he was loaned to Stoke from Paris Saint Germain earlier in the week. Stoke continued to pressure, finding gaps in Arsenal’s midfield. Â Erik Pieters found room on the left side as he sent a pass into the box which found a flying Berahino only to head it over the net. A controversial call came in the 72nd minute when Alexandre Lacazette found the back of the net off a pass from Oliver Giroud; however it was overturned due to an offsides call. That was the closest Arsenal came of scoring again as Stoke City got a big win at home as Arsenal’s struggles continued.
Liverpool returned back home to face Crystal Palace as they hoped to get their first win this season. Liverpool created chances early on, as in the 15th minute it was the defensive players leading the attack. Andrew Robertson, the left back, found himself some room as his cross found a charging Joel Matip in the middle of the box, but his header was too high as it went over the bar. Daniel Sturridge was making his first start this year and in the 27th minute he found himself on the receiving end of a pass at the top of the box, but he let a shot go just right over the net. After a disappointing year one, Sturridge is looking for an outburst as the long season moves along. Wayne Hennessey, Crystal Palace’s goalkeeper came up with a huge save before the half as he made a flying save to keep Firmino’s blazing shot from going in. The big save turned into a counterattack, as Liverpool’s players got caught up field. Loftus-Cheek sped up the middle and found Jason Puncheon all by himself as he let a shot rip in the middle of the net but Mignolet came up with a huge save. Crystal Palace’s first and only chance in the first half went to waste as they went into halftime scoreless. Minutes into the second half it was Crystal Palace with a huge chance to get on the scoreboard as Loftus-Cheek moved around the defense, with his pass finding an open Christian Benteke, only for him to shoot it over the net. After another wasted chance, Liverpool put all the pressure on Crystal Palace as Mohamed Salah entered the game to add more speed up front. In the 70th minute a Salah pass into the box found Sadio Mane, whose shot got blocked by a defender, with Wijnaldum finding the rebound and having his shot blocked as well. Henderson picked up the loose ball outside of the box which he sent right back into Mane, although a weak shot went right to the goalkeepers hands. Minutes later Liverpool was handed a gift, as a defensive mistake to play the ball backward to the goalie didn’t work. Mane found the loose ball in the penalty box and put it in the net, to give Liverpool the 1-0 lead in the 73rd minute. Dominic Solanke had a chance late in the game as a Firmino pass found him in the box, only for him to shoot low which didn’t give the goalie any problems. Liverpool earns it first win after a disappointing first week.
Burnley were looking to continue where they left off after beating Chelsea last week, as they hosted West Bromwich. Burnley lead the possession game mostly throughout the first half although they couldn’t put a shot on goal. The breakthrough came for West Brom in the 71st minute as their midfield moved the ball up the field on a counterattack. Matt Phillips’ header pass found Robson-kanu, who had just gotten subbed in, splitting the two defenders as he finished with a strong kick to put West Brom up 1-0. In the 83rd minute it was the goal scorer who found himself in some trouble as Kanu picked up a red card leaving West Brom a man down with only 7 minutes left. Burnley’s big chance to tie it up came in stoppage time as Jeff Hendrick sent a ball into the box as he found an unprotected Jonathan Walters, although a powerful header sent the ball over the bar. West Brom snuck away with a big win, even after Burnley lead in possession and shots although had zero shots on goal. West Brom earned their second victory to be one of three teams with six points.
Other results on Saturday: Marco Silva’s Watford team continued their domination as they were on the road against Bournemouth. Watford won the game by a score of 2-0 as the goals came from 20-year old Brazilian Richarlison, in his first year in the Premier League. Etienne Capoue put another one in the net late in the game to secure the win. Leicester City takes care of Brighton at home as they win by a score of 2-0. Shinji Okazaki opened up the score early on as he added his second goal of the year. Harry Maguire’s header during a 54th minute corner put Leicester up 2-0, as they earned their first victory this year, following a well played game against Arsenal last week which they lost in a heartbreaker. We also saw a goal thriller on Saturday as Southampton hosted West Ham. Southampton jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first 40 minutes as West Ham was playing a man down.  West Ham’s new signing Chicharito had other things in mind though, as he scored both before the half and in the 74th minute to tie the game. A big mistake late in the game by West Ham awarded Southampton with a penalty score as Charlie Austin stepped up and took it. Austin beat the keeper and sealed a 3-2 victory for the home side.
On Sunday we saw the two newly promoted teams playing each other as Huddersfield hosted Newcastle United. Both teams had great chances in the opening minutes of the game as they came out firing. Huddersfield attack midfielder Tom Ince found a rebound right outside the box and let a shot rip towards the top of the net, although Rob Elliot denied his goal by making a wonderful save. Minutes later Newcastle returned with a chance as well.  Matt Richie received a pass on the edge of the box and without hesitation let a shot go towards the right of the keeper. Jonas Lossi was caught off guard but regained himself as he made a great save to keep it scoreless going into the half. In the second half Huddersfield took advantage of the open field Newcastle left them, as Elias Kachunga found Aaron Mooy at the top of the box. Mooy put an amazing shot towards the top right as Elliot couldn’t save it to give the home side a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute. For the rest of the game, Newcastle couldn’t produce any offense as Rafael Benitez’s team struggled, taking their second defeat. Huddersfield stayed perfect as they collected the 3 points for the second straight week.
Only two weeks in and we have our first London Derby!! Tottenham hosted Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, where the Spurs will be playing their home games this year. What a Derby it was, with plenty of action and some beautiful goals. It didn’t take long for the action to start as Chelsea had the first chance four minutes in.  Alvaro Morata split right between two defenders, as he received a pass from Cesar Azpilicueta, although he didn’t quite head it right as it went wide and out. Thibaut Courtois had himself a busy day as the Spurs kept firing shots at him. First, Harry Kane in the 10th minute found himself with some slight room and let a shot off but no trouble for Courtois. A few minutes later, Mousa Dembele, a dangerous player with a powerful shot had Courtois jumping to make a save as he knocked it over the net. Right when the Spurs were taking Chelsea out of their game, a free kick by Marcos Alonso changed the story. Alonso kicked it over the wall and past Lloris to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead. Before the half Tottenham had two great chances to level it, when Harry Kane’s shot beat Courtois although it hit the post to stay out. Ben Davies also joined the shooting party, but a Courtois diving save kept Chelsea up 1-0 heading into the half.  Tottenham’s pressure continued where they left off in the first half, as an early corner taken by Davies connected with Kane in the box, but he couldn’t quite head it in the right direction as it went wide. In the 75th minute Chelsea had a huge chance to extended their lead, as a counterattack setup Willian with a big opportunity, although his shot hit the post. That was Chelsea’s first chance since they scored the goal early on the game. With time slowly ticking away, an 80th minute free kick for the Spurs finally got them what they had been looking for. As the ball made its way into the box, a clearing attempt by Michy Batshuayi sent the ball into the net as an own goal to tie the game up. Batshuayi had just come on the field for Chelsea, and the mistake could’ve cost them two points, although they had other ideas. Chelsea pressed high up the field, as David Luiz picked off a pass in the midfield sending Chelsea on the counterattack. Pedro opened the ball up to Alonso as he went storming into the box unprotected and letting off a shot which beat Lloris to put Chelsea right back in front. It was the goal that gave Chelsea the 2-1 win. Tottenham couldn’t believe it; they outplayed Chelsea the whole game but it came down to finishing off opportunities, which Tottenham struggled to do the whole game.
The Final game of the week was played on Monday as Manchester City went up against Everton. For the first half hour we saw a defensive game for both sides, not giving their opponent any room to work with. The first big chance in the game came for Man City in the 34th minute, on a beautiful pass by Sergio Aguero to David Silva as he cut through the defense and let a shot go which rattled off of the post.  Minutes later, Everton went on the counterattack as Calvert-Lewin used his speed to move around the defense, and spotted Wayne Rooney working his way into the box unprotected. Rooney received the pass and put it away to give Everton the 1-0 lead. This was Rooney’s second goal this year but also makes that his 200th goal playing in the Premier League. Man City’s luck got even worse as Kyle Walker picked up two yellow cards in a span of five minutes to leave Man City a player down heading into the half. In the second half it was all Man city from the moment it started.  You would have thought Everton was a man down. Man City pressured really hard up the field, winning corner kicks left to right but couldn’t put anything away as Everton were playing good defense. Raheem Sterling entered the game for Man City in the second half, and immediately became the main man to go to. In the 75th minute Aguero, with his great passing ability, set up Sterling for a huge opportunity one on one with the goalie. Sterling sent it over the net, continuing his struggles in finishing opportunities. Just five minutes later an attempted clear by Everton defenders didn’t quite get the ball out, as the ball ended up going right to Sterling on the edge of the box.  Sterling ripped off a one timer as no one had any time to react, sending it into the net to give Man City the goal they were looking for. With ten minutes remaining Everton tried to use the extra man for advantage although Morgan Schneiderlin Everton’s midfield picked up his second yellow card as well leaving Everton to play with ten men.  No other big chances came in the game as Man city showed how powerful and talented they are,  taking control of the game even a man down. The final score was 1-1 as both teams walked away with a point.
Matchday 3 Schedule
Bournemouth vs Manchester City (Sat)
Crystal Palace vs Swansea City (Sat)
Huddersfield vs Southampton  (Sat)
Manchester United vs Leicester City (Sat)
Newcastle United vs West Ham United (Sat)
Watford vs Brighton (Sat)
Chelsea vs Everton (Sun)
West Brom vs Stoke City (Sun)
Liverpool vs Arsenal (Sun)
Tottenham vs Burnley (Sun)