I watch every minute of every game see my summary below
Southampton vs Manchester United
Manchester United came into the game with Erik Ten Hag under pressure needing to get 3 points against a very poor Southampton side that had been a comedy of errors and looked nothing like a premier league side 3 weeks in. Ten Hag’s lineup included two changes with Garnacho replacing Diallo and Eriksen replacing Casemiro who was nearly solely responsible for their loss to Liverpool prior to the international break. Southampton meanwhile lost their first 3 fixtures and looked by far the worst of the promoted sides thus far into the season. The only positive was the introduction of 18 year old Tyler Dibling into the starting lineup who only came on as a substitute in the previous three matches. In an effort to make a change Southampton changed from a back 3 to a back 4 with more midfielders to try and clog the middle. The first real chance of the game came through Dibling who turned Dalot brilliantly on the halfway line and drove down the right hand side before muscling off Dalot again and firing a snap shot at goal forcing Onana into an early save (7’). Southampton followed that up with a good spell with plenty of possession but no chances created before United finally got into the game. With their first spell United broke through lines allowing Eriksen to drive into the box and slide a cross across the six yard box that a stretching Zirkzee was only able to tamely tap towards Ramsdale (15). Five minutes later Walker-Peters put De Ligt on skates by the goaline before taking too long to pass and having his cross intercepted. It fell to Mazraoui who played a brilliant long ball that Diallo latched onto and played across to a streaking Fernandes who took a touch and tried to set his feet which allowed the defenders to close him down before ultimately forcing his shot wide right. Southampton took control again immediately afterwards, pinning United back leading to the best chance of the game thus far from a corner in the 28th minute where Ugochukwu got a free header on the near post 7 yards out that he headed over the bar but really should have hit the target. Most of the play came down the right for Southampton from Sugawara, Dibling and Downes who took advantage of Dalot who had an awful first half. This culminated in the 30th minute with Dalot giving away a penalty by slide tackling Downes just inside the penalty box after he got past him to the touchline. Cameron Archer then stepped up to take the penalty and struck the ball hard down to Onana’s right but far too close allowing Onana who guessed correctly to fairly comfortably save away before the follow up was tamely headered back to him (33’). The save seemed to galvanize the United team who were kind of half asleep and sluggish beforehand but turned up the energy and injected pace into their move leading to their first corner of the game from the left hand side. They played short and Fernandes played a looping ball into the back post where De Ligt, right in front of Zirkzee, both unmarked, headed back across the goal into the side netting giving Ramsdale no chance and putting United 1-0 up (35’). Two problems for Southampton on the goal, firstly there was only 1 defender on the back post (Stephens) trying to mark 3 players but secondly and more importantly he was also the only one moving backwards towards the goal which held all 3 players onside while the rest of the team did well stepping up towards the ball. Then 5 minutes later Southampton got caught on a counter with Rashford forcing Ramsdale into a good save from a tight angle leading to a corner on the right hand side. The ensuing corner was over hit and picked up by Diallo on the opposite wing who played back to Rashford at the top of the box who took a touch inside and hit a fairly tame shot/cross that bounced and hit the bottom of the right hand side post and went in (41’). Ramsdale was left unsighted as it curled around De Ligt through a bunch of bodies and it felt really lucky for United while Southampton felt as if they didn’t deserve to be 2-0 down. The shock factor set in as Southampton were really on the back foot and were nearly 3 down less than two minutes later when another cleared corner was this time picked up Mazroui from much deeper who played a perfectly low driven ball into the box that fell perfectly into the path of Dalot who opted to take a touch and lay off to De Ligt instead of shooting himself which allowed Ramsdale to cover brilliantly whose shot was smothered brilliantly by Ramsdale. United then saw out the rest of the half and entered half time happy despite not playing well but being 2-0 up. United came out much better to start the second half than they did in the first with early possession, more control, and better high pressing. They didn’t do much with it though, as the good opportunities in the final third were squandered by poor final balls. Then the referee sealed Southampton’s fate with their captain Jack Stephens getting sent off for a lunging slide tackle on Garnacho well inside United’s half stopping the break away (79’). While the challenge was high, it wasn’t with the studs and merely tripped Garnacho and a very borderline red card. Southampton did have moments where they looked better with the substitutes that gave a slightly different look but most of that was due to the comfortability of United with the lead and a man up for latter stages of the game. Into the first minute of stoppage time Diallo did well to knick it of Frasier who was running towards his own goal before squaring it and the deflection falling to Mainoo who tricked everyone who thought he was going to shoot and squared to Zirkzee who should have scored but ended up getting his shot blocked off the line. Then in the closing moments of the game United got the icing on the cake with Casemiro playing Dalot onto the goaline who cut it back for Garnacho who rifled it into the top of the net to end the game 3-0.
In a way the result sums up the difficulty of the Premier League, Southampton played their best footy of the season for the first 30 minutes and created a golden opportunity that they failed to take advantage of and were punished to the highest level. The only positive they can take from the game is that compared to their previous matches most of their possession came in United’s half. For Ten Hag it was an expected win that only momentarily takes the pressure off his back in what is expected to be a good run of games to string together wins.
Brighton vs Ipswich
Brighton came into the game unbeaten with 7 points from 9 and two changes forced due to injuries to James Milner and Joao Pedro who were replaced by Yasin Ayari and Georginio Rutter. Meanwhile Ipswich earned their first point in the league last time out with a hard fought draw against Fulham and looked to get more on the board with two changes, Ogbene and Woolfeenden and replaced by O’Shea and Burns. The first half chance of the game came early with Baleba doing well to volley a tough ball from the top of the box that Muric saved down to his left (3’). Brighton as expected had the majority of the ball but Ipswich were not afraid of high pressing or even holding a high line at times. They looked very well organized, compact and defended with energy and intensity in a 4-4-2 without the ball. The game ebbed and flowed after the first early shot for Brighton but was kind of flat waiting for a moment of brilliance. Ipswich struggled to connect any passes to allow them to get into the final third which allowed Brighton to have waves of attack with some good crosses and inter play but just missing the final ball. The early shot was the only one in the match for either side 30 minutes in. Baleba looked to be the player of the match in the first half connecting passes and driving past defenders well. Ipswich had chances to play the ball over the top to Delap and others but they always took an extra touch or a fraction too long before playing the ball that would have unlocked the Brighton defense. Then the first real action of the game came in the 35th minute when Minteh played a ball through to Georginio who made a brilliant run forward between a recovering Davis and O’ Shea before cutting back inside on his left and shooting to the far post that was saved well by Muric to his right. The save fell to the feet of Mitoma who should have scored but Muric somehow recovered and made a world class save. Brighton ended the first half with 71% possession and no goal while Ipswich defended well but had no shots and only 89 passes in the first half. Brighton started the second half on the front foot with some dangerous crosses and a few shots wide in the first 7 minutes. Then in the 54th minute from a headed Tuanzebe clearance Delap picked the ball up and took advantage of Brighton’s biggest weakness, lack of pace in the center backs, in this case Van Hecke and proceeded to run the length of the pitch straight past Ayari and Van Hecke before taking a shot from just outside the right hand side of Brighton’s six yard box that hit the far left post with Ipswich’s first shot of the match. Ipswich made a triple substitution in the 59th minute and started to grow into the game with more possession and confidence on the ball, getting a couple forays into the final third resulting in a few poor shots. After the initial bright start to the half Brighton really struggled to create anything solid with a fair few crosses that Muric came out and claimed as well as 2 half chances where players were selfish and should have played an extra pass for a much better shooting angle. In the end Ipswich defended stoutly and were very impressive only giving up 1 major chance claiming their 2nd point of the season and first away from home. Meanwhile for Brighton they will be massively disappointed being held goalless by a promoted side especially with 21 shots and xG of 1.73. A major shout out to Axel Tuanzebe who did very well after having to defend 1v1 vs Mitoma the entire game and only getting beat once or twice out of nearly 15 times.
Crystal Palace vs Leicester
Palace made three changes from prior to the international break with new signings Nketiah and Lacroix replacing Kamada and Richards with Doucoure replacing Hughes. Leicester meanwhile only made one change with Mavididi replacing Fatawu. Both clubs were not only looking for their first win of the season but also looking to take the lead for the first time in a game this season. The first chance of the game came with Ndidi closing down Guehi whose clearance was blocked allowing Ndidi to play a perfect cross into the back post catching Palace out but the former eagle Ayew scuffed his volley and squandered the chance letting Palace off the hook (5’). Leicester looked in control early with the lion’s share of possession but Palace steadied themselves and started to work themselves into the game around the 15th minute. This led to a brilliant ball over the top to Eze which collapsed the entire Leicester back line onto the left hand side allowing Eze to slide the ball across the box to the arriving Munoz. Unfortunately the ball across was slightly under hit allowing Faes to recover and lay out for a last second block on what would have otherwise been an easy goal for Munoz. Palace kept the pressure on with another chance this time for Nketiah straight at Hermansen. Right as we thought Palace were in the ascendancy an errant pass from Mateta just behind Wharton allowed Ndidi to pick the ball up just inside the Palace half and play a perfect 20 yard ball over the top that Vardy beat Guehi to before taking a touch past Henderson and passing into an open net (21’). Henderson will be annoyed with himself, as had he committed he would have got to the ball first but instead hesitated allowing Vardy to get there first. Palace pushed on after conceding and created a couple more shooting opportunities that came to nothing. Though they had the lead Leicester in defense were getting broken through very easily with Wharton playing out to the left wing to Mitchell very often in the first half allowing Palace to be in and around the box constantly. One chance of which Mitchell found Eze whose quick footwork got him beyond Faes on the left side of the six yard box but flashed his shot wide of the post and just too far from Mateta who could have tapped in (35’). The game kind of slowed after that until the very end of the half where a horrible mistake from Guehi allowed Vardy to get on the ball and play Mavididi into the box whose shot flashed high and wide left when he should have at least hit the target in what was probably the second best opportunity of the half. One change came at the half with Will Hughes replacing Doucoure in midfield for Palace who looked to have picked up yet another injury after Ayew rolled onto his ankle at the end of the first half. The second half did start fast when 20 seconds in Hermansen’s long ball found James Justin whose cross deflected to Ndidi who somehow managed to find a brilliant backwards pass from inside the six yard box, where he could have easily scored himself, to Mavididi on the penalty spot who smashed home into the empty net to give Leicester a shock 2-0 lead (46’). Then less than a minute later a poor pass from WInks allowed Eze to switch play to Mitchell on the other side who slid a cross in that Mateta finished into the far corner from just inside the six yard box (47’). Unbelievably Mateta was onside when from all the angle’s we were shown he looked clearly offside which got the crowd roaring again after the shock start to the half. Even the VAR referees looked surprised as it took them 3 minutes just to make sure they were correct. The game then was fast flowing back and forth for 10 minutes but lacked a bit of quality after those two early goals. Palace started to take control and became far more threatening and looked far more likely to score again. Nketiah had another good half chance from wide right inside the box in the 67th minute with his shot just skimming inches wide of the left hand post. Leicester really struggled to do anything, even hold onto the ball in the second half and were really hanging on for most of the half as many of Palace’s crosses just missed their target. Then finally after probably 20 crosses into the box Hughes played a delightful cross from the left hand side that found a wide open Mateta who could only direct it over the bar (87’). Finally all the one way traffic came to fruition with a ball over the top to Nketiah, that substitute Connor Coady did well to stop but in the process lost sight of Ismaila Sarr who crept in and nicked the ball before being tackled by Coady for a penalty. Mateta then calmly slotted home to tie the match in the 92nd minute. The match finished 2 apiece and Leicester can count themselves lucky to be leaving with a point after having been dominated most of the game. Despite all the perceived prowess going forward Leicester have looked so poor in defense 4 weeks in. Similarly Palace have also failed to keep a clean sheet thus far but have also been on the end of some bad luck while Leicester have had plenty thus far into the season.
Fulham vs West Ham
After the tough loss to Man City last time out Lopetegui only made one change with Paqueta being replaced by Soucek. Meanwhile for Fulham Anderson and Jiminez replaced Diop and Muniz at center back and striker respectively. Soucek coming into a CAM position was a very interesting choice as it signaled a very defensive midfield that can’t create a lot of quick passing or swift interplay but rather crashing the box for crosses and being more solid defensively. It essentially gave Fulham the initiative to have more of the ball and be on the front foot which is what we saw in the early stages of the game. The first major moment of the match came in the 16th minute where Adama Traore got behind the West Ham defense and into the box before being shoved in the back and kicked in the back of the leg as he took the shot that was straight at Areola. Not called a penalty on the field and confirmed by VAR but had it been given on the field there would have been no argument as there was clear contact impacting the ability to shoot the ball. Not to mention I and others have seen that type of penalty be given every day of the week in every league all the time. The referee saw it as Adama Traore sticking his leg in front of the West Ham defender which was true and fine but as we have seen already this season there is usually no consistency for these types of calls. West Ham got away with one while Fulham were pissed which energized more to get forward and put pressure. The next bit of action came in the 22nd minute with Iwobi playing a good cross that found Traore who beat Emerson to the ball but headed wide left. This is the problem with Traore for everything that he produces with his speed and strength the end product is seemingly always sorely lacking. The pressure wasn’t in vain though with Lukic picking the ball up in his half and finding Smith Rowe on a ball over the top that reached the goal line on the left hand side. West Ham defenders were slow to press him looking for the offside flag which allowed Smith Rowe the time to turn and calmly find the front post run of Jiminez who finished first time past Areola at close range (24’). West Ham barely had possession in Fulham’s final third and just didn’t seem to have that fluidity in midfield. They finally worked their way into the game with a good spell of possession towards the end of the half but it came to nothing. Despite the near equal possession in the first half it felt like Fulham were dominating and on the front foot a lot but should have created more clear cut opportunities from the promising situations they were in. Lopetegui recognized his mistake and at half time made two substitutions with Paqueta and Summerville coming on for Soucek and Antonio at half time. West Ham came out better with Paqueta getting on the ball and able to find passes and create interplay to break out as well as more energy in pressing up the pitch. This gave them more opportunities in the final third. The first real chance of the second half came in the 60th minute with Mavropanos winning a header straight to Kudus whose cross was straight to Bowen’s foot whose perfect first touch split the two CB’s. However on his weaker right foot Bowens the shot was straight at Leno who came out quickly enough to close the angle. Fulham were really struggling for a footing in the game since the start of the second half and West Ham had more belief and intensity with another half chance coming from a deflected cross across the face of the goal by Kudus that was just beyond Summerville. Seeing that Marco Silva brought on Sander Berge and Reiss Nelson in the 65th minute to try and sure up the midfield. The game started to open up back and forth after that with Smith-Rowe having a half volley in the box that would have gone in had it not smashed into his own teammate (71’). The game played out almost the opposite of the first half with West Ham playing well and being on top but unable to score. Fulham worked their way back into the game after that chance, providing very entertaining football for the neutral. Then yet again a cross this time from substitute Cairney found Traore again and yet again he missed the target when he should have sealed the 3 points for Fulham. Then as the game progressed to the later stages Fulham chose to try and keep the ball on a couple of occasions where they could have attacked to score the second goal and ensure a victory. Then from nowhere in the dying embers of the game a quick throw in caught out Fulham with left back Robinson out of position allowing Bowen to get in behind and play a first time cut back to Danny Ings who took a touch and rifled it to the bottom corner to level the score (95’). Leno got a hand to it but was unable to deal with power and will be disappointed in himself. Then as if the football gods acknowledged they were the better side Fulham got one last chance with the added extra time, a free kick where Bassey could have won it with his free header from 15 yards out but couldn’t steer it goalward resulting in a 1-1 draw. Very average game from the referee
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest
Liverpool came in unchanged from all their previous matches while Forest came in with four changes and a very defensive set up in anticipation of having very little of the ball. The first early chance came from a Liverpool corner on the right side that fell straight to Salah in the box who should have taken it first time either with a header or volley but opted to take a touch squandering the chance. Liverpool as expected had the majority of the possessions early but fairly often gave away cheap freekicks that allowed Forest breaks and stopped the momentum. The biggest moment early on came from Diaz chasing a lost cause of a ball on the left side that everyone thought was going out and rounding Anderson who was trying to shield the ball. He then drove straight towards goal and took a touch towards the penalty spot trying to open the angle up and catch Sels at the front post. He did just enough for Sels to leave a gap but hit it fractionally too far left with it hitting the inside of the post and going out (16’). After that Forest started to get spells of possession though nothing came of them. Then a well worked play by Liverpool led to a brilliant outside of the foot cross just between two defenders but Jota could only get a tame touch on it from four yards out straight at Sels to catch (25’). Forest defended in a 4-4-2 fairly well with most of the inroads coming from crosses by Liverpool. Then in the 29th minute Van Dijk got a tough chance off a corner with defenders draped all over him as he directed his header wide that he wished he could have done better with. A very scrappy half with lots of physicality especially by Yates whether intentional or not against Mcallister. Another cross this time fell to the head of Mcallister who forced a good save by Sels down to his left (37’). Then nearly a minute later Sels nearly dropped the ball into his own net off a very routine ball that fell to him, which would have undone all the hard work in the first half. Forest ended the half well with a long throw forcing a clearance and no goal conceded. They didn’t have a shot but also did not look like they were really going to concede. There was a bit of sloppiness and a lack of flow or momentum for Liverpool possibly due to the fouls or the sheer quickness of a game after returning from international play for all of the starting lineup, really stalling their momentum. The second half started the same but Salah was finally able to take advantage of lb Moreno, who did very well in the first half, and get a shot off from a tight angle. Liverpool just looked a little disjointed and were missing passes that they would normally connect. The promising thing for Forest were the opportunities that were clearly present when on the break with the moves just failing due to being a fraction offside or playing the pass a little late. Forest then brought on their two normal starting wingers as the second half progressed while Liverpool brought a triple substitution. From the moment those subs came on for Forest they looked much more of an attacking threat and Hudson Odoi was getting in behind Conor Bradley steadily after Trent was moved to midfield. Liverpool unable to find a way through, were being countered at constantly and after winning the ball in 71st minute Elanga drove at the back four before playing a perfect switch to Hudson Odoi on the opposite side who took a touch inside past Bradley and Konate before curving a shot perfectly of the right hand post and in for the lead. (72’). Liverpool seemed to lose their composure for a little while afterwards allowing Forest to have a good 8 minute spell with stop start play that stalled any momentum of Liverpool looking to get forward. Then a simple goal kick in the 85th minute was won by Jota Silva over Van Dijk into the path of the runner in behind Elanga who had a golden opportunity to seal the game but hit his volley nearly straight at Alisson. Then finally after that chance there was a sense of urgency from Liverpool with Forest players doing just enough to get their bodies in the way and put the shots off. In the end it was a brilliant performance by Forest, defending well and taking advantage of Liverpool’s sloppiness. A well deserved win at Anfield for the first time in 55 years aided I would say in large part by the international break which seemed to affect Liverpool more than any other team I saw this week. Liverpool will be rueing their sloppiness and it is the first setback for new manager Arne Slot.
Manchester CIty vs Brentford
The game started quickly with City conceding within 25 seconds. A long ball from goalkeeper Flekken juggled around before finding its way to Collins whose cross from the right went deep to the back post finding Lewis Potter who tried to header back across and ended up heading right in between Stones and Ederson. Stones proceeded to slice his clearance upwards which hit Ederson’s hands on the way up and deflected backwards straight to Wissa to simply tap home with his head (1’). Then three minutes later a long ball was headed down by Akanji and picked up by Damsgard who forced Akanji to commit before looping the ball over to Mbeumo who was in through on goal and should have scored but scuffed his shot straight into the recovering Rico Lewis. Wissa and Mbuemo worked well up top with impeccable chemistry forcing CIty to actually defend and run for the first time this season. The entire Brentford team committed to playing out and were very impressive with their composure, quality and work rate. City still looked stunned as they gave up another chance this time from a corner on the right hand side. City didn;t defend it well allowing Collins to sweep the ball towards goal from the six yard box straight at Ederson (9’). 1 foot either side and Brentford would have had the shock 2-0 lead. City finally got on the ball 10 minutes in and had a sustained spell of possession. Unlike West Ham the previous week Brentford were slightly wider but more compact with only 10-12 yards from the Cb’s to the striking duo in front. Brentford consistently broke through City and got to the final third in the first 17 but lacked a little bit of quality with the final ball. City continued to press forward with Walker who found De Bruyne just inside the box but got tackled by Norgaard. Very luckily for City the tackle led to the ball deflecting off of Collins straight into the path of Haaland on the top of the six yard box on the right hand side who spun and hit first time deflecting off of Pinnock past Flekken’s right hand (19’). Brentford at times defended bravely man marking 1v1 when pressing high up the pitch which at times caused problems for City and at times left them exposed. Seeing some City players with hands on hips less than 30 minutes in is a rarity and goes to show just how impressive Brentord were on the attack and in possession. City uncharacteristically turned off on a throw in and were caught out on set pieces giving up some half chances. Despite all that work due to the high 1v1 press Haaland got the wrong side of Pinnock for the only time all game from an Ederson goal kick and bumped Pinnock from behind not looking at or playing the ball at all before calmly dinking over Flekken. I didn’t see it as a foul but it has to be said that he wasn’t looking at or playing the ball and clearly disrupting the opposition by impeding him from playing the ball. Then Brentford proceeded to turn off on their own kickoff and nearly gifted City a 3rd goal but Grealish instead of being selfish chose to try and play across for a tap in that was cleared. Kovacic was very lucky to not get sent off after a jumping slide tackle that was from directly behind Wissa and reckless, which knocked him out of the game and what we now know is multiple months. After looking at the replay VAR should have intervened because it was reckless and from directly behind injured the player and stopped a break away. The one time they need to do their job they don’t do it with no mention or even review of it. It does always feel like every time there is a VAR review or should be one but isn’t it is always in the favor of City. We can only guess the reason why.The level of energy and work rate from Brentford while defending and pressing in the first half was unbelievably impressive. When was the last time City were on the losing end of the possession statistic at half time. City brought on Rodri and Gvardiol at the half to really settle the game down and give CIty a little more control than they had in the first half. Brentford still looked to play out and attack City while City were a little more settled and patient. Majority of the play was in the center of the pitch for both sides in the first 15 minutes of the second half but there were no chances for either side. Brentford came close in the 60th minute carving CIty open but just missing the final pass for a near tap in. The substitute for Wissa Schade was thrown in but was really poor for Brentford and showed just how important Wissa was to Brentford. City finally broke Brentford down as they started to tire in the 67th minute with Grealish having a free shot from the edge of the box that was saved well by Flekken. Then less than a minute later Brentford got caught sitting a little deeper and Gundogan made a piercing run before laying back to Haaland whose strike was saved by Flekken. Then brilliant interplay between Grealish and Gvardiol led to a brilliant run straight through the Brentford defense before cleverly finding Savinho who squandered his 1v1 chance with Flekken who came out quickly and saved well to keep Brentford hope alive (75’). Then yet another well worked play led to Haaland hitting the post and Grealish being blocked well (81’). In the end City did just enough to see the game out and only really came to play in the final 15 but were relieved to come away with 3 points. Remarkably the last team to beat City at the Etihad in any competition was Brentford in November 2022 and they now are unbeaten in 48 games at home. No team outside the top 6 in the prem has ever been brave enough to approach City how Brentford did and no one will probably be able to match how they did. In the end however City was just too good and it is almost scary how little time they have spent playing well in the first four games and yet seemingly with ease pick up 3 points.
Aston Villa vs Everton
Aston Villa came into the match with only 1 change with Jacob Ramsey replacing the injured Leon Bailey while for Everton Ashley Young came in to replace the yet again injured Seamus Coleman. Villa started well and it was worrying how easily they were finding space to maneuver especially down their left. The first chance for them came in the 9th minute with a Digne inswinging corner to the back post that Watkins rose highest too but mistimed his header heading it downward allowing Ndiaye to save it off the line. Then a few minutes later a perfect one two allowed Digne to get in behind and play a perfectly cut back cross that Watkins stretched and hit wide but had he left it it would have been a much easier effort Rogers running on to it behind him. Then from absolutely nothing Dwight Mcneil caught Onana on the ball and drove at the defense and got a shot away that was rifled into the bottom right hand corner (16’). He shaped up to shoot and took an extra touch that caught both the defender and Martinez off guard forcing a moment of hesitation which stopped them both from getting anything on the ball. Villa continued to dominate the ball but Everton’s next foray forward led to a free kick on the right hand side that Calvert Lewin headed home from six yard box (27’). It was an absolute world class cross from Mcneil that was high enough that Martinez probably wouldn’t have got to had he tried to come out and it gave Everton the shock 2-0 lead despite not doing much in the final third. Then Villa broke through again and this time creating a perfect chance that Morgan Rogers hit straight at Pickford from just inside the eighteen. Everton only really played long balls from within their own half, almost always a clearance seemingly from Ashley Young or back to Pickford to hit long. Calvert Lewin chased down and held up the ball well consistently which was very impressive considering how often he was left alone up top. Then a mini break for Villa allowed them to get in on the left side again as they had all half with Digne playing a perfectly lofted cross to the back post a couple yards from goal that Watkins rose highest too over Tarkowski to get one back 2-1 (36’). The game continued to ebb and flow back and forth with the final ball missing for both sides at the end of the half but producing very entertaining football. At the half Villa would have been mystified as to how they could be losing with nearly 80% possession and double the shots and chances that Everton had. Unfortunately for Everton in the middle of the first half the ever reliable Mykolenko went down injured forcing Dyche to put Ashley Young at left back and central midfielder James Garner at right back who was sorely out of place. The lack of fit wing backs may be the cause of the defensive fragility that we are not accustomed to seeing from Dyche thus far this season. Ross Barkeley replaced Onana at the half who was culpable for the first goal and took a lot of hard tackles that left him severely limping at half. Everton In defense with a 5-4-1 tried to stay more compact than the first half but Villa still had the majority of possession and broke lines with ease. The first chance of the half came from Bogarde driving at the defense before playing a simple through ball to Rogers who was closed down well by Pickford who saved well before the follow up by Ramsey was blocked well. Then similarly to last week Everton got another chance to seal the game away with a brilliant one touch passing movement that got Calvert Lewin through 1v1 with Martinez but he slowed down and took far too long to make a decision before ultimately choosing to round the keeper which allowing Konsa to recover and clear behind (54’). Then after squandering that borderline offside chance Everton were cruelly punished with Tielemans playing a lofted through ball from the halfway line that Harrison tried to intercept on the bounce at full stretch but directed it perfectly into the path of Watkin’s who easily tapped by Pickford who could do nothing (58’). Villa could smell blood and were pressing even harder for the winner with Everton struggling to get out of their half. Tielmans then played another beautiful pass breaking the line to McGinn who found himself in the middle of the field who played through to Rogers who only had Pickford to beat but somehow misplayed the pass across to Watkin’s who was waiting to tap in. Dyche then tried to sure up the defense with 2 substitutes making debut in O’Brien and Mangala. It did not make a difference however as Everton could only sit deeper and invite more pressure. Then yet again in the 72nd minute Garner got caught in the rb position allowing Maatsen in behind who laid it on a plate to Watkins who hit wide when he really should have scored for his hat trick. Then Everton broke well for the first time in the half that led to a cross that Calvert Lewin was just a fraction behind for what would have been a tap in. Following that in the 76th minute without a doubt the goal of the season came from substitute Jhon Duran who from 35 yards out took on a strike against England’s number 1 Jordan Pickford who was beaten handily by the swerve and power Then two minutes later Villa were careless and nearly threw all the work away by allowing Mcneil to slide a pass in behind that Calvert Lewin muscled Torres off to leave him 1v1 with Maritnez. However yet again he fluffed his lines by hitting the crossbar to the clear visual dismay of all the Everton players and coaching staff. In the end that was the last real chance of the game as Everton weren’t able to create anything more and Villa were able to see out the rest of the game with relative ease. In a game that Villa dominated possession and looked far more dangerous they were lucky to escape with a win for the amount of clear chances they gave up to Everton. In the end it is a result that will buoy them forward with momentum for their midweek Champions League return.
Bournemouth vs Chelsea
Bournemouth came in with a lot of confidence after the come from behind victory against Everton and were looking to get points off of another top 6 challenging team this season. Meanwhile Chelsea were looking to improve on their poor performance in front of goal last week against Palace. The first moment of the game came in the 4th minute with Tavernier hitting an absolute rocket from 25 yards out on the left side that looked destined for the top right corner but smacked off the crossbar with Sanchez beaten all hands down. A cheap giveaway by Fofana at the back a few minutes later allowed Evanilson a half chance off a cross in the box. Chelsea had the majority of the ball early but couldn’t create much while Bournemouth were getting to the final third and finding space to take shots. A well worked quick break down the right by Bournemouth led to a perfect switch to Tavernier whose first touch slightly let him down forcing him wide,leading to a tame shot at Sanchez (18’). 20 minutes in Chelsea got a well worked move in the Bournemouth area that ricocheted around and Bournemouth were fortunate it didn’t fall into the path of a Chelsea player. The slow start for Chlsea was compounded by poor play from Disasi allowing Kluivert a clean chance on the half volley from 15 yards out that he smashed straight at Sanchez and should have scored (22’). Chelsea’s second chance came nearly 30 minutes in with a Palmer dummy allowing Madueke to drive from the halfway line but he took far too long to play a pass to either Palmer or Jackson and in the end led to an offside when it should have been a chance to score a goal. Then Chelsea caught Bournemouth on the break with Colwill finding himself allowed to drive far up the pitch to play in Jackson who on his weaker side could only hit it straight at the keeper (34’). Following that yet another an awful backwards pass by Fofana allowed Evanilson to get to the ball first who was then taken out by the onrushing Sanchez leading to a penalty. After winning it Evanilson proceeded to take it but placed it poorly and was denied well by Sanchez down to his left. Chelsea were extremely poor playing out from the back and gave it away far too many times between the defenders and keeper. They got away with it when they should have been behind at half and struggled with Disasi at right back which magnified their lack of fluidity in the first half. The attitude and arrogance of some of the Chelsea players was infuriating to watch as they complained to Anthony Taylor in groups clamoring for yellow cards after every foul. It’s not surprising they acted like children considering they have a squad with an average age of 23 over 2 years younger than the next closest in the league. For his part Anthony Taylor the referee was already losing control of the game in a feisty first half that produced 6 yellow cards some of which were soft and others for talking back while others could have been given for surrounding the ref which hasn’t been happening very much to start the year.
Sancho replaced Neto at half time for Chelsea who had a very quiet first half. The first chance of the half came with a well worked move from the back for Chelsea that allowed Sancho with his first touch to play in Cucurella who could have had a shot but tried to play back across to the three runners but couldn’t find them (48’), Both sides got played through early with shooting chances for both sides with Kluivert being saved by Sanchez, Jackson curling high and wide and then Christie glancing it off the post. Chelsea were extremely lucky to not be behind with Bournemouth playing far better and being more dangerous but not quite creating as good of chances as Chelsea. Chelsea finally started to turn on around the 60th minute and had the best spell of the match, not allowing Bournemouth to really get on the ball for 20 minutes but couldn’t produce anything from it. Then the first real moment of brilliance came with Sancho who looked good since coming on finding the feet of Nkunku in the box who managed to turn and split the two defenders before prodding home into the far right hand corner (86’). Then Bournemouth tried to push people forward but unfortunately for them the chances dried up as they got many in the first half but didn’t take advantage of it. In the end Chelsea dug deep and provided the moment of quality that decided the match but they really didn’t deserve it but that is how the Premier League works sometimes. The complaining continued by both teams but mostly Chelsea all throughout the second half like a bunch of angry children shouting at their parents instead of focusing on the game, and Anthony Taylor after showing as many yellow cards in the first half as he did was forced to continue it with an additional 9 in the second half. Which resulted in a total of 14 yellow cards being shown to players on the pitch which is now a new record for the most in Premier League history with nearly half of them for petty reasons like talking back at random times, flopping or arguing over clearly correct decisions made by the referee. I am not a particular fan of Anthony Taylor but he did avoid sending anyone off which is much better than I can say for some others who seem to want to at any given opportunity.
Tottenham vs Arsenal
Arsenal were forced to wear their away kit for the first time in 39 years due to too much white on their home kit making this game just look wrong. Arteta was forced into two changes to arguably their two most important players in Odegaard and Rice due to injury and suspension respectively. Tottenham on the other hand made four changes after the loss to Newcastle last time out that was extremely disappointing for how well they played. Very early on it looked like the game plan for Arsenal was to sit off Tottenham and allow them to have the ball and dare Tottenham to try and break them down while they looked to hit on the break. Having the best defense last year conceding only 29 goals they had all the confidence in themselves to do so. Tottenham did well early, getting corners and fashioning a chance for Kulusevski that was saved at the front post by Raya (4’). Then two minutes later Raya produced a better save from a good ball into the box by Kulusevski from the right hand side that Johnson deftly flicked towards goal that he got an outstretched hand too. While trying to play out Ben White played a terrible ball that Son’s outstretched foot deflected perfectly to Solanke at the top of the box who took a touch and should have shot with the whole goal to aim at but instead he hesitated and opted to take another touch allowing Saliba to to block (14’). The tension was palpable as the fire, intensity and crowd picked up shining the meaning of the derby. The next chance of the game came from a quick free kick to Martinelli who played a good cross into the box that Havertz headed down forcing Vicario into a solid save down to his right (17’). Then two minutes later Martinelli got in behind down the left flank and should have squared it first time to Saka in the middle instead got the ball stuck under his feet in the box and fired a tame shot straight at Vicario. Arsenal seemed to always play quickly when Raya got the ball which lent itself to Tottenham as the game became more open and Solanke got a difficult looping header that fell just wide (28’). Timber laid the first hard tackle which led to a spark in the match with atmosphere turning into a frenzy. The rest of the half bubbled over with few more hard tackles and bookings and no real play in front of goal. The second half started quickly with the first chance coming from a Tottenham short corner that was swung in brilliantly by Maddison with his left that Van de Ven rose highest too and could only head straight at Raya. The game ebbed and flowed with both teams getting to the final third but not really playing their best and lacking creativity. Arsenal’s first chance of the second half came from a Saka corner on the right hand side where he hit a ball just inside the crowded six yard box with the only person rising up being Gabriel who headed home powerfully to give them the lead (64’).. Vicario, as with most goalkeepers, struggled with that ball close to them with the box crowded and he really should have attempted to come out. Arsenal then started sitting deeper and Tottenham were throwing bodies forward but just couldn’t do anything other than put crosses into the box that Arsenal were able to deal with with relative ease. The best they could fashion from the remaining 30 minutes were a Romero header from 15 yards out straight at Raya and a Kulusevski shot from 25 yards out that went just over. For a team that created so many chances in their first three games they lacked the creativity and patience to break down a brilliant Arsenal defense that dared them to try and break them down.
For Arsenal it was a massive 3 points ahead of their champions league tie and the all important clash against mighty Manchester City next weekend. Tottenham. Meanwhile Tottenham were disappointed and questioning if they are moving backwards with only 4 points from the first 4 games of the season.
Wolves vs Newcastle
Newcastle had steady possession of the ball with Wolves looking to defend in a 4-3-3. The first chance came with Wolves being a little open with Isak allowed to turn freely in the center circle and play Murphy through down the middle whose first time left footed shot from outside the box forced debutant Johnston to tip over the bar (7’). Wolves really struggled to string passes together and break out but looked solid defensively to start. It was weird to see Nick Pope with a concerted effort to play out from the back and players consciously playing him passes rather looping long balls forward. More passes were played back to him in the first 20 minutes than in all the previous 3 games combined. While it looked shaky he didn’t make any mistakes and it really allowed Newcastle more flexibility in playing out. The biggest chance of the game to that point came from Gordon who got the ball on the left hand touchline and brilliantly turned by Semedo and flew by Mosquera towards the center of the box before hitting the far post and going out (22’). Nearly immediately afterwards Wolves created their first real promising opportunity with Guimares blocking Cunha’s shot from close range. Wolves slowly started to work themselves in the game over the next 10 minutes and Newcastle chose to really slow down the pace to take the sting out of it. The first goal of the game came from a Longstaff give away in the final third that was picked up and played out to Larsen down the right channel who did brilliantly to hold off Dan Burn before firing a low cross across through his legs across the box from the right hand side that Gomes dummied brilliantly allowing Lemina to tap in on the back post (36’). Wolves were really in the ascendancy with another break away that should have been a goal but was scuffed wide by the weak foot of Lemina (43’). At the half Newcastle were better early but not dangerous in the final third allowing Wolves to grow in the game which led to a well worked break away goal that deservedly had them up 1-0. Eddie Howe responded with 3 substitutions at half time though Isak was forced off with what seemed like an injury. Newcastle did appear reinvigorated after the halftime break and came out on the front foot pushing more players forward and getting some shots off. Despite that Wolves came closest early with Larsen taking a shot first time that smacked the outside of the post (53’). Wolves were much more conscious of keeping the ball in the second half, not always going forward straight away opting to be more conservative. Newcastle shifted into a back 5 when defending and Wolves were patiently playing around the defensive block until Lemina picked up the ball on the right wing and played a De Bruyne like ball that perfectly curled over Dan Burn on to the only runner in the box Larssen who still had a lot to do from 15 yards out (61’). Due to the lack of pace on the ball he had to force it goalward and generated decent power but could only hit it straight at Pope who was out of position. Newcastle hadn’t really been able to click in the final third other than the individual brilliance of Gordon in the first half. Then Wolves had yet another chance to seal the game away with a long ball by Johnston catching Newcastle high which allowed Cuhna to run onto the ball and carry it from the halfway line into the box 1v1 vs Pope where he really should have scored. Instead his final touch let him down, trying to put it onto his right foot he took it wide away from goal closing the angle on himself which allowed the defenders to recover before the shot was hit straight at Pope (68’). Then as we so often see when you don’t take your chances you get punished in this case with Fabian Schar in his first game back from the ridiculous red card that shouldn’t have been one took a shot that Dawson tried to deflect away but inadvertently directed straight into the top left corner on what would otherwise have been a comfortable save for Johnston 1-1 (75’). Immediately after, Schar was the orchestrator in a brilliant Newcastle move that was brilliant to watch and nearly led to a tap in. Then from nothing Harvey Barnes picked the ball up and beat a player to the inside from the left side and from the top of the box curled the ball perfectly in the top right corner that gave Johnston no chance 2-1 (80’). As Wolves pushed more men forward Newcastle broke brilliantly giving Tonali a chance to seal the game but his shot was saved well by Johnston’s foot. Then 3 minutes into 8 of stoppage time a Wolves long throw from the right hand side finally produced a chance with a backwards header by Barnes falling perfectly to Cuhna who on the volley managed to guide it goalward which forced a brilliant save from Pope. Wolves were helped late on as Newcastle were basically playing with 10 men as they had completed their 5 substitutions but Lewis Hall was cramping really badly and could hardly jog. Then right at the end Wolves were opened up with Barnes in a 1v1 but chipped over the onrushing Johnston wide. In the end both sides had their moments but Newcastle took advantage of theirs and grabbed the 3 points late on. Wolves remained winless as Newcastle with 4 wins in 5 had their best start in 24 years. It must be relief to Newcastle fans and Eddie Howe after a tumultuous last season being knocked out of the Champions League early and being riddled with injuries with them limping to a 7th place finish. Then this year with the back room problems this start is the best they could hope for with a possibly vulnerable Manchester City up next right as they get into their stride.