I Watch Every Minute of Every Game
Brighton vs Manchester United
Brighton came into the game with only one change from their victory over Everton in week 1 with Billy Gilmour starting in place of Mats Wieffer who picked up a minor injury and was ruled out. Manchester United came in unchanged from their opening match with Mount and Fernandes played like two false nines and no true striker. United pressed well throughout the early stages of the match with Rashord and Mount working hard to get forward and track back. The first real action of the game came in the 11th minute with a long ball from Onana that Dalot won via a flick on header to himself before hitting a brilliant first time cross to Diallo who tried to volley it instead of using his head and hit it well wide. The referee then missed a deliberate handball by rb Veltman while he was on the ground which he should have been booked for instead it was just a free kick. Then in the 31st minute Diallo took too long dribbling in a 3v2 break away, which led to the pass being played behind rashford rather than in stride completely halting the attack. Then a minute later on the other end of the pitch Joao Pedro found himself on the right wing with plenty of space and played a wonderful cross in between the United back line and Onana which Maguire opted to let run past. This led to the ball skipping through the box and landing at Mitoma’s feet on the edge of the box right on the goaline who took a touch and fired it back across goal to an unmarked Danny Welbeck to tap home with Brighton’s first chance of the game. This marked the 100th goal of Welbeck’s club career against his former club where he won a premier league title over a decade ago. Brighton had trouble breaking United down until that moment and questions should be asked of why De Ligt was brought in if he isn’t going to start after a clear Mistake from Harry Maguire. Blame can be put on Dalot for not putting any pressure on the initial cross however as if allowing the ball to bounce in the box pass through wasn’t enough Maguire seemed to say to his teammates “ I couldn’t get the ball”. Some leeway can be given due to the pouring rain but in all honesty Ten Hag should put De Ligt in Immediately and leave Maguire as a substitute. Immediately after the restart Rashford gets a brilliant headed opportunity that ends up in the goal after a save and deflection that gets pulled back for offside. The standout of the first half was Billy Gilmour who was very quick on the ball pulling all the strings for Brighton and playing plenty of dangerous line breaking passes. All the inroads came down Brighton’s right with Mainoo having to track back a lot with Rashford choosing to stay high. In the second half the rain became even worse to an almost torrential downpour. Straight from kick off Joao Pedro dribbled through half the United team before playing a pass to Milner who got a chance for a clean strike from the top of the box 12 seconds in that sailed high and wide. Yankuba Minteh continued off of his week 1 performance being very positive on the ball causing problems all game and being very fun to watch. In the 52nd minute Brighton break through the entire united team with a ball into Welbecks feet who lays off to Pedro who drives 40 yards before playing through to Milner who toe pokes past Maguire and an onrushing Onana before being cleared off the line by Dalot. United were really pinned back early in the second half unable to get forward and create anything. Milner continued to provide timeless performances winning a free kick in United’s final third which led to a Welbeck free header that smacked the bar. As it the 55th minute, the game started to open up with a lot of back and forth counter attacks and space for both sides. Then the first time United were dangerous all game in the 60th minute, a through ball by Mazraou timed perfectly to beat the high line allowed Amad to drive at Hinshelwood and cut back on to his favored left before slotting home for the equalizer. Despite the equalizer Brighton were much better all half and with Mount being taken off at half for Zirkzee the press was nonexistent for United while Zirkzee couldn’t get a touch in the opposition half. As the game got more and more open Garnacho came on as United pushed to win it. In probably the most critical moment of the game United broke forward in the 70th minute with Bruno overlapping Amad who played him in and as a he crossed it Zirkzee attempted to reach it but was unable to and it fell to Garnacho who hit it towards the open net. Unfortunately the ball hit Zirkzee who was still sliding on the wet surface, right on the goal line before entering causing it to be offside. After the positive change of bringing on Garnacho which gave United more of an edge in the final third Ten Hag decided to take off Bruno for Scott Mctominay which by all accounts including my own seemed wrong and counter intuitive. Taking off the captain and only creative midfielder left on the pitch for a player who thrives on getting in the box and getting service seems counter intuitive, if anything you should take off one of the two defensive midfielders to get another player who has the energy to get forward into the box. Due to how stretched out the game was all the play was going through garnacho with no other midfielder to create. Incredibly fast back and forth counter attacking play didn’t lead to much until a corner for Brighton in the 95th minute. After not being cleared away well enough the ball was played back into Simon Adingra who with all the United players ball watching played a simple cross to the back post that Joao Pedro headed home for the win. In a way this game was a summary of Eric Ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United because they actually played well, got a little unlucky and then ended up losing. Despite the turnover, change, pressure and progress that we have seen the outcome was the same. With the loss the pressure will start to mount on Ten Hag especially with a massive test against Liverpool at home next week where a massive loss will cause long term questions to be asked. Meanwhile for Brighton, coach Fabian Hurzeler will be very pleased with the perfect start but the task doesn’t get any easier with a very strong Arsenal side who will no doubt provide the largest test of the season thus far.
Crystal Palace vs West Ham
Crystal Palace came into the game rueing what could have been as referee of week 1 game Sam Barott admitted that he made a mistake by blowing his whistle too early to disallow one of the goals of the season and one that unfortunately would have changed the outcome of the game. Manager Oliver Glasner made three changes from week 1 with new signing Chadi Riad replacing Joachim Anderson who joined Fulham, as well as Jefferson Lerma and Odsonne Edouard replacing Will Hughes and Daichi Kamada. West Ham on the other hand were looking to improve upon their performance against Aston Villa in week 1 where their lackluster performance in front of goal left them empty handed to start the season. Manager Julien Lopetegui opted to keep all of his new signings on the bench and trust in the same team that started the previous to deliver this time around.
West Ham started with an early opportunity off the first corner of the game for Soucek who headed goalward just past a reaching Antonio before falling harmlessly wide. Both teams struggled early and made mistakes playing out allowing counters and giving up good shooting opportunities. Palace chose to sit in a mid to low block when defending while playing with the ball until they reached the final third, taking the first opportunity to take a shot or put a cross in. The first clear chance of the game starts off with Antonio unable to hold the ball up allowing Wharton to slide a 30 yard pass to Eze who is in 1v1 and should score but is denied by the outstretched foot of Areola (16th minute). End to End stuff with slick transition from Palace, a Guehi header led to a Mateta pass to Edouard on the break whose strike from just outside the eighteen rolls just past the left post not troubling areola. Palace were creating more but not taking their chances or being in the right place to finish brilliant deliveries and should really have been up by half time. West Ham had more shots most of which came early but Palace looked better for the first 25. One thing that was very interesting was how Palace chose when to press and had success when they did as a team. Adam Wharton was at the center of all of Palace’s moves connecting defense and attack. Having never seen him play before this season I can see talent and why he was included in the England Squad. Towards the end of the first half West Ham were caught sleeping when a short corner from the right side was played to Wharton who slid it across to Eze at the top of the box who hit it first time and smashed the underside of the crossbar and out. West Ham were very lucky to not be down at half and one of the problems they seemed to be having was at times in possession the midfielders would drop deeper or move wider and higher leaving no one in the middle to connect between the front and back line. One of the noteworthy things that will be interesting to keep track of for the rest of season is how many goals Palace concede on set pieces as they looked weak all game on set pieces especially on the back post as they struggled at the start of both halves. The game started to open up a lot around the 55th minute and Jarrod Bowen who was shut out until that point started to get on the ball more and have an impact. After a flurry of substitutions debutant Wan Bissaka drove 60 yards from nearly his own touchline before finding Bowen who crossed into the box causing a scramble with ball bouncing around before falling kindly to an arriving Soucek who fired home through the mass of bodies to give West Ham the lead in the 67th minute. Less than five minutes later Eze is tackled brilliantly on the break allowing Max Kilman (cb) to pick the ball up and drive forward to the halfway line before finding a wide open Jarrod Bowen streaking down the right hand side who cut in on his left and fired near post past a helpless Dean Henderson. Less than a minute after the restart Isamila Sarr broke in behind the West Ham defense before firing a cross in where Mavropanos did just enough to unsight Mateta whom the ball bounces off and wide. With West Ham sitting back Palace started getting forward piling on the pressure to try and get something from the game and one of the crosses this time from the left hit Sarr on the thigh and bounced towards the goal just knicking the left hand post. The game progressed without much action other than substitute Fullkrug on the break who got a brilliant opportunity to open his account but took too long and forced himself too far wide before firing wide. West Ham got their first win under manager Julen Lopetegui after riding their luck in the first half and growing into the game before scoring in quick succession to put the game away. One of the more underrated signings for West Ham that hasn’t seemed to draw any attention has been Guio Rodriguez who has had two very good but quiet performances in the last two weeks. Will be very interesting to see how he continues for the rest of the season. West Ham will have to move on quickly as they face the toughest test possible next week at home to Manchester City just before the international break. Palace will be regretting the missed chances early on as they dominated the first half and will feel they should have been ahead by halftime before ultimately losing. Unfortunately very reminiscent of their week one performance against Brentford dominating early but unable to convert and being punished in the end. The road doesn’t get any easier for Oliver Glasner as next up Palace face a Chelsea side that looks ready to fire which could provide Glasner with three losses in a row for the first time since he took charge last February.
Fulham vs Leicester
Both sides fielded unchanged teams from week 1. While new signing Sander Berge was unable to make the match day squad for Fulham, both Jordan Ayew and Oliver Skipp made the bench for Leicester having signed from Crystal Palace and Tottenham respectively. Fulham had a lot of the ball early and were on the front foot with a Traore shot straight at Hermansen from just inside the right side of the eighteen yard box (5th minute). Another chance came minutes later this time for Iwobi from the other side of the eighteen straight at hermansen. Leicester were sitting deep just like vs Tottenham and getting played through. Their first move forward 10 minutes in allowed Reid to get a shot off from 30 yards that was comfortably saved by Leno. Fulham’s first clear chance came from a long ball that was knocked down well by Muniz on the right hand side of the pitch to Traore who cut infield and found an open Smith Rowe streaking down the left hand side and who took two touches beyond James Justin who was hampered just enough by Iwobi running in front of him to cause him to be late, before calmly slotting into the far side netting with his left foot (18th minute). The Pressure kept mounting as Fulham kept finding space and Robinson played a perfect cross from the left wing that found Muniz who rose highest but fired his header just wide of the right hand post. Leicester were reeling only able to get out of their half twice in the first 25 minutes. Fulham made a conscious effort to prevent Winks and Ndidi from getting on the ball which really hampered Leicester’s build up play until the 30th minute where they finally had a spell of possession and settled into the game. Then in the 38th minute Fulham with an atrocious defensive setup from a corner essentially handed Leicester their equalizer despite not doing anything dangerous all game. Fulham had five players within the front post space between just outside the six yard box and front post while Leicester had none standing there and one late runner there. Meanwhile Jamie Vardy was standing on the goalie unmarked, Vestergaard who is 6 ft 6 was marked by Smith Rowe and Leicester’s second tallest player Wout Faes was left unmarked to casually glide in and connect with a perfect delivery which he headed down into the bottom left hand corner. Then VAR inexplicably takes a look and tries to get the referee to change his on field decision of letting the goal stand by making the referee go to the monitor and check on Vardy for potentially interfering with Lenofor no reason. Darren Bond does correctly stick to his on field decision thankfully. After that stoppage Fulham nearly took back the lead four minutes later from their own corner kick where Muniz rose brilliantly to head the ball from the penalty spot but with not enough power as Hermansen dives to his right and catches the ball. Leicester were lucky to be level at half and immediately after coming back out they got caught trying to play out with Feas trying to backheel a ball 5 yards from his own end line allowing Traore to play across to Muniz who was leaning back and skied over the bar trying to hit it first time. Leicester continued to be extremely vulnerable on set pieces and I would not be surprised if they give up at least 15 goals this season on set pieces. Fulham seem to win every ball off of a set piece even though nothing has come of it so far in the (66th). From seemingly nowhere a simple ball to the left back Robinson just shy of the half way line catches James Justin in a bind who steps up to press him but is too far away and gets caught in the middle, leaving Iwobi to run in behind with Winks struggling to cover from midfield. Iwobi took a couple of touches and finished near post on Hermansen (70th). Kristiansen was fortunate to not be sent off for a late step on the back of Pereiras leg. Fulham were content all half for Leicester to have the ball as they struggled to break them down and it became especially difficult after they took the lead. Leicester continued to have all the ball but were unable to create any chances. Only at the end of the game were they finally given a reprieve with two half chances late in stoppage time as Feas pushes forward and whiffed on a header from an Ayew cross and then Ndidi got a chance for a half volley after a free kick bobbled around and he softly hit it straight at Leno. Overall Fulham made it difficult for themselves giving up an easy set piece goal outside of which Leicester had no real chances. Next up for Fulham is newly promoted Ipswich away from home who are still looking for their first points just before the international break. For Leicester concerns will be mounting as they lacked any sort of creativity and attacking threat while still being extremely vulnerable on set pieces despite their height. The job doesn’t get any easier with Aston Villa next weekend who if they are not careful could make it a rout very quickly.
Manchester City vs Ipswich
Manchester City got off to a comfortable start of their title defense with a 2-0 win over Chelsea while Ipswich were on the other end of the same scoreline in a loss to Liverpool. City started with the same team from week 1 while Ipswich came in with three changes, Johnson Szmodics and Muric coming in to replace Walton Burns and Chaplin. City, as expected, dominated the ball. In the 7th minute on Ipswich’s first run into City’s final third Johnson found Szmodics who made a perfectly timed run as Rico Lewis tried to step up and catch him offside rather than follow him and paid the price. With the whole goal to aim at from the top the eighteen Szmodics managed to squeeze it through Ederson’s legs who was standing around the penalty spot and it fortunately trickled in antagonizing the recovering defenders and goalie . Then minutes later a stupid challenge from lwb Leif Davis on Savinho as he got by him gifted City a penalty that Haaland calmly slotted home (12th). Then as if it couldn’t get any worse for Ipswich a minute later while trying to play out goalkeeper Muric gets caught on the ball at the top of the eighteen and the ball falls to De Bruyne who calmly passed it in for the lead (14th). Ipswich still reeling tried to press City but gave De Bruyne too much time on the left wing to play a through ball into Haaland who calmly rounded Muric and passed into the net. All the 3 goals for City came within 4 minutes, the sheer brilliance and ease with which they can turn it on is remarkable in and of itself and gifting them two easy goals is a sure fire way to lose. City continued to pile on the pressure as Ispwich were ripped apart and rico lewis somehow hit the bar from the penalty spot with Ipswich defenders lunging to try and cover some of the open goal. De Bruyne then picked the ball up from 25 yards out and was given the time to hit a wonderful strike that banged off the crossbar as well. On one of Ipswiches very few attacks that entered the final third, they were very unlucky to not have a penalty called for them when a clumsy effort by Savino to win the ball brought down Davis. It was a foul that would have been called anywhere else on the pitch and one that was at the referee’s discretion. As they entered the second half still up by 2 City continued to keep the ball just patiently probing, unable to find the final pass. A cleared corner for CIty is put back in and Haaland got a free header that forced Muric into a very good save (65th). Gunodgan got a warm reception back from City fans as captain of the treble winning team and Pep’s first signing after his brief stint at Barcelona. Ipswich started to tire allowing the game to open up making it easier for City to keep the ball without really attacking and see the game out. Haaland was left on the pitch and did eventually get his hat trick. After seemingly not touching the ball at all in the second half it bounced kindly to him at the top of the box and took a touch before firing near post catching out Muric who was moving to his right and will be disappointed to let that one in. In the end City yet again looked extremely comfortable never really having to leave third gear and scoring only 4 of what could have been 8 goals in the process. City next up have a slightly harder test in West Ham who will be confident coming off of their first win under their new manager. Meanwhile Ipswich will be taking on Fulham at home looking to get their first points of the season hoping to not enter the first international break with 0 points.
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest
Southampton were looking to get their first points of the season after the disappointing loss to 10 men Newcastle in week 1. Manager Russell Martin put his faith in the team and came in unchanged from week 1 in hopes of securing their first points of the season. Meanwhile Nottingham Forest came into it with a disappointing draw against Bournemouth in week 1 where they held the lead for the majority of the game before giving up the tying goal in the 86th minute. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo made two changes with the new signings of Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson from Fiorentina and Newcastle respectively, replacing Willy Bolly and the injured Danilo who suffered a horrific broken ankle and will be out until December at the earliest. Forest were looking to add to their early season total as last year’s finish of 17th (32 pts) though six points clear of relegation was the lowest ever by a surviving team in premier league history.
As with most teams in the modern premier league Southampton tried to play out from the back and nearly conceded a replica goal from the previous week if only Chris Wood had not scuffed his shot. Forest were content with allowing Southampton to have more possession not really pressing too much, sitting in a low to mid block with defenders about ten yards from the eighteen and attackers at the edge of the center circle basically asking Southampton to try and break them down, allowing them to counter immediately after they won the ball back. The first real opportunity of the game came that way with Sugawara and Armstrong trying to inter play on the edge of Forests box before losing it to Aina who was able to play a 1-2 with Hudson Odoi down the left hand side before scampering past a sliding Bednarek. He then inexplicably slowed down as he entered the box instead of playing a quick cross along the ground to a Hudson Odoi who was free, which allowed Southampton to get back only leaving Chris Wood on the back post who’s header from the lofted cross with no speed was straight at Mcarthy (16th minute). Forest were very poor from the abundance of set pieces they got in the first 20 minutes but won the ball back plenty leading to two two half chances with a header being deflected for a corner and Gibbs White scuffing a volley over the bar. You would think that they would have worked on both attacking and defending corners since they conceded the most goals from set plays last year, 23. The best chance of the game by far came off of a poor corner from the left that was cleared out straight to Neco Williams whose first time shot deflected kindly to Chris Wood who was standing just outside the six yard box on the right hand side.He fired across the face of goal with 4 Forest players waiting to tap in but Milenkovic mistimed his kick and the ball hit off his calf and went wide(34th). Southampton tried to hit back immediately but the ball was cut out in the box allowing Forest to break with Gibbs White in a 4v3 but he made the wrong decision to play to the right out wide to Nico Williams instead of left to Hudson Odoi wasting a very good opportunity. Walker Peters gets involved for the first time all game after being a mainstay last week and dribbles in off the left and fires straight at Sels for Southampton’s first shot on target in the 38th minute. Southampton had more of the ball but were unable to create anything in the final third were very lucky to not be down 0-1 at half. Simultaneously Forest were getting into the box, attacking with freedom, and creating chances by far outplaying their opponent. Southampton came out and continued to have the majority of the ball with around 65% the whole game. The Game started to get stretched around the 60th minute and notably Anthony Elanga had been quiet and hardly had a touch of the ball despite being one of the more dynamic players on the pitch and when he finally got a chance he went on a run past a few players and got a shot away that was deflected for a corner. The defining moment of the game came when Forest got a corner on the right hand side in the 68th minute that wasn’t fully cleared and was floated back in from the left hand side of the eighteen yard box which fell perfectly to Gibbs White on the back post. He headed towards goal but not with enough power as it bounced just in front of Mcarthy but before he could save away from danger Sugawara moving towards his own goal tried to clear away but hit it straight back into the path of Gibbs White who tapped home into the empty net. Southampton pushed more numbers forward trying to get the equalizer, allowing Elanga, Hudson Odoi and others to get chances to seal the game but were unable too. In the end it didn’t matter as Forrest saw the game out and took their first win of the season. Next up Forrest faces a Wolves side that is coming off a battering against Chelsea and one that is very beatable. And after getting their 1st away clean sheet since October 2023 they will be up for the challenge. For Southampton the situation may be dire already, they only looked dangerous after the 80th minute with a bunch of substitutes and Forrest sitting super deep ensuring they didn’t give up a goal. They also only generated 5 shots with 1 on target all game despite having 65% possession. But the biggest question and problem I saw was that when they had the ball both strikers would drift out wide leaving lots of space in the striker area that was filled by Smallbone and Aribo leaving Downes all by himself in the center of the pitch to orchestrate play. It clearly isn’t working well and doesn’t seem conducive to achieving good interplay or connecting the defense and attack. Even when they did get forward down the wings there was no one in the box to get the ball and score. Next up they play middle of the table Brentford and a loss there could really dampen the mood and hopes of not the just city but the players as well.
Tottenham vs Everton
After settling for a draw in their opening match Tottenham were looking for a win in their opening home fixture this season. They were looking to get back on track but would be without Dominic Solanke who injured his ankle in the previous match along with Bentancur whose head injury is lingering allowing Odobert to make his Spurs debut and Bissouma to fill in. Kulusevski replaced Sarr to make it a 4-3-3. With Ashley Young getting sent off Sean Dyche was forced to start 19 year old academy right back Roman Dixon who was their only change from week 1.
Tottenham predictably took control early. The first good chance of the game fell to Romero after a cleared corner was played back in but he headed straight at Pickford(3rd minute). Interestingly he was the top scoring defender in the premier league last year with 5. Spurs played well with good interplay along the wings. Minutes later after a short corner Son had his effort deflected forcing a decent save from Pickford. Tottenham kept on piling the pressure with a brilliant run by Maddison just behind Tarkowski was found by Romero with a ball over the top but Maddison took too many touches and was closed down by pickford (10th). From the ensuing Maddison corner Johnson got a clear header and should have hit the target. Most of the play came down the left hand side with Everton looking helpless. A brilliant spell in possession working the ball back and forth pushed Everton back and good inter play between Johnson Maddison and Kulusevski who kept the ball well in the tight space and dribbled around 4 everton players before laying off to Bissouma right at the top of the box who smashed a powerful strike to the right of pickford off the bottom of the bar and in to give tottenham the lead (14th). Immediately afterwards a long ball over top to Calvert Lewin gives Everton some possession in the final third and a corner and after it is cleared in the confusion Harrison is left free on the back post on the left and is found by a wonderful cross from Mcneil. He mistimed his volley and hit the ball wide and really should have at least hit the target if not scored. Good entertaining matchup between debutants Odebert and Dixon. The whole match Son has been closing Pickford down quickly and has gotten close multiple occasions and then in the 25th minute a pass from Pickford’s right is taken slowly and carelessly allowing Son to easily press and win the ball before passing into an open net. Tottenham then nearly caused themselves their own trouble playing out with Vicario and Romero barely getting it clear. The second chance of the game for Everton came in the 44th minute off a fortunate corner call from which Tarkowski got a header from just inside the six yard box that he was able to direct goalward but was easily saved. Three very good corners in a row caused chaos and in the scramble Tottenham barely got it away. In the second half the same play as the first half continued with another good run by Maddison similar to the first half, but again he was unable to control it to get a shot off. Tottenham remained relaxed and casual playing with confidence slowed the pace down just trying to see the game out. Just to put the icing on the cake for a perfect performance Maddison whipped in a corner that Romero thundered home from inside the six yard box ensuring no way back for Everton (71st). Pickford should have come out and claimed chose to stay on the line and was punished. Everton looked disjointed, disconnected and lost at times and with Dwight Mcneil being in the middle receiving the ball facing and running towards his own goals which is not how Everton will win games. As Everton tried to push forward the fastest player in the Prem last year Micky van de Ven won the ball back and ran from eighteen to eighteen before playing in Son who with a tight angle finished through the legs of Pickford(77th). Comfortably ahead lots of substitutes were brought on and the rest of the game was seen out without any hitch. For Everton two extremely disappointing displays in 2 weeks is not the start to the year anyone would have expected. Next up they face a slightly lesser opposition than the previous two with bottom half Bournemouth whom should they come away pointless before the international break the spotlight will be on Sean Dyche and his coaching style. Meanwhile Tottenham face Newcastle away next week in what is their most difficult fixture thus far and one that is likely to produce some great football.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa were very confident heading into the game having won in week 1 and being the only team to beat Arsenal twice in the premier league last campaign is a sign of their strength. Not to mention it was their opening home fixture of the season. Despite Duran scoring last week Emery left him on the bench and started with the same lineup from last week. Arteta made only one change with Timber making his first start for Arsenal in over a year in place of Zinchenko.
When Arsenal had the ball Timber moved in from lb creating a base 2 in midfield with Partey, creating a 3-2-5. Villa defended in a 4-3-3. When Arsenal pressed up high they left 1v1s everywhere giving Villa chances to break through. Both teams started positive and full of energy leading to back and forth counter attacks breaking through presses to start but not too many chances. Matty Cash unfortunately picked up an early hamstring injury and was replaced by inexperienced 18 year old Nedeljkovic brought in from Red Star Belgrade. Arsenal had a good spell and got Saka into space forcing a very good save from Martinez who pushed the shot past the post.(16th minute). After Arsenal seemed to be in control a well timed press by Bailly caught Gabriel flat footed allowing Rogers to glide in and play the ball across for a tap in for Villa’s star striker Ollie Watkins who inexplicably rushed the shot and missed the target.(25th) Nedeljkovic did very well shutting down Martinelli for the entirety of the time he was on. Morgan Rogers consistently broke lines and drove at the Arsenal defense all game, on this occasion turning Rice inside out before Raya collected the tame cross (41st). Towards the end of the first half Arsenal were getting closer with more balls played in and around the box. On top of all the quality, physicality and the rising tempers made the atmosphere tense and seemed to raise everyone’s level. Rogers continued to bully the Arsenal midfield, dribbling through them requiring fouls to drag him down. Arsenal had nearly 70 percent possession in the first half but did not take many shots or create chances other than the Saka effort early on. After the initial flurry of back and forth play it became a game that was very cagey with a lot of tight space passing and interplay looking for just one moment to change the game. The second big chance of the game to Aston Villa as well in the 54th minute when Onana fired a shot that took a massive deflection that had Raya scrambling as it looped over his head and hit the crossbar before falling towards Ollie Watkins who headed the bouncing ball forcing Raya into probably the save of the season. Arsenal had more of the ball but Villa kept looking more dangerous, and were willing to go more direct. Arsenal have no ability to go over the top. The game finally started to open up 60ish minutes in creating more opportunities for Rogers to dribble but giving Arsenal the space they desperately needed to create. With the back and forth game a shoutout to the referee with 2 very good back to back advantages played letting the game flow. Brilliant inter play between Saka and Odegaard in tight space gets Saka in 1v1 and he should have taken it first time but didn’t and allowed Martinez to close down and force him wide (64th). Villa got a free kick minutes later that Konsa played on the volley which looped inches wide. Then Arsenal go up the field and yet again a brilliant pass by Odegaard found Saka on the touchline who played a low cross back towards the penalty spot which is contested by Havertz and Villa defender before falling kindly to substitute Leandro Trossard whom with his first touch of the game fired low and hard to Martinez’s left to put Arsenal in front (67th). Then 10 minutes later another brilliant move which starts with Gabriel playing a brilliant ball to Trossard over the top who crossed a wonderful ball across the box that should have been put away for a tap in but is recovered by Saka on the other edge of the eighteen who laid it off to Partey to strike low and hard to near post making it 2-0 sealing the points. Martinez got a hand on it and should have saved it but was partially unsighted by some of the bodies in front. The swagger for Arsenal Showing now with yet another ball over the top to Trossard playing in Decline Rice who drove to the byline and cut the ball back to the penalty spot where a charging Odegaard skied it over the bar in what was a sitter for him to open his account on the season(80) Then in their last chance to get in the game Aston Villa absolutely slice Arsenal apart in three passes and play in Ramsey from the halfway line who takes far to long allowing Saliba to sprint back and put in a challenge for the corner. Maatsen, Duran and Ramsey played very well when they came on in both games for Villa will be very interesting to see who starts after the international break. A very impressive result for Arsenal, only after Trossard came on were the long balls played over the top causing the Villa defense some problems. It was a title credential type of win to be second best but keep the clean sheet with a bit of luck and get the goals late on to claim the points. However in order to keep pace with City Arsenal will need to ensure that they don’t stumble with another tough test next week against the free flowing beautiful football of Brighton who themselves are unbeaten thus far. Villa on the other hand will be wondering how they managed to lose that game with the best two chances and being more dangerous for the first 60 minutes. Questions need to be asked of Ollie Watkins who has not performed well for a while dating back to the end of last season. With a clogged schedule and the Champions League coming up it is imperative for Villa to get him on track. Next up Villa play Leicester City who if they continue as they have should be an easy win right before the international break.
Newcastle vs Bournemouth
Firstly the teal on the Newcastle kit looks ugly and wrong. Newcastle made one change from their week 1 matchup with new signing Kelly coming in due to Schar’s red card. Bournemouth made five changes from their opening day lineup, with most notably new signing Evanilson starting up top. The game started with Newcastle having more possession early resulting in a few corners that came to nothing. The early portions of the game saw lots of through balls being played by both teams trying to get in behind, especially Bournemouth knowing the lack of pace in Newcastle’s back line. Isak then brought down a lovely long ball and got a brilliant opportunity that he should have done better with but only managed to scuff the shot straight to Neto. Newcastle tried to play out from the back however Bournemouth’s high press worked well giving striker Evanilson a chance to get a good strike away forcing a solid save from Pope.On Multiple occasions Newcastle got behind and looked dangerous but had Isak running and crossing to Gordon rather than the desired reversal. One glaring problem with Newcastle is Nick Pope’s inability to play out. He looks like he has two left feet and is completely inept which steadily showed throughout the game with poor clearances from him and his defenders who are clearly unwilling to play a pass back to him really hindering their ability to play out. For Bournemouth Semenyo looked much better and more comfortable playing on the wing which fit well into their system. Their system allowed them to have a good spell of 15 minutes and the pressure payed off as they caught Newcastle trying to counter with Joelinton getting the ball stuck under his feet and Semenyo stealing it away and driving towards the right corner of the box before firing a cross straight across the six yard box for Tavernier to tap in (37th). Livramento got caught ball watching and did not track back fast enough allowing Tavernier to be free. The starndout of the first half has been rb Araujo who did very well against Gordon in the first half, forcing nearly all of Newcastle’s play to come from the right side. Joelinton had a poor first half by his standards seemingly looking off the pace of the game. Longstaff seems to lack some of the physical capabilities in midfield at times that he tried to make up with his technical abilities while Murphy has the physical capabilities but seemed to lack the technical ability all first half. Coming back from the half Dan Burn will be disappointed with his inability to direct his header goalward, he then minutes later does very well to block sermenyo’s shot from point blank range after Bournemouth’s best move of the match.Bournemouth are one of the first teams that have seemingly picked up on a lot of the referees being far more lenient in giving yellow cards because they committed a lot of fouls in the second half stopping rhythm with no punishment. Semenyo continued to be positive driving at kelly before playing a dangerous ball to the back post that Evanilson gets a touch on but is just a half second too late to get enough of a touch to direct goalward. Those two seem like they will be the heart of Bournemouth’s attack for the season. The game started to open up a little and allowed Newcastle to break on a 3v3 with Isak beating his man and playing the ball across to Barnes who takes a good touch and has to at least hit the target but fires wide right. The subs for Newcastle in the 58th and 70th minute started to combine and change the shape of the game. A good cross was hung up for Isak on the back post who directed his header goalward without much venom allowing it to be cleared off the line. And less than minute later another cross is beautifully hung up for Joelinton who rises highest but misses it with his head and directs it goalward with his shoulder allowing Neto to make a fairly comfortable save to his right. Newcastle continued to pile on the pressure and another cross from the left this time by harvey barnes was perfectly placed and landed right at the back post for anthony gordon to hit home in the 76th minute. Substitute Alex Scott for Bournemouth nearly hit back immediately after the restart with a 25 yard wonder strike that went just wide of the top left corner followed by a deflected Semenyo shot from the top of the eighteen that rolled just wide of the bottom right. Dan Burn then got a brilliant opportunity to score from Gordon’s cross but didn’t get it far enough away from Neto who made a wonderful save to keep them in the game. Then entering stoppage time Bruno Guimares has a strike to the top left that Neto palmed away in the start of stoppage time. Then the biggest controversy of the weekend came in the 93rd minute when Bournemouth scored a brilliant goal directly from a corner where the ball hits the shoulder/upper arm sleeve and goes in which is wrongly chalked off by VAR according to everyone including myself. Firstly VAR is only allowed to change the call if it is clear and obvious and in this case it is not at all clear. Even after watching it in slow motion I think it hits right where the shoulder and arm connect but there is no conclusive evidence to that. Secondly it hits above the shirt line and there is no intent to play it with the arm as he is being collided into by Dan Burn whom it may have clipped as well. Anywhere else on the pitch the ref would have let it go but here they decide to micromanage and slow motion replay to change the call. Calling it a handball is outright criminal considering the then obvious handball that wasn’t called for a penalty just a week ago between Manchester City and Chelsea where the hand was far from the body and up in the air above the shoulder. Then as if it couldn’t get any worse by the VAR referee Tim Robinson, immediately after that decision was done Joelinton clotheslined the goalkeeper Neto after he catches the ball and tries to play out quickly. He made no attempt to play the ball and he was high around the head and neck area and he stopped the momentum of a possible break away attack.The onfield ref gives a yellow which is a disgrace anyway but the whole point is that VAR is there to correct the decision and give what is clearly a red card. While the scoreline was probably a fair representation of the game Bournemouth were robbed.
Chelsea vs Wolves
Wolves came in having lost 2-0 to last year’s runners up but were filled with confidence as they did the double over Chelsea last season and they made one change from week 1 with Matheus Cunha who was only fit enough to be a substitute last week replacing Rodrigo Gomes on the left. Meanwhile Maresca made two changes with Madueke and Mudryk coming in, shifting Palmer to the center of midfield. They were looking for a far more positive and dynamic performance after being swatted away and dealt with very easily by Manchester City. Early chance for Madueke to drive at the left back forcing a front post save by Sa. Off the ensuing corner Chelsea get a dream start as a front flick by a Wolves defender falls straight to Jackson on the back post who headed in to the lead. It was a very frantic game with both teams getting chances going back and forth and defenses not holding up. Madueke gets another good shot saved by Sa before getting another chance moments later to then play a cross in to Palmer who couldn’t get his feet sorted and scuffed the ball goalward allowing for a clearance. Then the second goal of the game came from Caicedo getting caught with the ball on the half way line and Ait Nouri going on a brilliant run into the eighteen and playing one ball across the box slicing the entire chelsea defense in one pass allowing Cuhna to finish one time very easily (27th). Gusto could be at fault for being too high and not being able to get back while the rest of the back line were in line. Very feisty wolves were slightly better and more threatening in the final third while Chelsea had more possession. Wolves players were a joy to watch with lots of driving dribbling taking players on that seems to have phased out off the game at the highest level. A brilliant move allows Demina to play a ball to the right side of the eighteen that Doherty then fires in to Cuhna whose shot is blocked onto the bar by Colwill. Wolves get away with a foul by Ait Nouri who was already on a yellow allowing them to break and causing Chelsea to foul and a with a yellow card then show for dissent to Palmer arguing about the foul which may have distracted from the fact that gusto who was already on a yellow and may have committed that foul. Off the ensuing freekick Wolves played it short and got a shot away that went just wide and thenSanchez played it long before Wolves players could get back and Jackson passed the bouncing ball to Palmer who scoops it over Sa who was caught in no mans land from a couple yards outside the eighteen (45th). Madeuke then gave away a stupid free kick in stoppage time allowing Ait Nouri to play a cross that Toti headed back across for Larsen to reach a leg out and hit home from 12 yards out (45+6). In the end a brilliant first half with the scores being level and fair considering the play on the field. The start of the second half saw Neto brought on for Mudryk who was kind of absent in the first half. Right at the start of the second half a free kick taken quickly from halfway line on the left side is played by Jackson to Palmer to Madueke inside the eighteen who runs at ait nouri who stays moving backward and not pressing him allowing Madueke to take the shot on which deflects off of him past Sa to put Celsea in front for the 3rd time (49th). Ait Nouri then with a clear tactical foul that should have been another yellow is lucky to not be sent off. Then almost a carbon copy of the third goal with Ait Nouri out of position sitting in midfield allowing Palmer picking it up and drive at Gomes before playing in Madeuake who from a tight angle slams it through Jose Sa’s legs(58th). Wolves then give the ball away trying to dribble out the back causing the ball to fall kindly to Palmer with only one defender in his way as he plays to Madueke yet again who slots home with ease(63). Chelsea played with lots of confidence and ease as wolves tired and just looked to see the game out. Seemingly being out of it all half Wolves nearly get themselves somewhat back in it with a brilliant volley but with the initial header being offside from the freekick it gets pulled back. Then less than a minute later Wolves’s misery grew as they were easily played through and for the first time this match down the left where Pedro Neto cut the ball back to the penalty spot where Joao Felix on his second Chelsea debut smashed home. Dewsbury Hall with a terrible pass playing out from the back gave Larsen a chance for a clear strike that he pulled wide. Chelsea proceed to waste away 3 or 4 more counter attacks that should have led to a couple more goals before time ran out. Wolves will be looking to put this result in the rearview mirror considering how well they played in the first half and have to move forward to face a Nottingham Forest side with much less fire power where they will expect to get some points. Meanwhile for Chelsea this is a likely signal of the season to come where they have the ability to score goals but a young and inexperienced back line are likely to give up plenty as well. Manager Maresca will be looking to continue their form and grow with this team against a Crystal Palace side who are still yet to find their feet this season.
Liverpool vs Brentford
Liverpool came in with only one change from week 1 with Konate replacing Quansah as he did at half time last week in the starting lineup. History was not on Brentford’s side as their only win at Anfield came in 1937 and the last time they scored a goal at Anfield was fifty years ago. Very slow methodical build up play from Arne Slot is a big change from the extremely fast high energy quick Jurgen Klopp style. This has seemingly allowed Liverpool to be more defensively solid. The first chance of the game came from a Brentford corner that was cleared and then Salah won the fifty fifty allowing Jota and Diaz to drive 2v2 and a simple diagonal run to the left from Diaz allowing Jota to play him in through to take a touch and rifle near post past the onrushing Flekken to give Liverpool the lead (13th). Brentford were high pressing but getting beat quite easily allowing Liverpool a lot of quick counter attacks, the next resulting in an Andy Robertson near post shot saved for a corner. Liverpool had lots of runners in behind with quick sharp play in the final third. Brentford’s first chance of the half came from a brilliantly delivered free kick that Noregard got a free header from that should have been put on frame but was headed wide. Lewis-Potter looked like a very good bright spot for Brentford throughout the first half. Interestingly no clear chances were created while in possession for either side with most coming from set pieces or counter attacks which yet again Trent looked like the weak link. In the second half Liverpool got forward early and a cross in by Diaz allowed Jota to get a touch that bounced up allowing him to go for a bicycle kick that arrived at Robertson who quickly headers at an onrushing Flekken from a tight angle and is saved out for a corner. Collins gets a wonderful chance after a short corner cross allowed him to jump over Trent before heading straight at Alisson. A brilliant spell of play by Liverpool leads to a good ball by Mccallister to Trent sneaking in behind who plays it across to Jota whose effort is brilliantly blocked inside the six deflected over the bar. This new look Liverpool were much better at slowly building the pressure, before cutting Brentford apart as Salah got to the line before cutting back to Diaz who forced Flekken into a wonderful save down to his left. The work rate from Liverpool in getting back is unbelievable. It reminds me of mid 2010’s Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone where the entire team puts in the effort to run back even when it is only 2 on the opposition breaking away. Brentford went for more creative ball playing subs trying to get back in the game 65th. Collins with yet another block on another Liverpool break just barely clinging on keeping the gates close. The game started to break open and get stretched a little more as Brentford looked to get something from the game and were caught playing out from midfield out of shape allowing Diaz to find Salah wide open on the right to take one touch and calmly finish to the far left post past the onrushing Flekken. Liverpool continued to open them up with Gakpo hitting the bar but really slowing the game down, taking the sting out of it and seeing it out. This is a far cry from the old Liverpool who seemed to never be super comfortable seeing a game out and could only play at the one pace of 100%. On a side not it was a very quiet atmosphere all game, weird for an Anfield crowd especially home opener.
Points Lost or Gained due to VAR calls that clearly affected the outcome.
Bournemouth -2
Newcastle +1