Week 6 Premier League Review

I watch every minute of every match

Week 6 Premier League Review

Newcastle vs Manchester City

Manchester City came in following the biggest blow under Pep Guardiola’s reign losing the centerpiece of the team in Rodri who made the team tick. Along with that yet another early season injury for De Bruyne who seems to make a habit of that lately only to come back with a vengeance in the second half of the season. For Newcastle they came into the match following a poor loss to Fulham and themselves are missing their main man in Isak up top.

City tried to play a high line when Newcastle had the ball while and were a little sloppy to start the game as Newcastle tried to set their line 6 yards outside the 18 yard box but were willing to press high and leave Haaland 1v1 with Schar or Burn. Newcastle caught them out early getting Murphy and Trippier in down the right flank but were unable to make anything of the promising attacks with all the crosses being cleared away easily. City were really on the back foot early, slightly lackadaisical and unable to establish control but neither side showed any quality in the final third 25 minutes in. My biggest problem with the referees this season apart from the inconsistency is that everytime there is a slide tackle whether the attacker flops or gets taken out they give a yellow card even if it is the softest of touches by a defender.The first real quality of the game came from Grealish who skipped by Trippier on the left touchline and played to the run of Gvardiol who turned Burn and passed into the net deflecting off the leg of the recovering Murphy taking it away from Pope who likely would have saved it  0-1 (35’). It really seems every time City creates that moment of quality they do really well to almost ensure it is a goal. After that goal City continued to be on the back foot in their own half but were gifted a chance but failed to take advantage of it. A clearance from their own 18 yard box was picked up by Pope who controlled and tried to play a pass when he could barely play with his feet and passed behind Burn to Gundogan who was then driving 2v1 with Haaland. As Pope scrambled back towards his box instead of playing to Haaland, Gundogan tried to lob Pope from 40 yards out and failed miserably, almost representing how he played in the first half (39’). Ederson’s first real work came from a freekick in stoppage time of the first half that fell to Joelinton who took a brilliant first touch which allowed him to spin and fire forcing a solid save.

 Honestly it was a slightly cagey and underwhelming first half with CIty playing very average and Newcastle kind of dropping to their level and not quite having the extra level of intensity and quality that we expect from them at home. The second half started with City in possession but showing no real threat. Then in the 55th minute Newcastle won the ball in midfield with Giumares playing through Gordon who rounded Ederson and jumped over him and fell to the ground. Let me be clear in that I dislike Man City but Ederson barely even touched him if at all and Gordon kicked the ball by him and flopped in the air, kicked the ground and rolled over. Personally I don’t think that should ever be a penalty as it is a clear flop trying to get the keeper sent off when he could have just got to the ball and passed it into the goal. The penalty was given and Gordon stepped up and slotted home 1-1 (58’). City were rattled and Newcastle came forward trying to take advantage and after giving a penalty for a flop, Joelinton got in behind and had a clear chance at goal that Kyle Walker then bodied him to the ground not touching the ball at all which was much more of a penalty than the first one but wasn’t awarded. The game started to get feisty and intense with it all starting around Grealish as it usually does. City lacked the creativity in the final third with how compact that Newcastle were defending but finally got a chance off a second ball in the box with Foden hitting a volley straight at Pope (73’). Gundogan had a very poor match with both him and Kovacic seemingly taking up the same spaces almost as a double pivot deep in midfield which wasn’t needed against Newcastle. As soon as Foden came on he seemed to be able to break a few more lines and found more pockets of space higher up the pitch and give them some life. Then one of the many crosses from the right wing finally found a player for Newcastle, in this case Longstaff who could only drag his shot wide of the post (81’).. The rest of the match continued with both sides lacking that final ball as they went back and forth and in the end shared the points

Arsenal vs Leicester City

Arsenal had the majority of the ball as Leicester were happy to sit back and absorb pressure. It was like the previous week except Arsenal were the ones with the ball right on the edge of the box this time. With waves of attack the first shot on target finally came from Saka 15 minutes in comfortably saved by Hermansen. However while trying to play out Vardy got caught while checking to the ball allowing Saka to pick it up and slide a pass across to Martinelli on the right hand side. Martinelli should have scored but took a poor first touch before firing over from a tight angle on his weak foot (16’). This is the area that he struggles with which is why everyone says Trossard needs to be starting on the left wing. He was able to redeem himself for the first goal 5 minutes later. Leicester were able to get the ball to Vardy who tried to shield from Saliba and was unlucky to not get a freekick, but as Leicester stepped up they got caught with Timber firing a simple cross on the ground to the penalty spot from well wide to Martinelli who fired home low to Hermansen’s right to give Arsenal the lead 1-0 (20’). Then yet another mistake while playing out from the back ended up with Martinelli on the ball from a tighter angle this time and he forced Hermansen into a good save (25’). Leicester couldn’t connect more than 3 passes in a row with the ball being won every time with good pressure in the midfield. Leicester didn’t have a touch in Arsenal’s half from the 5th minute to the 36th minute. They didn’t start trying to press higher up the pitch until the 30th minute and when they did were broken through very easily. The next chance came from a Trossard cross lifted to the back post with Havertz having all the time in the world but directing his header off the post (36’). Arsenal were thoroughly on top with Leicester just hanging on hoping not to concede. With the amount of corners and set pieces Arsenal had and how poor Leicester were on them it was quite a surprise that they were unable to create any chances from them.  They did however get their second goal in stoppage time of the first half with a simple pass from Martinelli on the left finding Trossard alone at the top of the six yard box who finished easily into the far post 2-0 (45+1’). In the end it was a near perfect first half performance from Arsenal with the only knock being the service on set pieces while Leicester never really got into the game and were just there awaiting their punishment in the first half. The second half Arsenal started slow and gave Leicester a cheap free kick in their final third a minute in. From that free kick James Justin got a free header that took a decent deflection off of Havertz wrong footing Raya and giving Leicester a way back into the match when they didn’t deserve it 2-1 (47’). The referee gave three yellow cards within the first 5 minutes for 3 of the softest fouls possible after not having used it in the first half, very odd. That goal really boosted the Leicester morale and put a shock into the system for Arsenal as the game fell into a similar pattern. It was a matter of time for Arsenal to get a chance from a corner from the sheer number they were getting with Gabriel getting to the front post and heading at goal that Hermansen did well to save, before the follow up on the volley was skied over by Timber (51’). As the pressure mounted Saka was getting into the box with consistency as one of his crosses fell to the center of the box that Trossard smacked the post with while on the stretch (56’). Leicester did get much better connecting from back to front getting opportunities to counter as Arsenal lost their shape and discipline to start the half. Then with basically their second chance in the final third, Ndidi found himself on the left wing and played a beautiful cross to the back post where James Justin was left alone and wonderfully struck it on the volley perfectly curling past Raya and hitting the left hand post and in 2-2 (63’). It was very reminiscent of Nacho’s and Pavard’s goals at the 2018 world cup with how it curled perfectly into the far corner of the post though Justin’s was on the volley and a few yards inside the box. It was a very weird start to the half because Leicester had no right to be in the match with how little they had done but after getting the first Arsenal seemed to lose their level and gave away the second goal in what seemed like an impossible task for Leicester. Arsenal all of sudden turned on after the shock of the equalizer wore off and pushed forward trying to get back in front again knowing this isn’t a fixture they could afford to lose points from. Saka got yet another shot off this time deflecting to Havertz who did well to control it as it was flying behind him and turned to fire the shot from 5 yards out which was saved by Hermansesn though Havertz should have found the net. Then after being the hero all match Hermansen made a calamitous error trying to play a pass to Winks who was surrounded by 3 Arsenal players allowing Rice to win it and play Trossard who from 8 yards out 1v1 somehow didn’t find the net and shot within range of Hermansen who somehow made the save (74’). If Arsenal did go on to not win this match they could only look to themselves after they should have comfortably scored 4 in the match already. The first shot taken from outside the box was by substitute Nwaneri who forced Hermansen into a good save down to his right (86’). Then yet another corner, this time to the back post found Califiori who was denied yet again by Hermansen. (88’). Then Arsenal finally got the luck to go their way after the frustration of conceding late against City last week they got the luck themselves with Trossard on the back post firing the ball back into the crowded six yard box from the corner and it deflecting off of Ndidi past a helpless Hermansen 3-2 (90+4’). Then in the last minute of the added stoppage time Leicester got caught on the counter with Jesus’s shot not being held by Hermansen and the ensuing clearance by Justin hitting off Havertz and into the net 4-2 (90+9’). The scoreline ended up being a more accurate representation of the game than the actual order in which the game played out.

Brentford vs West Ham

Interestingly Bretnford were playing with 4 cb’s in a back 4 after being decimated by injuries. There concerns would have been eased as yet again for the third week running they scored within the 1st minute with yet another dangerous cross bouncing around inside the box before falling to Mbuemo who from a similar position from the previous week hit the underside of the ball ball as it spun quickly but drifted almost in slow motion past the despairing Areola 1-0 (1’). Other than the early goal the game looked very evenly matched with Brentford allowing West Ham to have the ball while West Ham played high when they didn’t have the ball but didn’t really press the ball which is why they were getting played through so easily all season. West Ham weren’t really dangerous when they were in possession rather only when they caught Brentford out. Simultaneously they weren’t in sync in defense not really pressing together allowing Brentford to break easily. When they got in attack Antonio was often on the wings so when crosses were put into the box there was only 1 person in there to aim at vs 3 Brentford defenders. The first real chance of the game after the goal was a well worked move by Brentford that ended with Damsgard playing a wonderful ball into the box where it was 3 vs 3  with Mbuemo finding space and firing his header over the bar put off by Wan Bissaka whose foot nearly connected with his face (33’). Halftime came with Brentford having the lead but neither side really having the cutting edge in the final third to create multiple quality chances. West Ham had 11 shots but only 1 on target showing just how wasteful they were. It was a very clean match with few fouls and constant flow of play. Lopetegui made two changes at the half with Emerson and Kudus coming off for Mavropanos and Soler as West Ham looked for a spark to break down the Brentford defense and get back in the match. Good interplay between Wan Bissaka and Antonio led to a brilliant run down the left past three Brentford defenders before the cross was cleared out for a corner when a simple cut back would have found Bowen there for a tap-in (49’). West Ham were really pushing forward piling on the pressure and yet again Tomas Soucek was in the right place at the right time as a good interplay around the edge of the box led to an Antonio shot that was completely mishit straight into his path as he smashed home 1-1 (54’). West Ham just had a bit more purpose and direction in the second half as they hit a higher gear as Brentford just tried to ride out the storm. They did just that as the 60th minute came around with them having a sustained spell of possession for 12 minutes and both sides increasing the intensity. They put a few dangerous balls in the box but couldn’t create any chances with both sides becoming increasingly frantic on the ball, not really able to take control in the final minutes. In the end it was a fair result with sides splitting the points.

Chelsea vs Brighton

Chelsea allowed Brighton to have the ball early trying to pick them off and counter. Then a real nothing cross into the box found Caicedo who instead of clearing first time took a touch and layed off back to Colwill 2 yards behind him who tried to clear but was blocked high into the air. As it came down Sanchez tried to come out and punch but as it was 15 yards away from the goal line with players in front of him he was never going to get there and was nowhere close. Georgino Rutter rose highest and headered down into the right corner of the net with no one able to do anything giving Brighton the lead early 0-1 (7’). Chelsea weren’t really settled and were still trying to find their feet in the match when they were caught in possession with Welbeck’s cross being deflected forcing Sanchez to get a touch which if he hadn’t would have found Baleba on the back post to put Brighton 2 up (15’). Instead Chelsea’s first chance came from Fernandez turning well in midfield and finding Palmer running through the high line of Brighton before chipping over Verbruggen and hitting the post (18’). This really turned the game on with the crowd getting into it and the game going back and forth as we could all feel the intensity rise. Then a few minutes later Chelsea were given a gift with Webster playing a terrible back pass allowing the pressing Jackson to go in 1v1 vs Verbruggen. Jackson seemed to be indecisive and looked as if he was going to squander the chance as he entered the box and Verbruggen came out but he held his composure enough to delay and square to Palmer who curled it past the helpless Lewis Dunk trying to cover on the line 1-1 (21’). Brighton continued to try and play a high line despite the multiple early warnings with Chelsea getting in behind and called back for offside. Then a well worked move by Chelsea broke through the Brighton right hand side before being switched to Sancho who got past Kadioglu before playing a one two with Fernandez on the edge of the box. Sancho was then brought down for a penalty by Rutter and Baleba. Palmer then stepped up and slotted home to give Chelsea the lead 2-1 (28’). Brighton just kept getting caught with a high line with 2 slow center backs and Estupinian having a poor match stopping Madueke getting in behind getting a yellow and giving Chelsea a free kick from 30 yards out. Palmer then stepped up and perfectly placed the ball into the top right corner past the outstretched hand of Verbruggen who could do nothing about it 3-1 (31’). Then after being shell shocked and conceding 3 straight Brighton were given another chance by Sanchez who played a terrible pass while playing out past Caicedo straight to Baleba who strode in and smashed past a recovering Sanchez and Colwill on the line to make it 3-2 (34’). Then a minute later Baleba smashed a shot forcing a good save by Sanchez followed up by Welbeck skying from the top of the box that he should have hit the target from. Both sides struggled to play from the back making it so entertaining. Brighton got caught yet again in the 38th minute with yet another ball over the top of the high line with Madueke who should have scored but somehow hit wide from 12 yards out. It felt like a basketball with how fast it was going back and forth. Then Cole Palmer got the cherry on top with him and Jackson pressing Verbruggen who played a terrible pass out allowing Sancho to slide in Palmer who ran behind Webster before beating Verbruggen at the near post from a tight angle that he should never have been beaten from 4-2 (41’). Then Brighton cut open Chelsea with Baleba finding Welbeck on a similar run to palmer from a more central angle but fired too close to Sanchez who saved well down to his right (44’). Welbeck would have expected himself to score.  

One of the most unbelievable halves of football I have seen this season with 6 goals and what could have easily been 11 with both sides struggling in defense and Brighton’s high line being taken advantage of to the highest degree. For how much both sides loved to be in control of games with possession and slowing it down this was like a basketball game back and forth more for entertainment than competition.

The second half seemed to start the same as the first with Palmer picking the ball up in midfield and finding Jackson through who on his left foot from the left hand side could only hit straight at Verbruggen. Then a few minutes later coming deeper into midfield he got played the ball and played a wonderful high looping ball in behind the Brighton defense just inside the box that Jackson did well to control to the right past Verbruggen but with the touch being just a bit too far allowed Webster enough time to recover and block off the line in what was an open net (49’). Then yet again while playing out Chelsea pressed well and won the ball high up and Palmer played through Madueke who could have shot but took an extra touch and fired a cross that was cleared away from a tap in (52’). It felt like insanity from Fabian Hurseler as Brighton continued to play a high line and were only saved by a few last ditch tackles that would have otherwise been goals or red cards. Yet again a keeper played a questionable pass with Wieffer getting tackled by Madueke who played through Palmer at the top of the box who 1v1 this time with his right foot hit wide of the goal when everyone at the ground expected the ball to hit the back of the net (56’). He could have had 6 in 60 minutes which is crazy to think about. The next bit of action came with Palmer playing through Jackson who took too many touches allowing Dunk to recover and slide for the block when it should have been a certain goal (67’). Then yet again 3 minutes later Palmer dropped deep again and found a perfect pass catching the high line again, that Jackson latched onto again but this time tried to lay off to Neto when he had more space and should have taken the strike on (72’). For how clinical he had looked all season Jackson had a very poor game stooping to his levels of last season. The game started to slow down as substitutes came on for both sides and Chelsea were far more pragmatic seeing the game out fairly well other than yet another scare from Sanchez while playing out

Everton vs Crystal Palace

Both sides were looking for their first win of the season with Everton using 7 players in the RB position in 6 matches showing their defensive woes. Everton had only lost one time in the last 19 premier league fixtures against Palace who themselves were looking to rediscover the form they left off from last season.

Palace as expected had the majority of the ball and were the ones with the onus to be on the front foot. The first chance of the match came from a corner on Palace’s right hand side that was cleared back out to the taker Wharton who played a looping ball to the back post where Lacroix out jumped Doucoure and nodded down for the captain Guehi to prod home past Pickford (10’). Poor goal for a Sean Dyche team to concede who have historically been good on set pieces but have lost their touch this season. Having conceded, Everton stepped up with more intent and pressure getting more of the ball trying to push forward for the following 20 minutes. Their first chance came from a corner in the 21st minute with Calvert Lewin getting on the end of it but completely off balance and could only direct it down into a Palace player. One of the few times Everton played out from the back they did well to break Palace down which ended with Mykelenko crossing into the box and finding the head of Mcneil who could only head wide (38’). Everton were able to get 25 yards out consistently but nothing materialized while Palace were constantly getting in the box and getting shots off straight at Pickford looking far more dangerous. Most of the play occurred in the middle third of the pitch with no real moments of quality to truly separate the sides other than the goal. At the half Dyche brought on Jack Harrison for Lindstrom who was invisible in the first half even as most of their play came down the right. Then nearly right from the start a long ball from Pickford was won by Guehi and picked up by Kamada whose pass wasn’t hard enough, as Eze got caught on his heels allowing Ashley Young to step in and play to Dwight Mcneil who was wide open and from 5 yards outside the right hand side of the box perfectly curled the ball into the side netting past the dive of Henderson to level the match immediately 1-1 (47’). Palace then hit a spell of a couple sloppy passes and a drop in energy as Everton were pumped up with determination and energy. Then 5 minutes later a Pickford freekick in his own half fell to Harrison on the right flank who whipped in a brilliant cross towards Dwight Mcneil on the back post. Nketiah was the only palace player tracking back and tried to intervene but only popped it up perfectly for MCneil to volley home from 5 yards out giving Everton the lead with their first two shots on target in the match 2-1 (54’). It felt like one way traffic for the first 15 minutes of the second half before Palace were able to work themselves into the game. As they did, Everton shifted defensive, determined to not give up yet another lead this season. Palace struggled to break them down with no chances being created by either side since the goal. That was until the 81st minute with Calvert Lewin played in Doucure from the halfway line as Guehi stepped up trying to play the offside. Doucure however took far too long thinking about the 1v1 with the keeper allowing Lacroix to recover and toe poke the ball away right before the shot. Everton then piled on the pressure for the next 5 minutes with a good spell of possession and crosses that didn’t come to anything. In the end Palace didn’t do enough with the ball when in possession and Everton secured their first win of the season while Palace were still winless and seemingly burdened by the weight of high expectations.

Nottingham Forest vs Fulham

4-4-2 by Forest for the first time this season and with both strikes Wood and Awoniyi on the pitch. Without Gibbs White for the first time this season Forest played with 4 central midfielders in the flat four with no wingers on the pitch.

Fulham were on the front foot early with a couple corners and a cross across the front of the goal from Iwobi. They also had the majority of possession as Forest dropped into their shape asking Fulham to break them down before trying to find the two big men up front to break out. The first twenty minutes Fulham were unable to break through as Forest kept the middle clogged and Fulham recovered well enough on the break to stop any chances and did well with the balls in the box. The first real chance of the match came from a cross on the right hand side that found Milenkovic who headed down to Wood who seemed to tap home but was pulled back for a marginal offside (24’). Neither side looked particularly dangerous in attack with set pieces looking likely to be the only way through. In the end it was a fairly uneventful first half where both sides struggled to create anything and were only really dangerous on the break or set pieces. All the shots were tame and straight at the keeper or well blocked out for corners. Fulham didn’t put many crosses into the box because they only had 1 maybe 2 people in the box waiting for it. Nuno took off Awoniyi at half time and brought on Elanga. Right at the start of the second half a very clumsy challenge by Murillo on a cross stepping on Perieria’s ankle as the cross came in gave Fulham a penalty. Jimenez stepped up and smashed to the right hand side just high enough to evade Sels getting his 50th goal in the premier league 0-1 (51’). The penalty forced Forest to come out and go for it causing the game to open up much more. Then Fulham lost the ball in midfield allowing Forest to break with Elanga losing out vs Bassey before the ball got recycled around again for Hudson Odoi to dribble in from the left past 5 Fulham players to the center of the box before shooting just over the bar (63’). Despite pushing more men forward Forest could only get a few dangerous crosses in the box that were cleared well by Fulham. The next chance came for Jimenez who seemingly thought he was offside and didn’t really put full effort into the shot that went wide of the post (73). Forest got into promising positions but didn’t have any sustained pressure or any quality in the final third, not creating a single clear chance. For Fulham they got the lucky penalty chance and were defensively solid to claim a very good 3 points against a very sturdy Forest side

Wolves vs Liverpool

It was a very encouraging start for Wolves with early possession and holding their own but not creating any chances in the first 20 minutes. Liverpool were on the back foot as Wolves were throwing wave after wave at them. They did finally grow into the game themselves around the 25th minute getting into the Wolves box. They put in a few good crosses cleared well by Wolves as well as blocking shots with really good work rate with and without the ball. Not a very dynamic half by Liverpool however one through pass between CUhna and Semedo found Robertson on the wing who played a perfect ball just in behind the defensive line. The only runner in the box, Szobzlai was found right on the top of the six yard box. Running onto it with only Johnstone to beat and the whole goal to aim at he could only strike it straight at Johnston and should have put Liverpool in the lead (40’). Then with really the second chance created in the entire game a cleared corner was worked back around twice before being fired back in again with Konate rising highest and firing home for his first ever Premier League goal 1-0 (45+2’). Johnston really should have done much better with that as it was well within his reach. The hard work put in by Wolves in the first half was undone by a simple cross while Liverpool despite being really uninspiring created 2 quality chances and took one of them. The second half started slow with Liverpool just calm in possession trying to ensure a slow pace and take any sting Wolves may have had after coming out. They did catch Wolves playing out with Lemina playing a terrible pass while facing his own goal to Gomes. Salah intercepted on the volley but on his right foot could only hit it wide of the open net (49’). Then from nothing Lemina broke out from his own half getting past Szobaslai far too easily allowing Cuhna to play through Larsen who was well tackled by Robertson. As the ball rolled to the touchline Konate was waiting for Alisson to come claim but he didn’t and because he wasn’t shielding the ball particularly well Larsenn got around him and played the ball back to substitute Forbs who bundled it into the path of Ait Nouri the only Wolves player following up who smashed home for the equalizer in Wolves’s first second half goal of the season 1-1 (56’). Then 37 seconds after the restart Trent whipped a cross into the box with his left foot which caught Semedo slightly out of position who then grabbed Jota around the arm and back and dragged him down making it an easy call for Antony Taylor to give a penalty. It likely would have been a tap in for Jota with his head had he not been dragged down. Salah then stepped up and smashed home with Johnstone diving the wrong way to his right 1-2 (61’). As Wolves stepped up trying to fight back space started to open up and Salah got a good shot away cutting in from the right but far too close to Johnstone. Semedo then nearly gifted Liverpool the the seal of the game after a cleared corner out to him he tried to take a shot from 40 yards out that was blocked 30 yards into his own half with. Salah latched onto it with only Semedo between him and the goal he inexplicably played it first time straight to Semedo instead of Curtis Jones in what should have sealed the game away (77’). Wolves then got pinned back, unable to get out as Liverpool brought on some substitutes and started to have more attacking pressure. In the end Liverpool did just enough without needing to expend too much energy or needing too much class as Wolves struggled to break their press and create anything.

Ipswich vs Aston Villa

Villa had possession early, pinning Ipswich back. However when Villa tried to play out after an Ipswich attack instead of clearing the ball, it created chaos with Kalvin Phillips finding Jack Clarke down the left hand side of the box who cut back to Delap to finish nearpost on the ground 1-0 (8’). Emi Martinez got a full hand to it but wasn’t strong enough and should have saved it as there was no real space on the front post. Villa then had the majority of the ball as Ipswich tried to stay solid and not concede immediately. They couldn’t hold onto the lead for long though as in a transition Villa got forward with Ollie Watkins trying to go to the goal line but Greaves stepped in front cutting him off. Then instead of letting the ball run out he, inside the 18 yard box on the left hand side running towards his own goal line tried to clear across the box but got no height on the ball and passed straight to Morgan Rogers on the penalty spot who did well under pressure to calmly pick his spot and pass into the left side of the net through 5 defenders leaving Muric helpless 1-1 (15’). Yet another self-inflicted wound by a team right in front of their own goal this season that has been infuriating to watch. Ipswich then got a chance just 2 minutes later to hit back with Davis getting down the left flank before firing a perfect cross right onto the head of Jack Clarke who from 15 yards out should have scored or atleast hit the target instead of firing over. Villa started to get into their work, really pushing Ipswich back not allowing them to get forward. Then their first cross that was put into the box found Ollie Watkins inside the six yard box between two defenders and he casually headed back across into the net 1-2 (32’). Ipswich then pushed forward and were threatening with Phillips stinging Martinez’s gloves after a free kick into the box was cleared. Then following that up Ipswich caught Villa in a transition forward with the ball finding Leif Davis who found the run of Delap down the middle which caught the Villa team spread wide. He should have scored but Martinez coming out got close and with an outstretched boot was able to deny what should have been a certain goal (38’). The rest of the half played out uneventfully as Ipswich may be rueing their missed opportunities. Villa don’t seem to press high or put much pressure on the ball but still play a high line which is a rare combination to see. Ipswich started the second half better with more possession and held firm against Villa’s attack with both sides unable to create any chances. Sam Morsy was very lucky to not be sent off as after having been on a yellow he committed two more fouls.. A couple minutes after Morsy should have probably been sent off Villa get caught coming forward and the space vacated by the onrushing rb Konsa allowed Delap heaps of space which he drove into before beating Diego Carlos with ease before smashing past Martinez into the bottom right hand corner 2-2 (72’). Villa were definitely coasting in the second half, not really in high gear and were punished for it. Even after conceding Villa couldn’t really step up and Ipswich were the ones pushing for the winner. Then yet again Villa were caught on the counter with Jack Clarke getting in behind and playing to substitute Wes Burns who looked to be in 1v1 with Martinez but took a fraction too long allowing Torres to get across for the block (80’). Villa only had three shots in the entire second half with only one being a decent opportunity and in the end it was a fair result with each side taking a point 

Manchester United vs Tottenham

Tottenham started quick as from almost nothing Van de Ven intercepted Rashford while United were on the break and proceeded to dribble the length of the pitch past the entire United team to the touchline before squaring across to Brennan Johnson who tapped home for 0-1 (3’). Van de Ven is fastest player in the premier league since records started and he ran from the half to the touchline in a blink of an eye and United should have done so much better to close him down instead of allowing space to run. That was a signal of what was to come as United came out sloppy and sluggish and just couldn’t string passes together. A brilliant move by Tottenham opened United up again with a Maddison and Kulusevski one two forcing Onana to do extremely well to come out and close down the angle (11’). Yet again another break this time on the left with good play by Udogie and Werner led to a switch to Solanke on the right who smacked the foot of the post with United lucky to not be 0-2 down (20’). United’s first well worked move easily cut through Tottenham with Mainoo setting up Zirkzee who should score but on the stretch but could only hit it straight at Vicario (22’). United still didn’t look they recovered from the shock of the early conceded goal as Romero nearly scored a scissor kick of a cross in the box. United then finally started to wake up with Rashford playing a perfect cross to the back post where Garnacho’s volley smacked of the post (37’). Then just a minute later Werner was played through 1 vs 1 from the halfway line but absolutely choked as Onana came out and Werner hit it straight at him (39’). Then in the 42nd minute Bruno slipped as he was trying to press Maddison and tripped him with a high leg. The referee on the field Chris Kavanagh gave a straight red card but he barely even tripped him and didn’t get him with the studs, he can be given a slight break because it looked bad on the field. Maddison made an absolute meal of it screaming and shouting before getting up a minute later perfectly fine. The VAR referee Peter Bankes should be absolutely embarrassed because if that is a red card then players are no longer allowed to be physical or ever play because it wasn’t a hard tackle at all with very little contact or intention and in this case it was a slip. Peter Banks said it was serious foul play which to everyone else it clearly wasn’t and he didn’t even give the on field referee a chance to review it. It sets a precedent that if your leg is ever high at all even if you slip, then you will be sent off. The referee has absolutely lost the match and the respect of everyone and VAR has no spine yet again ruining another match in the premier league this year with a stupid red card as if they want to be in the spotlight every week. It was a poor first half from United as a whole, but De Ligt Dalot and Zirkzee were especially atrocious. They deserved to be losing by at least two for how devoid of effort and intensity that first half performance was prior to the sending off. Then within the first two minutes of the second half Martinez made a terrible decision on the half way line allowing Tottenham to break 4 on 2 with De Ligt doing well to try and block the cross unfortunately for him it fell right into the path of Kulusevski who tapped home with ease. The look of resignation was clear on the faces of many fans as the disappointment set in and the possibility of an absolute embarrassment likely. 55 minutes in and Kulusevski played in Werner 1v1 who yet again should have scored and only hit straight at Onana yet again. There is almost no other player who when they go through on goal I expect to never score. United showed a little bit of defiance as Tottenham sort of let off the gas and invited them back into the game. Casemiro did well to nearly score from a very difficult ball over the top that he half volleyed inches wide from a tight angle (70’). It was quite comical to see United almost playing better with 10 men in the second half and actually working hard for each other leaving it all on the field. A corner in the 78th minute was won far too easily at the front post by Sarr and tapped home by Solanke 0-3 to put an exclamation point on the win

United are just as inconsistent as last season with no real improvement or strides forward under Erik Ten Hag. Having spent 277 million dollars this summer. It really feels like the core of the club is rotten from the squad to the ownership after just how lifeless they came out to start the game. United need to take Thomas Frank from Brentford who gets his players to play for him and takes no nonsense. While it doesn’t feel like a manager at the level of United they have been piss poor for 10 years with no clear direction or management with a backbone.

Bournemouth vs Southampton

First well worked move 4 minutes in from the backline to the left wing with Ugochukwo finding a cut back to Cornet at the top of the box whose shot was well blocked for a corner. Southampton as expected tried to play out from every situation while Bournemouth looked to be more direct and intentional on the ball. Their first opportunity came after a foul on Semenyo. Southampton players turned off and 4 players turned their back to the ball allowing a perfectly chipped ball over the backline that Evanilson did extremely well to volley home on the stretch into the bottom left hand corner 1-0 (17’). Southampton really struggled to get out of their own half in possession, and whenever they lost it Bournemouth were always immediately on the attack and very dangerous. 30 minutes in and there were no real chances for either side other than the goal. Then quite literally the first real spell of possession in the final third for Southampton led to a clearance by Kepa that Evanilson chested down well on the left side before playing into Tavernier in the middle. He in turn played it out to Semenyo who drove down the line and played back to Lewis Cook at the top of the box who struck it right down the middle. It was heading straight for Ramasdale but deflected amidst the bundle of bodies off Ouattara who was just onside into the bottom right hand corner of the net just grazing the fingertips of Ramsdale 2-0 (32’). It was just far too easy for Bournemouth every time they got on the ball to get into the final third and be dangerous. The gulf in class really started to show as Bournemouth proceeded to take more control with brilliant footwork from Semnyo at the top of the box turning 3 Southampton players inside and out before finding the bottom left hand corner from just inside the right side of the eighteen yard box 3-0 (39’). Just piss poor defending almost as if the coach doesn’t work on defending at all. Bournemouth didn’t even play very well but just took advantage of the moments Southampton gave them. Russell Martin then at the half brought on 2 strikers of the 3 changes hoping for a miracle of getting back into the game. The second half Bournemouth came out kind of slow allowing Southampton possession in the middle of the pitch compared to the high pressing in the first half. This allowed more touches in their half and a cleared free kick was put back into the box and a flick on found the head of Harwood-Bellis who did well to header down and into the net 3-1 (51’). Poor from Michael Oliver giving yellow cards to Southampton despite clear flops by Bournemouth players. His linesman and 4th official need to really help him out on these calls. Southampton tried to push forward and be more attacking but couldn’t really create any more chances as the next one came for Evanilson from just outside the box who could only fire straight at Ramsdale (67’). Bournemouth recovered from initially conceding and started to press high and stop Southmapton from easily playing out. In the end Southampton couldn’t create anything substantial while Bournemouth squandered some good countering opportunities and saw the rest of the game out. 

Southampton had an 18 year old with lots of talent Tyler Dibling playing as a number 9 despite never playing there before while having 5 strikers on the bench which ultimately prevented Southampton from ever getting out and condemned them to yet another loss this season.