Gameweek 2: A Beautiful Mess?

Welcome back to my weekly review of the premier league, where you get all the news and the banter from the week’s games….

• Devils chewed by Spurs. The game on Saturday was expected to be the game of the week by many, pitting the North Londoners against the Red Devils. Manchester United came into the game with an impressive away record against the Spurs away. After an unimpressive show against Wolves the previous gameweek, Manchester had to prove their detractors by performing against Tottenham. For Tottenham, Ange Postecoglu had to get their first three points after drawing in the first gameweek. The game started so slowly with the two teams trading possession. The biggest difference was that Tottenham appeared to attack as a cohesive unit while Manchester was very rigid. That is why Tottenham struck first through Pape Sare, his first goal for Tottenham. Manchester United fans went wild when Casemiro’s header was saved by Vicario, and so to when Varane’s shot was dipping but was saved. During one of Tottenham’s attacks, Lisandro Martinez mistakenly struck the ball into his own net . With Manchester United failing to show intent to win, the game ended 2-0. A good game by Tottenham.
• A blockbuster game by the Champions of Europe and the dark horses of the Premier League. The meeting between Manchester City and Newcastle (two of the wealthiest owned clubs) was going to be a treat. The Cityzens came into the game with an impeccable record with their scorer Haaland looking to fire in more goals. Newcastle also boasted improvements to their already stellar performances from last season. The game was tense with counter attack upon counter attack. The boys in blue would possess before making runs to score and Newcastle would also bite back with their own. City’s attacks were more consistent, with Julian Alvarez’s shot from a Foden assist being the only goal of the game.
• Blades fail to cut trees…. Sheffield United were unable to secure a win or draw for the second week running. Nottingham Forest got the game running through Taiwo Awoniyi who is in superb form. Sheffield fought back and got a goal through Hamer. Unfortunately, in the final stretch of the game, Sheffield would fall after Wissa scored after being set up by Aurier, his second assist of the game. 2-1 is how it ended.
• Liverpool bake The Cherries at Anfield. The Scousers welcomed their faithful back in fashion with a 3-1 thrashing of Bournemouth. Goals by Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Salah were enough to secure a win. Bournemouth attempted to try to get back in the game but the relentless class which Liverpool showcased was too much. Key in Liverpool’s performance was Diogo Jota who scored and assisted, but my personal star to watch out for is Szoboszlai who runs havoc in all games he is in. Solanke assisted Semenyo but that was the only goal Bournemouth managed to get.
• Fulham stung thrice by a merciless Brentford. The Bees didn’t face a tough time colliding with Fulham, thrashing them 3-0. Mbeumo again impressed, scoring twice with Wissa who assisted him once also scoring. Fulham really need a formidable attacker, this was one of the problems in their game that should be addressed before the international break.
• Brighton make light work of an inconsistent Wolves. Brighton have shown their tremendous adaptability and talent after losing another of their key players from last season in Moses Caicedo. They were set to face a Wolves side that had previously shown signs of overcoming their endless problems through their showing against the Red Devils. The Seagulls would strike four times, in reality it could have been more. Solly March would score a brace, while Estupiñan and Mitoma would also get on the score sheet. The two were crucial in creating chances, teeing each other. The young and brilliant Encino shone yet again, assisting twice. This Brighton side showed that they had plenty of teeth regardless of which player would leave their ranks. Ironically, that is the biggest problem for Wolves who struggled to make any opportunity count. Only Hwang Hee Chan would score for his side, this the game ended 4-1.
• Aston Villa demolish the Toffees. Emery’s side invited an Everton side that has not shown signs of life since their relegation survival. Goals by Bailey, Douglas Luiz, Duran and McGinn were enough to easily disperse a weak Toffee team. McGinn was the star performer in the game and he was able to dictate most of it as their playmaker. 4-0 was the final score.
  • Hammers too tough an opponent for infant Chelsea side. Westham invited their rivals from London, Chelsea in what was one of the London derbies this week. The Blues side under Pochettino is a work in progress, thus there was always a chance they would struggle against a formidable team, leave alone the champions of Europe as well as their London rivals. Westham took advantage of this to bite Chelsea through goals by Aguerd, Antonio and Paquetta. Ward-Prowse really made his impact felt by assisting twice, now a Westham player. Chelsea managed to get only one through Chukwuemeka, the youngster shone in a Chelsea team that lacked character. Many Westham fans heckled Chelsea supporters for their heavy spending with little to show off. Caicedo was brought on and his major highlight was missing a penalty. Chelsea appeared to over-rely on Sterling to make chances as well as hope Jackson could get on the score sheet, but it is evident they really need a proper striker in order to get results. Westham 3- Chelsea 1.
• Ten man Arsenal survive the derby at Selhurst by Odegaard’s solitary goal. The Gunners visited their London rivals in Crystal Palace in the final game of the week. The game was contested and could have gone either way. It wasn’t until a through ball cut the Crystal Palace defense and was intercepted by Nketiah by the narrowest of margins. The Crystal Palace goalkeeper, Johnstone came out to sweep the ball away but by then Nketiah had manouvred the ball away. It was a clear penalty and surprisingly Odegaard stepped up to take it despite Saka, the usual penalty taker being on the field. He slotted in the goal which would be the only goal of the game. Takehiro Tomiyasu was given the red card after commiting another foul while on a yellow card. Arsenal survived to let it end 1-0.

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