Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal
Arguably the biggest game of the weekend saw Manchester United take on Arsenal in a game that saw Eric Ten Hag’s men take all 3 points. Gabriel Martinelli looked to have put the league leaders in front, but his goal was ruled out by VAR due to a foul in the build-up. Manchester United then took the lead on the 35th minute after Marcus Rashford played the ball into Anthony who scored on his debut. A good start for the 81-million-pound signing from Ajax. Then, in the 60th minute, Bukayo Saka levelled the game up for the visitors, but the lead didn’t last long as six minutes later, Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils ahead after a brilliant pass from Bruno Fernandes. Rashford was then involved again as he tapped the ball home to put Man United 3-1 up and to secure them all 3 points. Manchester United have now won their last 4 games and sit 5th in the table. They host Real Sociedad in the week before they play away to Crystal Palace on Sunday. As for Arsenal, their 100% record is over and so is their chance to go invincible again. Despite this, they still sit top of the table and after an away trip to Zurich in the week, they host Everton on Sunday.
Brighton 5-2 Leicester
Brighton continued their great start to season with a win against bottom of the league Leicester in a high scoring encounter. Kelechi Iheanacho got Leicester off to the perfect start as he put the Foxes ahead in the first 60 seconds of the game. Brighton levelled the game up 10 minutes later after an unlucky own goal by Luke Thomas, the Leicester full-back. Brighton didn’t take long to take the lead though as 5 minutes later they were ahead through a Moises Caicedo goal. Patson Daka then levelled the game for the visitors after a pretty simple goal. Alexis Mac Allister then scored a stunning goal, but it was stupidly ruled out by a high boot that was nowhere near the player’s face. The Seagulls did take the lead though as Leandro Trossard put them ahead in the 64th minute. Trossard then won Brighton a penalty before Mac Allister got his goal from the spot. Mac Allister was clearly determined to make sure that a stunning goal counted so in the 97th minute, he scored a superb free kick to send himself, his team and his fans home very happy. Brighton sit 4th in the table and play away to Bournemouth in a game that they should be getting all 3 points in if they are to genuinely challenge for the European places. As for Leicester, they still sit bottom of the table with only 1 point to show from six games. It feels like every game is a must win game at the moment for the Foxes and their next game at home to Aston Villa is definitely must-win.
Brentford 5-2 Leeds
What a day for Brentford and what a day for Ivan Toney. Ivan Toney got brought down inside the penalty area and then he dispatched from the spot to put Brentford ahead. Toney then went even better with a brilliant free-kick strike to showcase his talents and to also put his side 2 to the good. Right before half time, Leeds got one back with a really good solo goal by Luis Sinisterra. Ivan Toney then wrapped up his hattrick with brilliant composure and a lovely chip over the defenders and into the back of the net. Leeds manager Jesse Marsch was then shown a red card after complaining about a foul that wasn’t given. Marc Roca got Leeds back into the game but that was quickly squashed as Bryan Mbeumo scored for the hosts just 1 minute later. Then, Yoane Wissa capped off his birthday with a goal after terrible defending once again by Llorente. The win puts Brentford up to 8th in the table and they travel to St. Mary’s to take on Southampton this Saturday. Leeds’ good start to the season is starting to falter but they still sit 9th in the table, and they take on Nottingham Forest in next week’s Monday Night Football.
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Bournemouth
Bournemouth pulled out a brilliant second half display to seal a huge victory against Nottingham Forest. The two promoted sides have struggled so far this season and Forest new this was a game that they should and need to be winning and they took the lead through Kouyate’s header. Brennan Johnson the put Forest 2 nil up right before halftime from the penalty spot. It was looking really good for Steve Cooper’s side but a brilliant strike by Philip Billing got the visitors back into the game. In the 63rd minute, Bournemouth where level after Dominik Solanke volleyed the ball home from inside the box. Then, in the 87th minute, a terrible mistake from Scott Mckenna allowed Dominik Solanke to play the ball across to Jaidon Anthony who calmly placed the ball past Dean Henderson meaning that Bournemouth took the lead and all 3 points. The craziest part is that Anthony hadn’t been on the pitch for more than 2 minutes. Nottingham Forest should be so disappointed with themselves. They were 2-0 up at half time, at home, against a fellow struggling and promoted side and they managed to let it slip and walk away with 0 points. You can’t be doing that if you want to stay in this league. Forest sits 19th in the table and their next game is away to Leeds United. For Bournemouth, this was a brilliant result. They needed a confidence boost and their second half performance should give them that. They sit 13th which is pretty decent, and they play at home to highflying Brighton this weekend.
Tottenham 2-1 Fulham
Tottenham kept their unbeaten start to the season going with a good win against Fulham. Heung Min Son hit the crossbar after a lovely ball from Harry Kane, but they did manage to take the lead later on in the half as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored with a nice finish. Both Hugo Lloris and Bernd Leno pulled off great saves to keep the game at 1-0 but Harry Kane scored to make it 2-0 in a very tight offside decision that went the way of the Englishman. Fulham then found themselves back in the game after a brilliant strike from Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 83rd minute. The Serbian continues to have a brilliant season. Hugo Lloris then pulled off a brilliant save off a deflected shot by Mitrovic to keep Spurs in the lead and they managed to see the game out and take all three points. This was an important victory for Spurs as they now sit third in the table and are only 1 point off the top. Spurs host Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday before a huge matchup away to Manchester City. Fulham can once again take positives out of their matches as they did really well to keep themselves a shot of a result. They still sit inside the top 10 of the table and they host Chelsea on Saturday in a big London derby.
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
This result had major controversy! After a nothing first half, a mistake from Edouard Mendy allowed Michael Antonio to put West Ham in front. Ben Chilwell then levelled the game up for the hosts in the 76th minute in another poor goal defensively. Then, in the 88th minute, Kai Havertz scored the winning goal from inside the six-yard box. However, it shouldn’t have been the winning goal as Maxwel Cornet scored to earn the Hammers a point, but the goal was ruled out for a supposed foul on Mendy by Jarrod Bowen. This was a horrendous decision, both by VAR and the referee. This has cost West Ham a point and handed Chelsea two. I don’t understand why anyone would think that that is a foul. Thomas Tuchel said it was a foul which just makes you think that the Chelsea boss is stupid. Absolutely awful. Nevertheless, a win for Chelsea sees them move up to sixth in the table. Chelsea play away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League this week before they play London rivals Fulham on Saturday lunchtime. As for West Ham, their upward swing will have been hurt by this and they now sit 18th in the table. The Hammers play in Europe on Thursday before they host Newcastle on the Sunday.
Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City
Aston Villa got themselves a very good point at home to Manchester City. In the 50th minute, Kevin De Bruyne played a perfect ball to leave Erling Haaland with a simple tap-in. The Norwegian now has 10 goals in the first 6 games. Kevin De Bruyne then nearly scored an excellent free kick but unfortunately for him, his shot hit the crossbar and went out. In the 74th minute, Leon Bailey smashed the ball into the net to level the game up for Midlands side. Coutinho then scored a goal that was disallowed because the referee had already blown for offside. He wasn’t offside so I understand why this would frustrate Villa fans, but I also don’t think that Ederson was really trying to save it. Aston Villa can still be really happy with a point as I don’t think many people believed that they could get a result against the Champions. Villa now sit 17th in the table and they play away to bottom of the league Leicester which is a big opportunity for the Villains to get a victory. As for City, they will obviously be disappointed with dropping points, but they have gained ground on the leaders. They still sit second in the table, and they have a tough week ahead of them as they travel to Sevilla for a Champions League clash on Tuesday before they host third place Spurs on Saturday Night Football.
Wolves 1-0 Southampton
Wolves got a massively important first victory of the season at home to Southampton. Bella-Kotchap had a free header but wasn’t able to hit the target which was pretty disappointing from him. Daniel Podence then put Wolves ahead with a pretty messy strike right before half time. Wolves don’t care though as this goal ended up giving them all three points. Che Adams did have a great chance, but his header came back off the crossbar and it stayed 1-0 to Wolves. However it came, Wolves desperately needed their first win, and they got it on Saturday. Their now 14th in the table which is definitely an improvement, and their next game is against Liverpool at Anfield. The silliest thing about Wolves is that they actually have the best defence in the league! As for Southampton, this was a bit of a setback result for them, and they now sit 12th in the table which is still pretty decent. They host Brentford in their next matchup.
Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Everton and Liverpool faced off in a goalless Merseyside derby. Tom Davies effort bounced off the post and just before halftime, Jordan Pickford pulled out a brilliant save to tip Darwin Nunez’s effort onto the bar before Luis Diaz’s follow-up smashed the post. Pickford then managed to pull out three really important saves in the space of a minute to keep the game at 0-0 before Allison pulled off a big stop to deny Neal Maupay his first goal in Everton blue. Conor Coady then thought that he had put the host’s ahead but sadly for him, he was offside. More important stops from Allison and Pickford meant there would be no goals in this Merseyside derby. Even though four league draws in a row isn’t going to keep you up, it’s definitely an improvement for Everton. They sit 16th in the table, and they face a tough task away to Arsenal next Sunday. For Liverpool, the draw means they sit 7th in the table on 9 points. The reds play away to Napoli in the week before a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Newcastle 0-0 Crystal Palace
Remarkably, there were 42 shots in this game and yet there wasn’t a single goal for either Newcastle or Crystal Palace. Aleksandar Isak will be disappointed with himself as he should have put the hosts ahead in the first half. Almiron hit the post which was unlucky. Newcastle then took the lead through a Tyrick Mitchell own goal, but the goal was disallowed for something that wasn’t a foul. Once again, the referee and VAR had a shocker. Despite this though, both Nick Pope and Vicente Guaita deserve a bonus after some of the saves they made. Newcastle now sit in 11th place and they play West Ham at the London Stadium this Sunday. As for Palace, they sit in a disappointing 15th place, and they will aim to climb up the table, but it is going to be tough as they host Manchester United on Super Sunday.
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