– Arsenal Vs Manchester City
I was happy this week when I realised the international break was over and domestic football would be gracing our televisions once again, more importantly the first heavy weight clash of the season.
Arsenal took on the Premier League Champions but it was clear from the off that this wouldn’t be a simple walk in the park for Manchester City. Arsenal went a goal down due to a quick counter attack finished off by Sergio Agüero who let again showed his master class ahead of the Champions league bout with Bayern Munich. The second half showed a more direct Arsenal as they took the game to the champions, with under fire Jack Wilshire silencing critics with a man of the match performance; casually rolling the ball away from ex team mate Clichy and finishing from a tight angle over Joe Harts head.
The goal gave Arsenal a revitalisation as they seemed to frustrate Manchester City showing a more aggressive side to their game which seem to irritate Pellegrini, especially as he felt a few of his players were fouled in the build up to Alexis Sanchez remarkable side footed volley past the City keeper.
Arsenal seemed in control but switched off 7 minutes from time when a corner was swung in and players failed to successfully stop Demichelis heading in an equaliser.
Both teams will feel they should have taken the points but from an Arsenal stand point they must learnt to close out games against the top 4 teams. Manchester City will feel allot of decisions went against them especially the penalty shout but both teams can take positives from the performances especially the potential of Danny Welbeck.
– Chelsea Vs Swansea
Chelsea seems to be unstoppable at the moment. Four wins out of four. New signing Diego Costa scored his first hat trick in Chelsea colours and has accumulated 7 goals so far. The 30 million paid for him almost seems like a bargain as both him and Cesc Fabrigas continued to excel over Chelsea’s 4 – 2 win over Swansea.
The Swans struck first with a fantastic ball drilled in by Neil Taylor, which unfortunately ended up in the back of the net when Captain John Terry boot couldn’t divert the cross.
The goal seemed to awaken Jose Moriniho’s men on the stroke of half time as Costas form continued. Remy also found the net 9 minutes from time with a neat finish in the bottom corner, it was almost the perfect day at the office but Jonjo Shelvey claimed some pride back for his side; Swansea’s perfect start came to an end but they battled hard regardless.
– Crystal Palace Vs Burnley
Crystal Palace played Burnley at home and even the returning hero Zaha couldn’t score to claim the 3 points needed to propel them up. Burnley could and should have won the game in the final minutes when a penalty was awarded but The Eagles easily denied Scott Arfield when he crumbled under pressure. Julian Speroni saving not only the goal but also a point for the team.
– Southampton Vs Newcastle
The summer exodus of Southampton, which saw both manager and players, leave the club hasn’t worked out too badly so far. The team almost looks stronger especially after the 4 – 0 thrashing of Newcastle. The Saints new manager Ronald Koeman seems to have found an ethos with the players have responded to well.
Unfortunately for Alan Pardew his job at Newcastle seems to be hanging on the thinnest of strings with his side still yet to secure a win in the current Premier league season, which has fans calling for his head.
You could say the players are to blame for poor defending especially when you concede a goal in the opening 6 minutes of the game. Statistics will say it was an equal came but the Saints came out firing, 2 goals from Pellé, an early second half strike from Cork and Schneiderlin ending the rout on the 90th minute leaving Pardew shaking his head in frustration.
– Leicester Vs Stoke
Leicester finally marked their return to the Premier League season with a win over Stoke. Mark Hughes publically stated that his team didn’t deserve to lose but as we all know its football and sometimes all it takes is one opportunity and Peter Crouch squandered four clear-cut chances.
Unlike Crouch, the Leicester striker Ulloa continued his goal-scoring prowess as he scored yet again this time to clinch all three points leaving manager Nigel Pearson smiling from ear to ear.
– Tottenham Vs Sunderland
Both Tottenham and Sunderland defensively seemed to be sleeping in the opening 5 minutes of their afternoon clash.
Nacer Chadli fired home a rebound within two minutes of the whistle leaving the home supporters perplex to the their teams terrible defending but individual flair from the Black cats winger Adam Johnson levelled the game minutes later.
As expected Tottenham dominated the game and were credited another goal at the start of the second half when Christian Eriksen slid to what everyone thought was the game wrapped up but substitute unknowingly denied his team a win when the ball rebounded off his leg into the goal.
One manager walked away happy to claim a point while it was clear the other will find the result hard to swallow.
– Everton Vs West Brom
Everton just like Leicester finally secured their first win of the season with Romelu Lukaku finally scoring his first since officially becoming an Everton player. He reacted well to loose pass and neatly curled his effort into the goal.
In fairness Everton had many chances but it was a game of errors from West Brom, which lead to both goals especially a horrific one from keeper Ben Foster who failed to stop Kevin Mirallas’s long range shot.
– Liverpool Vs Aston Villa
Just like managers before him Brendon Rodgers was guilty of squad rotation when Liverpool played Aston Villa and it showed in the overall performance.
With Daniel Sturridge injured and Raheem Stirling sat on the bench, the team lacked creativity and it showed in the final third. Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor scored the only goal of the game and though Balotelli has shown great potential he is still getting used to the way Liverpool play.
Lets hope Liverpool find a winning formula so rotation wont affect them as harshly.
– Manchester Vs QPR
For both Manchester United and Van Gaal, the win on Sunday was vital to the clubs future. The investments over the summer had a lot to prove and the late loan acquisition of Radamel Falcao only added to the force, which had bolstered the club.
Two new boys got their united career off to a flyer as both Di María and Herrera both got early goals within the game. Rooney struck just before half time and the rout was finalised by Juan Mata just before the sixty-minute mark.
Falcao came off the bench late on in the game and almost had the perfect start for the Red Devils but was denied; QPR on another could have made the game very so much tighter but just failed to tighten up at the back and failed to convert.
With what Manchester United spent this summer. They could be back in the top four sooner than most people thought.
– Hull vs West Ham
This game was defiantly worth the wait and had every bit of drama you would expect from a Monday night fixture.
West Ham played Hull away and with the signings both these clubs had acquired I was expecting a goalless draw or Hull to sneak a win…. Oh how I was wrong.
It was a night of first, summer signing Harnández scored his first goal for Hull and a first for Eno Valencia who scored a marvellous strike in the top hand corner, which had West Ham boss Sam Allardyce grinning like a Cheshire cat.
The smile didn’t last long when another summer signing also making is debut scored against his firmer employer, yes none other than Mo Diame.
The game became so open either team could have won it but it was a day for the Hammers as they fought back twice to deny Hull a victory when Sakho had the composure to deliver a blow to Steve Bruce’s side.
