This weekend will be remembered for the actions of one man.
The antics of Diego Costa against Arsenal were not punished which ruined what was a decent game of football up to that point. He has now been charged by the FA but Arsenal defender Gabriel certainly needed some coolness that our very own Damien Delaney showed recently when faced with the Spanish striker. If he carries on the way he is, there will be a time that his actions will be expensive for Chelsea and not in the pocket.
The win for Chelsea means that Arsene Wenger is pretty much owned by Mourinho and I expect him to be taking his place in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet. In all seriousness, the win was much needed for the Blues as they looked to make up what was already a large gap to the top of the table.
Speaking of top of the table, West Ham United set the cat among the pigeons with a third away win of the season at the Etihad to inflict a first defeat of the season on Manchester City. It is an incredible turnaround for the Hammers who only won three away games all last season. They saw off what had been an impressive City side until they struggled to a win in South London.
Moving up into second completes a dominance of the Premier League so far by the Manchester clubs as United travelled to the south coast and returned home with all three points. They were made to work for the win but two excellent goals from big signing Martial was the difference in what was a decent game.
Just keeping hold of a top four spot are Leicester City who fought back from two goals down at struggling Stoke City to grab a draw. Meanwhile, Everton and Swansea City both have hopes of a high finish but neither could find the net in a bore draw at the Liberty Stadium.
We all know about the loss for Palace at White Hart Lane which was a less than convincing three points for Spurs but it is a win for them moving them into the top ten and level on points with the Eagles. Watford complete the top ten as they continue their fine return to the top division with a win at Newcastle United who remain rooted to the depths along with rivals Sunderland who lost down at Bournemouth.
The Canaries managed a draw away to Liverpool while West Bromwich Albion saw off city rivals Aston Villa courtesy of a goal from public enemy number one Saido Berahino.
With the table still to take its real shape, it is still bizarre to see the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool in the bottom half of the table after both experience slow starts. More interestingly, it remains to be seen if the likes of Leicester, Palace and West Ham can continue to push at the right end of the table while Swansea and Everton have the pedigree on their side. In fact, maybe I am being a little harsh on my own team as Palace have an element of pedigree having finished 11th and 10th in consecutive seasons.
Our performance of the week has to be the excellent win for West Ham up in Manchester with a notable mention to Watford and their win at Newcastle which has gone under the radar a little.
Results
- Aston Villa 0-1 West Bromwich Albion
- Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
- Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal
- Liverpool 1-1 Norwich City
- Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United
- Newcastle United 1-2 Watford
- Southampton 2-3 Manchester United
- Stoke City 2-2 Leicester City
- Swansea City 0-0 Everton
- Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Crystal Palace
Premier League Table
| 1 | Manchester City | 6 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 3 | West Ham United | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Leicester City | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | Watford | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 11 | Norwich City | 6 | -1 | 8 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 6 | -2 | 8 |
| 13 | Liverpool | 6 | -3 | 8 |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 6 | -1 | 7 |
| 15 | Chelsea | 6 | -3 | 7 |
| 16 | Southampton | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 18 | Stoke City | 6 | -4 | 3 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 6 | -6 | 2 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 6 | -7 | 2 |
Fixtures
The League Cup takes centre stage in midweek ahead of the seventh round of fixtures in the Premier League. There is a big test for Leicester as they welcome Arsenal to the King Power. Leaders Manchester City travel to Spurs in what will be a tricky game for them off the back of their first loss of the season. City rivals United take on struggling Sunderland at home while West Ham face Norwich City at the Boleyn. It does not get any easier for Steve McLaren and his Newcastle side who will entertain Chelsea while Liverpool host Benteke’s former club Aston Villa.
Our own interest will be at Vicarage Road in the live television game on Sunday. It will be a tricky game against newly promoted Watford who have been performing well of late.
- Leicester City v Arsenal
- Liverpool v Aston Villa
- Manchester United v Sunderland
- Newcastle United v Chelsea
- Southampton v Swansea City
- Stoke City v Bournemouth
- Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
- Watford v Crystal Palace
- West Bromwich Albion v Everton
- West Ham United v Norwich City
