The fourth round of fixtures in the Premier League have been and gone but there was no shortage of action or goals.
The weekend kicked off with the highly anticipated Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Arguably, the fixture this time around has less of an impact on the season for either side of the city but try telling the fans that.
So often, such a fixture turns out to be a damp squib but not this time. The game earnt its top billing as the visitors raced into a deserved two goal lead courtesy of the impressive Kevin De Bruyne and young Nigerian Kelechi Iheanacho.
City should really been out of sight by half time after playing United off their own pitch but a mistake from new stopper Claudio Bravo, replacing the popular Joe Hart, handed the Red Devils a way back into the game. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not need a second opportunity, making the chance look far easier than it actually was. United fared better in the second half but could not find the equaliser they so desperately needed and ultimately paid the price for a poor opening half.
Meanwhile, over at the Emirates, Arsenal were making hard work of a Southampton side that not many know quite what to make of this season. Those same people are still wondering as the Saints crashed to a late defeat courtesy of a contraversial penalty scored by captain Santi Cazorla. That was after Jose Fonte was adjudged to have fouled Olivier Giroud in the area even if the shirt pull was slight. The visitors had actually taken the lead through a Dusan Tadic free kick that was superbly saved by Petr Cech only for the ball to ricochet off the bar, hit the Czech keeper and end up in the back of the level. The Gunners levelled through a terrific overhead kick from an unlikely source, defender Laurent Koscielny.
Down on the South Coast, one of the less fancied fixtures took place and it lived up to that title as hosts Bournemouth managed to score against a well drilled defensive unit in West Bromwich Albion. It was a well taken goal from Callum Wilson and a well celebrated one after his lengthy injury lay off. New signing Jack Wilshere made his debut from the bench for the Cherries who saw out the game unscathed.
The battle of the two newly promoted sides was livened up with a great strike from new Burnley addition Steven Defour who won the ball in midfield, ran on towards goal and unleashed a great strike to put the hosts into the lead. It looked as if three points were destined to go to Burnley but Robert Snodgrass, fresh from a hat-trick for Scotland, had other ideas. He stepped up to convert a free kick awarded in injury time to sneak a share of the points for Hull.
Winless Crystal Palace travelled to take on new boys Middlesbrough and they were in the mood to return home with all three points after taking the lead through Christian Benteke, the Belgian scoring his first goal for the club. Against the run of play the hosts equalised before the break but the Eagles barely allowed Boro time to get into the second half before Wilfried Zaha sealed the win.
It was a miss-match at the Brittania as an out of sorts Stoke City side hit rock bottom thanks to a thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hostpur. A brace from Son and goals from Alli and Kane were plenty to see off the hosts and send their frustrated manager to the stand.
In what turned out to be the game of the day in the top division, Watford visited the London Stadium to take on West Ham United. It all started so well for the Hammers as Michail Antonio scored a brace of headers in little over half an hour, the second thanks to a superb piece of skill by the exciting Dmitri Payet. There was no guessing what was to happen next in what was a fantastic fight back by Watford. First Odion Ighalo and then Troy Deeney brought the Hornets back level right before the break. They did not stop there and came out for the second half to finish the job with two more goals from Etienne Capoue and Jose Holebas in an unlikely victory.
The late game of the day saw Liverpool host champions Leicester City which proved to be a one sided affair as Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane put the Reds into a commanding lead before Jamie Vardy pulled one back. The hosts proved too strong in the second half as Adam Lallana scored a third and Firmino added a fourth for Liverpool, his second of the game.
Just the one game on the Sunday and it was some quality over quantity as Swansea City and Chelsea shared the spoils in a four goal thriller in South Wales. It looked ominous for the hosts as Diego Costa put Chelsea up within the opening twenty minutes but Gylfi Siggurdsson made the game all square from the spot quarter of an hour into the second half. Within three minutes Leroy Fer had put the Welsh side ahead but up popped Costa again with his and Chelsea’s second late on.
If Monday Night Football was to prove anything then it was that Sunderland are poor even under new management while Everton could just be that surprise package this season. The first half was nothing to write home about but an eleven minute hat-trick by star of the show Romelu Lukaku, ably supported by new signing Yannick Bolasie, suggests that the Toffees could well evolve this season into a team to be reckoned with.
After all that action, Manchester City are the only team in the Premier League with a 100% record after four games. Sitting just two points behind them are Chelsea and Everton as Manchester United drop to fourth. At the other end, Stoke City and Sunderland both have a single point each while Southampton are only slightly better off with two, as all three occupy the relegation places.
