Following an unwelcome and tedious international break, the Premier League returned this weekend with a round of exciting action.
Saturday’s early fixture came at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea hosted current champions Leicester City. The Foxes culminated their historic title winning campaign with a 1-1 draw in West London, but were completely blown away this time around and looked a shadow of their former selves, albeit having rested a few key players ahead of their midweek Champions League tie. Goals from Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Victor Moses secured a 3-0 win.
The pick of the 3pm kick offs involved a remarkable 6-1 win for Bournemouth against Hull City. The Cherries stormed into a 3-1 lead in the first half thanks to a Junior Stanislas inspired performance before adding a further three goals in the second half to secure a memorable victory.
Meanwhile, there was a five goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium between Arsenal and Swansea City. New Swans boss, Bob Bradley, took to the dugout for the very first time and almost saw his side complete a memorable comeback after Borja Baston scored the final goal of the game with twenty-five minutes still to play. A Theo Walcott brace in the first half gave the Gunners a 2-0 lead, but the deficit was halved soon after when Gylfi Sigurdsson netted. Mesut Ozil appeared to have made the game safe but Baston’s goal sparked a nervy ending for the hosts, who also had Granit Xhaka rather harshly sent off.
Arsenal’s North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, left it late to keep up their unbeaten start to the season intact against West Bromwich Albion. Former Spurs man Nacer Chadli appeared to have snatched all three points for the Baggies when he scored with just eight minutes remaining. However, Dele Alli’s clever finish in the 89th minute ensured the visitors travelled home with a point.
Spurs inflicted Manchester City’s first defeat under Pep Guardiola prior to the international break and the Citizens stalled once again this weekend. Their visitors, Everton, took the lead through the impressive Romelu Lukaku and had goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg save two penalties. Spaniard Nolito saved City’s blushes with a 72nd-minute goal.
Sunderland continued their dreadful start to the season and are now the first side to fail to win any of their first eight games in over a century. Improving Stoke City were the latest side to defeat the Black Cats on Saturday courtesy of Joe Allen’s brace.
On Saturday evening, West Ham United travelled to Palace hoping to kick start a woeful start to the season that has seen both on-field and off-field troubles increase tensions between the club and the fans. The pressure was eased, however, by Manuel Lanzini’s goal midway through the first half. The Argentine took advantage of some lackadaisical defending to find space in the box and side foot the ball past Steve Mandanda. The Eagles had the chance to draw level just before half time but Christian Benteke’s penalty soared high and wide of Adrian’s goal. Aaron Cresswell was then sent off for the visitors which should have led to an exciting climax, but Palace failed to capitalise on the numerical advantage.
Middlesbrough’s struggles continued on Sunday with a 1-0 defeat to Watford. Jose Holebas’ sensational strike ended up being the only goal of a fairly forgettable contest. Later that day, former Burnley striker Charlie Austin scored twice against his old side for Southampton in a 3-1 win for the hosts at St Mary’s Stadium.
Liverpool against Manchester United had been billed as a potential cracker for many weeks prior to Monday night’s game. The hosts have had a fantastic start to the season under Jurgen Klopp, while Jose Mourinho’s visits to Anfield have been noted ever since his Chelsea side ended the Reds’ hopes of winning the league in the 2013/14 season. The Portuguese boss adopted similar defensive tactics which frustrated Klopp’s side and the game ended in an extremely anticlimactic goalless draw. David De Gea’s world class save from Philippe Coutinho’s long-range effort ended up being the best moment of a disappointing contest.
