If last weeks’ round of results was mundane, ordinary, perhaps even a little boring, this week’s was anything but that. An average of 3.8 goals per game, a record-equaling thrashing, more VAR controversy, and a captain being booed off the pitch by his own fans – even with that, there was still room for a goalless draw. But Friday night was certainly a great way to kick things off…
Southampton 0 – 9 Leicester
This of course was the record-equaling result; the joint-biggest ever win in the Premier League, matching Manchester United’s 9-0 victory over Ipswich in 1995. There are some points to be considered here - Southampton were down to 10 men for 80 minutes, and Leicester are probably one of the worst teams to have a man deficit against, given the skillful players they have who can pick apart a defence, but this was still an absolute capitulation, a real downing of tools, and Southampton owe their fans a markedly better performance next time they are at home. Ralph Hasenhuttl is now the bookies’ favourite to be the next Premier League Manager sacked, which would be a real shame given the outstanding job Hasenhuttl has done since replacing Mark Hughes in December of last year. Leicester however are going from strength to strength, and their huge win here is a big statement – it would have been easy for them to apply the brakes at half-time given they were already 5-0 up.
Manchester City 3 – 0 Aston Villa
Going just by the scoreline, this seems a fairly regulation win for the defending champions. However, all three goals came in the second half (the first just 20 seconds after the restart), and City were far from their fluent best in the first half. John Stones was recalled to the centre of defence after Rodri was ruled out, but he gave the ball away early on and needed to be bailed out by his keeper to keep the scores goalless, so his return may have brought as much concern as it did relief. Fernandinho will definitely be unavailable for the next match after his sending off, so Pep’s defensive options are narrowing even further – fortunately for him, their next opponents are Southampton. Certainly Villa should not be ashamed of their performance here, and if they’d been a bit sharper with their chances in the first half, perhaps the scoreline might have been different if not the result, but their fans will have been disappointed that Grealish didn’t feature in a more attacking role.
Brighton 3 – 2 Everton
After Everton’s impressive display against West Ham last weekend, in truth this felt more like a return to form for them – losing to a team which they definitely should have beaten, when you compare the two starting line-ups. However, this game was most memorable for its VAR controversy, with no penalty awarded after Everton’s Richarlison was clearly brought down by Montoya in the box during an Everton corner. Brighton were then themselves the beneficiaries of a VAR-awarded penalty – notably the first one given in the Premier League this season, after Keane stepped on Connolly’s foot in the box as both players went for a high ball over the top. The fact that Brighton were awarded a penalty is a good thing – although accidental, there was definitely contact – however, the fact that it was the first one VAR has awarded this season is concerning, and even more concerning is the lack of consistency applied even within this match, as Everton’s claim for a penalty was just as good as Brighton’s. In all truth, this feels like something of a step back from how VAR was used at the World Cup in 2018.
Watford 0 – 0 Bournemouth
Both teams will probably regard this as two points dropped. Bournemouth will be disappointed to not be able to beat the team rooted to the bottom of the table, and Watford must now be extremely concerned with their inability to win a game, despite hitting the woodwork and seeing Bournemouth’s keeper Ramsdale being made to work here. Watford already look fairly certain to go down, and while Bournemouth are still looking pretty good in 9th, being held to goalless draws in consecutive games by the
teams in 19thand 20th does not reflect well on their ability to push on and perhaps hope for claiming some big scalps along the way.
West Ham 1 – 1 Sheffield United
Another extremely impressive performance by the Blades here, who are unbeaten in away matches so far in the league. They also boast the joint-second best defensive record, no mean feat for a club only promoted this season, especially given their relatively modest budget. Sheffield United looked to press high up the pitch, and got some good deliveries in from the right-hand side, but their high press cost them with West Ham’s goal, as it was pretty much as route one as you can get from Roberto Jiminez’s long kick up field. As with Bournemouth, West Ham will probably look back on this match and previous ones before it, in this case losing 2 – 0 to Everton away and 2 – 1 to Crystal Palace at home, as matches they could, and should, have done better in. Manuel Pellegrini is a manager of considerable experience and ability, and should by now be looking to make his mark on this team and challenge for a position just outside the top 6, if not in it.
Burnley 2 – 4 Chelsea
This match goes quite a long way to summing up Lampard’s tenure as Chelsea manager so far. Certainly plenty of goals and excitement, with an emphasis on the younger players breaking into the first team, focusing on Christian Pulisic’s “perfect” hat-trick in this case, however, the defensive frailties do not appear to be going away anytime soon. If Ashley Barnes had equalized when Burnley were only one down, as he should have done, perhaps the match would have gone differently, and Barnes wasted another good chance at 2-0, although that one was much harder, an attempted volley as the ball came over his shoulder. There wasn’t much Kepa could have done about Rodriguez’s thunderbolt for Burnley, but the defense never made any attempt to close him down, and Pulisic probably gave the ball away too easily. Definitely kinks to be worked out of the system before matches against tougher opponents.
Newcastle 1 – 1 Wolves
This match continues Wolves’ steady revival, after their three defeats in a row last month, and they’re now level on points with Spurs (although that only puts them in twelfth place). Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo again showed a fair amount of tactical nous, introducing a change of formation at half time which helped earn the draw. For Newcastle, a point against Wolves is probably a fairly good result, but you would have to say they were lucky to score at all given they only had two shots on target all game. It looks like their best chance of staying up is hoping that the teams below them – Southampton, Norwich and Watford – all continue to play as poorly as they have done.
Arsenal 2 – 2 Crystal Palace
You would be forgiven if you thought this game was over when Arsenal went 2 – 0 up within the opening 10 minutes – I certainly did. However, it goes to show it’s a brave person who predicts what’s going to happen next with Arsenal, and so it was that they capitulated once again. Particularly significant here however were the resounding boos that Arsenal captain Xhaka received when he strolled off the pitch as he was replaced. His response to the boos was to cup his ears, mouthed “fuck off”, took off his shirt and went straight down the tunnel, so I’m sure there will be plenty more to hear about there. Crystal Palace currently find themselves in 6th place, and if they can keep up their current form will finish with 57 points, which would represent an extremely good return by Hodgson’s men. I certainly wouldn’t put too much on Emery still being in charge at Arsenal next time these sides meet, but then again who knows? It’s Arsenal.
Liverpool 2 – 1 Tottenham
Spurs got off to a flier in this match, scoring in the first minute – and it was all downhill from there. By half-time Liverpool had had 10 shots on target, and 76% of possession, with Spurs’ lead being maintained by an excellent performance from Gazzaniga in goal, including a very smart double save from Salah and Firmino. There is no shame for Spurs to lose away to Liverpool, but it continues a run where victories have eluded them and they’re now 16 points off the top after only 10 games – Liverpool are essentially over the hill and out of sight from their perspective.
Norwich 1 – 3 Manchester United
Another very fun game this one – as if four goals wasn’t enough, Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul also saved two penalties, from Rashford and Martial respectively, although the first one shouldn’t have been given at all – it’s as if the powers that be behind VAR are trying to make up for lost time in terms of penalties that should have been given earlier in the season that weren’t, by now giving much softer penalties. Both Martial and Rashford got onto the scoresheet anyway, showing that United’s woes in front of goal are somewhat easing, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see United make a move for a striker in January – smart money being on Mario Mandzukic from Juventus.
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