Match Week 3: Round Up

Comeback was king in Matchweek 3. From 10 men squads battling back for wins and draws, to surprising early deficits, the weekend gave us a few surprises and plenty of goals. The table is still too volatile to be trusted, but - as we get more chances to watch these squads - the story of this season is starting to take shape.

Newcastle and Liverpool served up what proved to be the most dramatic encounter of the weekend. With the Reds reduced to 10 men, Darwin Núñez came on as a sub to scythe through Newcastle’s backline not once, but twice. The Liverpool number 9 will hope this catapults him to more minutes. It’s unclear if it does - but this certainly felt like an arrival. It was an unlikely victory, not least because of how rattled Liverpool were in the first half. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s mistake, yellow card, and subsequent lack of a second have been widely discussed - as has Virgil Van Dijk’s red. While the Trent incident plays in a gray area, Van Dijk’s does not. It was a red, no matter the theoretical merits of debating when a goal scoring opportunity starts. At the final whistle, however, that was far from the minds of the Merseyside club, who will go home delighted. Newcastle, on the other hand, have wobbled on their perch and face a serious challenge away to Brighton if they want to go into the first international break with more than 3 points. Losing to City and Liverpool is nothing to be ashamed of, but if this engrains a crisis mindset on a still growing squad, the Magpies may have serious problems.

After four minutes in their match, it seemed like Manchester United had serious problems of their own. Nottingham Forest used their pace on the counter (and United’s concentration lapses) to run out to a 2-0 lead. Taiwo Awoniyi has now scored in all three matches, and Forest fans will be praying that he stays healthy for the campaign. United were able to halve the deficit before the break courtesy of a Christian Eriksen flick. Casemiro then equalized early in the second half, giving United a chance to go for all three points. Ultimately, Bruno Fernandes calmly dispatched a penalty, and left Forest rueing the chance they’d let slip. United still have not convinced, and it’s an open question whether they’ll look back on these first three performances as growing pains or harbingers of trouble down the line. 

Beyond the result, this match also featured a red card (one of three over the weekend). Sending offs have spiked early this season, partially due to new rules and partially due to players simply committing classic red card offenses. We’ll see if this trend continues as players adjust to new expectations. 

Tottenham continued their resurgence under ringmaster Ange Postecoglou - which must feel to supporters like lolling down a lazy river after years of riding unlicensed bumper cars. This crop of Spurs players have taken to Ange’s tactics like prodigies, and their lightning quick offense is exhilarating to watch. James Maddison in particular just seems to have been built for this team. He fits the style perfectly, down to his rascally charm - a non-threatening pirate. Surely, the North London club will hit some speed bumps down the line, but to have this much joy so close to Harry Kane’s departure is a welcome surprise. Bournemouth seem to have the tools to survive, but they are very much still adjusting to Iraola’s game plan. They created chances, but lacked a convincing final ball. They’ve only earned a point so far, but - based on how many teams are struggling - they still have every chance of staying up comfortably.

Another London club, Chelsea, also won comfortably - defeating Luton Town 3-0. The Blues were able to file away last week’s defeat like a 9 year contract, clearing their minds for an assured offensive display. Raheem Sterling shone, looking freed up to express himself and netting a fantastic first goal. He added a second, before teeing up Nicolas Jackson’s first goal for the club (though the pre-assist from Enzo Fernández deserves a Pulitzer). Luton Town had moments, but both of their matches in the Premier League have followed a worrying pattern - holding on for a while before eventually allowing the floodgates to open. They’ve only had two chances, but they’ll be desperate for their home opener on Friday.

Fellow promoted club, Burnley, also suffered a comprehensive defeat, with Aston Villa thumping the Northern side. Villa, continuing to show signs of life after their opening day drubbing, netted twice in the first half - both goals coming courtesy of unlikely scorer Matty Cash. Their second featured a no-look cutback assist from Moussa Diaby who, I’ll be frank, I absolutely adore. He, along with the other Villa frontmen, provides a platform for speedy counters that are sure to result in goals this campaign. Diaby also scored the third, capping off a great display. To Burnley’s credit, they cut into the initial 2 goal deficit early in the second half and created a few decent additional opportunities. Vincent Kompany, in an unorthodox suit/ball cap combo, will need to help this squad find a balance soon. They’ve yet to show that they can perform their tactics at this level. 

While, ultimately, all the promoted teams lost, there was a bright spot in Sheffield, where the Blades fell 2-1 to Manchester City. Paul Heckingbottom’s squad pushed, bullied, and generally inconvenienced City (and Erling Haaland in particular) for long stretches of the game, even going into halftime at 0-0. Eventually, the pressure told, and the Norwegian menace dunked home a header from a golden Jack Grealish ball. However, the Blades weren’t done. In the 85th minute, they put the first goal past Manchester City of the season, courtesy of a Jayden Bogle strike. The joy only lasted three minutes at Bramall Lane, with the equalizer canceled out by a Rodri thunderbolt. It’s not a win. It’s not even a draw. But, Sheffield United will look to build on this performance, which was bolstered by the return of Oli McBurnie. City continue to march forward, relentless. 

The last four matches between Brentford and Crystal Palace have ended in draws. The streak continues, after Kevin Schade’s first goal for Brentford was nullified by a bizarre slide tackled strike by Joachim Andersen. The West London club will hope this was just the beginning for Schade, who should be looking to score 10-15 goals this season. Eberechi Eze stood out again, and Palace will be desperate to keep him on their books. While an influx of cash is always welcome, there’s no way the Eagles could replace him by the end of this window. 

There was only one other draw this weekend, also in London. Arsenal fell behind within the first minute to Fulham. Even after watching the goal back several times it’s unclear if Andreas Pereira scuffs his shot which wrong foots Ramsdale, if Pereira notes Ramsdale’s odd footwork and intentionally places the shot to his left, or if it’s a combination of the two. Whatever the strategy behind it, the result is the same, and the Cottagers settled in for a slog to protect the points. They performed admirably, but, after creating quite a few chances, Arsenal finally cracked the Fulham defense when Fábio Vieira (who was excellent off the bench) won a penalty. Saka coolly slotted it past former Gunner, Bernd Leno, and within 2 minutes, Eddie Nketiah had given the Gunners the lead. It then went from bad to worse for Fulham, with new signing Calvin Bassey shown red for a second yellow card. However, the 10 men of Fulham would have the last laugh, with João Palhinha equalizing on his season debut. The Cottagers even had a chance to win, with Adama Traoré unable to convert. Arsenal don’t need to panic, they’re undefeated and have great players. However, Arteta will have questions about the lack of ruthlessness in their opening games. Each of the matches have been unnecessarily close, and that is not sustainable. 

Everton continued their confounding quest to never again score a goal in the Premier League. The Toffees faced off against Wolves in a match with surprisingly high stakes for the third week of the campaign and managed to create gilt-edged opportunities with no end product. Some of that should be credited to José Sá in the Wolves’ goal, who made a handful of excellent saves. But, equally, Everton lacked any clinicality in their finishing and left the door open for a late winner, which Sasa Kalajdzic, Wolves’ 6'6" striker, duly delivered. It was a great win for Wolves, who were stuck on zero points, but more so it was a horrific loss for Everton, who find themselves planted firmly on the bottom of the table. This weekend’s match against Sheffield United is a must win for the Toffees already. 

Finally, the shock of the match week came on down on the South Coast, with West Ham defeating Brighton with ruthless efficiency. The match ended 3-1 and all of the Hammer’s goals were straight from David Moyes’ vision board. A mistake gifted James Ward-Prowse his first goal for the London club, and it was followed by a sublime first touch from Bowen and a wicked turn from Michail Antonio. Premier league followers should be incredibly grateful that Ward-Prowse ended up in East London - he fits in perfectly. There was every chance that he’d be snatched up to fill in on rotation for a traditional powerhouse, but he’s an ideal addition to this West Ham team, adding just the right spark. It should be said that Brighton didn’t play badly (though they played into West Ham’s hands). Areola in goal prevented quite a few chances, including excellents saves to deny Evan Ferguson. On a different day, this match could have been much closer, but it should stand as a reminder that there’s not just one way to win a Premier League game. Sometimes 22% possession (and the resolve of David Moyes) is all you need.