Week 3 of the Premier League brought on more intense action and not-so-strange scorelines. Oh, and Kane scored…again. Here’s the scoop.
Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth
With two goals and three assists in Liverpool’s record-tying Premier League victory, Firmino has now scored 100 goals for the club. The Brazilian perfectly captured the difference in skill between Scott Parker’s men and Jürgen Klopp’s revitalized team. The 30-year-old is in the final year of his contract with Liverpool and is no longer guaranteed a regular starting position because Diogo Jota is injured and Darwin Nunez is on suspension. His significance, quality, and entertainment value, however, endure. After previous limitations, Klopp will have a welcome selection conundrum in this weekend’s Merseyside derby at Everton with Nunez available once more.
Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham
Many Villa supporters have already made up their minds, judging by the groans from the Holte End and the number of boos as the manager walked down the tunnel at full-time. The upcoming schedule, which includes games against the league leaders Arsenal and the defending champions Manchester City, will put Steven Gerrard’s stint at Aston Villa to the test. Gerrard apologized with excuses. Such phony motivational blather is frequently advocated by Gerrard. His team, which lacks imagination and relies excessively on Philippe Coutinho’s wizardry, frequently repeats such trite clichés. This might be a relegation fight waiting to happen.
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Tottenham
The touch, intelligence, and composure that make Kane one of the most lethal players ever from 15 to 22 yards, a quality that was wonderfully demonstrated in his first goal at the City Ground, make him a remarkable poacher in addition to being a great one. His initial touch opened up the area, and his confidence to shoot early while utilizing the defender as a screen caused the goalkeeper to be caught off guard. Although Kane dubbed it a “scruffy finish,” his swing was so accurate and smooth that it still went in the direction he intended.
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Arsenal came back from a goal behind to defeat Fulham, regaining the top spot in the league late in the game. This season, Arsenal has been filled with unwavering optimism, and players who formerly shrank from playing in front of their own supporters now feel at ease there. Even when Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Fulham the lead thanks to Gabriel Magalhes’ error, there was only support from the crowd. The noise from the Emirates must have travelled a fair distance through the humid north London air when the defender bundled in the game-winning goal.
Chelsea 2-1 Leicester City
Following Raheem Sterling’s game-winning performance against Leicester, Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that the English forward is taking some time to settle in at Chelsea. Between his two well-taken goals, Danny Ward’s outstanding stop kept Sterling from scoring a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge. Sterling made the most of his few opportunities there. But Tuchel believes the player, who has 111 goals in 324 Premier League games, still has more to give.
Wolves 1-1 Newcastle
Should monitors be used by referees for important judgments with more consistency? While Lee Mason, the VAR, checked for potentially aggressive behaviour, Peter Bankes issued Newcastle’s Fabian Schär a yellow card for a foul on Pedro Neto. He was not asked to take into account the replays. Raul Jiménez’s goal that would have made it 2-0 was disallowed, but the referee, who had a clear view of Neto’s challenge on Ryan Fraser during the build-up, was then requested to examine the replays and chalked it off.
Brentford 1-1 Everton
Anthony Gordon’s pursuit by Chelsea has drawn criticism, and for good reason: paying £60 million for someone who, up until Saturday, had scored just four goals in 38 games defies logic. However, it seems reasonable to evaluate a young player based on what they are potential of accomplishing rather than what they have already accomplished. If Thomas Tuchel believes Gordon is worth the money, then we should at the very least question why. The finest part of watching Everton has swiftly become him because of his willingness to take chances and sacrifice defenders. Now that he has made it clear that he wants to go, he is embracing the pressure that comes with being so brave. He had plenty of opportunity to second-guess himself when he had a clear shot at goal against Brentford, but he remained composed and slid the ball home beautifully. His finish and celebration were those of a young man confident in his ability to succeed.
Brighton 1-0 Leeds United
Although Brighton has strong financial support, this doesn’t mean much if the man at the top isn’t there to make it all work. Potter’s club is currently in fourth place with 10 points after four games thanks to his idealism. His team’s performance seldom inspires fear, and it doesn’t seem to matter when key players depart. That demonstrates both a very well-defined system and a boss who is unambiguous in communicating his needs. On Saturday, Pervis Estupián’s impressive home debut helped the home crowd completely forget about Marc Cucurella, whom Brighton sold for a profit of over £40 million in less than a year. Those who saw Estupián play for Villarreal are familiar with his strength and intelligence as a left-back.
Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace
In their last six Premier League games, dating back to the end of last season, Manchester City have allowed nine goals, which is a lot of goals scored but also a lot of goals conceded. Despite the amazing nature of his team’s comeback, Pep Guardiola was troubled by the two goals Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze surrendered from set pieces. “Set plays: just focus and they are not going to score,” Pep said. If you don’t want to concede a goal, you will block it. You will attack the ball properly. They scored two goals this way. I’m not saying Eze is not a good taker, but you can imagine in the [pre-game] meeting we had, the focus was on [Joachim] Andersen. And he was alone. That was because we were not there. We were lucky today, but tomorrow we might not be lucky and we’ll lose points. “
Southampton 0-1 Manchester United
In addition to acquiring Gavin Bazunu from Manchester City this summer, Ralph Hasenhuttl made the audacious decision to make the 20-year-old, who shone while on loan to Portsmouth in League One last season, his first-choice Southampton goalkeeper. Although Bazunu performed admirably against Manchester United, the Republic of Ireland international’s best performance to date is unquestionably the penalty save he made in November to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring. The last line of a young Saints defense, the laser-focused Bazunu is the youngest No. 1 in the Premier League. “The average [age of the team] is not that high, but you cannot see it,” Hasenhuttl said. “I’m not scared of this team when I see how quickly they are learning and adapting to this quality.”
