THERE were plenty of excitement, goals and controversy from last night’s games. FocusM digests the action and highlight some of the pertinent talking points.
Aston Villa 6 v Brighton & Hove Alboin 1
Both teams have serious pretensions of mixing it at the top end of the table. The home team after a late charge saw them sprint from the relegation danger zone into a place in Europe. The Albion have become everyone’s favourite second team with their brand of brave, attacking football.
Robert De Zerbi’s side were thoroughly undone here as Villa pressed high and got their just rewards. Ollie Watkins bagged a hattrick as the Seagulls’ high-risk approach was picked apart by a rampant Villa.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 v Manchester City 1
The big upset of the weekend came at the Molinuex where Wolves brought the reigning champions perfect start to a grinding halt. Leading 1-0 at halftime courtesy of Ruben Diaz own goal, Wolves supporters must have been wondering whether their team could actually hold on to it. The Wolves were superb for the first 45 minutes against Liverpool a fortnight ago but were eventually blown away.
The Wolves did let the lead slip after Julian Alvareaz struck a brilliant free kick to level the score. South Korean Hee Chan Hwang had other ideas as he sealed all three points with a well-taken goal to leave Pep Guardiola fuming.
Everton 1 v Luton Town 2
Luton finally got their first victory of the season with goals from Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris. Hatters fans have been waiting a long time for this, as it was their first top-flight victory since 1992. In between successive relegations and administrations, fans must have wondered if they would ever taste top-flight football again.
That must have seemed like a pipe dream when Luton lost their league status a decade ago but they have risen through the divisions to make it a fairy tale comeback. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for the Toffees who must have thought they had turned the corner with two successive away wins.
Newcastle 2 v Burnley 0
Burnely have just one point thus far but Vincent Kompany is sticking to his principles of attacking football that saw them clinch the 1st Division Championship last season. Newcastle were made to work very hard for all three points but got the job done courtesy of a 20-yard screamer from Miguel Almiron and an Alexander Isak penalty.
Geordies will be looking forward to more Champions League football in midweek as they welcome Paris St Germain for their first European tie at St James Park in two decades. Newcastle have now kept five clean sheets in the Premier League and will be hoping for a similar water-tight display to keep out Kylian Mbappe and co.
Bournemouth 0 v Arsenal 4
Arsenal prepared for next weekend’s battle royale with Manchester City with an easy win against the Cherries. Bournemouth have yet to register a win and were second-best for most of this one-sided contest. Kai Havertz managed to finally open his account after his move from Chelsea to Arsenal.
Many have questioned the move as the German international’s problem in front of goal seems to have followed him to the Emirates. But a coolly taken penalty has lifted the weight off his shoulders and the way Arsenal operate with a multitude of interchanging forwards creating havoc, money is on Havertz adding to his tally.
West Ham United 2 v Sheffield United 0
Sheffield United supporters will be worried after this spineless display. After almost winning away at the Spurs a fortnight ago, they would have been hoping for more steel from The Blades. Instead, the Hammers cruised to victory with goals from Jarod Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Game was seemingly won inside the first half allowing West Ham to take their foot off the pedal as Sheffield United looked bereft of attacking ideas to trouble the hosts. A swift return to the championship beckons.
Manchester United 0 v Crystal Palace 1
Having dispatched the Eagles comfortably in the League Cup 3-0 away in midweek, Old Trafford faithful could be forgiven for thinking this would be a walk in the park. It was not to be as Crystal Palace piled on more misery for beleaguered Manchester United boss Eric Ten Hag. Whisper it but there are those who think the Dutchman might just be out of his depth at a club the size of Manchester United.
Four defeats in the first seven Premier League games do not bode well for him though there are mitigating circumstances. These include having to do without Antony and Mason Greenwood – the former on leave after allegations of sexual assault while the latter has been loaned to Getafe for similar problems.
Jordan Sancho has been frozen out while Marcus Rashford seems to be less incisive when asked to play through the middle as a conventional no. 9. Up next at Old Trafford – Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Tottenham Hotspurs 2 v Liverpool 1
The late kick-off game was full of controversy with a Liverpool goal wrongly chalked off for offside and two red cards. Spurs finally won a pulsating contest with the final kick of the game when Joel Matip shinned in an own goal but the talking points will revolve around Luis Diaz’s first goal which the PGMOL has already admitted was not offside and an error by VAR.
At this point, Liverpool had already lost Curtis Jones to a straight red and yet put on a spirited performance to level things at halftime.
Even when reduced to nine men with substitute Diogo Jota sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession, Liverpool remained tight and compact, very nearly earning a point. It took a mistake by Matip in the very last action of the game to give the home team the win.
Questions are being asked why VAR has again failed to act in an instance of a clear and obvious error. – Oct 1, 2023
Main photo credit: Reuters
