Welcome back to the fourth round of EPL after an International break where many players represented their respective countries in qualification rounds of FIFA World Cup 2022 to be held in Qatar.
But first, some brief news on other sporting events, which overshadowed EPL a bit this weekend, especially in Britain.
British teenager Emma Raducanu created history by becoming the first ever qualifier and the first British woman since 1977 (Virginia Wade) to win a Grand Slam. She did not drop a single set in the entire tournament, winning all 20 of them. The 18-year-old Raducanu was ranked 150th coming into the hard court US open Grand Slam and her victory marked all around celebration in Britain.
The other major event, which hit the headlines this weekend was Crash of the Titans in Italian Grand Prix on Sunday evening where the two famous Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed when the two collided, lifting Verstappen’s RB16B into the air and falling onto the Hamilton’s Mercedes with both ending up stuck in the gravel and out of the race with good job done by halo protection device in protecting life threatening injury to Hamilton’s head in the crash. The result of which is a three place grid penalty for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen for the upcoming Russian GP and two penalty points on his superlicence. The race ended with a McLaren P1 & P2, a position McLaren hadn’t seen since Brazil 2012 (Jenson Button). Race winner Daniel Ricciardo kept up with his tradition of drinking from the boot, this time including his team mate Lando Norris and CEO Zak Brown for the Shoey. Bottas was P3 after Perez finished third with a five second penalty.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON 2021/2022
Now coming down to this week’s EPL, this weekend as predicted the top three teams are in the top three position so far with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton locked on top four with 10 points each followed by Manchester City closely behind on fifth at 9 points.
Manchester United VS Newcastle
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his return to Manchester United as the hosts eventually cruised to victory against Newcastle United by 4-1 and delighted a packed Old Trafford ground. Twelve years after he last scored for Manchester United in this stadium, Ronaldo broke the deadlock in first-half added time when he netted in his first of the tournament after visiting goalkeeper Freddie Woodman spilled Mason Greenwood's shot. His international team-mate Bruno Fernandes scored scintillation goal of the game as he collected Paul Pogba's square pass and fired in a curling shot into the top corner of net from the edge of the area before substitute Jesse Lingard added a fourth in added time. The margin of victory was harsh for New Castle who played well for long periods but their efforts were irrelevant to the jubilant home fans who now have the added bonus of their side returning to the top of the Premier League. Ronaldo proved he still has much to offer at the age of 36, and that the efforts to bring him back to the club were worth. His opening goal showed the value of anticipation, as he followed Greenwood's shot in. The second goal shows that Ronaldo still retains enough speed to cause problems for defences as he charged clear to take his overall Manchester United tally to 120.
Chelsea VS Aston Villa
Like Ronaldo for Manchester United, Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku netted twice in Chelsea's win over Aston Villa as Thomas Tuchel's side maintained their unbeaten start to this season. “Scoring at Stamford Bridge is something I have dreamed about since I was a child and I have worked hard for this moment” said Lukaku. It was a good start but Chelsea needs to keep on working as lot of teams are going to be fighting for the title this year. He celebrated his opener in front of Blues fans after beating Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer. The Belgian's clinical finish through Steer's legs came from an accurate pass from Kovacic inside his own half. Lukaku sealed the win for Chelsea in injury time with a powerful strike down from the edge of the box. This victory takes Tuchel's side up to second, level on points and goal difference with leaders Manchester United and sees the club reach a significant milestone as they become only the second team in Premier League history to reach 600 wins in the competition (Man Utd have 690 wins). Villa's preparations for their trip to Stamford Bridge were troubled with the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Emi Martinez and winger Emi Buendia, who missed out because of quarantine rules after the International break. Aston Villa created plenty of chances after going 1-0 down and managed to strike with four shots on target, but could not find a way past Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Manchester City VS Leicestershire
Manchester City got their third straight league win after beating Leicester City in an entertaining game at King Power Stadium with score line of 1-0. Both teams goal keepers Kasper Schmeichel and Ederson made crucial saves in an exciting display to keep their respective teams on level terms before Bernardo Silva's close-range finish settled a close contest. The Portuguese strike after Joao Cancelo's shot was deflected into Silva's path. At 0-0 Manchester City's goal keeper saved well from Harvey Barnes, while at the other end Gabriel Jesus was twice denied by Leicester’s keeper Schmeichel. Leicester created many chances with Barnes clipping the top of the bar with a header before Jamie Vardy had a goal ruled out for offside. Silva's goal means City have won all their last three games since starting the defence of their Premier League crown with their only defeat at 1-0 coming against Tottenham in their first match of the season. City spent a lot on British record signing Jack Grealish to give them another source of striker but there was disappointment in their lengthy pursuit of striker Harry Kane, who is staying at Spurs this season. It led to critics to question whether they could win another title without a main striker. Foxes will feel unhappy that they finished with nothing from a high-octane match. That was partly down to Ederson, whose participation in this game had been in doubt along with Jesus. The Brazilian duo were eventually cleared to play for their clubs this weekend after complaints about their failure to report for International duty were dropped and both played key roles in their team's latest win. After losing their first encounter of this season, City are beginning to hit familiar form.
Liverpool VS Leeds United
Liverpool is keeping pace with the Premier League's leading pack as Mohamed Salah scored his 100th English Premier goal that helped them to victory at Leeds that brought Liverpool on par in points table with Manchester United and Chelsea. Salah was perfectly placed to tap in Trent Alexander-Arnold's low cross and give the Reds advantage in the 20th minute with Fabinho netting home the second following a corner five minutes after the break and Sadio Mane who had missed a number of chances in the game made amends with a low finish into the far bottom corner in injury time to make it 3-0. The game was somewhat affected by a dislocated ankle to teenage midfielder Harvey Elliott, who was stretchered off following a dangerous looking sliding challenge from Pascal Struijk that ultimately saw the Leeds player sent off with red card in the second half. Liverpool was already in good control of the match by then. With ten men, Leeds could not muster the challenge required and have now failed to win any of their first four matches in a season for the first time since 1958-59. They will also now have to deal with a shortage of numbers in central defence, with Struijk banned for one match and Diego Llorente limping off in the first half to join Robin Koch in the treatment room.
Play a game.
Other sports persons names to find this week.
You are looking for Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen, Jenson Button and Tennis pros Emma Raducanu, Virginia Wade.
Here’s what you missed from previous issues:
What led to the Premier League.
A shot of the 1888 winners of the EFL.