Matchweek 5 of the English Premier League.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON 2021/2022
Chelsea and Liverpool went on top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Spurs and Palace. Both the teams are in identical position scoring 12 goals and conceding just one goal so far. All the top three teams Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are now locked on 13 points each and are the only teams who have not lost a game so far. Arsenal notched their second straight win, beating Burnley 1-0. Manchester City were held to a goalless draw by Southampton. Odegaard scored his first goal since his permanent switch to Arsenal on Saturday to further ease the pressure on their coach Mikel Arteta. The surprise was defending champions Manchester City dropped two points at home to Southampton after a 0-0 stalemate. Manchester City will rue their inability to beat Southampton at the Etihad Stadium after consecutive 5-0 home wins. Struggling Wolves lost their fourth match in five games against 10-man Brentford. Arsenal were rock bottom of the table before last week's fixtures but wins against Norwich and now Burnley lifted them to the relative comfortable 13th spot. The surprise package so far has been the rise of Brighton’s excellent start to the Premier League with their fourth win in five matches this season as they beat one of the favourites Leicester 2-1 to move to fourth spot with 12 points.
Tottenham VS Chelsea
After managing hardly any shots on the target in the first half, the visitors looked like an entirely different team after the break and scored three goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Blues opened the scoring in the fourth minute after half time through Thiago Silva header. Half-time substitute Kante added a second with his first goal in 49 league appearances when his long-range effort took a massive deflection from Hotspur defender. Antonio Rudiger found the bottom corner in injury time to complete the win 3-0. Spurs started the game brightly and were the better side in the first half, but the side managed just two shots on target throughout the game and struggled to find the rhythm after going behind.
Spurs continue to struggle in front of goal. After winning their opening three Premier League games, it is now back-to-back 3-0 defeats for Spurs. Nuno's side were ecstatic by the return of Son Heung-min, who returned to the squad after missing two games with a calf strain but Chelsea were resolute and difficult to break down. After the break it was one-way traffic as Chelsea dominated the game and a hapless Spurs side looked lethargic after going behind. Harry Kane was kept quiet and restricted to just two chances and often looked lost in front of the pitch. It is the first time since 2015-16 that the England’s premier striker has failed to score in his first four Premier League appearances of a season. Chelsea will now be taking on Manchester City next Saturday in what is considered to be one of the blockbusters of the tournament.
Before the game, tributes were paid to Jimmy Greaves who played for both clubs, after he died aged 81.
West Ham VS Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fourth goal in three games since re-signing for Manchester United netting home from close range at 35th minute. West Ham had taken the lead at 30th minute when Said Benrahma's strike from outside the area netted in after taking a huge deflection off defender Raphael Varane. Lingard, who spent a successful loan spell at London Stadium last season, came as a substitute in the second half and with two minutes remaining secured victory for the United in the dying moments of the game. Further drama enfolded as United defender Luke Shaw was adjudged to have handballed in the box with just one minute remaining and Mark Noble was sent in by West Ham off the bench especially for an injury time penalty and found himself in the wrong end when De Gea dived the right way to push away the spot-kick. Victory ensures Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side remain unbeaten in the league this term with four wins and a draw, while West Ham suffered their first loss of the campaign.
The Red Devils were heavily criticised after a poor Champions League performance in Switzerland against Young Boys this midweek and looked like being left frustrated in London but instead they maintained their incredible run in this league. The return of Ronaldo seems to be an excellent move by Solskjaer as the Portugal international continued his impressive return and he could have had more goals after having number of penalty appeals turned down.
Manchester City VS Southampton
A strange display of soccer by Manchester City as they could not find the net through a resolute Southampton side and ended up fortunate to get a draw despite the noisy backing of the home fans at Etihad Stadium. City, who did not manage a single shot on target until the 90th minute, were sloppy in possession as well as lacking their usual spark in attack and Saints will feel they should have overcome the City. The visitors were awarded a penalty at 60th minute when Kyle Walker was sent off for bundling Armstrong just inside the box, but both decisions were overturned when VAR intervened and referee Jon Moss watched replays of the incident. That reprieve brought enough response from the City supporters, who had already been making themselves heard throughout, but they could not help their side. City thought they had snatched victory right at the end of the 90 minutes when Raheem Sterling header was saved, but he was flagged offside as he converted the loose ball and a lengthy VAR check did not over-rule the decision. Saints remain winless after drawing fourth time in five league games, while the draw leaves City three points behind leaders Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. This was a frustrating 90 minutes for City boss Pep Guardiola, but this time he cannot argue about his fans did not do their bit. Any suggestion that Guardiola's controversial midweek comments asking more City fans to come to see this game might cause a rift between him and the supporters was emphatically answered. The City fans in a near-capacity 53,500 crowd singing and kept the volume up throughout. If Guardiola's intention was to get the crowd going immediately, it worked - but while the crowd was lively, his players looked lethargic throughout against a well-organised and hard-working Southampton side. Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has not enjoyed his visits to these parts too much in the past few months, with his side taking heavy defeats at City and Manchester United last season, but a much deserved point should give him reason to celebrate at last.
Liverpool VS Crystal Palace
Liverpool has remained unbeaten in the Premier League this season after Sadio Mane scored his 100th goal for the club in a victory against Crystal Palace. Liverpool created many chances against a resilient Palace before Mane pounced on a rebound at the back post in the first half. Mohamed Salah double scored their second with just over 10 minutes remaining when he smashed home a flick from a corner and Naby Keita's late curling strike made it 3-0. Liverpool wasted many chances in the first half as Diogo Jota fired over the bar from a few yards despite in comfortable position, while Thiago and Henderson shots were saved by keeper Guaita. In the end it was a comfortable victory and a good week for Liverpool at Anfield following their dramatic 3-2 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday. This victory has pushed them on top of the table with four wins from their opening five games. Visitors Palace is lingering at 14th place in the table. Mane was one of the many changes that Liverpool did from their win over AC Milan, and his return must have been an unpleasant sight for Palace. Having scored twice against Palace on the final day of last season, Mane's opening goal on Saturday made him the first player to score in nine consecutive league matches against a single opponent. It took his total to 13 goals against Palace in the Premier League. This is the most anyone has scored against them and was the perfect way to reach his 100th goal in all competitions for Liverpool. While Palace continues to adapt and learn under new boss Patrick Vieira, they were given a grim reminder of and the power of Liverpool's attacking quality.
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