Man City remain seated at the top of the Premier League charts after beating Everton at Goodison Park, Man Utd held to a disappointed goalless draw at home to Newcastle, and a Pedro inspired Chelsea pick up three points at the Hawthorns.
Their squad was old, their best days were behind them and Manuel Pellegrini was being shown the door. Those words of alarm showered the blue half of Manchester as they cut a forlorn figure chasing the coat tails of Chelsea last season. Premier league football is a fickle old thing.
Goodison Park is not for the faint hearted, but two-second half goals from Aleksandr Kolarov and Samir Nasri ensured they head into Week 4 with a faultless 100% record. It’s their third victory of the season, and a club record nine on the bounce, after ending last year with a run of six wins. Joe Hart still hasn’t picked the ball up out of the net, this term.
Whilst City tick all the boxes that Premier League champions tick, the red half of Manchester can’t even find the pen. They might be sitting in third place, they might still be unbeaten, but I’m sorry, premier league champions don’t draw 0 v 0 at home to a team as woeful as Newcastle.
Whilst Louis Van Gaal told reporters he was delighted with the United performance, fans are still panicking over the attacking options that the Red Devils have in their squad. With Pedro deciding to move to Stamford Bridge, and Neymar Jr’s potential transfer not likely until the end of the season (if ever), having the likes of Hernandez, Wilson and Fellaini as back up to Rooney is not exactly causing spit to dribble down the chin.
Leicester City remains sandwiched between the two Manchester giants after a hard earned 1 v 1 draw at home to Tottenham. Dele Alli’s 81st minute goal looked to have handed Pochettino his first win of the season, but the Premier League’s in form player Riyad Mahrez equalized just 90-seconds later.
Mahrez’s strike was his fourth of the season, more than any other player in the league, and Leicester have now won 29 points, since 1 April, and no other team in the league can match that record. Harry Kane failed to find the net for the third time this season as England manager Roy Hodgson watched from the stands. An outing against San Marino might do Kane the world of good. He scored 31 times last season.
After the match Pochettino admitted that he needs a striker to help take some of the pressure off Kane, and West Brom’s Saido Berahino seems to be at the top of that list. He was left out of his side’s 2 v 3 loss to Chelsea as rumors of a £15m bid continued to swirl around the Hawthorns.
It was a vital win for Chelsea. After nabbing Barcelona star Pedro from under Van Gaal’s crooked nose, he turned on the style, scoring the first and setting up the second, for Diego Costa, during his Premier League debut. The only blot on the Mourinho landscape was the sending off of John Terry for a tug on Rondon. It was the first time Terry has seen red since 2010.
Terry’s sending off might be a rarity for Chelsea, but the same cannot be said for their neighbors across town at The Boleyn Ground. West Ham’s Carl Jenkinson became the fifth Hammer to be sent off this season in his clubs 3 v 4 defeat to Bournemouth.
The Premier League minnows will be delighted to grab their first victory of the season after playing superbly well in their first two games without grabbing a single point. Callum Wilson scored a hat trick to ensure Bournemouth picked up their first-ever top-flight victory. He scored 23 times last season after signing for Coventry, and could potentially be an England star of the future.
Crystal Palace continued their great run of form with a 2 v 1 victory over Aston Villa. Bakary Sako’s 87th minute winner ensuring Palace move into fourth position after three cracking performances. Tim Sherwood, although disappointed with the loss, would have been impressed by the debut of his £7m signing from Barcelona, Traore. Palace have now scored two own goals in their first three games of the season, last year they didn’t net one.
The crisis meeting worked. Dick Advocaat’s Sunderland picked up their first point of the season in a 1 v 1 draw at home to Swansea, but it’s the performance that would have warmed the heart of the Dutchman more than the result.
The Black Cats found their bite, and they were unlucky not to hold on to victory after Premier League stalwart Jermaine Defoe’s opener was cancelled out by a third goal of the season from Bafetimbi Gomis. The Frenchman has now netted eight times in nine goals, whilst the man he replaced – Wilfried Bony – continues to warm up benches in Manchester.
Premier League yo-yo team Norwich are now undefeated in two after a 1 v 1 draw at home to Stoke. The Potteries new £12m signing Shaqiri (not the blonde singer) put a free kick on the head of Diouf who promptly put it into the net for the opener. It was Diouf’s fifth headed goal since the start of last season; no one has headed more. Russell Martin scored the equalizer for the Canaries.
Finally, Watford maintained their undefeated streak with a goalless draw at home to Southampton. But despite not losing a match, they haven’t won one either, a problem that still sticks to Southampton who are struggling to find the form that saw them race up the league at the start of last season. They have only won one of their last nine matches.
Week 3 Results
Man Utd 0 v 0 Newcastle
West Ham 3 v 4 Bournemouth
Sunderland 1 v 1 Swansea
Norwich 1 v 1 Stoke
Leicester 1 v 1 Tottenham
Crystal Palace 2 v 1 Aston Villa
West Brom 2 v 3 Chelsea
Watford 0 v 0 Southampton
Everton 0 v 2 Man City
Remaining Week 3 Fixture
Arsenal v Liverpool
Barclays Premier League Table
1st. Man City – 9pts
2nd. Leicester – 7pts
3rd. Man Utd – 7pts
4th. Crystal Palace – 6pts
5th. Liverpool – 6pts
