Quite the most incredible weekend of Premier League football saw both Manchester United and Liverpool humbled by Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa respectively.
Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur
Old Trafford turned into the Theatre of Screams a full threw weeks before Hallowe’en as Manchester United collapsed in spectacular fashion to Spurs. Jose Mourinho could have been forgiven for thinking that all his Christmas presents arrived 100 days early as his Tottenham side were gifted victory in the most bizarre fashion.
Bruno Fernandes put United ahead from the spot after just 90 seconds, a clumsy Davinson Sanchez tackle on Anthony Martial leaving the referee no alternative but to point to the spot. But when a simple header back to his keeper turned into a personal nightmare for Harry Maguire, United conceded an equaliser just two minutes later, and in no time at all, the lead was reversed, Harry Kane taking a quick free-kick to put clear the deadly Son Heung-Min.
United were shell-shocked, but incredibly, just minutes later, it could and would get even worse, Anthony Martial sent off for reacting to Erik Lamela’s elbow to the throat with a cuff around the chin of his Argentine opponent. Lamela din;t see red, but the Frenchman did and United, with 10 men, were simply cut to shreds by Spurs almost at will. Kane added a third, Son grabbed a fourth, both netting before half-time could rescure the Red Devils and give Solskjaer the chance of turning it around in the second half.
If it was damage limitations, the mission was a failure, as United were picked off twice more, in particular an inept challenge by Paul Pogba gifting Spurs a penalty to rub salt into the wounds and equal United’s worst home defeat (1-6 to Manchester City, 2011) and start in the league since 1986, when a certain A. Ferguson came in to replace Ron Atkinson as manager. Wonder whatever happened to him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCxaz4i_pmQ
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool
If Liverpool fans were laughing into their sleeves at 6.30pm, then three house later, they were choking on their guffaws. Aston Villa mercilessly punished an incredible collection of individual errors by the reigning Premier League champions, who succumbed despite having 11 men on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes, and apart from the missing Mane, Henderson and perhaps most importantly, Alisson, their strongest side on the Villa Park pitch.
From the start, Liverpool simply did not look right. Playing a defensive line so high that a ship’s rigging would have been needed to get it under control, Villa attacked with glee, running riot as they too went into the half-time break 4-1 up and a little disappointed no to be further ahead. A first-half hat-trick from the sublime Ollie Watkins, along with a John McGinn shot which deflected off Virgil van Djik’s toes as he failed to front up to the shot told the whole story in microcosm. Liverpool simply couldn’t cope with defending from the first whistle to the last and the only surprise was that the defeat wasn’t more resounding, a shocking thin in itself given the scoreline of 7-2 to the home side.
Liverpool scored two goals from Mo Salah, but gifted Grealish the freedom of his hometown club’s stadium as two goals and three assists marked an incredible day for the Villa man. Trent Alexander-Arnold, usually so reliable on the front foot, looked like a day-old giraffe when running back towards his own goal and was at fault for a lot of the chances Liverpool conceded. Grealish simply dominated the England right-back, a worrying sign for Euro 2021 unless the defensive responsibilities that should form the bulk of the extremely talented young man’s game don’t return to the fore.
Gameweek #4 Results:
Chelsea 4-0 Crystal Palace
Everton 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Leeds United 1-1 Manchester City
Newcastle United 3-1 Burnley
Southampton 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
Leicester 0-3 West Ham
Wolves 1-0 Fulham
Arsenal 2-1 Sheffield United
Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool
