Football is always more exciting after an international break – managers, players and fans are all fired up to be back with their clubs. There was very little movement in the table, but a flurry of impressive displays and highlight reel goals made this one as good a Premier League weekend as any. One thing that stood out this weekend is that English football is prevailing, and homegrown talent is getting the job done. Here are some of the weekend’s biggest matches and why they show positives signs for England.
Aston Villa 0-2 Spurs: A side funded largely by the record sale of Gareth Bale, Tottenham looked comfortable as they beat Villa two-nil away from home. Kyle Walker looked comfortable once again on the right side of defence, keeping pace easily with Agbonlahor, who is known to have strong pace and outwit defenders. Michael Dawson was as reliable as ever in shutting down Christian Benteke and Libor Kozak before him, and he will prove a worthy substitute for the England national team should Cahill or Jagielka go down. The biggest talking point of the game was the continued play of Andros Townsend. He scored the winning goal and played a full 90 minutes in this match, beating the £30 million signing Erik Lamela onto the team sheet. Townsend is far from superstardom, but if he continues to see playing time, his development could well continue in an exciting manner.
Arsenal 4-1 Norwich: Wow. Another scintillating performance from a Gunners side that is full of confidence. Santi Cazorla meshed perfectly with the squad after returning from injury. Jack Wilshere’s goal was absolute football porn, and yet another goal from Aaron Ramsey which was impressive as well. Arsenal’s academy is the pride of the Premier League, and Arsenal have been notoriously good at mixing home grown talent with signings. Arsenal’s midfield exemplifies that, with players like Wilshere and Ramsey, who admittedly was purchased and not produced, revolving around the nucleus of Mesut Özil. Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson (Jenkinson was an unused substitute in this match) also have the potential to be future England starters. There are some questions about Arsenal’s defensive and attacking depth, but if they keep their vintage Arsenal form up, breaking the eight-year trophy drought is more than plausible.
Manchester United 1-1 Southampton: What a start to the year for Southampton. After their draw at United they are sixth – four points ahead of United and only four behind leaders Arsenal. They led in possession 53% – 47% and shots on target 9-5 against the Premier League champions. Their ability to defend has been incredible, and their new signing Dejan Lovren is looking like a ten-year veteran to the league. The entire Southampton back four looked calm in front of an intimidating Man United attack, especially English talents Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw. Clyne was instrumental in shutting down the ‘new star of the BPL’ Adnan Januzaj, who besides playing a nice ball through to Wayne Rooney was kept quiet. Clyne and Shaw could make cases to start for the English national team in the future, and will most definitely continue to see the top of Southampton’s team sheet. On the other side of the pitch, Wayne Rooney looked as dangerous as ever, and it was his run that led to Van Persie’s goal.
Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool: Liverpool will certainly blame themselves for not taking three points away from their match against a 10-man Newcastle. Their 3-4-1-2 formation was maybe a tad too defensive as two of the midfielders were Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho, both of whom are natural defenders. Gerrard and Sturridge scored for their side, but there wasn’t enough attacking determination from a side that played up a man for the entire second half following the dismissal of Newcastle’s Yanga-Mbiwa. Newcastle walked away feeling as if they had won.
Goals not to miss:
Jack Wilshere: The team goal of the season thus far. A superb understanding between Wilshere and Giroud as three back-heels were played in a row, finished off one touch by Wilshere into the bottom corner. Outstanding.
Patijm Kasami: An incredible finish from Kasami which saw him take a long ball on his chest as the ball dropped over his shoulder and smash it first touch into the top left hand corner of the net in a way that brought back memories of Marco Van Basten. The Crystal Palace supporters could not believe what they saw.
Aaron Ramsey: Great footwork from Ramsey deep in the box saw him shake two defenders before slotting it in past the keeper.
Jonathan De Guzman: He only needed one step to fire a beautiful shot in from the edge of the box. An incredible strike.
Eden Hazard: You will be holding your head after this one – not because of the goal but because of the brutal missed call. As keeper David Marshall bounced the ball, Eto’o grabbed it from him, and Hazard eventually put it in. The referee should have called a foul, but claimed Marshall had dropped the ball. Terrible call right before half time to give Chelsea an equalizer.
Also, if you haven’t seen them, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani scored two breathtaking goals against Bastia. Ibrahimovic somehow managed to scorpion kick the ball into the net, while Cavani completely undressed the defender and the keeper before slotting it into the open net. Should not be missed
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