The Premier League was back to its glorious best this weekend, serving up some classic games, plenty of drama, and some genuine upsets. If you were a gambler and had predicted Leicester to beat Manchester United, West Brom to win at Spurs, Palace to defeat Everton in their own backyard, and West Ham to topple Liverpool, then you would be a lucky person, and certainly unique. But that is what sets England’s elite division apart from its counterparts – you just never know. More than ever this season, the league seems to be opening up, getting more competitive and the stonewall predictabilities of certain games has gone. So, let’s rewind to game five of the Premier League campaign.
Days like Sunday don’t come around very often for the smaller fish of the Premier League, yet Leicester City’s loyal fan base will still be pinching themselves after the thrilling 5-3 win over Manchester United. The Foxes set themselves up in a very ambitious 4-3-3 formation, with the clear intention of “giving it a real go”, and this is certainly what they did. With Leicester City 1-3 down, though, nobody could ever have dreamt of the final score – especially United manager, Louis Van Gaal, who would have felt supremely confident of securing the three points with a two goal cushion. Yet City stormed back, and yes, they were aided by some poor refereeing decisions from Mark Clattenberg – yet United have, of course, felt the benefits of the odd dodgy decision or two down the line, so perhaps their karma finally came home to roost. More likely, though, was the manner of United’s defending. Young defender Tyler Blackett is a very good prospect, yet perhaps his time is too early. Oh how the Red Devils could have done with a steadier, calmer Ferdinand or Vidić at the back. Questions will certainly be asked of the “soft” United rear guard, but perhaps we won’t know the answers until United have played one of their rivals for a top four place.
Tottenham Hotspur found themselves to be the victims of a “smash and grab” West Bromwich Albion victory on Sunday, and although the result was disturbing, the events of the defeat will be causing much more concern for the White Hart Lane natives. With only one shot on target, and no Premier League victory since August 24th, the very promising start Spurs experienced under new manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has already evaporated, and we are not even out of September yet. Spurs fans are not the most patient, and like to win; yet first and foremost, they thrive on being entertained, and whilst Pochettino extracted the very best out of a blend of talented youth and a few expensive imports at Southampton, it is clear that pushing Spurs onto the next level is not going to be a walk in the park for the Argentinian. For the Baggies, three unexpected points and a maiden win of the season will come as a huge boost to Alan Irvine and his men. Veteran defender Joleon Lescott had a stormer at the back, and was largely responsible for the clean sheet West Brom earned themselves. How they build on this solid display will be crucial in the coming weeks, as a season of struggle still looms on their horizon.
The odds of Crystal Palace repeating a remarkable 3-2 win at Goodison Park last season would have been remarkably long, but that is exactly what the Eagles managed to do on Sunday, in a thrilling contest. Trailing early in the game, one would have been forgiven for presuming Palace would have faded away, and received a battering, but Neil Warnock’s side are maturing into something slightly resembling Tony Pulis’ Palace of last year – a stubborn, unforgiving team, with pacey wingers who hunger to play (and hurt) opponents on the break. A first win, and much to build on now for Warnock. For Everton, fingers of blame for this loss could perhaps be pointed at the new gruelling Thursday-Sunday-Thursday match day regime their successes of last season have now signed them up for. But to crack that elusive top four position they crave so badly, the Toffees will need to show more consistency, and Roberto Martinez will need to be ruthless in his team selection – for squad rotation is probably the only way ahead whilst the club embark on their European adventure. Murmurs and rumbles of discontent will grow amongst the natives should Everton’s league form suffer much more.
Another surprise of the weekend was West Ham United’s 3-1 humbling of Liverpool in the tea-time game on Saturday. Upton Park (or the Boleyn Ground, as it’s more affectionately known), has always been somewhat of a fortress, and when the home fans get behind the Hammers, they really do. With a 2-0 lead to celebrate inside the first seven minutes, the bubbles were really blowing for the home team, and Liverpool certainly felt the heat of the Irons’ intensity. Whilst West Ham are now firmly in the ascendency, the Reds are floundering and have now lost three of their opening five games. This is alarming, and of course very far removed from any kind of title form. Of course, Liverpool have a lot of new players to bed in – and losing a near irreplaceable player like Luis Suarez can only harm, but what will really concern Brendan Rodgers is the apparent return of pedestrianism to their play, which had of course been banished last season in favour of an infectious attacking style. Time will tell if this is just an early season blip, but with expectations higher than ever at Anfield, results will need to improve very soon.
They say it’s good to “get a monkey off your back”, and for both Mesut Özil and Danny Welbeck, peace of mind and a lighter load are currently the order of the day. Much has been made of the “laziness” of Özil, but in his defence, how many genuinely talented players like him can really track back and defend well? There aren’t many, let’s be honest. Let’s concentrate on his attacking prowess, and praise him for that. For Welbeck, it’s important to score your first goal for your new club, and he will certainly be a happy man with his contribution at Villa Park. Arsenal needed a win after the “Dortmund debacle”, and whilst 3-0 is emphatic at Villa Park, questions will still be asked about their sustainability and durability in the title race. For Villa, it will surely be a case of “no panic”, after a five minute blitz of goals defeated them on Saturday – and they have overachieved so far this campaign, so losing at home to Arsenal is of no real disgrace to Paul Lambert and his men. Villa are still third, and had they not been hit by a pre-match virus, they could have given the Gunners more of a game. But ten points already on the board is still cause for celebration for the Villains.
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