Manchester City were dominant in their opening four games but they had to dig deep against Crystal Palace to come away from Selhurst Park with a 1-0 win. Sergio Aguero went off injured in the first half but Kevin de Bruyne isn’t a bad replacement to bring on and Nigerian teenager Kelechi Iheanacho was the unlikely hero with a late goal after coming off the bench. City are yet to concede this season and the win at Palace also came without David Silva and Raheem Sterling to add to the Aguero injury. Manuel Pellegrini’s side are up for the fight this season, something the City manager also showed on Saturday when he had a few words for his opposite number Alan Pardew. City have had a settled side so far but with the Champions League games coming thick and fast we’ll soon find out a bit more about the league leaders.
Chelsea are only one place above the relegation zone after their 3-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park which left them 11 points behind City. For the second season in a row Chelsea conceded three in this fixture but the difference this time is they didn't come close to scoring six. Steven Naismith started on the bench but was introduced in the ninth minute due to an injury to Muhamed Besic and the Scottish International took full advantage with the perfect hat-trick. Chelsea have conceded 12 goals already this season and the back four has been exposed throughout the first five games. It probably didn’t help that John Stones was exceptional in the heart of the Everton defence but a real concern for Chelsea is the form of Cesc Fabregas although Nemanja Matic hasn’t been much better even if he did score a superb goal at Goodison. The reigning champions have already lost three times in the new campaign which is the same number they suffered in the whole of the last campaign. This is unknown territory for Jose Mourinho and it will be intriguing to see how it all plays out with Roberto Martinez the latest to get an earful from Jose. We should take nothing away from Everton because they were excellent and fully deserved the three points.
The less said about the first half of Manchester United and Liverpool the better but United won 3-1 with all four goals coming in the second half. Christian Benteke scored the goal of the game but what a debut for 19 year old Anthony Martial. The world’s most expensive teenager secured the win with a fine finish into the Stretford End after he got the better of Martin Skrtel. Wayne Rooney missed the game through so Maroune Fellaini played up front and it didn’t work but Louis van Gaal has another three points and another win over rivals Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers on the other hand is a man under pressure after a second successive defeat. Benteke was isolated too many times on Saturday and Liverpool gave the ball away time after time. Two seasons ago the Merseysiders were a breath of fresh air as they went so close to winning their first Premier League title but ultimately their defence and goalkeeper cost them. Simon Mignolet is still a liability and proved that in the seventh minute when he threw the ball against Juan Mata but he got away with it because Fellaini fired over. Maybe Rodgers could have asked van Gaal for one of those many keepers he has because Mignolet is a ticking time bomb with the ball at his feet.
Arsenal got their first win and first goals at the Emirates this season with a 2-0 victory over Stoke so the Gunners are in the top four. Once again Arsene Wenger went for Theo Walcott up front instead of Olivier Giroud and both players were on target but both should have more than one. Arsenal always beat Stoke at home and the Potters could have conceded five or six only for the performance of Jack Butland who has been impressive this season. I’m still not convinced Walcott is a top striker but he took his goal well after a lovely pass over the top from Mesut Ozil. Last month Wenger got his first ever win against Jose Mourinho in the Community Shield and the Gunners go to Stamford Bridge next weekend to take on an out of form Chelsea.
Leicester City are the only other side apart from Manchester City to remain unbeaten this season and the Foxes even gave Aston Villa a two goal head start before going on to win 3-2 at the King Power Stadium. Jack Grealish scored his first ever goal for Villa and it wasn’t a bad way to open his account but Carles Gil’s strike was even better. Since the start of April, Leicester have only lost once (to Chelsea) and when Ritchie de Laet pulled one back 20 minutes from time it was inevitable Claudio Ranieri’s side would get something from the game. Jamie Vardy equalised in the 82nd minute and Nathan Dyer completed the come back but took a hefty blow off Brad Guzan in doing so. Leicester are up to second place and within four points of City but I do expect them to drop off soon enough. However for now they are very easy on the eye with Riyad Mahrez the star of the show.
Swansea City suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 1-0 to Watford at Vicarage Road. Odion Ighalo scored the first home goal of the season for the Hornets but they did have Valon Behrami sent off shortly after the goal for a stamp on Andre Ayew.
Norwich City inspired by Wes Hoolahan won 3-1 at home to Bournemouth to register their second win of the season. The Republic of Ireland midfielder scored his first of the season and set up one which means Hoolahan has had a hand in five of the eight goals they’ve scored. I'm pretty sure he’s also the first player this season to set up a goal with a shin pad in his hand.
Ryan Mason scored the only goal at the Stadium of Light to give Tottenham a 1-0 win over Sunderland. It was a first win of the season for Spurs but the Black Cats are still waiting for their first of the new campaign.
Newcastle are bottom and their 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham wasn’t helped by the fact they were late arriving to Upton Park. The Hammers were ahead after only nine minutes through a superb strike from Dimitri Payet who was also on target in the second half. It was West Ham’s first home win of the season and the trend for them in their first five games is if they score first they win. Newcastle would just be happy to score at any stage but they did at least finish with 11 men this week.
West Brom and Southampton drew 0-0 at the Hawthorns and it certainly wasn’t one of those entertaining scoreless draws. Saido Berahino came on in the second half so maybe he’s made peace with the West Brom chairman.
