Manchester United 3 Sunderland 0
Manchester United took full advantage of Manchester City’s slip up away to Tottenham with a 3-0 win at home to Sunderland. Wayne Rooney scored his first Premier League goal since April (11 games) and in doing joined Denis Law on 171 league goals in United’s all-time goalscorers chart. Memphis Depay scored on the stroke of half time after a great ball from Daley Blind which found Juan Mata. That’s another advantage of having Blind in central defence because of his ability to step out and deliver a defence splitting pass. Anthony Martial didn’t score but he did set up Rooney for the second goal and Mata got in on the act with the third goal. We’ll find out a bit more about United’s title credentials in the next month with away games against Arsenal and Everton to come as well as a derby against City at Old Trafford. As for Sunderland it seems it’s only a matter of time before Dick Advocaat is gone and I wonder is this a job for Sam Allardyce although Patrick Vieira has been linked to the post.
Tottenham 4 Manchester City 1
City started the game without Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and David Silva but they were still leading 1-0 on the stroke of half time through a Kevin de Bruyne strike. The Belgian midfielder has scored three goals in three games despite only having four shots on target. However he was guilty of giving the ball away for the Tottenham equaliser although Kyle Walker should have been flagged for offside in the original move. Spurs can argue that De Bruyne’s goal was also offside but Eric Dier’s strike before the break changed the game and when Willy Caballero was found in no man’s land Toby Alderweireld put the home side ahead after the restart. Harry Kane got his first goal of the season to end a run of 748 minutes without a goal in all competitions for his club but that also should have been disallowed for offside. Even Erik Lamela chipped in with a goal to give Spurs a third league win in a row. Hugo Lloris was in fine form for Spurs as City's Joe Hart looked on from the bench with a slight injury but surely he couldn’t have played as bad as Caballero. After winning their first five league games it’s all gone a bit pear shaped for City since that Champions League defeat to Juventus but I’m sure Manuel Pellegrini’s side will be ok given the talent in the squad.
Leicester 2 Arsenal 5
Just when people are a little down on Arsenal they win 5-2 away to Leicester City who had been unbeaten before the weekend. Jamie Vardy put the Foxes ahead after 13 minutes and he also hit the woodwork twice. Then Theo Walcott scored his 12th goal in last 13 league starts for the Gunners as he continues in the strikers role. Alexis Sanchez got his first goal of the season with what was his 32nd shot of the season and the Chilean International ended the day with a hat-trick. This was an open game so it suited Arsenal but now Arsene Wenger’s side have to get off the mark in the Champions League and they host Manchester United at the Emirates next Sunday.
Liverpool 3 Aston Villa 2
Brendan Rodgers was under real pressure before this game and after the win the Liverpool manager hit out at the “ hysteria “ surrounding his Anfield future as he laid the blame on a “ group “ who want him out. A 3-2 win at home to Villa is hardly crisis over even if Liverpool are only five points off behind United. It was only the first time this season that Liverpool have scored more than once in a game and it’s hard to know how reliable Daniel Sturridge will be given his injury record. The England International scored twice and has the best goals per game ratio (0.65) of any Liverpool player in Premier League history. Liverpool still conceded two goals with Emre Can not covering himself in glory but then again he is a central midfielder who wants to play football. Let’s see how vocal Rodgers is after next Sunday’s Merseyside derby against Everton because another poor performance at Goodison Park will create more “ hysteria “. Tim Sherwood and Villa haven’t won since the opening day and he’s already talking about a relegation battle. Jack Grealish was taken off at Anfield and has since declared for England but the former Ireland under 21 has a long way to go to impress Roy Hodgson.
Newcastle 2 Chelsea 2
Jose Mourinho still hasn’t won a league game at St. James’ Park and his side were fortunate to get a draw. Aleksandar Mitrovic returned from suspension for Newcastle and although he didn’t score he went off to a standing ovation from the home fans. Steve McClaren’s side are still without a league win but this was by far their best performance of the season. Ayoze Perez profited from some loose defending by Kurt Zouma as John Terry watched from the bench again and when Georginio Wijnaldum made it 2-0 the Geordies must have thought this was their day. Mourinho made a couple of changes in the second half with Ramires and Willian both introduced. Both Brazilian Internationals scored, with Ramires firing home from long range but the Willian strike wasn’t intended as a direct attempt on goal. Loic Remy was given the task of replacing the suspended Diego Costa and Remy doesn’t have the same steel about him as Costa. At the moment it doesn’t look like Chelsea will reproduce the form that won them the title last season but eight points behind United isn’t an absolute disaster just yet.
West Ham 2 Norwich 2
Third placed West Ham have been lauded for their away performances this season after wins on the road against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. In truth the Hammers rode their luck in the games at Arsenal and City but their problem has been at Upton Park against teams they’re expected to beat and play on the front foot against. West Ham did see off Newcastle but they’ve lost at home to Leicester and Bournemouth and only for Cheikhou Kouyate, Norwich would have been added to that list. Robbie Brady has operated at left back for Norwich this season but he played in midfield on Saturday and the Ireland International scored his first goal for the Canaries. Wes Hoolahan set up another goal taking his assist tally to five for the season but Nathan Redmond did most of the hard work.
Southampton 3 Swansea 1
It was only Southampton’s second league win of the season but they are starting to look a bit more like the side that did so well last season even without the players that left during the summer. Virgil van Dijk got his first goal for the Saints since his move from Celtic with Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane also on target. Swansea have gone four games without a win and the only goal they’ve scored since their 2-1 win over United was Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty at St. Mary’s.
Stoke 2 Bournemouth 1
Stoke finally got their first league win of the season but they left it late with Mame Biram Diouf heading home in the 83rd minute. For the second week in a row Jon Walters was on target for Stoke illustrating how important he is to the Potters. Mark Hughes is trying to play a more attractive brand of football but there’s always room for a hard worker like Walters. Not only did Bournemouth lose the game it looks like they could be without top scorer Callum Wilson for the rest of the season. He was taken off on a stretcher in the first half with a serious looking knee injury. The Premier League new boys have already lost Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings to knee injuries this season.
Watford 0 Crystal Palace 1
Palace got back to winning ways with a Yohan Cabeye penalty in the 71st minute which means Alan Pardew’s side have collected 28 points on the road in 2015 with nine wins from twelve. It was also the first time Palace have kept a clean sheet in the Premier League.
West Brom 2 Everton 3
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku came back to haunt his former club with two goals in the second half. West Brom were 2-0 up 10 minutes into the second half and you’d expect a Tony Pulis side to close the game out. Sadio Berahino scored his second goal in as many starts for the Baggies after coming back into the side. Both of Lukaku’s goals came from Gerard Deulofeu crosses and Lukaku also provided the equaliser for Arouna Kone. Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane were at the Hawthorns and I wonder what they made of James McCarthy picking up a yellow card for a dive in the penalty area. Darron Gibson came on as a second half substitute and with Glenn Whelan out of the Germany game he might get some game time against the World champions. The Toffees will really fancy their chances against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby next Sunday.
